The Town That Raised Its Head Although news of army human rights violations in Guatemala raises few eyebrows anymore, the recent massacre in Santiago Atitlin (December 2, 1990) merits special attention. It is notewor- thy less for the event itself, than for the local and national response. The facts of the massacre are fairly straightforward. Soldiers fired on a crowd of about 3,000 unarmed Atitecos who had marched to the town's military post, led by the mayor and mayor-elect. They marched to protest the attempted abduction of a resident by several drunken soldiers, including the post commander, earlier that evening. Eleven people died at the scene and 24 were wounded (three of whom later died). Not even the army could deny who killed whom in this case, although military officers tried to pass it off on a couple of misbehaved soldiers within an otherwise honorable institution. The congressionally-appointed Human Rights Ombudsman boldly condemned the army as an institution for being responsible, perhaps the first time that a Guatemalan government official has publicly accused the military of funda- mentally violating human rights. In another time and country, this event might be considered a tragic mistake: Nervous soldiers, scared by a crowd of villagers approaching their post in the middle of the night, fired too quickly. To understand why it has taken on such proportions in Guatemala, the incident must be placed in context. Ever since the army set up perma- nent camp in Santiago in 1980, soldiers have intimidated, robbed and raped; people have been kidnapped, disap- peared and killed at an astonishingly high rate. Residents and foreigners who have lived in Santiago estimate that between 500 and 1,000 people have been killed in the past decade, out of a current population of about 24,000. The town has been terrorized by soldiers who not only committed every con- ceivable abuse, but did so brazenly, knowing that they were the only true power in town. This massacre was the final straw for the Atitecos. On the day of the victims' funeral, several thousand people signed a petition, delivered to President Cerezo by the two shaken mayors, demanding that the massacre be thoroughly investigated, those found responsible be punished, and that the army be moved out of Santiago AtitlAn. A week after the incident, the may- ors reported back to the town: Cerezo, as commander-in-chief of the army, had agreed to their petition, including the removal of the military post. The Atitecos were jubilant. I went to San- tiago Atitlin both the day of the mass funeral, when the mood was one of overwhelming grief, and the day of the town meeting when Cerezo's decision was announced. I witnessed a commu- nity catharsis. That an Indian town challenged the army and won (albeit just one battle, certainly not the war) is unprecedented in recent Guatemalan history. That an Indian community dared to say aloud what everyone knew privately to be true but were terrified to say-that the army is responsible for the repression and death in Santiago-had simply not happened before. The courage of the Atitecos has sparked a national debate on the role of the army in Guatemalan life. For the first time in recent history, the army's nearly impenetrable shell has been ever so slightly cracked. Where will all this lead'? The power of the army will not be fundamentally diminished. The incoming president will almost certainly decree an amnesty to avoid responsibility for prosecuting political crimes committed during the Cerezo years, continuing the policy of impunity implemented by the army right before Cerezo took office in 1986. The deep divisions among people in San- tiago, so evident prior to the massacre, may begin to peek through the current mask of unity. The army will probably not move very far, and its reach is long. All this calls for special attention to be focused on Santiago Atitlhn in the coming months. Atitecos want journal- ists and witnesses to help provide them the slim protection that international concern offers. Perhaps now, in addi- tion to the tourists who flock to San- tiago for its natural beauty and Indian culture, there will be those who go to visit the town that stood up to the army. In Guatemala, that merits our deepest respect and support. Pat Goudvis Massachusetts
