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Title: SPAIN: Guatemalan Indian supported for Nobel Peace Prize
madrid, sep 22 (ips/alejandro gomez) -- nobel peace prize
candidate rigoberta menchu has been receiving sweeping support
during her tour of spain.
the guatemalan indian leader has been receiving support in
several cities from outstanding spanish politicians and
intellectuals.
her candidature, proposed by the national movement of guatemala
for 500 years of black and popular native resistance, and by
several international organisations, was warmly received in
galicia, the basque country, barcelona and madrid.
menchu, who is one of the leaders on the committee for peasant
unity (cuc), was in asturias tuesday, where she was received by
the local autonomous parliament.
born in 1959 in the north-eastern department of el quiche in
the central america republic of guatemala, resistance fighter has
been living in exile in neighbouring mexico since 1981.
the indian leader emphasised that the importance of her
candidature for the nobel peace prize lies, above all, in it
having succeeded in attracting world attention to the situation in
her country where the indians, who constitute more than 60 percent
of the population, are marginalised.
''whether they give us the prize or not, my candidacy has given
us an important rostrum from which to break the silence which has
existed in guatemala,'' she declared.
seventy percent of arable land is concentrated in the hands of
two percent of the population and little attention is given to the
suffering of the landless indians, said menchu in an ips interview
in august in liverpool, britain, where she participated in an
'counter celebration' to that marking columbus' voyage to the new
world.
here in madrid the committee supporting her candidacy comprises
among other personalities the rector of the complutense
university, gustavo villapalos, a supreme court judge, jose
antonio martin pallin, and the writers pedro lain entralgo and
jose luis sampedro.
menchu has suffered personally. in guatemala on january 31, 1981,
a group of peasants, workers and inhabitants of the guatemala city
slums peacefully occupied the spanish embassy to call their plight
to international attention and demand the withdrawal of the
guatemalan army from el quiche.
the embassy was set afire in a police raid killing of all
occupants, among whom was menchu's father, a peasant activist.
(more/ips)
spain: guatemalan indian supported for nobel peace prize(2-e)
spain: guatemalan (2)
the brazilian bishop of mato groso, pedro casaldaliga, who was
also proposed for this year's nobel peace prize, recently withdrew
his candidature in order to join those supporting menchu.
''that in 1992, when we are experiencing outbreaks of racism and
xenophobia (hatred for those from different countries), a woman
might be awarded the nobel peace prize, would surely be an
historic landmark,'' cristina almeida, a deputy of the united left
(iu), the third largest party in spain, told ips. she presented
menchu's candidacy here in madrid monday.
''to forget what the struggle of the indians means, and what
the struggle of women and ethnic minorities in a world totally
lacking in unity stands for, would be to compromise our ideas,''
she added.
carmen garcia-nieto, professor of the history of spain at the
complutense university of madrid, is also supporting menchu's
candidacy.
''i think rigoberta unites on the one hand the defence of human
rights and the rights of the native peoples, and on the other, all
the revolutionary potential of women,'' she said.
''having worked on landowners' estates and in domestic service
in the houses of the wealthy in guatemala, has given her an
awareness of the lot of the people as a woman, as a christian, and
as a defender of the rights of the most needy,'' added garcia-
nieto, a member of the committee formed to support menchu's
candidacy.
apart from demanding a voice for the natives and respect for
their identity, menchu is also supporting reconciliation and
freedom for all guatemalans.
''on the agenda for renewing dialogue we have included three
main points for discussion: the question of creating a democratic
institutional framework, human rights and the identity and rights
of the native peoples,'' she affirmed.
dialogue between the guerrilla united guatemaltecan national
revolutionary (urng) movement, the army and the government has for
the past year been concentrated on human rights. the negotiations
aim to end the war which has been going on for over 30 years.
according to guatemalan people's organisations the war has cost
more than 100,000 lives; with 200,000 refugees; 45,000 people who
have disappeared, and more than one million displaced internally.
menchu, who since 1983 has attended meetings of the united
nations commission on human rights, in 1990 received the unesco
education for peace prize, and in 1991 the prize awarded by the
french committee for the defence of freedom and human rights.
(end/ips/ip/ag/ica/trd/cdm/92)