>From Atanazio Tzul, Guatemala Support Network
Attention:
All persons who are concerned about the political and human rights situation
in Guatemala and U.S. policy in Central America: The following is a letter to
President Clinton sharing our concerns and requesting that all C.I.A. files
concerning Guatemala be released to the United Nations Commission of the
Truth. WE NEED YOUR HELP in petitioning President Clinton. The following also
requests that the administration grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for
Guatemalans living in the United States.
PLEASE FAX, MAIL OR E-MAIL THIS LETTER TO THE WHITE HOUSE WITH AS MANY
SIGNATURES AS POSSIBLE (20 or more are preferable in order that your letter
receive proper recognition). Send the letter to:
Honorable William J. Clinton
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20500
White House FAX# (202) 546-2461
President's E-mail address:President@whitehouse.gov
Also, please consider making phone calls to state your support for Rep.
Torricelli expressing your dismay at Mr. Gingrich's attempt to punish him for
telling the truth:
Republican Larry Combest, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, 1511
LHBO, Washington, D.C. 20615
Ph. (202) 225-4005, FAX 225-9615
Rep. Richard Gephart, House Minority Leader, 1226 LHBO, Washington, D.C.
20515, Ph. (202) 225-2671 FAX 225-7452
Rep. Nancy L. Johnson, Chair of the House of Ethics Committed, 343 CHOB,
Washington, D.C. 20515, Ph. (202) 225-4476, FAX 225-4488
Rep. Newt Gingrich, Speaker-House of Representatives, 2428 RHOR, Washington,
D.C. 20515. Ph. (202) 225-4501, FAX 225-4656
To request that Guatemalans living in the United States be granted Temporary
Protected Status (TPS), contact:
The Honorable Janet Reno, U.S. Attorney General, Department of Justice, Room
4915, Constitution Ave. & 10 St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20530.
You may also contact President Clinton in this regard.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Honorable William J. Clinton
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Honorable President Clinton:
We, citizens and representatives of organizations her in the United States,
are writing to you to express our deepest sentiments regarding the case of
Ms. Jennifer K. Harbury. Her husband, Efrain Bamaca Valasquez, Commandante
Everardo of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) which is
working for far-reaching democratic reforms, was captured in combat, secretly
detained and tortured, and finally executed by the Guatemalan army.
We, along with many members of the North American public, are extremely
surprised and disturbed by the revelations of House Representative Torricelli
and by the fact that the United States Government concealed information
regarding Ms. Harbury's Husband's ordeal and the CIA's involvement. We want
to thank you for sharing in our anger, and for having ordered an
investigation into this case.
Mr. President, we believe that the United States government's resolve to end
support for archaic military regimes must be demonstrated with strong stands
against military crimes in Guatemala. These crimes, including human rights
violations and acts of genocide, have been a direct consequence of the CIA
conducted invasion in 1954 which overthrew democratically elected President
Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. The unfortunate death toll of this wave of military
terrorism in Guatemala, has reached well beyond 300,000 people over the last
30 years. Thousands of Guatemalans living in the United States are here
because of the "collateral" effects of the war that has pushed them
northward. Yet, the United States government continues to deny Temporary
Protected Status to Guatemalans living in the United States.
Sir, we are asking you to consider our request that your administration turn
over all confidential information involving Guatemala's tragic political
history from 1954 to the present, as well as the murders of Mr. Bamaca and
Mr. Devine, an innkeeper previously living in Tekal with his wife, who was
also assassinated, to the Commission of the Truth of the United Nations in
Guatemala. during this period in history, the people of Guatemala have
suffered extreme human rights violations and have had to live in a state of
terror. We also want to stress the need to reconsider the case of TPS for
Guatemalans living in the United States, especially given the recent
revelations of military crimes in Guatemala and the perennial abuse of human
rights committed by members of the army.
Mr. President, we understand that our country, as a member of the Group of
Friends of the Peace Process in Guatemala, is not able to take the strong
diplomatic and economic measures that the behavior of the Guatemalan
government and army deserves. however, this does no mean that some
initiatives taken by our government as gestures of goodwill cannot be
suspended. We believe that the United States is in the position to send a
strong message to the Guatemalan government, for example, by suspending
preferential status in trade relations, indicating that our country is not
willing to associate with states that violate basic international human
rights. These types of sanctions should be applied when there is a chronic
lack of improvement in the situation of a recipient country, as in the case
of Haiti. A similar resolution was adopted during the last European
Parliament Session of April 26, 1995, as a result of a report given on the
state of human rights in the world in 1993-1994.
Mr. President, we are confident that you will value the importance of our
petitions and take appropriate measures. Your administration is poised to
make this time in history a turning point in the policies of the United
States towards Latin America. The People of Guatemala deserve the right to
see the end to this reign of terror in which hundreds of army criminals have
defied all justice and been protected with impunity.
Sincerely yours,
(Your name, and title, if applicable)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS URGENT ACTION!!!
(E.A. Estrada for GSN)