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TWO FRONTLINE YOUNG PEOPLE KILLED AFTER BEEN ARBITRARILY DETAINED IN BUGALAGRANDE

Threats to the Guatemalan electoral process

Thousands of people in Guatemala have taken to the streets to peacefully protest the persecution of the progressive Semilla Party and electoral authorities by the Attorney General and the current government of Alejandro Giammattei. The country is facing a critical moment, as Guatemalans, faced with a subversion of the popular will, are mobilizing to defend their civil, political, and human rights.

Photo Credit: CCDA Guatemala

The Democratic Mandate

On August 20, 2023, Bernardo Arévalo was elected President of Guatemala with 61 percent of the vote. While Arévalo is scheduled to assume office in January 2024, Attorney General, María Consuelo Porras, and the Public Prosecutor's Office have levelled unsubstantiated accusations of electoral fraud and irregularities against Arévalo and the Semilla Party and have ordered raids on electoral offices and the seizure of ballots.

Demand for Justice

Different branches of the Guatemalan State, including the executive, much of the legislature, the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, and the Attorney General’s office - all deeply compromised with organized crime – are using this period to prevent President-elect Arévalo from taking office. These measures include the disbarring of the Semilla party, actions against Guatemala’s Electoral Tribunal, the invention of legal cases and efforts to remove the legal immunity of the president, vice-president elect and congressional representatives from Semilla to try them under dubious charges, such as expressing support in social media for student pro-democracy protests.

Take Action

These weeks leading to the January 14 inauguration are crucial to the future of Guatemala. If President Arévalo is prevented from taking office, it will end the democratic reconstruction so painstakingly built with significant investment from the international community after 36 years of armed conflict.

Join us in calling on Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, to issue a public statement as soon as possible. This statement should assure Guatemalans that Canada will recognize only the president whom they elected on August 20 after January 14, 2024, and encourage other countries to do the same.

Canada and other states must make it very clear to current authorities seeking to undermine the democratic process that after January 14, 2024, they will recognize no other government in Guatemala than that of President Bernardo Arévalo. Refusal to recognize an illegitimate government imposed by those currently seeking to subvert the election results should also include:

  • Freezing Guatemalan State assets held abroad.

  • Suspension of all bilateral aid.

  • Opposing further financial assistance from multilateral lending institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

USE THE HASHTAGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

#GuatemalaDecide #FueraGolpistas #NoMasCorrupcion

Did YOU KNOW?

CoDev has five partner organizations working for social justice in Guatemala:

Learn about these courageous organizations and read about CoDev's recent visit to Guatemala by clicking here.

TWO FRONTLINE YOUNG PEOPLE KILLED AFTER BEEN ARBITRARILY DETAINED IN BUGALAGRANDE

THIS IS AN URGENT ACTION ORGANIZED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH AND SOCIAL ACTION (NOMADESC), A PARTNER OF CODEV SINCE 2001.

NOMADESC is a Colombian Human Rights organization. NOMADESC has been working with communities affected by the Internal Armed Conflict by promoting respect for human rights and ongoing peace processes in Colombia.

TWO FRONTLINE YOUNG PEOPLE KILLED AFTER THEY BEEN ARBITRARILY DETAINED IN BUGALAGRANDE

The undersigned organizations denounce before the National and International community the events in which, last Saturday, October 7, Young CARLOS JULIO CALERO SUESCUN lost his life. Since the frontline leaders and young people of the center of the Valley were deprived of their liberty, the persecution against them began. The detainees and their families have been victims of threats, follow-ups, raids, and interception of their communications, and two of them have been murdered. Situations could have been avoided if the Colombian Government and the State control agencies had responded to the requests made by the family members, judicial representatives, and organizations defending human and people's rights.

CARLOS JULIO AND JHONATAN were victims of a judicial process created to punish young people who dared to exercise the right to social protest in the National Strike 2021. Their right to due process was openly violated, and consequently, they were murdered.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STATEMENT WRITTEN BY NOMADESC ON OCTOBER 10, 2023.

THE FACTS:

CARLOS JULIO CALERO SUESCUN, belonging to the front line within the framework of the so-called "National Strike of 2021" and deprived of his freedom on December 10 of the same year, along with 17 other people who exercised the right to protest (Bugalagrande case) victims of judicial setups, and who regained his freedom on July 21, 2023, due to the expiration of terms, with judicial representation from the Pueblos Legal Team, was murdered last October 7, 2023, at night, in Andalucía Valle.

JHONATAN SABOGAL, a 30-year-old young man, leader of the resistance at the Y intersection in Bugalagrande during the National Strike of 2021 and who was illegally deprived of his liberty since December 10, 2022, was one of the 57 victims of the Prison fire of Tuluá Municipality of the Department of Valle del Cauca, Jhonatan was in patio Eight of medium security where the incident occurred on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. The young leader had not been convicted. His freedom depended on reviewing a ruling that was in process.

These tragic deaths mark the second victim murdered in relation to the judicial process of the Y intersection Bugalagrande case, without considering the multiple murders of young people on the front line that have been recorded in the Country.

WE DEMAND:

To the National and International community:

Demand that the Colombian State, in particular, President GUSTAVO PETRO URREGO and Vice President FRANCIA MARQUEZ MINA, take actions to protect the rights of people deprived of liberty and prevent cases such as those reported here.

To the Attorney General's Office and the Attorney General's Office to investigate quickly and without delay the murders of the young people CARLOS JULIO AND JHONATAN SABOGAL and make the results public.

The International organizations IACHR and OHCHR follow up on the threat and persecution of frontline young people in Colombian prisons and those who have been released and continue to be persecuted and threatened.

Stand with Peaceful Protests in Guatemala

Thousands of people in Guatemala have taken to the streets to peacefully protest the persecution of the progressive Semilla Party and electoral authorities by the Attorney General and the current government of Alejandro Giammattei. The country is facing a critical moment, as Guatemalans, faced with a subversion of the popular will, are mobilizing to defend their civil, political, and human rights.

The Democratic Mandate

On August 28, 2023, Bernardo Arevalo was elected President of Guatemala with 58 percent of the vote. While Arevalo is scheduled to assume office in January 2024,  Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, and the Public Prosecutor's Office have levelled unsubstantiated accusations of electoral fraud and irregularities against Arévalo and the Semilla Party and have ordered raids on electoral offices and the seizure of ballots.

Demand for Justice

Photo Credit: CCDA Guatemala

Guatemalan civil society is demanding the resignation of the Attorney General and members of the Public Prosecutor's Office leading the politically targeted criminal proceedings. The government and Constitutional Courts have cracked down on the right to peaceful protest and maintain the threat of force against demonstrators.

 Right to Peaceful Protest

 Nationwide protests are being led by Indigenous Peoples, student activists, human rights defenders, and workers outraged by the Guatemalan Supreme Court's decision to suspend the Semilla Party over unproven allegations of electoral fraud.

 CoDev in Solidarity with Guatemalans

 CoDev stands in solidarity with people in Guatemala, striving to exercise their inalienable right to peaceful assembly and freedom from reprisal and political violence.

Take Action

Join us in supporting Amnesty International's campaign for Guatemala. Please write to the current president, Alejandro Giammattei, and call on him and his government to respect and guarantee demonstrators' right to peaceful assembly and to refrain from using criminal law and excessive force against those protesting.

 USE THE HASHTAGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

#GuatemalaDecide #FueraGolpistas #NoMasCorrupcion

DO YOU KNOW?

CoDev has five partner organizations working for social justice in Guatemala:

Learn about these courageous organizations and read about CoDev's recent visit to Guatemala by clicking here.