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Investigate the killing of innocent protesters in Guatemala

During the Global Mobilization in Defense of Mother Earth a man was tragically killed as he took to the streets to peacefully demand that the Guatemalan state respect its peoples and Mother Earth. Please join us in condemning his and others' assassinations and in calling on the government of Guatemala to bring the perpetrators to justice.

guatemala-anti-mining-demonstration19-year-old Ilmer Orlando Boror Zet was a member of the Lo de Ramos community in San Juan Sactepequez, a community that is currently struggling against the installation of a cement corporation in their territory. 

 

This latest murder marks the 10th violent incident against the Maya people so far this year, and the systematic prosecution and intimidation against the communities in San Juan Sacatepequez by the Guatemalan state and the corporation Cementos Progreso.

 

Last month, 19-year-old Walter Ronaldo Méndez Velásquez, a technical student at the University Rafael Landívar and Friends of the Earth Guatemala/CEIBA volunteer, was also a victim of the area's violence.  Walter was killed on September 7, 2009, as he was returning home from a day working at an ecological farm managed by CEIBA.  CEIBA believes Walter was assassinated as part of an increase in the criminalization of social groups in response to the struggle for the defense of peoples' territories.

 

further information

Read the press statement from Amnesty International

 

take action

Write to your nearest Guatemalan embassy and call on the government to investigate the killings and to respect the free expression and human rights of all Guatemalans. Find your nearest embassy here.

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