The noble guerrilla of Guatemala

Editors, Asheville Global Report,

I would like the opportunity to respond to the article “Como fue la guerra en Guatemala” that was published by AGR on February 22. While I respect the opinion of Maria Luisa Argueta, I am not in agreement with what she believes happened during the war in Guatemala. She chose to concentrate much of her article on the guerrilla’s deception and misconduct. While no one would say that the guerrilla behaved like saints throughout the conflict, their objectives were noble and it must be recognized that the guerrilla rose up in arms in the first place because the indigenous population and the civil sector could not obtain their basic human and civil rights through democratic means. They were victims of centuries of racism, discrimination, extreme poverty, state-sponsored injustice and violent oppression. In addition, to focus on the shortcomings of the guerrilla is equal to avoiding the most significant facts about the violence that occurred. These facts form part of the conclusions of two separate Truth Commission reports, one being the Recovery of Historical Memory report released by the Guatemalan Catholic Church in 1998 and the second by the Historical Clarification Commission in 1999, which recieved support from the United Nations. Both reports assign responsibility for more than 90 percent of the war’s atrocities and human rights violations to the Guatemalan state, including the army, the police, civil patrols and death squads. The guerrilla is blamed in the reports for 3 percent of these acts of violence. Without a doubt, it is not the guerrilla that carries principal responsibility for the blood that was spilled during the painful Guatemalan conflict. I hope that all might know the truth about what happened in Guatemala.

Sincerely,
Rob Motley, Asheville