As many of you know, Guatemala is in the midst of a Constitutional Crisis. On Friday, August 31, the Guatemalan government declared that it would not renew the mandate of the UN-back Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in September 2019. Then when the Commissioner Ivan Velasquez left the country for meetings in the US, Guatemalan Immigration [...]
– Aboriginal activists group, Queensland, 1970sIf you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.
– Bishop Gerardi, April 24, 1998Peace is possible – a peace that is born from the truth that comes from each one of us and from all of us. It is a painful truth…it is a liberating and humanizing truth…It is a truth that challenges each one of us to recognize our individual and collective responsibility and to commit ourselves to action.
– Scott Zoltok, Intern at the New Hope Foundation (2012-2013)“Breaking the Silence means listening to those who’ve been silent for far too long, and once the silence is broken, it is amazing what you can hear.”
– Bertolt BrechtHay hombres que luchan un dia y son buenos. Hay otros que luchan un año y son mejores. Hay quienes luchan muchos años y son muy buenos. Pero hay los que luchan toda la vida: esos son los imprescindibles.
AJODER and Topacio Award Keep Her Dreams Alive
On Sunday, September 2nd, the Reynoso Pacheco family accompanied by BTS staff Lisa Rankin, traveled to Coban, Alta Verapaz to present the 2018 Topacio Reynoso Pacheco Award to AJODER (the Association for Development and Social Recovery). As always, the presentation of the award was a bitter-sweet moment, remembering Topacio and the dreams which she herself [...]
Guatemala’s Highest Court Orders Tahoe’s Escobal Mine to Remain Suspended
Earthworks * MiningWatch Canada * Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala * Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala * Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network September 4, 2018 Contacts: US: Alan Septoff, aseptoff@earthworksaction.org, 202-887-1872×116 Guatemala: Lisa Rankin, btscoordinator@gmail.com Canada: Jamie Keen, jamie@miningwatch.ca, +1 613-761-2273 Late Monday night, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court ruled that [US-Canadian owned] Tahoe Resources’ [...]
Canadians support CICIG’s work against corruption & impunity
On Friday, August 31st, President Jimmy Morales announced at a press conference, surrounded by military and police officers, that he would not be renewing the mandate of the CICIG, the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala. Hours earlier, an intimidating military presence was reported outside of the CICIG offices. As you may recall, last year Morales unsuccessfully [...]
Take Action: Demand Tahoe Resources respect Guatemalan communities’ “No” to mining
For seven years, communities have peacefully and democratically demonstrated their opposition to Tahoe Resources’ Escobal silver mine in Guatemala. In an open letter to the Canadian company’s new CEO, James Voorhees, and Executive Chair, Kevin McArthur, the Peaceful Resistance of Santa Rosa, Jalapa, and Jutiapa and the Xinka People’s Parliament of Guatemala insist that Tahoe end the [...]
