Holland & Knight's Community Services Team Represents Displaced Maya Achi Communities in Guatemala
July 28, 2005
Enrique Gomez-Pinzon - Washington
Damage Verification Commission Formed by
Guatemalan Government to Consider Solutions
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A team of Holland & Knight
lawyers led by Washington, D.C. partner Enrique Gomez-Pinzon is representing
the Coordinating Committee of Communities Affected by the Construction of the
Chixoy Dam (COCAHICH), an organization of 23 Maya Achi communities and
villages in what is now the most poverty stricken area of Guatemala.
The lawyers seek dignified solutions for
the communities and villages represented by COCAHICH, whose lands, culture and
peaceful way of life were destroyed in the mid-''70''s when the Guatemalan
government took their land to build the Chixoy Dam. The village of Rio Negro
resisted the government's attempts at forcible resettlement, following which the
village and those who supported the villagers were subjected to a series
of wholesale massacres which effectively silenced the protests for more than a
decade.
For the last 10 years, the communities affected
by the Chixoy Dam have begun to speak about the destruction wrought upon them as
a consequence of the dam, first to prove that the massacres did in fact occur.
With the most recent exhumation establishing that the most horrific of the
massacres – in which 170 women and children were murdered – had in fact
occurred, the communities turned their attention to proving the extreme level of
uncompensated damages suffered as a result of the dam.
The Chixoy Dam Legacy Issues Study
was commissioned by the communities and recently completed by Dr. Barbara Rose
Johnston, an anthropologist from the Center for Political Ecology in Santa Cruz,
California, with peer review by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS) and the American Anthropological Association (AAA). The study
took place over a two-year period and included review of primary documents,
community workshops, interviews, household surveys, a land title search and
other research methods. The study concluded that development of the dam took
place at the cost of land, life and livelihood, in violation of national and
international law, and that the project caused extreme poverty in communities
who formerly enjoyed a sustainable way of life.
Before the study was completed, the dire
conditions of the communities left them no recourse but to demonstrate en mass
to bring attention to their plight. The demonstration resulted in an agreement
between the communities and the government to form a commission for the purpose of determining the damages suffered by the communities. However, following the peaceful demonstration, the press in Guatemala reported that the communities were led by clandestine leaders with criminal records, and that the support of foreigners and the availability of such things as cameras, food and
transportation was highly suspicious. Shortly following this coverage, the
individuals who signed the agreement on behalf of the communities were arrested
and charged with various crimes allegedly associated with the demonstration.
The recent pro bono involvement by Holland & Knight lawyers on behalf of the Mayan communities resulted in swift action by the Guatemalan press, which issued a long overdue apology to the falsely maligned leaders, and expressed regret for the possibility that the false and prejudicial coverage might have contributed to the criminal charges.
Upon receipt of the Legacy Study earlier this
month, Dr. Frank LaRue, Director of the Presidential Human Rights Commission (COPREDEH)
in Guatemala, formally announced the formation of the Damages Verification
Commission and invited the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
to participate in the Commission. World Bank has already accepted the invitation
to participate and IDB is considering it.
"The recent formation of the Damages
Verification Commission is an important step toward the process of achieving
dignified solutions for the Maya Achi communities," said Enrique Gomez-Pinzon of
Holland & Knight. "Justice has been delayed far too long for the residents of
the dam-affected communities. We are pleased that the Guatemalan government has
recognized the legitimate concerns of our clients and has established a
commission to consider their claims in order to reach a just and equitable
settlement. We are gratified that World Bank will participate in the commission
and that IDB is in the process of considering participation as well."
The Chixoy Dam was constructed between 1975 and
1983 with financing from the World Bank and IDB. The project displaced some
3,445 Mayan people and negatively affected another 6,000 households in
surrounding communities.
Contact: Susan Berliner, (813) 769-4326