Sunday, May 4, 2014

A year after genocide trial, has justice been done?

Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt, rose to power in 1982, and was overthrown 18 months later. In May 2013, he was found of guilty of genocide that had taken place in the 1980s. Montt supposedly allowed more than 1,700 massacres of indigenous Mayans to occur. This conviction, however, only lasted ten days. There have been over 70 motions and appeals for this decision, and the Guatemalan Constitutional Court has ordered a retrial in 2015.  Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz has been asked to step down from her position, and the judge on the case, Yassmin Barrios has been suspended due to an ethics violation. It is believed that these two women were influential for the ten day conviction and this is a form of retaliation for it. Some elites in Guatemala deny that the genocide even took place, and it seems to be a common thought their justice system is weak, and not doing it's job properly.

Here is the link to the full article.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/03/world/americas/guatemala-genocide-trial-anniversary/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

-Reyna Herrera

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