In the army hands: violence and post war in guatemala

The fratricide war among sectors of the Mayan population in Guatemala (1962-1996) and permanent militarization has left sequels printed in the social tissue. In this research that includes the field work for Comisión de la Verdad, supported by the United Nations (1997-1998), I witnessed the destruction of confidence and solidarity ties, key components in the support of communal identity. My study intends to show how persistent militarization makes the most impoverished sectors from the rural population turns to the army as the guardian of their communities.La guerra muchas veces de carácter fraticida entre sectores de la población maya en Guatemala (1962-1996) ha dejado secuelas impresas en el tejido social. En mi investigación, que incluye el trabajo de campo para la Comisión de la Verdad auspiciada por las Naciones Unidas en ese país (1997-1998), fui testiga de la destrucción de lazos de confianza y solidaridad, componentes clave en el soporte de la identidad comunal indígena. Mi estudio muestra cómo la persistente militarización produce que los sectores más empobrecidos de la población rural busquen al Ejército, como guardián de sus comunidades

Impossible Memory and Post-Colonial Silences: A Critical View of the Historical Clarification Commission (CEH) or Truth Commission in Guatemala

While truth commissions help break the silence over the past, they do so with limited effects. As in other Latin American countries, the Truth Commission in Guatemala was the non-judicial, transitional justice mechanism the state adopted to address the war’s mass violence (1962–1996) and its legacy. The 1994 Oslo Agreement, signed by the government and the left wing guerrillas known as the National Guatemalan Revolutionary Unity (URNG), established the legal mandate of the United Nations’ Historical Clarification Commission (CEH in Spanish). Without having the capacity to prosecute, the Commission’s main goal was to compile the country’s official record by piecing together its history of war atrocities. The mandate called for everyone who had knowledge about killings, forced disappearances or torture during the war, regardless of their role, to tell their war stories to prevent the past from repeating itself. Eventually, it was assumed, the record would contribute to challenging the State’s widespread impunity and to achieving justice. Yet, it was told primarily by victims, leaving behind a legacy of collective silences, as I suggest in this brief essay

Casi La Verdad: Silencios Y Secretos En La Posdictadura Del General Augusto Pinochet En Chile.

Ourstudy, AlmosttheTruth: Silences and Secrets in General Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile, examines intelligentsia, militaryand civilian staff's judicial testimonies, accused of participating in crimes committed during the Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship (1973-1990). Our aim is to interrogate the social role played by this silence influenced, we argue, by a persisting military culture. In these confessions, we identify subordination to the Armed Forces and not the acknowledgement for responsibilities for the crimes committed

In the army hands: violence and post war in guatemala

The fratricide war among sectors of the Mayan population in Guatemala (1962-1996) and permanent militarization has left sequels printed in the social tissue. In this research that includes the field work for Comisión de la Verdad, supported by the United Nations (1997-1998), I witnessed the destruction of confidence and solidarity ties, key components in the support of communal identity. My study intends to show how persistent militarization makes the most impoverished sectors from the rural population turns to the army as the guardian of their communities.La guerra muchas veces de carácter fraticida entre sectores de la población maya en Guatemala (1962-1996) ha dejado secuelas impresas en el tejido social. En mi investigación, que incluye el trabajo de campo para la Comisión de la Verdad auspiciada por las Naciones Unidas en ese país (1997-1998), fui testiga de la destrucción de lazos de confianza y solidaridad, componentes clave en el soporte de la identidad comunal indígena. Mi estudio muestra cómo la persistente militarización produce que los sectores más empobrecidos de la población rural busquen al Ejército, como guardián de sus comunidades