Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-15-Speech-4-216"
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"en.20070315.24.4-216"2
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".
Mr President, the human rights situation in Guatemala is frightening. Mr Czarnecki has referred to the specific case on the basis of which we are dealing with the subject today.
The situation in Guatemala is of course marked by the strong influence of social groups outside the political parties, especially the military and business. In some parts of the country, the Indian population in particular has little confidence in the state legal system. Human rights experts in Guatemala say that several thousand people are murdered every year, but only around 2% of cases are actually solved or lead to arrests.
Yesterday, a German citizen was shot dead in Guatemala. Trade unionists, like Pedro Zamora in Puerto Quetzal, or farmers’ leaders and their families were killed at the start of this year. Witnesses of murders or their legal representatives are threatened and attacked and their homes broken into.
If the security situation is to improve, there needs to be a political solution, not further arming of the security forces. That is why it is essential to note that these very ‘security forces’ are part of the problem in Guatemala. Now the European Union has announced that it intends to support these selfsame security forces and unfortunately also to continue backing an intensification of free trade. The response from thousands of people from Guatemala is relatively clear; we saw that when US President George W. Bush visited Guatemala. There were large demonstrations against his visit.
There is a free trade agreement between the USA and the countries of Central America, the CAFTA, and Bush told Guatemalan President Oscar Berger yesterday that it was advantageous for all sides. Bush also promised Guatemala further support in fighting organised crime, especially drug gangs. As in Brazil, Uruguay and Columbia, however, the first stops on Bush’s journey, the president’s visit was repeatedly accompanied by protests. It is good that it was. If the European Union follows the US policy example, that could therefore become highly problematical.
What is needed is not free trade and arms for the security forces but real steps to prevent poverty and an improvement in the legal situation of the majority of the population."@en1
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