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Guatemala Ex President Linked
with Massacres
A classified Army document
titled "Sofia Plan" links ex
dictator Efrain Rios Montt to
several massacres committed in
the country.
The text, revealed by local
press over the weekend, was
written in July 1982 and
contains operation plans carried
out by army officials in
northwestern Guatemala until
Sept that year, when Rios Montt
became head of Government in the
wake of a coup d'Etat.
According to Prensa Libre Sunday
edition, the Sofia Plan included
the specific order to "prevent
the guerrillas from reaching
civil population, which funds
them and hide them."
The document adds that
"subversion has raised awareness
in the inhabitants of the area
and it is difficult to get the
information needed."
As a result of these orders, the
Army committed several massacres
in Quiche and Huehuetenango,
where they killed thousands of
people, including men, women and
children.
According to the daily, the
Sofia Plan has been in the hands
of the General Attorney's Office
for some time now, but it has so
far refused to summon Rios Montt
and his highest ranking officers
for interrogation.
March 23 will mark 25 years
since Rios Montt assumed power
by a coup till Aug 8, 1983, in
what has been considered as the
bloodiest period in the
country's armed conflict.
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