Guatemala: Community
Leader's Murder
Condemned
GUATEMALA - Guatemalan
social and human rights
organizations condemned
the assassination of
community leader Antonio
Morales, and called on
the government to
guarantee activists'
safety.
Morales was executed by
armed men in front of
his home in the city of
Colotenango, in the
northwestern department
of Huehuetenango.
The activist was a
member of the former
municipal government and
one of the main
organizers of the
popular referendum on
opencast mining, in
which local citizens
unanimously rejected the
exploitation of soils.
The Committee for
Farmers' Unity, of which
Morales was a member,
condemned the
assassination of the
Guatemalan leader, who
was an advocate of the
indigenous peoples'
human rights and their
natural resources.
The Human Rights Legal
Action Center (CALDH)
demanded that the Public
Ministry investigate the
case thoroughly and
punish those responsible
for Morales's
assassination.
According to a CALDH
communiqué, Morales had
denounced death threats
by armed groups that
operate in the region
but he received no
protection.
The State of Guatemala
must guarantee the life
and safety of those who
defend, protect and
promote human rights,
the CALDH said.
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