www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / Americas

Guatemalan survivors recall horror of war in trial

Agencies | Updated: 2013-03-21 09:41

Guatemalan survivors recall horror of war in trial

Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt uses headphones in the Supreme Court of Justice to hear testimonies against him, during the second day of session of his trial in Guatemala City, March 20, 2013. Survivors of Guatemala's bloody civil war relived the massacre of relatives as they took the stand on Wednesday to testify against former dictator Montt, who is accused of allowing genocide during the 36-year conflict.[Photo/Agencies]

MEXICO CITY - Survivors of Guatemala's bloody civil war relived the massacre of relatives as they testified on Wednesday against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who is accused of overseeing genocide during the 36-year conflict.

Rios Montt, 86, the first ex-head of state to stand trial for crimes against humanity in his own country, was not prosecuted for years for alleged atrocities committed during his 1982-1983 rule because of his protected status as a congressman.

But after retiring last year, Rios Montt was ordered to face trial by a judge who found sufficient evidence linking him to the killing of more than 1,700 indigenous people in a counterinsurgency plan executed under his command.

On the second day of the landmark trial, civil war victims recounted horrific tales of watching their family members killed and their homes torched by soldiers.

"They came and they massacred my mother, my brother and my brother-in-law. They burned homes," said Tomas Chavez, 45, in tears as he recalled the November 1982 massacre in Nebaj in the northwestern state of Quiche.

Santiago Perez, described the murder of his son in July 1982 near the same village.

"We were at home with other people and a man came. He tied up (my son), putting a lasso around his neck and hung him. Then he took him out, pulled him and killed him. They shot him dead," Perez said. He fled to the woods and returned two weeks later to find his home and crops burned, his sheep killed.

Prosecutors allege Rios Montt turned a blind eye as soldiers used rape, torture and arson against leftist insurgents and targeted indigenous people in a "scorched earth" offensive that killed at least 1,771 members of the Mayan Ixil group.

The defense argues that Rios Montt did not control battlefield operations and that there was no genocide.

"It's not possible to prove these crimes. It's impossible at this moment to prove that there was a genocide in Guatemala and that is what we will prove," said Marco Antonio Cornejo, a lawyer for Rios Montt.

'POLARIZED SOCIETY'

Humans rights advocates and victims have described the trial as a sea change for Guatemala.

"It's a strong voice against impunity and a strong voice in favor of victims," said Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights activist Rigoberta Menchu, who attended the trial. "We hope that from now on, we (the indigenous people) are accepted by Guatemala's polarized society that carries with it the genocide of the past."

Roughly 200,000 civilians, most of them of Mayan descent, were killed during the 1960-1996 civil war as a string of right-wing governments attempted to rid Guatemala of leftist guerilla fighters.

Another 45,000 people disappeared.

A United Nations-backed truth commission report released after the 1996 peace accords found that the army and paramilitary groups were responsible for more than 90 percent of the hundreds of massacres carried out during the war.

Born in Huehuetenango, a province in Guatemala's rural western highlands dotted with indigenous communities, Rios Montt took power in March 1982 when he led a military coup that toppled President Angel Guevara.

He remained politically active after being overthrown in a coup in August 1983, serving in Guatemala's legislature and launching an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2003.

Genocide trials have been rare for ex-leaders in Latin America, which was scarred by bloody civil conflicts and repression. Charges were raised against Chilean ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet, but he died in 2006 before standing trial.

A three-judge panel must debate the evidence, then sentence or exonerate Rios Montt. A prosecutor has said that up to 130 victims and 75 experts are expected to testify during the trial, which could run several months.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 中国农村一级毛片 | 亚洲天堂影院在线观看 | aaa一级毛片 | 瑟瑟网站在线观看 | 亚洲一区二区在线 | 香蕉网影院在线观看免费 | 亚洲精品国产第一区第二区国 | 国产一级免费片 | 九九视频在线观看视频6 | 久久国产视频网站 | 99久久亚洲 | 久久久久一 | 99ri在线精品视频 | 精品9e精品视频在线观看 | 一级v片 | 一级片免 | a级片免费观看视频 | 国产男女免费视频 | 91极品尤物| 另类视频在线 | 亚洲综合91社区精品福利 | 欧美大片一区 | 国产成人综合在线 | 就草草在线观看视频 | 久久综合久久自在自线精品自 | 男人的天堂官网 | a一级毛片免费高清在线 | 亚欧美图片自偷自拍另类 | 免费一级 一片一毛片 | 午夜爱爱毛片xxxx视频免费看 | 国产禁女女网站免费看 | 国产手机在线小视频免费观看 | 在线观看亚洲视频 | 国产专区第一页 | 中文字幕在线观看一区 | 高清不卡毛片 | 国产精品欧美视频另类专区 | 久久综合精品不卡一区二区 | xoxoxoxo欧美性护士 | 欧美一级色| 狠狠se |