By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
May 14 --
Monday's first
UN press
conference had
an
apocalyptic
sound: "Launch
of B'aktun,
the beginning
of a new
era in the
Mayan
Culture."
But in fact it
was mostly
tourism,
with posters
hastily set up
and a pitch by
the head of
the Guatemalan
Tourist
Commission,
Pedro Duchez.
When
the time for
questions came
there was a
lull, despite
at least a
half dozen
reporters in
the room.
Outside
brightly
colored swag
bags were
being
handed out.
Was this for
travel
writers?
As
the second
question,
Inner City
Press asked
about the
treatment of
the
indigenous in
Guatemala,
specifically
under the
Mining Law,
and mass
evictions
including of
the "Nueva
Esperanza"
community,
ostensibly for
drug ties,
rendering over
100 children
homeless.
Carlos
Batzín,
the Minister
of Culture of
Guatemala, is
the one who
took this
question,
saying that
the country is
trying to do
better,
signing
three pacts
including on
finance,
justice and
transparency.
He
referred to "entidades
financieras"
and it was
unclear if
this meant,
for example,
the
International
Monetary Fund
or high-cost
lenders like
Grupo Elektra
/ Banco
Azteca. Is
there
predatory
lending in
Guatemala and
Central
America? It is
something
into which we
are looking.
The press
conference
took place as
the second
week of the
annual meeting
of the
Permanent
Forum on
Indigenous
Issues at the
UN - click
here for last
week's round
up by
Inner City
Press.
Guatemala's
record
on the
indigenous was
reviewed at
the UN in
March by the Human
Rights
Committee, in
a largely
empty
conference
room in the
Temporary
North Lawn
Building.
(Click here
for Inner City
Press' story
on the
session.)
At
that time, one
expert spoke
of the
Guatemalan
"Government's
systematic
violation of
indigenous
peoples'
rights to
land."
Will this
improve in the
new B'ak'tun?
We hope so.
Surprisingly,
the most
recent reports
on Guatemala
on the web
site of Human
Rights Watch
is
from 2007. But
even the
Guatemalan
minister, to
his credit,
admits
that there are
issues. Watch
this site.
