Guatemala: Human Rights (Hansard, 2 April 1990)

§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Brabazon of Tara)
My Lords, the Government have on a number of occasions made representations to the Government of Guatemala, sometimes alone and sometimes in concert with our European partners, urging effective action to ensure respect for human rights and to bring to justice the perpetrators of violations. Most recently my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised our anxieties when he met the Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Señ or Ariel Rivera, on 19th February in London.

§ Baroness Ewart-Biggs
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. However, in view of the seriously deteriorating situation in Guatemala, the reports that the Guatemalan president is no longer in control, and that assassinations have been carried out by police and military squads, can the Minister say whether there is any hope of negotiations between the government and the opposition— the URNG? Will the Minister also say whether the Government will give assistance to the committee of the national reconciliation dialogue which was set up in Guatemala?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, we welcome reports that the URNG and the national reconciliation commission have met in Oslo, and we hope that the dialogue will continue. I gather that that took place at the weekend so, as yet, I have no reports on the progress made. We have contributed £ 5,000 to the national dialogue which was set up to achieve national reconciliation. That includes opposition and human rights groups.

§ Lord Rea
My Lords, will Her Majesty's Government back up as much as they can the action of the United States? It is now also concerned with the human rights situation in Guatemala to the extent that recently it withdrew its ambassador, Mr. Stroock, for discussions. The United States has shown recently that it is able to impose its will on nations in central America. I hope that in this case Her Majesty's Government will be encouraged to do the right thing and see that the rule of law rather than military force prevails in Guatemala.

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, with our partners we shall regularly make clear our anxieties to the authorities in Guatemala. We, like the UN special expert, do not believe that the Government are responsible for abuses, or that they encourage or condone violations. The problem is rather ineffectiveness in dealing with violations.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, will the noble Lord address himself specifically to the case of Hector Oqueli? He was very well known in this country and internationally as the international representative of the main opposition party— the MNR. He was abducted and murdered in January of this year. Will the Government consider offering to the Guatemalan Government the use of Scotland Yard, as they have done in other instances of this kind, in order to hunt out the perpetrator of that crime?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, the killing of Hector Oqueli and Gilda Flores on 12th January was a cause for very grave concern. With our EC partners we issued a statement on 18th January condemning the murders. We hope that the present investigation will lead to prosecutions. I shall pass on to my right honourable friend the idea of Scotland Yard detectives assisting in the matter.

§ Lord Williams of Elvel
My Lords, can the noble Lord tell the House whether the Government have any information about the scale of assassinations taking place in Guatemala? Are any figures available? Secondly, are the Government prepared to consider— and would it be a good idea— trying to persuade our European partners together with the United States to make a joint initiative to the Guatemalan Government?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, I do not have up-to-date Figures on the scale of the killings. I know that at one stage they were running at 400 per month, but that was some years ago. By 1988 they had decreased to one-fifth of that level, and there was general acknowledgement that the human rights situation had shown a marked improvement during President Cerezo's first two years. But the past two years have seen a deterioration, and especially so over the past 12 months. I do not have precise figures available. As I said earlier, with our EC partners and the United States we have regularly made clear our anxieties to the authorities in Guatemala.