Hi all,

Please send letters asap.

Essential accents for this email version:

/ over the 'a' in Vasquez

/ over the first 'e' in Jimenez (the Ambassador)

PUBLIC

AI Index: AMR 34/016/2005

05 April 2005

UA 80/05

Fear for safety/ death threats

GUATEMALA

Carlos Humberto Guarquez (m), staff member of the Fundacion
Maya, (FUNDAMAYA), Maya Foundation

Alfonso Guarquez (m), journalist, his brother

Dominga Vasquez (f), local mayor, FUNDAMAYA member and wife
of Alfonso Guarquez

Carlos Humberto Guarquez, prominent member of indigenous
rights group the Fundacion Maya (FUNDAMAYA), Maya
Foundation, local mayor Dominga Vasquez and her husband
journalist Alfonso Guarquez, have received death threats in
an apparent effort to intimidate them into stopping their
opposition to expansion of mining in the local area. Their
lives are in serious danger.

On 25 March at about 11.45pm, villagers in Tablon near the
town of Solola in western Guatemala alerted the police to a
burning vehicle, which had been doused in petrol before
being set alight. The vehicle belonged to FUNDAMAYA and was
used by one of the organization's staff, Carlos Humberto
Guarquez. Five written death threats directed at Carlos
Humberto Guarquez were found around the burning vehicle.
One threat stated: 'The same will happen to you Mr Carlos
Humberto for interfering in these stupid social issues,
tomorrow will be your day to disappear from this world.
Every pig eventually gets slaughtered, also Ms. Dominga
[Vasquez] and her husband Alfonso Guarquez'.('eso te pasa
Senor Carlos Humberto por estar metido en babosadas de la
sociedad, manana llegara tu dia de desaparecer en este
mundo, a todo coche [cuche] se le llega su sabado, tambien
a la Senora Dominga y su esposo Alfonso Guarquez').

Carlos Humberto Guarquez, Dominga Vasquez and Alfonso
Guarquez are among five indigenous people who have been
accused of inciting a protest on 11 January, against the
transportation of equipment belonging to mining company
Montana Exploradora (a subsidiary of the Canadian-US firm
Glamis Gold), which owns two gold mining projects in
Guatemala. The local governor for the department of Solola
presented a complaint to the local Prosecutor's Office
which then filed criminal charges against them in relation
to the protest, and is continuing its investigations.

FUNDAMAYA forms part of the recently created coalition
Frente Nacional contra la Mineria, National Front against
Mining, which campaigns to raise awareness of the potential
environmental damage caused by mining and the negative
impact on indigenous communities living close to mines.
Carlos Humberto Guarquez is FUNDAMAYA's representative to
the coalition.

Dominga Vasquez received an anonymous threat by telephone
on 5 January, after speaking out against mining in the
area. The caller told her that she would 'suffer the
consequences for having led [this] ?and be careful with
what will happen to you' (que debia atenerse a las
consecuencias por haber encabezado [esto]?ten cuidado con
lo que te puede pasar). The threats have been reported to
the national police, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the
Human Rights Ombudsman and the Presidential Commission of
the Office of Human Rights (COPREDEH). Her husband Alfonso
Guarquez, who is also the brother of Carlos Humberto
Guarquez, is a journalist for the national information
service Cerigua and has reported on local opposition to
mining.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send personally-worded appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible, in Spanish or your own language:

- expressing concern for the safety of Dominga Vasquez,
Alfonso Guarquez and Carlos Humberto Guarquez, after they
received a death threat on 25 March;
- calling on the authorities to take immediate measures, in
accordance with the wishes of those concerned, to guarantee
their safety;
- calling for an immediate and thorough investigation into
the death threats, for the results to be made public and
for those responsible to be brought to justice;
- urging the authorities to ensure that any criminal
investigation against indigenous leaders involved in
opposition to local mining comply with domestic and
international standards regarding fair trials;
- reminding the authorities of their obligations to respect
the principle of free, prior and informed consent of
communities to be affected by development projects, as
stated under the International Labour Organization (ILO)
Convention I69, ratified by Guatemala in 1996;

APPEALS TO:

Vice President of Guatemala:
Eduardo Stein Barillas
Vicepresidente de la Republica de Guatemala
Casa Presidencial, 6a.Avenida 4-18 zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax: + 502 2253 0801
Salutation: Estimado Senor Vicepresidente/Dear Sir

Attorney General:
Juan Luis Florido
Fiscal General
8a. Avenida 10-67, Zona 1, Antiguo Edificio del Banco de
los Trabajadores
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax: + 502 2251 2218
Salutation: Estimado Fiscal General/Dear Sir

Presidential Commission for Human Rights:
Comision Presidencial de Derechos Humanos (COPREDEH)
Frank La Rue, 13 Calle 15-33 Zona 13, Ciudad de Guatemala,
Guatemala
Fax: + 502 2334 1615
Email: copredeh@copredeh.gob.gt
Salutation: Senor Licenciado/Dear Sir

COPIES TO:

Glamis Gold Mining company
310-5190 Neil Road, Reno, NV, USA 89502
Fax: (775) 827 5044
Email: info@glamis.com

Glamis Gold's Subsidiary in Guatemala:
Montana Exploradora de Guatemala, S.A.
20 Calle 24-60 Zona 10, Ofibodegas Pradera
Oficina No. 20, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Fax: + 502 2385 6651

Guatemalan Ambassador to Canada:
His Excellency Carlos Humberto Jimenez Licona
Ambassador for the Republic of Guatemala
130 Albert Street, Suite 1010
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4
Fax: (613) 233-0135
Email: embassy1@embaguate-canada.com

THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING WITHOUT DELAY TO THIS APPEAL.

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"We offer our gratitude and respect to the UA Network. Your
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no longer alone, we're surrounded by people who want to help."
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Marilyn McKim & Sara Bryant, Urgent Action Coordinators
Amnesty International Canada
56 Temperance Street, 8th floor, Toronto, Canada M5H 3V5
416 363 9933 ext 25 / 416 363 3103 Fax
http://www.amnesty.ca/urgentaction