omeone killed, even if it wasn’t justified, and then doesn’t reveal where the burial is located. After researching Guatemala, I found that this is still true. Many people have been killed during the Civil War and people today are trying to find out where they are. The government doesn’t investigate into these matters thoroughly and tries to scare people away from investigating these crimes.The people of Guatemala feel that it is not enough for the government to say, “I’m sorry.” They want to have the appropriate judicial investigations, punishing those responsible and to provide them with compensation. They feel that that government should support the efforts that are being made to exhume victims from clandestine cemeteries used by the army during the conflict. Under the Peace Agreements of 1996, the government committed itself to adopting measures beneficial to national peace and harmony, preserve the memory of the victims, promote a culture of respect for human rights, and strengthen the democratic process. Yet the government has failed to follow through with it’s commitments. (Amnesty International, 1998).The military commissioners have acted as local agents of the army since the 1930s. They have been responsible for enforced military recruitment, providing information to the army and eliminating suspected political opponents. They have been tied to numerous cases of human rights violations such as the murder of Presbyterian pastor Manuel Sasquic Vsquez in June 1995. Vsquez’s body was found at an unmarked grave on July 7,1995. His throat had been slit and he had thirty-three stab wounds. He was the coordinator of a Kaqchikel Maya Human Rights Committee. Residents say that he was killed in retaliation for his human rights work and because he was the sole witness to the previous short-term abduction of another member of the Human rights Committee in Panabajal. The authoriti...
