Taking Note
MF
Freedom of the Press EARLY ON ThE MORNING OF JUNE 10, THE offices of Guatemala's weekly La Epoca were firebombed. Twenty armed men carried off files and equipment before destroying the place....
...MF MAY/JUNE 1988 3 Freedom of the Press EARLY ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 10, THE offices of Guatemala's weekly La Epoca were firebombed...
...The young officers, more concerned with defeating guerrillas than with administering the state, don't appreciate the need to impress the U.S...
...Gramajo's authority was seriously undercut...
...Following weeks of rumors and a number of threats by a clandestine organization of young field officers, the garrisons of Retahuleu and Jutiapa marched on the capital May 11, in the first of many coup attempts to actually materialize...
...They were received at the airport by a crowd of wellwishers and about 400 armed police...
...Guatemala's press is again confined to rightwing muckraking and army propaganda...
...They were received at the airport by a crowd of wellwishers and about 400 armed police...
...Congress with their democratic vocation...
...He called on the real patriots in the army to stand up for their country...
...The office of the Soviet news agency TASS and the home of its correspondent were bombed May 18...
...I N WASHINGTON, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC Senators responded by adding $4 million onto the Administration's request for military aid...
...The political opening offered by the army in 1986, after murdering at least 10,000 people and proclaiming victory over the guerrillas, gave Barrera and others an opportunity to return...
...These liberals believe, apparently, that throwing money at so-called moderates in the military will promote democracy, forgetting that those who pay the piper don't always call the tune...
...The office of the Soviet news agency TASS and the home of its correspondent were bombed May 18...
...A 24-page tabloid, La Epoca began publication in February of this year, covering real issues and arguing intelligently and unabashedly that the Left must be included in Guatemala's political scene...
...Both TASS and the Cuban agency Prensa Latina were shut down and their correspondents summarily deported...
...Byron Barrera is back in Mexico...
...A 24-page tabloid, La Epoca began publication in February of this year, covering real issues and arguing intelligently and unabashedly that the Left must be included in Guatemala's political scene...
...Guatemala's principal lobbyist on Capitol Hill is a Washington lawyer named Paul Reichler, none other than the chief advisor to the Sandinista government in its talks with the contras...
...Some of them did...
...Mario David Garcia, director of a television news program and ex-presidential candidate, angrily fchallenged defense minister Gen...
...Politicians of all stripes expressed support, believing that the return of the Left would strengthen civilian rule...
...Not everyone agreed...
...O N APRIL 18, FOUR PROMINENT MEMBERS of the political opposition visited Guatemala to test the waters for a more permanent end to their exile...
...Congress with their democratic vocation...
...Hector Gramajo for besmirching the army's honor by allowing the enemy to return...
...ON APRIL 18, FOUR PROMINENT MEMBERS of the political opposition visited Guatemala to test the waters for a more permanent end to their exile...
...Byron Barrera believes the June rebellion succeeded, even though it was put down without bloodshed...
...Its director, Byron Barrera, had been forced out in 1980 for reporting what every- one knew, that in remote Quiche province the Guatemalan army was massacring Indian peasants by the thousand...
...Two of the four, Rigoberta Menchil and Rolando Castillo, were placed under arrest, but released a few hours later, following a spontaneous demonstration by students and human rights activists...
...Both TASS and the Cuban agency Prensa Latina were shut down and their correspondents summarily deported...
...Then, as now, there were no official censors, no laws limiting press freedom only the bomb in the office or the bullet in the temple to advise when something too close to the truth had been published...
...La Epoca was not the only pride of Guatemalan "democracy" lost in its wake...
...Perhaps a different kind of message from Democratic liberals in Washington would allow him to return home soon...
...The body count, hovering at about 150 political killings a month since Cerezo took office, is expected to rise...
...The political opening offered by the army in 1986, after murdering at least 10,000 people and proclaiming victory over the guerrillas, gave Barrera and others an opportunity to return...
...The body count, hovering at about 150 political killings a month since Cerezo took office, is expected to rise...
...They believe that by turning Clausewitz on his head-politics is just a continuation of war by other means-they can more effectively reconquer their country for the long haul...
...Byron Barrera believes the June rebellion succeeded, even though it was put down without bloodshed...
...He was found in a park the following day, drugged and beaten, but alive...
...During the week the exiles remained in Guatemala, their activities were openly covered by the press...
...Then, as now, there were no official censors, no laws limiting press freedom-only the bomb in the office or the bullet in the temple to advise when something too close to the truth had been published...
...Inouye leading the way, these erstwhile freedom-of-thepress junkies have offered the brass $9 million plus some $137 million in economic aid, including $80 million cash, much of which goes to swell the army's coffers...
...Some of them did...
...Two weeks previous, reporter Julio Godoy was kidnapped at gunpoint and "disappeared...
...These liberals believe, apparently, that throwing money at so-called moderates in the military will promote democracy, forgetting that those who pay the piper don't always call the tune...
...Close surveillance and death threats followed, forcing the paper's director and editor in chief to give up their plans and return to the exile they had ended only two years ago...
...Not everyone agreed...
...Inouye leading the way, these erstwhile freedom-of-thepress junkies have offered the brass $9 million plus some $137 million in economic aid, including $80 million cash, much of which goes to swell the army's coffers...
...Mario David Garcia, director of a television news program and ex-presidential candidate, angrily challenged defense minister Gen...
...With Sen...
...He called on the real patriots in the army to stand up for their country...
...He was found in a park the following day, drugged and beaten, but alive...
...Close surveillance and death threats followed, forcing the paper's director and editor in chief to give up their plans and return to the exile they had ended only two years ago...
...SN WASHINGTON, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC Senators responded by adding $4 million onto the Administration's request for military aid...
...The old guard in power, while hardly liberal, does need to worry about tax policy, securing foreign aid, and other thorny questions of governing, even in an autocracy...
...Its director, Byron Barrera, had been forced out in 1980 for reporting what everyone knew, that in remote Quich6 province the Guatemalan army was massacring Indian peasants by the thousand...
...Following weeks of rumors and a number of threats by a clandestine organization of young field officers, the garrisons of Retahuleu and Jutiapa marched on the capital May 11, in the first of many coup attempts to actually materialize...
...And Gramajo, like George Bush, could only be termed a moderate among the far-right company he keeps...
...President Vinicio Cerezo refused to guarantee the exiles' safety and clearly preferred that they not return...
...President Vinicio Cerezo refused to guarantee the exiles' safety and clearly preferred that they not return...
...Cerezo's was quashed altogether...
...Politicians of all stripes expressed support, believing that the return of the Left would strengthen civilian rule...
...Byron Barrera is back in Mexico...
...Guatemala's principal lobbyist on Capitol Hill is a Washington lawyer named Paul Reichler, none other than the chief advisor to the Sandinista government in its talks with the contras...
...Cerezo's was quashed altogether...
...Perhaps a different kind of message from Democratic liberals in Washington would allow him to return home soon...
...After the bombing, the newspaper's staff had the audacity to announce they would continue publication...
...La Epoca was a unique phenomenon in recent Guatemalan history, its mere existence providing real evidence of freedoms formally restored by the end of overt military rule in 1986...
...And Gramajo, like George Bush, could only be termed a moderate among the far-right company he keeps...
...Guatemala's press is again confined to rightwing muckraking and army propaganda...
...La Epoca was a unique phenomenon in recent Guatemalan history, its mere existence providing real evidence of freedoms formally restored by the end of overt military rule in 1986...
...Two of the four, Rigoberta Menchdt and Rolando Castillo, were placed under arrest, but released a few hours later, following a spontaneous demonstration by students and human rights activists...
...The young officers, more concerned with defeating guerrillas than with administering the state, don't appreciate the need to impress the U.S...
...Two weeks previous, reporter Julio Godoy was kidnapped at gun- point and "disappeared...
...La Epoca was not the only pride of Guatemalan "democracy" lost in its wake...
...With Sen...
...The old guard in power, while hardly liberal, does need to worry about tax policy, securing foreign aid, and other thorny questions of governing, even in an autocracy...
...Hector Gramajo for besmirching the army's honor by allowing the enemy to return...
...After the bombing, the newspaper's staff had the audacity to announce they would continue publication...
...During the week the exiles remained in Guatemala, their activities were openly covered by the press...
...They believe that by turning Clausewitz on his head politics is just a continuation of war by other means they can more effectively reconquer their country for the long haul...
...Gramajo's authority was seriously undercut...
Vol. 22 • May 1988 • No. 3
