August 12th, 1997
MORE VIOLENCE IN GUATEMALA..... URGENT - ACTION REQUIRED
-- 16 year old street boy Engelber Armando López González was shot in
the arm at almost point blank range with a 16 gauge shotgun by a
private policeman guarding a pizza restaurant in Zone 1 of Guatemala
City on June 15th, 1997. It is more than likely that the boy will
loose his right arm.
At approximately 2 p.m., Engelber was asking customers leaving the "El
Macarrone" restaurant for food. He was told by the private policeman
outside the restaurant to move on, despite the boy's being in a public
street. For reasons of hunger, the boy refused. The policeman, who
works under the registration of the Ministry of the Interior
(Gobernación), started getting angry and told the boy he had "the face
of a thief". The private policeman crossed the street to where a
colleague was guarding a gasoline station and they both returned and
started kicking Engelber and hitting him with the butt of their
shotguns.
Several members of the public watched what was going on and, because
of Engelber's dirty appearance, they encouraged the policemen to hit
him harder. Another street boy known as "Chiqui" came to stop the
policemen from hitting his friend, and the two private policemen
threatened to kill them both. One of the private policemen, who was
furious, at almost point blank range, fired his shotgun, hitting
Engelber in the upper right arm, shattering his bones. The boy
screamed and then fainted. The private policemen ran off and left
Chiqui to call an ambulance. Engelber was taken to the San Juan de
Dios hospital where he underwent an emergency operation.
The Guatemalan authorities have not investigated this shooting during
the past 6 weeks nor did the private policemen inform the National
Police of the shooting as they are required to do by law.
-- Street youth José Reyes Siqui (22) was shot in the abdomen
yesterday afternoon (August 11th, 1997) in Amate Park in the central
area of Guatemala City by a worker on a bus on the 18th street to
Ciudad Real route of Guatemala City. The motive of the shooting is
unclear. José, who has been the victim of torture by the National
Police in the past, is fighting for his life in the San Juan de Dios
hospital after having been operated on to retrieve the bullet.
ACTION REQUIRED:
PLEASE send a polite message (in Spanish if possible, if not English
is fine) to the addresses below, insisting that:
- the Guatemalan authorities fully investigate both shootings of the
street youth Engelber and Jose - they formally accuse the
perpetrators of grievous bodily harm and bring them to justice
Please send your messages to:
The President of Guatemala , Alvaro Arzu
Guatemalan Embassies
Newspapers
And a copy to THANK YOU AS EVER FOR YOUR
HELP. PLEASE DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPACT OF YOUR MESSAGES....
Bruce Harris
Executive Director
Latin American Programmes
