Group to investigate Zamora murder progress

Group arrives in Guatemala to investigate Zamora murder progress

An international mission will arrive in Guatemala on Monday 23 July to put pressure on its government to identify the murderers of trade union leader Pedro Zamora, who was gunned down on 15 January this year.

This latest ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation)-organised group will follow a similar delegation sent shortly after the murder to demand justice and offer protection to other members of the STEPQ dockers’ union in Puerto Quetzal, who were receiving the same death threats that had preceded the shooting of Zamora. (Their report and a short film of their mission can be seen at http://www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/zamora.cfm,).

As part of this ongoing campaign to protect and seek justice they will meet with the country’s senior politicians, human rights officials and police. And, of course, with Pedro Zamora’s family, friends and colleagues. (See itinerary below).They will again press for an end to impunity, for the naming of who gave the order for the murder, and seek to protect the threatened union leaders.

Two press conferences will be held, one in Puerto Quetzal and one at the Guatemalan Congress in Guatemala City. For all those outside the country the delegation members are also available by phone throughout the visit.

First press conference: at 14:00 on 23 July at STEPQ headquarters, Kilómetro 111 Carretera Puerto San José - Iztapa, Escuintla, Guatemala

Second press conference: at 10:00 on 25 July in the press room, Congreso de la Republica de Guatemala, Quinta Legislatura, 2004 – 2008, 9ª Avenida 9-44 Zona 1, Guatemala City.

The group includes senior ITF officials, trade unionists and human rights workers from Guatemala, the USA, UK, Brazil and Spain. (See list below).

David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary, commented: “The struggle for justice continues. The people who ordered and carried out the gunning down of Pedro Zamora in front of his children are literally getting away with murder. We don’t intend to allow that.”

“Since the murder and the threats against the union we’ve managed to put the spotlight on what’s going on in Guatemala and have won important victories there and abroad. But the intimidation is still bubbling just under the surface and murderers are still walking free. Until both those situations are remedied our campaign – of which this visit is the latest step – continues.”

Since the execution-style killing the ITF and ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation) – working on behalf of and with the STEPQ union and Pedro Zamora’s family – have achieved the following:

After joint ITF/ETF/ITUC lobbying of the European Parliament, including bringing Oscar Gonzalez, another of the threatened STEPQ leaders to address them, the Parliament passed a resolution denouncing human rights abuses in Guatemala and the murder of Zamora. The Parliament also sent a human rights delegation to the country to investigate further and then went on to hold a hearing in Brussels to which STEPQ members were invited. (The European Union supplies a significant share of the budget for improving justice and security under the Guatemalan government's 'Vamos Guatemala' development programme and is a major donor to other elements of the initiative on human rights, the peace process, and dialogue and democracy.)

The campaign also won the reinstatement of nine sacked workers at Puerto Quetzal whose return to work Pedro Zamora had been championing and which is believed to have been one of the factors leading to his murder being ordered.

An assurance from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) that it will not give money to projects in the Guatemalan port of Quetzal until it has investigated allegations of human rights abuses.

The World Bank team in Guatemala have recognised the benefits of involving STEPQ in any further talks on port restructuring and assured the union that they will raise the issue with the Government. Modernisation of the port is a condition of the Bank’s loans to Guatemala.

The suspension by the Government of plans to construct a new port terminal at Puerto Quetzal.

ENDS

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