Guatemala: Assasination of trade union leader

                                            GTM 001 / 9901 / OBS 003
                                                      Assassination 
                                                           Guatemala
                                                     20 January 1999

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH 
and OMCT venture, requests your URGENT intervention in the 
following situation in Guatemala.

Brief description of the Situation :

The Observatory has been informed of the assassination on the 12th of 
January of the Trade Union leader  Robinson Manolo Morales Canales, a 
member of the Executive Council of the Workers Union in the 
municipality of Zacapa.

According to information from the Comision Latinamericana por les 
Derechos y Libertades de los Trabajadores y los Pueblos - CLADEHLT, 
a member of the OMCT network, and equally from the Organizacion 
Regional Interamericana de Trabajadores (ORIT), Mr Robinson Manolo 
Morales Canales was killed by non identified armed men on the 12th 
January at 17 :30 in the municipality of  Zacapa.

Mr Robinson Manolo Morales Canales was known for his denunciations 
of violations of trade union freedoms and of the corruption of the local 
government of the Municipality. Just before his death he participated, by 
telephone, in a radio debate with the Mayor of  Zacapa (Mr Carlos 
Roberto Vargas y Vargas). During the debate he repeated his 
condemnation of the corruption of the Mayor on the basis of evidence 
established by his trade union .

The Observatory recalls the killings of  Mr Rolando Duarte and Mr José 
Alfredo Chacon Ramirez, members of the Union of the Municipality of 
Zacapa, in 1998,  who also attacked corruption in the region. To date the 
responsibility for their killings remains a question. 

Action Requested :

Please write to the authorities of Argentina urging them to :

i	immediately set up an impartial enquiry into the death of Mr 
Robinson Manolo Morales Canales, to identify those responsible and 
behind the killing and sanction them in accordance with the laws in 
vigour ;

ii	urgently  take the necessary measures to guarantee human rights 
organisations the appropriate conditions for the free exercise of their 
activities in defence of Human rights and fundamental freedoms ;

iii. 	abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of 
Human Rights Defenders adopted on the 9th of December 1998, by the 
U.N. General Assembly ("Declaration on the right and responsibility of 
individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect 
universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms"), 
particularly, Article 1 which mandates that "[e]veryone has the right, 
individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for 
the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms 
at the national and international levels". 

iv. 	more generally abide by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights 
and Covenants and Conventions ratified by the Democratic Republic of 
Congo, as well as international human rights standards. 

Addresses :

S.E. Alvaro Arzu Irigoyen, Presidente de la República de Guatemala, 
Palacio Nacional, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 2214537 E-mail : 
alvaroarzu@guateconnect.com 
Lic. Rodolfo Mendoza, Ministro de Gobernación, Ministerio de 
Gobernación, Palacio Nacional, 6 Calle y 7 Avenida, Guatemala, 
Guatemala. Fax : + 502 251 5368 
Lic. Julio Eduardo Arango Escobar, Procurador de Derechos Humanos, 
12 Avenida 12-72, Zona 1, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 2381734 -Lic 
Oscar Najarro Ponce, Presidente de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, Corte 
Suprema, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala.  Fax : (+ 502) 232 66 26 -Lic. 
Adolfo González Rodas, Fiscalía General, Ministerio Público, 6 Av 3-11, 
Zona 4, Guatemala. Guatemala. Fax : (+ 502) 331 55 49 - 

Diplomatic representation in your country.

Geneva - Paris, 20th January 1999

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.