To the President of the Republic of Guatemala
Mr. Otto Pérez Molina
Palacio de Gobierno
Guatemala
We are
writing you because we have been informed by the Union of Banana Workers of
Izabal (SITRABI), an affiliate of our federation, of the tragic murder of
another one of their members, unionist Miguel Ángel González Ramírez, on
February 5, in the village of El Cedro, municipality of Morales, Izabal.
Deeply saddened, but
above all profoundly outraged, we are addressing you now to denounce and condemn
this vile murder, and to express our great concern for the safety of SITRABI
leaders and members.
Our
concern stems from the escalating wave of violence against this trade union and
the workers it represents.
Several
workers and leaders of SITRABI have been killed in the last ten months:
Oscar Humberto González Vásquez (April 10, 2011); Idar Joel Hernández
Godoy (May 26, 2011); Henry Aníbal Marroquín Orellana (September 24,
2011); Pablino Yaque Cervantes (October 16, 2011); and now Miguel
Ángel González Ramírez, the latest name added to this macabre list.
These
serious crimes reveal a situation of extreme repression and persecution against
SITRABI, aggravated by your government’s recent decision to remove the
security guards appointed to protect the general secretary of the union, Noé
Ramírez Portela.
We
believe that if you persist in your decision to remove Ramírez’
protection you will be putting his life seriously at risk and your government
will be solely responsible for anything that may happen to him.
Thus, we demand
effective protection for SITRABI’s leaders and members, and that security
guards be reappointed to its general secretary, and at the same time call for an
in-depth investigation of these crimes and for the direct perpetrators of the
murders and those who ordered them to be punished with the full force of the
law.
We will
remain alert and will closely monitor the investigation of the murder of
Miguel Ángel González Ramírez and the other slain members of SITRABI,
an organization that has our firm support and is backed by international
solidarity.
Gerardo
Iglesias
IUF Latin
American Regional Secretary
Panama City, February 24, 2012
