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Article Excerpt
The Guatemalan Army's modernizing program is being hijacked by US interests, according to recent reports. The US wants the Army to focus on internal security, as it did during the 36-year civil war. The specter of such a policy reversal has kindled fear in many quarters of the return of repression, crimes against humanity, and a militarized society, all in the service of the US war on terrorism and drug trafficking.
Taking away the Army's mandate to turn upon its own people seemed essential at the time of the signing of the Peace Accords in 1996, but now President Oscar Berger is squeezed by the needs of the global superpower on one side (see NotiCen, 2005-03-31) and the virtual uselessness of the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC) on another. On a third side, joint military-police patrolling is a near-traditional response in times of disorder.
Illustrative of the inadequacy of the PNC, on May 22 four people were incinerated and two burned nearly to death when a local mob set them afire in the tiny village of Cruz Chich, municipality of Joyabaj, in the department of Santa Cruz de Quiche,...
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More articles from NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs
PANAMA'S SOCIAL SECURITY COLLAPSING, BUT POPULATION REJECTS REFORMS., May 26, 2005
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