Leading women defenders of human rights, life and Mother Earth warn of a new threat to the safety, reputation and life of Arnulfo Oxlaj, his family and the survivors of the Chiul massacre, Cunén, El Quiché (1988), in Guatemala; For this reason, this Tuesday they reported threats by the journalist from Prensa Comunitaria, Paolina Albani, to the National Civil Police of San Marcos la Laguna, Sololá, and requested constant patrols at the residence of Arnulfo Gómez Oxlaj, and other necessary measures to protect his integrity.

The activists denounce harassment and messages by Prensa Comunitaria, a Guatemalan media outlet, that would criminalize and defame Mr. Oxlaj and the other survivors of the Chiul massacre, Cunén, El Quiché (1988).

Within the context of the second round of the national elections in Guatemala, to be held on 20 August, Mr. Oxlaj has pointed to Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo, former president of this country, as responsible for the violation of Indigenous rights, with the massacre having occurred on 21 May, 1988. In this crime against humanity, Mayan girls, boys, women, and men were kidnapped, tortured, raped, and massacred in the Chiul village, Cunén, department of Quiché, Guatemala.

Likewise, survivors of the massacre point to the current Guatemalan presidential candidate Bernardo Arévalo, as being a member of that genocidal government, and denounced Prensa Comunitaria for joining a dark campaign that seeks to intimidate and scare survivors into abandoning their fight to search for justice, 36 years after the genocide.

In particular, activists point to the reporter Paolina Albani for harassing them and not respecting their right of reply, after she published an article on 28 September, 2021, about the sabotaged exhumation attempt – in which Prensa Comunitaria was not present -, and despite a two-hour Zoom call they had with the journalist, none of the substantive errors were corrected, which further evidences that the intention was always to discredit the testimony of, and defame and criminalize Arnulfo Oxlaj.

Now the Prensa Comunitaria reporter claims to have testimonies that obscures, denies the massacre, and defames the survivors: “It is the same tactic, say the activists, that was used in the exhumation planned by the FAFG (the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala) and the Public Ministry, on 28 September of 2021, which was later postponed. That day, the same former patrolmen who had pointed out the house of Arnulfo’s parents to the military, on 21 May, 1988, tried to sabotage the exhumation and kidnap Arnulfo Oxlaj, facts that are confirmed by the press release of the same date published by the then Human Rights Ombudsman, Jordán Rodas”.

Likewise, on 25 December, 2021, those responsible for the massacre hired a lawyer, named Manolo García García, to carry out a smear campaign among human rights organizations to criminalize and isolate the survivors, particularly Arnulfo Oxlaj. 

Human rights defenders thus alert the authorities about this new threat. “If something happened to Arnulfo Oxlaj, or his family, we hold responsible not only the Cerezo and Arévalo families, but also Paolina Albani, from Prensa Comunitaria. As Arnulfo Oxlaj says: Justice is not revenge; it is about re-educating the conscience. Regardless of our political or religious beliefs, we must all respect the lives of others, especially the lives of children.

“As human beings, we have different political ideologies, but this fight for justice, for the truth about the massacre, has nothing to do with ideologies; it is a crime against humanity perpetrated against an ethnic group, a crime founded on racist and religious prejudices and invasive policies. It is an atrocity that threatens the peace of humanity; attacks democracy, human rights and justice.”

And they add: “The victims of the massacre are Mayans; In the eyes of racists, the indigenous Maya are doomed from birth to be called liars, criminals, simply for being Indigenous and for seeking justice for violations of their human rights. For racists, only the Christian racist victimizer has the truth, not the victim.”

Victims say that the Guatemalan Public Ministry is dedicated to investigating the private life of Arnulfo Oxlaj, instead of investigating the massacre and the attacks against the survivors. “Dark personal, political and religious interests are the ones that predominate to leave this vile crime in impunity.”

For this reason, it is extremely important that the authorities grant protection and assistance measures for Arnulfo Fernando Gómez Oxlaj and provide the necessary collaboration to protect his physical integrity and that of his family.