A Formal Legal Mandate for a Criminal Investigation of Guatemala’s Current President, Perez Molina

www.allannairn.org
SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

General Efrain Rios Montt has been found guilty of genocide and crimes
against humanity.  He has already begun his “irrevocable” sentence of
80 years in prison.

The court that convicted Rios Montt has also ordered the attorney
general to launch an immediate investigation of “all others” connected
to the crimes.

This important and unexpected aspect of the verdict means that there
now exists a formal legal mandate for a criminal investigation of the
President of Guatemala, General Otto Perez Molina.

As President, Perez Molina enjoys temporary legal immunity, but that
immunity does not block the prosecutors from starting their
investigation.

Last night, in a live post-verdict interview on CNN Espanol TV, Perez
Molina was confronted about his own role during the Rios Montt
massacres.

The interviewer, Fernando del Rincon, repeatedly asked Perez Molina
about his filmed interviews with me when he was Rios Montt’s Ixil
field commander.

At that time, Perez Molina, operating under the alias “Major Tito
Arias,” commanded troops who described to me how, under orders, they
killed civilians.

At first, Perez Molina refused to answer, then CNN’s satellite link to
him was cut off, then, after it was restored minutes later, Perez
Molina replied that women, children and “complete families” had in
fact aided guerrillas.

Offering what appears to be a rationale for killing families may not
be a sufficient defense.   But that is up to Perez Molina.

He too deserves his day in court.

Allan Nairn

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Posted by allan.nairn@yahoo.com(Allan Nairn) at 5/11/2013 04:04:00 AM