News flash from the past

OK, I confess.

I don't actually spend all day and all night scouring thousands of internet sites for news about Guatemala that I can post to my website for your enjoyment, entertainment, and enlightenment.

Don't get me wrong... I would if I had to. For you, anything. Besides, it's a blogger's honor and duty, right?

Thankfully, it turns out though that there are a few ways to cheat the system. Legally, even. (And how often does that happen?)

For example, I use Google News Alerts to keep me updated on breaking stories about Guatemala in the international press. Google, bless their search-engine heart, automatically emails me links to articles containing the word "Guatemala" as they are published online.

The news isn't always what I'm looking for (ie: if I receive one more article about Survivor: Guatemala I'm going to vote myself off!!!). But, for the most part, this amazing service keeps me on top of the Guatemala news... which helps me to keep you informed!

(I hope you don't think less of me now that I've confessed my internet secret.)

Now you might be wondering why I've suddenly decided to "come clean" with you. Well, the truth is that with Christmas just around the corner, I was afraid of ending up on Santa's naughty list. (Sheesh, I can just imagine the comments THAT line is going to generate.)

No, no. The real reason is that something utterly odd, in a twilight-zonish way, just happened. While preparing to upload another article, a Google News alert popped into my Outlook program.

And this is what it looked like:

I read it once. And then blinked. And then read it again. And then... getting all goose-bumpy, clicked on the link. And was instantly carried back in time.

I have no idea how or why this article suddenly appeared in Google-land, but it certainly isn't recent news. On the contrary, it dates back to 1996, a time of hope and anxious expectation in Guatemala as the Peace Process seemed to be advancing inexorably towards a permanent and positive end to the armed conflict.

Indeed, the final Peace Accords were signed on December 29th, 1996, ending 36 years of war with a set of agreements between the Guatemalan State and the URNG guerillas that promised to reshape Guatemala into a new nation of peace with social justice.

There are many of us who believe that many... no, most... of the problems that Guatemala now suffers are due to lack of implementation of the letter and spirit of the Peace Accords by the Arzú, Portillo and Berger administrations.

But here is a quick look back at an exciting and tenuous time in Guatemala's history, thanks to a waylaid or way-delayed Google News Alert:

Oslo Talks Move Guatemala Toward Peace

After another round of talks in Norway between Guatemala's armed forces and their guerrilla adversaries, all parties involved shared a positive view of the prospects for a peace settlement, Norwegian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Asbjørn Mathisen reported recently.

The peace process started in Oslo six years ago and has made slow but important progress. The most important results are an accord on human rights and an agreement on the rights of indigenous Indians. Key issues that remain unresolved particularly involve social injustice and the role of the military in government and politics.

Guatemala's recently elected president, Alvaro Arzu, has expressed hope that a final peace agreement could be signed within seven or eight months. Arzu is the first president recognized by the armed opposition as legitimately elected since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. The guerrilla movement, URNG, has subsequently declared itself ready to move from armed confrontation to participation in the democratic process.

The Guatemalan civil war, which peaked in the early 1980s, has cost several hundred thousand lives. A peaceful settlement is urgently needed, not only by the people of Guatemala and the belligerent parties. Norway and the United States, two key players in the international group that supports peace here, are growing increasingly impatient with the slow pace of the negotiations.

The peace process is almost a year behind schedule, but the recent meetings in Oslo appear to have opened the way for concrete results.

News of Norway, issue 2, 1996

Tags: Guatemala, Norway, Peace, Google, URNG

Posted by elcanche at November 21, 2005 08:16 PM