November 21, 2005
Guatemalan Police Archives Update
The National Security Archive has just published an extensive report by Kate Doyle concerning the Guatemalan Police Archives.
The scope of this find is staggering - PDH officials estimate that there are 4.5 kilometers - some 75 million pages - of materials. During a visit to the site in early August, I saw file cabinets marked "assassinations," "disappeared" and "homicides," as well as folders labeled with the names of internationally-known victims of political murder, such as anthropologist Myrna Mack (killed by security forces in 1990).
There were hundreds of rolls of still photography, which the PDH is developing now. There were pictures of bodies and of detainees, there were lists of police informants with names and photos, there were vehicle license plates, video tapes and computer disks. The installations themselves, which are in a terrible state of neglect - humid and exposed to the open air, infested with vermin and full of trash - contain what appear to be clandestine cells.
The importance of the discovery cannot be overstated. Since 1996, when the government signed a peace accord with guerrilla forces, Guatemalans have fought to recover historical memory, end impunity and institute the rule of law after more than 30 years of violent civil conflict. In 1997, a UN-sponsored truth commission was created to investigate the war and analyze its origins.
The newly discovered police archives, which cover a century of police operations, promises to be one of the most revealing collections of military or police records ever discovered in Latin America. The appearance of these documents has created an extraordinary opportunity for preserving history and advancing justice that the Archive is mobilizing to meet.
I urge you to visit the National Security Archives website to read the complete article and view the startling photographs!
Tags: Guatemala, Police, Human Rights, NSC, Archives
Posted by elcanche at November 21, 2005 08:59 PM
for many of us, is not a surprise to know that this documents are in the archives of the police, what shocks me is the fact that they were never destroyed, interesting enough, perhaps this can be recognize as poetic justice, If this documentation is used wisely.
I'm wondering what else could we find in the army archives?
Kind of reinforces the fact that the darkness of evil can be hidden for awhile, but eventually is exposed to the "light of day." I pray that, as "ale" in the previous note said, that the documentation will be used wisely and that justice will prevail.
