On May 1, 2013, Otto Perez Molina, Guatemalan President and former general during the country’s 36-year armed conflict, declared a 30-day State of Siege in four municipalities surrounding the El Escobal Silver Mining Project, run by Canadian mining giants’ Tahoe Resources. The State of Siege suspended basic constitutional rights, prohibiting public assembly and peaceful protests, allowing unwarranted searches, and giving power to authorities to detain individuals at their whim.
It has been two weeks since the passing of community radio founder and social and environmental activist, Daniel Pedro Mateo. Our team at Cultural Survival, as well as members of community radio stations in our network, have been deeply saddened by this loss. As well, many stations worry about similar repercussions in the future, feeling that the political climate is not safe for social activists or community leaders at this time.
On May 25, 2013, more than 25 community radio station volunteers from Cultural Survival’s radio network across Guatemala gathered for a workshop in the Mujb’ab’l Yol training center in San Mateo, Quetzaltenango. The focus of the workshop was on Indigenous People’s Rights.
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On April 16, 2013, the body of Qanjob’al community activist Daniel Pedro Mateo was found murdered in Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. He had been kidnapped for 12 days and his body showed signs of torture.
On April 4, 2013, Cultural Survival's Deputy Executive Director Mark Camp was interviewed on WBAI 99.5 FM on First Voices Indigenous Radio with Tiokasin Ghosthorse about the role community radio plays in Indigenous language revitalization. If you missed it listen here.
By Nathan Williams
A few kilometres from the Burmese border in northern Thailand, Anchalee Katipatoom is attempting to close a sale. “Not made in a factory. Made by the hill tribe.” At her roadside stall, backed by an avocado grove and with views across to the forested curves of the Daen Lao mountain range, Anchalee is selling garments hand-woven by the Kachin people, an ethnic group Indigenous mainly to northern Burma.
March 9-10, the Cultural Survival team completed our final of a series of exchanges between 12 community radio stations here in Guatemala.
On February 22, 2013, in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Cultural Survival and local community radio association Mujb'ab'l yol held a forum aimed at spreading the word regarding the role of community radio in the fight to democratize speech in Guatemala. With close to 100 guests, including representatives from Congress, and members of the police force and military, the movement gained new sources of support and strengthened existing sources of support.
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Contact: Mark Camp, Deputy Executive Director, 617-441-5400 x11
Reconocimiento de tierra
Reconocemos que nuestra sede está en la tierra de Massachusetts, en Cambridge, MA, y agradecemos a los administradores Indígenas pasados, actuales y futuros de este territorio.
