http://www.ticotimes.net/cent_amer.htm
Guatemala Coup Rumors DeniedÂ
GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) — President Alfonso Portillo Tuesday dismissed rumors of
cabinet resignations and an imminent military coup, which have been
circulating the country since late last week. Francisco Reyes, vice-president
of Guatemala, blamed the false rumors of tanks on the streets to unnamed
opposition groups trying to destabilize the government.
Although Reyes declined to identify the party he believes responsible for the
rumors, he said the country is small enough to figure out who "was firing the
bullets."
"There are people, who, in their desperation to return to power, have begun
to spread rumors of a coup," he said. "But this is a democracy, and we don’t
do things that way."
Guatemalan business leaders Thursday also condemned the coup rumors and
called on the Portillo administration to dialogue with civil society to
overcome the problem of ungovernability.
"We are calling on all Guatemalans to not be persuaded by acts designed to
confuse public opinion and threaten the country’s political stability," read
a newspaper advertisement paid for by local business leaders.
President Portillo, of the conservative Guatemalan Republican Front, took
office in December, 2000. Although his party is headed by congressional
president and former dictator Gen. EfraÃn RÃos Montt, Portillo persuaded some
left-wing political figures to join his cabinet.
When coup rumors first surfaced between August and October of last year,
Portillo’s administration blamed them on vested interests opposed to his
opening the government to include members of the left. Nevertheless, Portillo
was forced to call a meeting with 4,000 ranking army officials to stabilize
the situation and reaffirm his leadership.
Criticisms of Portillo have continued to be voiced by right-wing political
and economic analysts in national newspaper columns and radio programs. And
some columnists have gone so far as to urge the population to take to the
streets calling for Portillos’s resignation.
Members of the permanent council of the Organization of American States,
arrived in Guatemala Wednesday to assess the situation and hear a government
report on the rumors of the imminent coup.
Guatemala, in its recent history, has experienced numerous military coups,
most recently in 1983, when Gen. Oscar Mejia ousted RÃos Montt, who had
himself come to power in a military coup the previous year.
Nobel laureate and human rights activist Rigoberta Menchú has attempted to
have RÃos Montt tried in a Spanish court on charges of genocide for his
administration’s scorched-earth tactics that claimed the lives of some 70,000
Guatemalans, mostly indigenous Maya.
Guatemalan human-rights activists have also said that in the first half of
this year they intend to file similar charges against the retired general in
the Guatemalan courts.
Meanwhile, RÃos Montt and four of his congressional colleagues—all of whom
are members of the legislator’s board—are currently trying to avoid losing
their congressional immunity from prosecution on a lesser alcoholic beverage
tax scandal known as "Guategate" (TT, Sept 1, 2000).
