Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 16 — The Georgia Bulletin, February 8,1990
Guatemalan Prelate Takes On Perilous Rights Post
BY LAURIE HANSEN
WASHINGTON (CNS) -
The Guatemalan Arch
bishop, unable to find
anyone willing to staff a
church-run human rights
commission amid his na
tion’s rising tide of
violence, has taken on the
task himself.
As a result, Archbishop
Prospero Penados del Bar
rio of Guatemala finds
himself accused of being a
communist. He has receiv
ed numerous death threats,
including “a Christmas
present” of blood-stained
handkerchiefs.
While the archdiocese
Two Panama Bishops Claim
Their Body Count Blocked
PANAMA CITY, Panama (CNS) — Two
Panamanian bishops say U.S. and
Panamanian authorities are blocking their
effort to learn the true Panamanian
casualty count of the U.S. invasion last
December.
They cite the U.S. bishops’ conf erence as
the source of a count six times the official
number. But the U.S. conference said it
never made a public estimate.
Bishops Carlos Maria Ariz Bolea of the
Diocese of Colon and Romulo Emiliani
Sanchez of the Apostolic Vicariate of
Darien said in a joint, Spanish-language
communique that they believe the body
count is higher than the official figure —
which is approximately 500. But, they say,
U.S. military officials and Panama’s new
government are putting obstacles in the
way of their investigation.
In a section of their five-page statement
headed: “What Concerns Us,” the bishops
say they are troubled by “the obstacles
which have been placed at official and
North American levels to human rights
commissions” learning the true numbers.
They also say “the North American
bishops’ conference talks of no fewer than
3,000 dead.”
In Washington, a spokesman for the con
ference said the U.S. bishops never issued
a casualty count.
The Archdiocese of Panama, headed by
Archbishop Marcos G. McGrath, believes
the most reliable figure to be 655 Panama
nian dead, archdiocesan spokesman Luis
Diaz told Catholic News Service Jan. 30.
Of that number, he said, 314 were iden
tified as soldiers or members of the
paramilitary Dignity Battalions created
by Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega, another
202 identified as either members of the
civilian-clothed Dignity Battalions or ac
tual civilians. The civilian or military
identity of the remaining 139 casualties is
unknown, said Diaz, because some
Panamanian soldiers dressed in civilian
clothes when the Americans invaded.
“We think (the two bishops) are wrong,”
he said, “because we got our information
from the government, the hospitals and
the (U.S.) Southern Command without
trouble.”
“We have good information and we
double-checked the information two weeks
ago,” Diaz added.
In their statement, Bishops Ariz and
Emiliani also warned the government of
new Panamanian President Guillermo En-
dara against falling into a “relationship of
domination, on the one hand, and
dependence, on the other” with the United
States. They said the nature of that rela
tionship is the main obstacle to Panama
nians living “now and in the future with
the autonomy which we deserve as a
sovereign people.”
“Home Of Hard
To Find Items "
| -Anything in Hardware-
* Since 1935 *
Open 7 Days
601E College Av Dec
373-3335
1248 W Paces Ferry Rd NW
261-6000
2133 Roswell Rd NE Mreta
973-3636
775 Whitlock Av SW Mreta
422-1646
8560 Holcomb Bridge Rd Alph
587-1800
5920 Roswell Rd NW
256-2560
Food Served .4 PM 10 PM
Irish Slew* Irish Sausage
• Soda Bread •
Atlanta's "Only” Authentic Irish Pub
FIRST TO HAVE
GUINNESS HARP &
BASS ALE ON TAP!
For Our British Friends:
Woodpecker Hard Cider On Tap
“From England”
John Courage - McEwans
Traveling Irish Minstrels
Feb. 6-10 - The Ferrymen
Feb. 13-24 - Harry O’Donahue
Feb. 27-Mar. 17 - Rich McDuff
County Cork Pub,^&
56 East Andrews Drive, N.W.
"Sweet 16"
Upper Level Buckhead 262-A BAR
Upen M.-Sat. 3 PM 2AM
Your Hosts Cynthia & Art Fessenden
We Put The Care...
Back In Car Care!
MAC THE MECHANIC
•Tune UP
•Brakes
•Shocks
•Alignment
•Batteries
•Used Car Inspections
•Domestic And Imports
1052 Peachtree St.
Midtown 876-9361
Oil Change
•Oil • Lube $9^*
^•Filter • Mnst CarsJ
Brake Special
$59 ,s
•Per Axle
•Most Cars
MAC THE MECHANIC
CAR CARE CENTERS
3490 Shallowford Rd.
Chamblee 451-0070
was all set to go with the
proposed church-run
human rights commission,
prospective staffers “were
afraid they’d be killed” and
bowed out, the archbishop
told Catholic News Service
during a recent interview
in Washington.
Archbishop Penados was
in Washington at the invita
tion of Cardinal James A.
Hickey of Washington, who
asked him to celebrate the
feast of the crucified Christ
of Esquipulas, Guatemala,
with local Guatemalans.
The feast day is Jan. 15.
“This is what happens.
You begin to work on
behalf of the poor, the peas
ant, the laborer, you get
accused of being a com
munist. You are kidnapped
and then you disappear and
no one knows any more
about you. That’s why peo
ple are afraid to commit
themselves to such a
cause” as the human rights
commission, said Arch
bishop Penados.
But the archbishop has
taken up the task of de
nouncing the attacks and
disappearances.
“It’s the least I can do,”
he said.
“A woman comes to talk
to me and says, ‘My son
disappeared. His name
was Carlos.’ I go on TV, on
the radio or to the
newspapers so that people
know what’s happening.
We don’t accuse anyone.
Atlanta
Checker
Cab Co.
American Express
Courteous Drivers
351-1111
We only denounce the fact
that people keep being kid
napped and keep disap
pearing so that the public is
made aware,” said Arch
bishop Penados.
He admitted to being “a
little frightened” about
taking on the task himself.
The prelate said he has
received anonymous death
threats, in writing and by
telephone, the most recent
of which came six months
ago.
“I’ve been told that if I
continue denouncing these
actions my days are
numbered.” said the arch
bishop.
“Three years ago I
received a present, a
Christmas present, very
beautifully wrapped, with
white handkerchiefs inside
that were stained with
blood. A Christmas pre
sent. It’s a psychological
war. They try to scare
you,” said Archbishop
Penados.
He said some 40,000
Guatemalans have been
kidnapped and then disap
peared in the past decade.
“No one knows who is
responsible, but it is believ
ed that it is the army and
the police,” the archbishop
said.
More than 100,000 child
ren were orphaned during
that period, he said.
Archbishop Penados at
tributes Guatemala’s
violence to his nation’s
history of military dictator
ships and the large eco
nomic gap between
Guatemala’s rich and its
poor.
“In Guatemala we are
living through a time of
transition. Since our in
dependence in 1821, we
have been ruled by
military governments.
Now, for the first time, we
have a legitimate civilian
president elected by the
people," said the arch
bishop.
But the Guatemalan peo
ple are not accustomed to
living in a democracy, he
said.
“We have to educate the
people to respect each
other’s opinions, each
other’s way of thinking and
acting. A democracy is a
process that takes time,”
said Archbishop Penados.
“Guatemalan wealth is
concentrated in the hands
of a few very rich people,
while the majority goes
hungry. They don’t have
the means to get ahead, to
advance, to acquire a just
salary,” he said.
Poor Guatemalans join
guerrilla groups that “pro
pose social change"
because they are “tired of
waiting and waiting," he
said.
In the midst of the
violence, the Guatemalan
church tries to “invite
dialogue” and act as a
“reconciler” between the
army and the people, said
Archbishop Penados.