15 June, 2000

Communiqué #1: "Dominga and Denese, and the story of the village of Rio Negro"

1 Intro [this page]
2 Press Conference: Statement of Denese Becker (Dominga Sic Ruiz)
3 Newspaper Article -- June 13, 2000 "Massacre survivor accuses World Bank and IDB of negligence" GUATEMALA CITY, June 13 (AFP)

Dear friends:

On May 11, 2000, Rights Action circulated an article [also available in spanish] and a press release concerning the story of Denese Becker -from Algona, Iowa-- who, after 18 years, was going home to Rio Negro, a small, isolated Mayan village in the department of Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. [Please contact us if you want copies of the original article and release].

When she was a 9-year old girl, Denese -- then named Dominga Sic Ruiz -- was "lucky" to survive the "Rio Negro massacre". On March 13, 1982 the Guatemalan Army and neighboring civil defense patrollers brutally massacred 177 women, elderly and children, including her parents and other members of her extended family. In 1982, four separate massacres (killing over 440 people) were committed against the people of Rio Negro, in large part due to their opposition to being forcibly displaced by the construction of the "Chixoy Dam", funded [$290,000,000] by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

We are pleased to announce that Denese has just completed a successful two-week trip to her home country and community. Yesterday, June 13th, she held a press conference in Guatemala City. Below, you will find: - Press Conference: Statement of Denese Becker (Dominga Sic Ruiz) [also available in spanish].

- AFP article: "Massacre survivor accuses World Bank and IDB of negligence."

- EFE articulo: "Guatemala: Superviviente de matanza exige resarcimiento para las victimas."

Please copy, publish and re-distribute this information. For interviews and information If you would like more information about the story of "Denese and Dominga", and of how the repression of the US-backed Guatemalan military regime intersected and overlapped with the construction of the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank fund "Chixoy Dam", contact:

Rights Action (formerly Guatemala Partners)
1830 Connecticut Av, NW
Washington DC 20009
USA.

T: 202-783-1123.
F: 202-483-6730.
E: info@rightsaction.org

Financial support

If you can provide financial support, or have ideas as to how to raise funds for the re-building of Rio Negro (Denese's home community), or for projects to benefit the survivors of the Rio Negro / Chixoy Dam massacres [please see Denese's Press Statement], contact Rights Action.

Forward>

1 Intro
2 Press Conference Statement
3 Newspaper Article