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18 September, 2000Communiqué #1: "A PEOPLE DAMMED: THE CHIXOY DAM, GUATEMALAN MASSACRES AND THE WORLD BANK"Chixoy Dam Reparations Campaign: to get full compensation and just reparations from the World Bank & the Inter-American Development Bank for indigenous (Mayan-Achi) survivors of the Rio Negro community destroyed by construction of the Chixoy Dam in Guatemala
Introduction, request
for help, contact info (this page) INTRODUCTIONDear friends, As lead up to the forthcoming Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Prague (Czech Republic), Rights Action is releasing a series of articles and other information concerning the Chixoy Dam Project and Rio Negro massacres of 1982. For some, this is a "development" project of the past. For others - including primarily the surviving victims of the massacres associated with the Chixoy Dam Project - this is an ongoing and open wound for the still suffering, surviving victims and it is a "development"/ human rights issue of great consequence. We are glad to announce that Rights Action staff person Annie Bird will be in Prague during the Annual Meetings of the WB and the IMF, addressing this issue in educational and advocacy forums. She will be available for interviews and participation in public events. [e: anniebird@hotmail.com] WORST CASE SCENARIOThe Chixoy Dam Project and related Rio Negro massacres present us with an ongoing and terrible 'worst-case-scenario':
While we should struggle for proper compensation and just reparations for the surviving victims of the Chixoy Dam massacres, we should also learn from this tale of US-back repression of a Mayan population intersecting with an ill-conceived and improperly implemented "development" project, funded by "first" world governments via international development institutions. CHIXOY DAM / RIO NEGROThe townspeople of Rio Negro were forcibly and mercilessly displaced from their home community to make way for the construction of the Chixoy Dam project, 1975-1985, funded by the WB (World Bank) and the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) to the tune of almost $300,000,000. In all, more than 440 Rio Negro townspeople were massacred. Most survivors still live in conditions of poverty and psychological trauma today. Early in 2000, Rights Action, along with the International Rivers Network and the Reform the World Bank Campaign (Italy), initiated a campaign: "to get full compensation and just reparations from the World Bank & the Inter-American Development Bank for indigenous (Mayan-Achi) survivors of the Rio Negro community destroyed by construction of the Chixoy Dam in Guatemala." We have not gotten very far. Neither the WB nor the IDB has accepted any responsibility for the massacres and repression against the Rio Negro community, that was in opposition to be forcibly removed from their home community to make way for the Chixoy Dam Project. Though both Banks have admitted that the survivors live today in terrible conditions, neither Bank has assumed any responsibility for compensating or repairing their situation today. SKELETON IN THE CLOSETSThe issue of the Rio Negro / Chixoy Dam massacres is a major skeleton in the closets of the WB and the IDB - and they are in denial mode about what happened, about what was their contributory role and about what is their ongoing responsibility. There is much public education and advocacy work to be done with this campaign. Below, you will find an article that provides some good background. Tomorrow, we will continue with more contents about the demands and claims of the Campaign. Along with the surviving victims of the Chixoy Dam massacres, WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE YOU to take on this issue as one that your organization can work on. We will support your efforts in any way we can. For more information about this campaign, and our work, contact our offices. Tomorrow: a description of the Reparations Campaign Thank-you. Page top ^ CONTACT INFORMATION
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