The Ombudsman of Guatemala condemns the attack on a hydroelectric plant in the Ixquisis region
The Human Rights Ombudsman of Guatemala, Jordán Rodas, today condemned the violent events that took place on Tuesday when a group of people demolished several power poles of a hydroelectric plant installed in the Ixquisis region in the north of the country.
According to the preliminary reports of the National Civil Police, a hundred protesters protested on the Franja Transversal del Norte highway, in the western department of Huehuetenango, shot down five transmission poles in protest against the hydroelectric project of the company Energía y Renovación Desarrollo Sostenible.
The attack happened in the morning hours, but it was not until Tuesday night that the ombudsman made a statement to indicate the activity "contrary to the law".
Rodas urged the government to "draw a road map approaching the social scenario" in the Ixquisis region, in the municipality of San Mateo Ixtatán to "resolve in a peaceful manner" and through the dialogue "inclusive, serious, responsible and objective clear. "
He asked that the demands, "disagreements" and mainly "complaints or concerns" of the community members, who "indicate possible violation of their human rights, be heard."
He reminded the Ministry of Interior (Interior), governing entity of the National Civil Police, which has the "obligation" to guarantee the safety of individuals, communities and companies, to "maintain public order" and guarantee the human rights of people.
He warned that some "Peace and Development Agreements for San Mateo Ixtatán" were celebrated on November 8, but they did not count with the participation of the representatives of the communities that oppose the hydroelectric plant.
He asked both community members of the hydroelectric dam and the company to "participate in the dialogue process to be facilitated by the Government of Guatemala" and stressed that the Executive's efforts "have not been sufficient to understand the social scenario", which has caused that the conflict has been "aggravated", resulting in the death of several people, from one and another sector.
For more than ten years, the communities of Ixquisis have protested against several hydroelectric projects, such as Pojom I, Pojom II and San Andrés, financed, as they denounce, by capital from international banks such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The construction of the dams, as reported to Efe at the time, has caused environmental damage such as water scarcity and pollution of rivers, affecting fishing, agriculture and traditional ways of life of communities of Ixquisis, mostly Mayan indigenous .
