Guatemala City, Oct 12 (EFE) . – Some two hundred indigenous women from six Latin American countries rejected on Wednesday the “criminalization and persecution” of human rights defenders at a rally in Guatemala City, as a component of the Day of Indigenous Resistance.
Indigenous people from Honduras, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico and El Salvador stood in front of the Palace of Culture, seat of the Guatemalan government, as a component of the commemoration of the Day of Indigenous Resistance.
The aim of the law is to call for an end to criminal prosecutions against human rights defenders, activists and women leaders.
“We call on States not to criminalize women and men who fight for democracy and governability,” reads the signed through indigenous women’s organizations in Latin America.
They expelled from the domain an organization of alleged ex-combatants who participated in Guatemala’s internal armed conflict between 1960 and 1996 and who were protesting in front of Congress seeking monetary compensation.
The women gathered were part of an assembly called “Third Summit of Indigenous Women of Abya Yala,” which was held in Guatemala from Sunday to Wednesday.
During the meeting, they discussed “governments and systematic violence” that oppose them in their countries.
Organizers said the summit in Guatemala served as a space to analyze and propose actionable methods to their rights. EPE
EDT/LDS