VOA标准英语2013--Human Rights Trial in Guatemala Could Set Global Precedent

（单词翻译）

Human Rights Trial in Guatemala Could Set Global Precedent¹

Chanting “justice, justice,” protesters in Guatemala City reacted angrily to the suspension of the trial earlier this month.

The protesters, mainly indigenous² people, want the 86-year-old former dictator punished for the massacres³ of Mayan Indians during the early 1980’s that were part of a US-backed “scorched earth” campaign against leftist guerrillas.

Brutal⁴ conflict

An estimated 200,000 people were killed in the 36-year conflict that ended in 1996, most of them victims of Guatemala’s security forces.

General Rios Montt seized power in a 1982 coup⁵ and presided over the bloodiest⁶ period of the war during his 17-month rule.

Jose Miguel Vivanco heads the Americas program at Human Rights Watch. “The military tactics that he used during that period were clearly in violation⁷ of the basic standards of humanitarian⁸ law by not making any effort in distinguishing combatants from the civilian⁹ population,” he said.

Montt went on trial in March on charges of genocide for allegedly targeting an entire Mayan community in the country’s highlands in a campaign to wipe out support for leftist rebels.

At least 17-hundred people were killed, according to prosecutors¹⁰ and witnesses.

As the Rios Montt trial drew to a close, it was suspended over procedural issues that could annul¹¹ the process. Defense¹² lawyers, who argued the general did not order the killings¹³, welcomed the move.

“It's a very important precedent for the country in an important case such as this one," said defense lawyer Danilo Rodriguez.

Furthering human rights initiatives

But others say the maneuvering¹⁴ reflects the difficulties in prosecuting¹⁵ human rights violations¹⁶ in countries like Guatemala, where judicial¹⁷ institutions are subject to pressure.

Via Skype, international law expert Paul Seils said, "What we have at this point are the forces who are basically saying: ‘We will not be subjected to the rule of the law in the country. The rules of the country are for other people. We will not accept a statement that we were involved in genocide or crimes against humanity.'"

Despite the legal limbo¹⁸, putting the ex-dictator on trial was unprecedented¹⁹, the first time a former head of state has been tried for genocide by his own country’s legal system.

“To go after somebody who has been the quintessential representation of unlimited²⁰ power, such as Rios Montt, and to charge him with human rights abuses, but not just any rights abuses, but with genocide, reveals tremendous courage but also some important change that the society has been going through,” said Jose Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch.

The U.S. State Department calls the trial “historic," and Friday urged Guatemala to ensure this case fulfills²¹ its domestic and international legal obligations. It also dispatched a top official to Guatemala City to consult about the judicial process.