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GUESTS: Lucia Quila Colo, co-founder of the National Widows Council of Guatemala (CONAVIGUA) and Jorge Morales Toj, a member of the Peasant Unity Committee (CUC) and founder of the Mayan Youth Movement, and the Movement of Indigenous Migrants to Guatemala City, Angela Thielen, volunteer interpreter

It has been nearly a decade since the December 29th 1996 signing of the Peace Accords in Guatemala that brought an end to the violent conflict that ravaged that nation for 36 years. More than 200,000 mostly Mayan Guatemalan civilians were estimated to have been killed. A UN sponsored Truth Commission Report documented the atrocities that occurred and accused the Guatemalan military of acts of genocide. The United States was criticized for its role in training and backing the Guatemalan military; a role that then President Clinton apologized for in 1999. This afternoon there will be a one-day conference featuring representatives from indigenous Guatemalan organizations discussing numerous issues surrounding the reconstruction of Guatemala in the ten years since the 1996 Peace Accords. The conference, which will take place on the campus of Cal State Northridge, will touch upon issues of immigration to the United States, the Mayan Movement, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The documentary, “Exhuming Experiences of Hatred,” will premiere at the conference.

The Conference is called Utz’il Maya Communities and Reconstructing: Guatemala Ten Years After the Peace Accords.

WHEN: December 6th, 4-7 pm
WHERE: Campus of Cal State Northridge, Whitsett Room, Sierra Hall Room 451

Visit CONAVIGUA’s website here: http://members.tripod.com/CONAVIGUA/