Despite the violence Anna Koransky chronicles above, there is some cause for optimism: after hours of what the Guatemalan daily Prensa Libre termed "unpredictable" debate on Wednesday, 110 of 133 Members of Congress approved the Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad de Guatemala. (photo of vote by Esbin García courtesy of Prensa Libre)As posted here, this anti-impunity commission will comprise U.N.-selected international experts who will endeavor for 2 years to assist Guatemalan prosecutors in investigating and bringing to justice persons responsible for crime and atrocity in the country. Human rights campaigner Helen Mack, in an interview with Prensa Libre, predicted that the Commission "will not be the panacea, but it will initiate proceedings that eventually will bear fruit."
The commission, which may begin work as early as November, is expected to receive funding from Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.
