One of the banners held by indigneous women was addressed at the president General Otto Perez Molina, who declared a State of Emergency in the Guatemalan municipality Santa Cruz Barillas on May 1st. The banner read: “What kind of peace is this, General? Your troops continue to rape me, to destroy my house and to occupy my territory”.

These images could be seen on Tuesday May 15 in Huehuetenango department, in the border with Mexico, at a demonstration called by the Peasant Unity Commitee and the Council of the Mayan Peoples of the West, two weeks after the controversial state of emergency was declared.

The hundreds of indigenous and peasants who participated in the demonstration asked the Executive Branch to reinstate the constitutional rights of the residents of Santa Cruz Barillas.

Since May 1st violence and fear took over the Guatemalan population, who had been peacefully demonstrating against the construction of a hydroelectric megaproject and in defense of their territory.

Human rights organizations who have sent delegates to Barillas concluded that the violent incidents of the past days could have been avoided if the State would have considered the community consultation of 2007 that rejected the building of the dam.

Earlier this week, a few hours before the demonstration, Guatemalan organizations held a press conference where they said that some residents of Santa Cruz Barillas have been detained since April 15 just for taking part in peaceful demonstrations.