The Guatemalan Peace Accords of 1996

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Truce Provokes Mixed Reactions
Cerigua Weekly Briefs, no.13, 27 March 1996. The halt to offensive military operations announced last week by the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) and the government engendered great optimism. The March 20 announcement sparked talk about a final end to the war.
Agreement on agrarian situation in Guatemala, signed at ceremony in Mexico City
Press Release, 6 May 1996. Statement issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The Presidential Peace Commission of the Government of Guatemala and the General Command of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) signed the Agreement on Social and Economic Aspects and Agrarian Situation.
Public Declaration of the Director of MINUGUA
December 1996. A statement by MINUGUA, the UN verification team in Guatemala, concerning the amnesty issue in the final peace accords. There has been concern that a blanket amnesty for all army atrocities has been granted. The Law is poorly written and on at least some issues, and if the courts remain under total military control, the amnesty principles will not be properly applied.
The Strengthening of Civil Society and the Role of the Military in a Democratic Society
19 September 1996. The text, in English, of the September 19, 1996 peace accord between the Guatemalan government and the URNG resistance (48 Kb).
The Guatemalan Peace Accords
NACLA Report on the Americas, May/June 1997. The December 29 signing of the Peace Accords ending Guatemala's 36-year civil war opens up a new chapter in the country's history. Guatemala's was the longest and bloodiest of Latin America's Cold War civil wars, leaving between 150,000 and 200,000 civilians dead or disappeared. The Accords are a mix of strong and weak agreements, not the product of a revolutionary victory, a truly negotiated settlement, much like El Salvador's of 1992.
Guatemalan Accords Signed; Struggle Shifts to Political Arena
By Deirdre Griswold, Workers World, 16 January 1997. The state of war between the government of Guatemala and guerrilla movements grouped in the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) ended on Dec. 29. But the severe social antagonisms and intense exploitation that led to 36 years of fighting continue unabated.