June 2009

Dear friends and supporters of Inter Pares,

Below is Inter Pares' June 2009 Bulletin, entitled The Hope that Unites Us. In it we share stories from a recent gathering that my colleague Nadia Faucher and I had the privilege of attending with survivors of armed conflict from Guatemala, Peru, and Colombia. During an intense week of sharing experiences, strategies, and memories, we focused on the hope that brought us all together: of building democratic and just societies based on a culture of peace. The organizations with which Inter Pares collaborates are integral to the movements we believe will eventually realize this hope.

There are many moments in my work that fuel this hope. One moment came in April when Alberto Fujimori, the president of Peru during the latter decade of the country's armed conflict, was found guilty for crimes he ordered the military to commit against his own people, including two dozen murders, and sentenced to 25 years in jail. Another such moment came this past winter, when I was asked to speak on a panel featuring the United Nations-appointed Commissioner of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a two-year joint initiative between the United Nations and the Government of Guatemala to dismantle organized criminal networks and their links to the judicial system and government. The CICIG is considered by Guatemalan civil society as a rare opportunity to begin loosening the stranglehold these criminal networks have on the state and judicial system. While today these networks operate as organized crime, they were paramilitary counter-insurgency forces during Guatemala's 36-year civil war, under army command. The work of the CICIG to rid the justice system and the government of these organizations will help end the massive impunity for the crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the war in Guatemala.

Inter Pares' counterparts in Guatemala are actively involved in the struggle against impunity. They undertake the often slow and frustrating work of building legal cases to bring war criminals to justice at the national and international levels. They raise awareness to help ensure Guatemalan society as a whole remembers what happened during the war. They provide support to victims as they testify about the atrocities committed against them. They work tirelessly and courageously to heal the wounds of war. And the inroads the CICIG is making in the judicial system are an important opening for our counterparts to push this work forward.

It was also a great honour for me to share a podium with the Commissioner of the CICIG. Not only because of my pride in the work that Inter Pares supports, but also because the Commissioner, Spanish Judge Carlos Castresana, was the legal architect of the effort to extradite Augusto Pinochet to Spain to be tried for crimes against humanity in 1998. I am from a family of Chilean exiles. We are deeply marked by the pain of repression, fear, impunity and exile that was the legacy of Pinochet. I was raised in the shadow of justice that was never served. I saw my parents cry tears of joy as they watched Pinochet's arrest on the news. I saw them avert their eyes in anger at seeing images of his funeral before ever seeing him brought to justice.

This history is, in large part, what drew me to the work of Inter Pares. We support the efforts of brave people all over the world to break down impunity and struggle for justice. And we build political and financial support for these efforts in Canada, support that donors like you help make possible. My meeting with Judge Castresana was a testament of the profound human connections that can be built on a foundation of solidarity, justice, and peace. For this, I thank you.

Best regards,



Karen Cocq

P.S. Please consider making a gift today in support of struggles for truth and justice in Latin America and elsewhere around the world. Your support and solidarity are greatly appreciated.