How Did The Mayan Genocide Occur In The Early 1980s
Between 1980 into the mid 1980s… the genocide of the Maya occurred within the city of modern Guatemala (p.355). It was during this time that the Mayan society were forced to leave their home in the altiplano (the highlands—due to an earthquake) and had to begin to assimilate with the rest of the Guatemala population. During this time, the Fuerzas Armadas Rebeldes (FAR) ladino organization extended their communist influence to those Mayas assosciated with the highlands. Therefore because of their emphasis upon the FAR and towards enabling their own highland culture within city of Guatemala that initially caused the Guatemalan city, under the leadership of General Benedicto Lucas, to initiate a war that would deprive the communist forces of their
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stature. The acts of war that took place became known as a “…wholesale slaughter and acts of genocide by the counterinsurgent state security forces, carrying out extra-judicial violence without any facade of legal constraints” with the victims focusing upon the Mayan indigenous civilians from the area of the Guatemala’s highlands (p.355) “Entire sectors of Maya population became military targets, leading many scholars to identify these policies as genocidal” (p.359). Due to this genocidal attack… roughly 440 villages were destroyed with 150,000 unarmed Maya civilians were killed and over one million were forced to relocate due to the burning of their villages (p. 359). Therefore because of the actions that occurred, one could quickly realize that the initial action , which was to remove the hold of communism from within the country, developed into something more than its initial action…something based upon the deterioration of the sub-ethnic groups. Therefore the genocide became more of a threat towards the race and cultural heritage of the Maya instead of the need to rid the country of the threat of communism (p. 359-360). It is through the eye-witness accounts that the modern generations are able to view and understand in essence what truly occurred to those whom were unfortunate to experience the genocide of the Maya. One account proclaims what actions occurred during the attack upon a local village. During this attack, “…the soldiers began to fire at the women inside the small church. … but were separated from their children, taken to their homes in groups, the purpose of this last parting of women from their children was to prevent even the children from witnessing any confession that might reveal the location of the guerrillas. Then they returned to kill the children, whom they had left crying and screaming by themselves, without their mothers. Our informants, who were locked up in the courthouse, could see this through a hole in the window and through the doors carelessly left open by a guard. The soldiers cut open the children’s stomachs with knives or they grabbed the children’s little legs and smashed their heads against heavy sticks. … Then they continued with the men. They took them out, tied their hands, threw them on the ground, and shot them. The authorities of the area were killed inside the courthouse” (p.361).
This account allows for the modern generation of scholars to realize that the actions that occurred within the genocide were taken to full capacity (even through aspects of rape, sexual assault, and other means) that officially allowed the members of the Guatemalan army to do whatever means seemed necessary to them in order to rid society of the Mayan threat. This officially means of Mayan treatment events of torture occurred similarly throughout the entire genocidal war of 1981-1983. “In this sense, the genocide of the early 1980s was a logical extension of preexisting Maya/ladino relations.
At the root of this system of institutionalized violence lay the fear of an indigenous uprising “coming down from the highlands”; the uprising of the early 1980s came closer than any other experience to realizing that great fear” (p.364). During this time, although the genocide had concluded…the ambition of ridding out the communist within the Mayan society was still continuing, especially from 1983-1990s. It was because of this that the Mayas were forced: to serve in the PACS (the self-defense patrol), to live in modern villages under military control, and to be overseen by the militarily administration in a constant effort to establish martial law which was all supervised by the General Victores. It was during this effort that the PACS were forced to kill villagers, the army used the essence of hunger to establish social control, and the ladino army felt it had the rights to control the Maya civilization of the highlands. Therefore… although the genocide itself was concluded…the efforts to control the Mayan society continued until 1990 when the war finally was concluded through the Guatemalan Peace
Accords. It was through the Peace Accords that not only did the war officially cease…but also the stories of those affected began to come to light in the effort to place judgement upon those whom influenced the war to begin with. 9000 victims told their stories to the Peace Accords in a hope for those responsible to officially receive what they were due. However, though they ended the war, those who were responsible never truly gained their punishment for the war that cost so many lives to become unstable. It is through this epic aspect of war / genocidal event that not only was the Mayan history radically changed but it also became an influence to the modern historians who study how genocide works, its effects, and especially how the means can be taken to the extremes for the “greater good”.
stature. The acts of war that took place became known as a “…wholesale slaughter and acts of genocide by the counterinsurgent state security forces, carrying out extra-judicial violence without any facade of legal constraints” with the victims focusing upon the Mayan indigenous civilians from the area of the Guatemala’s highlands (p.355) “Entire sectors of Maya population became military targets, leading many scholars to identify these policies as genocidal” (p.359). Due to this genocidal attack… roughly 440 villages were destroyed with 150,000 unarmed Maya civilians were killed and over one million were forced to relocate due to the burning of their villages (p. 359). Therefore because of the actions that occurred, one could quickly realize that the initial action , which was to remove the hold of communism from within the country, developed into something more than its initial action…something based upon the deterioration of the sub-ethnic groups. Therefore the genocide became more of a threat towards the race and cultural heritage of the Maya instead of the need to rid the country of the threat of communism (p. 359-360). It is through the eye-witness accounts that the modern generations are able to view and understand in essence what truly occurred to those whom were unfortunate to experience the genocide of the Maya. One account proclaims what actions occurred during the attack upon a local village. During this attack, “…the soldiers began to fire at the women inside the small church. … but were separated from their children, taken to their homes in groups, the purpose of this last parting of women from their children was to prevent even the children from witnessing any confession that might reveal the location of the guerrillas. Then they returned to kill the children, whom they had left crying and screaming by themselves, without their mothers. Our informants, who were locked up in the courthouse, could see this through a hole in the window and through the doors carelessly left open by a guard. The soldiers cut open the children’s stomachs with knives or they grabbed the children’s little legs and smashed their heads against heavy sticks. … Then they continued with the men. They took them out, tied their hands, threw them on the ground, and shot them. The authorities of the area were killed inside the courthouse” (p.361).
This account allows for the modern generation of scholars to realize that the actions that occurred within the genocide were taken to full capacity (even through aspects of rape, sexual assault, and other means) that officially allowed the members of the Guatemalan army to do whatever means seemed necessary to them in order to rid society of the Mayan threat. This officially means of Mayan treatment events of torture occurred similarly throughout the entire genocidal war of 1981-1983. “In this sense, the genocide of the early 1980s was a logical extension of preexisting Maya/ladino relations.
At the root of this system of institutionalized violence lay the fear of an indigenous uprising “coming down from the highlands”; the uprising of the early 1980s came closer than any other experience to realizing that great fear” (p.364). During this time, although the genocide had concluded…the ambition of ridding out the communist within the Mayan society was still continuing, especially from 1983-1990s. It was because of this that the Mayas were forced: to serve in the PACS (the self-defense patrol), to live in modern villages under military control, and to be overseen by the militarily administration in a constant effort to establish martial law which was all supervised by the General Victores. It was during this effort that the PACS were forced to kill villagers, the army used the essence of hunger to establish social control, and the ladino army felt it had the rights to control the Maya civilization of the highlands. Therefore… although the genocide itself was concluded…the efforts to control the Mayan society continued until 1990 when the war finally was concluded through the Guatemalan Peace
Accords. It was through the Peace Accords that not only did the war officially cease…but also the stories of those affected began to come to light in the effort to place judgement upon those whom influenced the war to begin with. 9000 victims told their stories to the Peace Accords in a hope for those responsible to officially receive what they were due. However, though they ended the war, those who were responsible never truly gained their punishment for the war that cost so many lives to become unstable. It is through this epic aspect of war / genocidal event that not only was the Mayan history radically changed but it also became an influence to the modern historians who study how genocide works, its effects, and especially how the means can be taken to the extremes for the “greater good”.