Former Guatemala Dictator Sentenced to 80 Years for Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity

General Efraín Ríos Montt (center) announces his military coup,
Guatemala City, March 23, 1982 (Bettman/Corbis)

May 10, 2013 - Guatemala's former leader, Efrain Rios Montt, 86, was convicted in court today on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity during the most brutal part of country's 36-year civil war. By the time that war ended in 1996, over 200,000 people were killed or "disappeared." (Some testimony highlights can be seen in the video below.)

Rios Montt came to power after a coup d'etat on March 23, 1982 "and was accused of implementing a scorched-earth policy in which troops massacred thousands of indigenous villagers thought to be helping leftist rebels," reports Straits Times. A report at BBC News says that "Rios Montt was convicted of ordering the deaths of 1,771 people of the Ixil Maya ethnic group during his time in office in 1982 and 1983."

Rios Montt on trial - AP

Rios Montt was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the crime of genocide and 30 years for crimes against humanity in a sentence that was handed down on May 10, 2013 by Judge Yassmin Barrios in Guatemala City. In her decision, Barrios said Rios Montt was fully aware of plans to exterminate the indigenous Ixil population carried out by security forces under his command. The genocide conviction was the first for a current or former head of state in a national court, Human Rights Watch said.

Rios Montt still denies that he ordered any genocidal killings and claims that he did not have full control of everything that happened during the struggle.

It was the state's first official acknowledgment that genocide occurred during the bloody, 36-year civil war, something the current president, retired Gen. Otto Perez Molina, has denied. He knew about everything that was going on and he did not stop it, despite having the power to stop it from being carried out," said Presiding Judge Yassmin Barrios."Rios Montt is guilty of genocide." Source: Bloomberg Businessweek

Also See:

• Rios Montt found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity Boing Boing
• Rios Montt, guilty as charged Central American Politics
• Profile: Guatemala's Efrain Rios Montt BBC News
• Guatemala Profile (a timeline) BBC

Update3: Beirut Car Bomb Kills Lebanon's Top Spy: Violence Spreads

Beirut's Christian section. Photo: Bilal Hussein/Associated Press

Update3: Raw video of blast added - see it below.

Oct. 19, 2012 - A massive vehicle bomb exploded in Beirut, the capitol city of Lebanon, earlier today. It killed at least ten people and injuring many dozens more. Lebanese officials are calling the bombing a "terrorist attack." The bombing today is the first attack of this kind since 2008, and was centered in district of Ashrafiyeh.

Some Middle East experts say that the assassination bombing in Beirut could signal the spread of the Syrian conflict over international borders. Just as bad, it could also spark another civil war in Lebanon. Memories of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war is still the stuff of nightmares in Lebanon and the region.

One of those killed is Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, Lebanon's Chief of the Intelligence Bureau of the Internal Security Forces (ISF).  It is believed that the bomb was meant for Gen. al-Hassan. He "was the official behind uncovering a recent bomb plot that led to the arrest of a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician," reports the Associated Press.

Al-Jazeera says that Hassan was "a key figure in supporting the armed opposition in Syria." That report also notes that a former Lebanese interior minister says it is too early to tell who is responsible for the bombing today.

Update: Large and violent protests are already taking place in the wake of today's bombing. Angered by the death of el-Hassan, protesters "cut the highway between Beddawi to Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, following the announcement of the death of chief of the Intelligence Bureau of the Internal Security Forces, General Wissam el-Hassan," reports Al Bawaba News. "Other roads in the same area were also blocked, according to the same source" and gunfire was reported in a number of other parts of Lebanon. 

An excellent report at Naharnet says that the ISF "played a central role in the arrest in August of former Lebanese information minister Michel Samaha, who has close links to Damascus and was charged with planning attacks in Lebanon and transporting explosives in collaboration with Syrian security chief Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk."



Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi has condemned the bombing and called it "terrorist" and "cowardly."  Not everyone is buying that, however. Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt has accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of setting up the assassination Gen. al-Hasan, according to the Daily Star.

Martin Chulov covers the Middle East for The Guardian (UK) and is posting updates on Twitter today. He tweeted this earlier: "Wissam al-Hassan had led case against former Inf Minister Michel Samaha, accused of bringing bombs to #Lebanon on Syrian orders."  Another tweet by Chulov said, "Death of Wissam al-Hassan the most dangerous event in #Lebanon since assassination of Rafiq Hariri in 2005."

Photo: Yorgo El-Bittar @YorgoElBittar

The bomb exploded near the Christian Phalange Party's offices. They are known for their outspoken  anti-Syria statements. "Another anti-Syrian bloc, the March 14 alliance" says the AP report, has offices nearby. "Sejaan Azzi, a leading member of the Phalange, said he believes his party is being targeted for its views on Syria."

The death toll seems likely to rise as rescue teams sift through the wreckage left by the huge explosion. The blast was so powerful that it ripped balconies off of large apartment buildings.

"Lebanese security officials and Red Cross workers said eight people were killed and 60 wounded, 20 of them critically," reports AP. "Other news reports, citing the health ministry, said three people had been killed and 96 wounded. The state-run National News Agency put the number of wounded at 78."

Related:

• Security chief dies in Beirut blast - Live Updates The Guardian
• Top Security Official Among the Dead in Beirut Blast New York Times
• Lebanon's great divide exposed by assassination of security chief The Guardian 
• Why Wissam al-Hassan, security official killed in Beirut blast, matters... Washington Post 
• On Twitter, Videos and Photos of the Aftermath of the Beirut Bombing The Lede 
• Former Lebanese minister detained after discovery of bomb plot Daily Star Lebanon
• Beirut blast brings back nightmare of civil war Now Lebanon
• March 14 Alliance - Lebanon's Cedar Revolution MiddleEast.about.com

Bastille Day, The Beginning of Great Tragedy

July 14, 2012 - Today is Bastille Day, which marks the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. You may hear a few ignorant people wish you a "Happy Bastille Day" today. Smile and know that they have no idea how tragic Bastille Day and all of that followed really was.

Unlike the American Revolution, the French Revolution led to hideous terror and mass slaughter, ultimately leading to dictatorships and finally to a France that is drowning in socialist debt. People died in the American Colonies's fight against England for independence, but a few years later (in 1793), the French emulated our revolution and made killing their own citizens a national sport.

"A real civil war took place in the French countryside, between the Vendeen and the republican guards. From March to September 1793, more than 100,000 people died from this opposition," Bastille-day.com reminds us.

That was just the beginning of "The Terror," and there is no analog to it in the history of the American Revolution. The Terror continued: After September, 1793 it spread all over France. "This was a cruel period when France was killing its people by hundreds in a frightening movement of rage and decadence. People were arrested and executed without trial if they were accused of being enemies of the revolution. It is estimated that about 40,000 people died during this 15 month period. Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, was beheaded in October, 1793. But that was merely the opening act....

"One of the darkest periods in French history soon ensued," says Bastille-day.com. "The Great Terror began in June 1794....Thousands of people who were suspected to be anti-revolutionists were executed savagely. A campaign of dechristianization took place all over the country....On May 8th, 1794 the Assembly introduced the "Culte de l'Être Supreme" (The cult of Supreme Being), as form of deism. On June 8th, 1794 Robespierre, the President of the Convention, participated in the "Fête de l'Etre Supreme" (Supreme Being celebration) in Paris."

There is a lot more than this simplified summary, of course. Napolean Bonaparte would eventually become the self-declared Emperor of the French in on December 2, 1804. (Isn't it funny that the French celebrate Bastille Day on July 14 but have no big fireworks shows on December 2?)

The bottom line: The French Revolution was an anti-Christian, anti-Establishment, barbaric orgy of class warfare that led to a brutal central government. While the French Revolution was slumping toward military dictatorship in 1800, it was an election year in the new United States of America.

The difference, I need not say, is stunning. Those who glorify the French Revolution have no idea what it was about or the tragedy it caused. (More about the anti-God savagery and the creation of a France dedicated to total warfare can be read at kwintessential.co.uk.)

Happy Bastille Day? There is very little about it that was happy, actually.

Come the Revolution

Naval Aviator, Commander Jerry Wilson wrote a powerful - and ominous - letter. He warns us of what may come sooner than most people think, and he is not afraid to say the unthinkable. How likely is a revolution in the United States? I mean an actual, in-the-streets, house to house, block to block revolution? Wilson wrote, in part: "Mark my words friends. All across America groups are forming. They are forming out of anger and out of desperation at the thought of losing America. They're not militia groups, terrorists as the Department of Homeland security would have you believe; they are Americans, loyal to the Constitution. They are mothers and fathers and grandparents. They belong to groups like the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, the Peaceful Resistance, the Constitution Party, the Young Conservatives, the 9/12 Project, and Grassfire. Right now they are fragmented, each focused on their own cause." I fear that Wilson is correct in, essentially, predicting a civil war or revolution. Call it what you will. While I don't want to see it happen, and I don't believe it is inevitable, the likelihood grows stronger by the week. "As for you, why, you'll be shocked because you didn't see it coming," Wilson writes, "And eventually you'll be saddened when you see that we have truly lost the way of life with which you grew up. You'll be saddened that your children and grandchildren live in a socialist, government- controlled gulag where their every movement from cradle to grave is tracked by the government." When you see well-dressed, blue-haired old ladies holding protest signs and marching in the streets, as we have now at many tea party events, it's a sign that something has shifted dramatically. We're mad as hell, and we're on the verge of not being willing to take it any longer. More excerpts from Wilson's letter: "But sometime in the next two years, our government is going to do something really stupid and these groups will come together. Watch for it, wait for it - get ready. It will happen. "There are a growing number of citizens in the US that are ready to fight to shut down the government's grab of personal freedom, its blatant abuse of the constitution, and it's an attempt to replace the American way of life with socialism. You have to listen carefully to hear them, but they are there. I won't start that fight, but when it goes down I will join it." You can read the entire editorial by Jerry Wilson at My Free Press. The American Revolution of 1776 was started over fewer and less severe offenses than those that have been spat upon the American people over the past year. Keep your powder dry, and God bless America. Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Hamas At War With Fellow Palestinians

Even as Israeli troops move into Gaza, a quiter civil war is taking place virtually behind the scenes. The islamo-fascists in control, Hamas, are moving to crush the more moderate Fatah. The Palestinian people are vicitms of Hamas, the radicals within. The Washington Post explains that "Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip has exacerbated the deep divisions between Palestinians who want to make peace with Israel and those who support Hamas' militant struggle against the Jewish state." (More via the Pittsburgh Post Gazette...) The Jerusalem Post has a similar report: The Hamas government has placed dozens of Fatah members under house arrest out of fear that they might exploit the current IDF operation to regain control of the Gaza Strip. The move came amid reports that the Fatah leadership in the West Bank has instructed its followers to be ready to assume power over the Gaza Strip when and if Israel's military operation results in the removal of Hamas rule. (More via Muslims Against Sharia...)

INDIA'S MAOIST BLOWBACK

The Indians just went to the moon, but they can't clean up their own backyard. If they don't get a handle on an extreme threat to their very existence, and soon, the India that we know and love today will soon turn into a hellish whirlwind of bloody anarchy. The threat comes from ultra-leftists known as Maoists, also known as the Communist Party of India. A report from AFP today: NEW DELHI (AFP) – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday said India was failing in its efforts to crush a Maoist rebellion plaguing vast swathes of the country. Addressing a conference of senior police and security officials in New Delhi, Singh once again described the ultra-leftist insurgency as "the most serious internal security threat" India was facing. Full Article... Just who are the Maoists in India? Jane's notes that "[t]he proscribed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) was founded on 21 September 2004, following the merging of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War, also known as the People's War Group, and the Maoist Communist Centre of India - two of India's most prominent insurgent groups." In short, they're communists. It should be noted that communists come in a variety of flavors, and Maoism is one of them. There are even variations with the global Maoist movement, and the Indian Maoists are particular nasty. Again, from Jane's: "The CPI-Maoist is the largest group of a wider communist insurgent movement, known as Naxalites after the village of Naxalbari in West Bengal, the site of a revolutionary rural uprising in 1967. The CPI-Maoist has a presence in 185 districts in 17 out of India's 28 states, exerting varying degrees of influence in these areas. Chhattisgarh is currently the state worst affected by the insurgency, particularly its southern Bastar region, which was referred to as a "war zone" in July 2007 by state police chief Vishwaranjan. Other states affected by Maoist violence are Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Maharashtra. Andhra Pradesh - where the insurgents are currently on the retreat - has been affected for the longest period of time - since 1964, when radical elements of the political Communist Party of India (Marxist) waged a rebellion called the Srikakulam armed struggle." More at Jane's Intelligence... The irony in all of this is that India's problem with Maoists is, at least in part, blowback from previous intelligence wars of its own. In the past, India has made use of the Maoists as allies in its arguments with Nepal (see India Using Maoists Against Nepal). RELATED: Maoist rebels spread across rural India csmonitor.com YouTube - India's Maoist Revolution - India Subscribe to The Bench by E-mail. It's free!

IMPEACHING MUSHARRAF; TROUBLE AHEAD FOR PAKISTAN

THIS COULD LEAD TO CIVIL WAR IN PAKISTAN. President Musharraf of Pakistan is being impeached - and he vows to resist. Meanwhile, the US is considering increased military operations in Pakistan. ISLAMABAD: After three days of intense talks, the PPP-led ruling coalition in Pakistan announced on Thursday that it had decided to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, warning that any move by him to fight back by dissolving Parliament would be rejected by the nation. Will the crap hit the fan? MAYBE: Indications from the presidency are that Gen. Musharraf may fight back. He has powers to dissolve parliament, but [he was] warned against the use of that weapon. FULL STORY at The Hindu Newspaper... MORE: Pakistan army to ask Pervez Musharraf to resign Musharraf impeachment move a first for Pakistan Musharraf stands firm against impeachment No surrender: Musharraf in appeal to army