Justice In Guatemala!

By on February 1, 2013 in

No one would have ever thought it possible. But Guatemala’s former military dictator Efrain Rios Montt has been charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. Montt is going on trial on Monday on charges related to massacres in remote highlands villages. In his term in the early 80s, Montt enjoyed the strong support of US president Reagan. On the next Burt Cohen Show, Victoria Sanford is guest. Sanford is anthropology professor at the City University of New York and has written extensively about Guatemala’s civil war. It is a truly amazing story. Don’t miss this one! Tuesday February 5, noon to one ET at wscafm.org, and Thursday 2/7 at 5 PM on WNHN 94.7 Concord.

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  • hannah

    “Civil war” is an interesting phrase, surely not the first euphemism, but effective. How can warfare be civil? Civilized is what people who live in close proximity to each other in cities are. Minding one’s own business and respectivn privacy are at its core. War is anything but. So, in one sense, civil war is an oxymoron, a phrase whose parts cancel each other out.

    Or, is it a war against citizens who, for whatever reason, resist being civilized in the sense of being obedient and polite? That would be consistent with the German dictum that “if you’re not compliant, I will have to use force.” In other words, civil is actually a euphemism for obedient and those who don’t obey deserve to be whipped into shape. So, a double euphemism that is anything but what it says.

    Calling aggression that’s fomented and weaponized by foreign agents a civil war is a lie. At least our characterization of Iraq has never sunk that far.

    That said, the real purpose for this comment is to provide a link for the radio station and the show, as well as other offerings:
    http://portsmouthcommunityradio.org/

    Let’s see if making links in comments works by putting in the code.