Western Guatemala Clash

This week my blog topic brings me to Western Guatemala where six peasants were killed and at least thirty were injured in a clash between indigenous communities, the military and the police force. The incident actually occurred yesterday, only reported three hours before my post, and while I have been researching the article, it has actually been updating. It was reported that the United Nations was also dispatched to the area when the word of these actions spread. It was also reported, in addition to the thirty injured and six persons killed, that seven soldiers were injured during the clash.  According to the reports made, all of this fighting which resulted in loss was initially provoked by a large number of indigenous people setting up roadblocks. These roadblocks were being used to protest against the increase of electrical tariffs and the provision of other services. Human rights observers were sent into the area because to investigate the validity of the reports. Different claims have been made about the location of the brawl, facts about the death, and other claims made by the people involved. The human rights observers noted in the articles that the indigenous people actually inhabit most of the area that was affected, and continually claim that their human rights are being taken away from them. Long story short; they believe that their people are entitled to the same rights that the other inhabits of the area possess.

            So the basic question in play here is whether or not the people had the right to exercise their protesting. The article did not go into detail about what all activities that the persons engaged in and to what their degree of protesting was, but it does say that they were blocking roads, thus creating a rather big problem. So you have two sides to the debate; 1) the indigenous people had every right to protest something that upset their beliefs. They believe that they were entitled to retaliate by protesting, and by stripping that from them then they were violating their right to protest. 2) the people who were being blocked from the road had every right to retaliate, (whether or not they did it in a right way is opinion) and form a protest of their own. Whichever side you decide to be one really depends on a matter of opinion; however, I believe that both sides would agree that the loss of human life was unnecessary and rather tragic.