{"article":{"id":116440,"heading":"Guatemalan human rights activist speaks @ Unitarian Church, Anaheim, Friday, Sept. 3rd","author":"UUOC","created":"2004-09-01 00:26:31","modified":"2013-11-11 00:30:44","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:30:44","article":"<p>The Social Concerns Committee of the <br>  <br>     Unitarian Church of Orange County invites you <br>  <br>      to attend the following special presentation <br><br>      ============================================ <br>  <br>       GUATEMALA: 8 YEARS AFTER THE PEACE ACCORDS   <br>  <br>        A difficult present &amp; an uncertain future  <br>  <br>      ============================================ <br><br>               Friday, September 3, 2004 <br>  <br>                       @ 7:30 pm <br><br> Dr. Raul Molina, member of the Board of Directors of <br>  <br> the Guatemala Human Rights Commission\/USA and former <br>  <br> Coordinator of the National University of Guatemala's <br>  <br> Truth Commission (which exposed decades of human <br>  <br> rights abuses committed by the Guatemalan military, <br>  <br> private militias, and death squads), will deliver a <br>  <br> talk about the political situation currently existing <br>  <br> within that country.  <br><br> From his own personal experience as a human rights <br>  <br> activist, Dr. Molina will give us a thorough and <br>  <br> indepth look at Guatemalan politics; talk about the <br>  <br> influence the United States plays in its internal <br>  <br> affairs; and address some of the issues faced by <br>  <br> Guatemalans who migrated here to escape political <br>  <br> repression. <br><br> Dr. Molina notes that recent positive changes in the <br>  <br> government and efforts to implement the 1996 Peace <br>  <br> Accords ending civil strife are a source of hope for <br>  <br> the Guatemalan people; but warns that serious social <br>  <br> and economic problems and pervasive violence and <br>  <br> insecurity still threaten to tear that nation apart <br><br> Active in Guatemalan politics, Dr. Molina was a <br>  <br> founding member of Representaci&oacute;n Unitaria de la <br>  <br> Oposici&oacute;n Guatemalteca (RUOG) in 1982, a political and <br>  <br> diplomatic team that presented the case of Guatemalan <br>  <br> human rights atrocities to all important international <br>  <br> fora, particularly the UN General Assembly Commission <br>  <br> on Human Rights. <br><br> In addition to this, he was Under-Secretary for <br>  <br> Foreign Affairs for the Frente Democr&aacute;tico Nueva <br>  <br> Guatemala (FDNG), a left-wing political party, between <br>  <br> the years of 1996-99, and was a candidate for Mayor of <br>  <br> Guatemala City in for Acci&oacute;n Metropolitana (AM) in <br>  <br> November 1999. <br><br> Dr. Molina is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor <br>  <br> of Latin American History and World History at Long <br>  <br> Island University and an Adjunct Associate Professor <br>  <br> of Social Sciences at New York University. <br><br> This meeting is free and open to the general public, <br>  <br> although a small donation might be requested to help <br>  <br> cover expenses. Nobody will be turned away for lack of <br>  <br> funds. For more information about this speaker, please <br>  <br> contact <a href=\"mailto:duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com<\/a>. <br><br>          Unitarian Church of Orange County <br>  <br>               511 South Harbor Blvd. <br>  <br>                Anaheim, California <br>  <br>          (Located on the Southwest corner <br>  <br>        of Harbor Blvd. and Santa Ana Street) <br>  <br>                     -------       <br>  <br>                  714-758-1050 <br>  <br>                     ------- <br>  <br>            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uuchurchoc.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.uuchurchoc.org<\/a>  <br><br>  <br>  <br> <\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"www.uuchurchoc.org","address":"511 South Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, California","phone":"(714) 758-1050","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"Dr. Raul Molina, member of the Board of Directors of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission\/USA and former Coordinator of the National University of Guatemala's Truth Commission, will deliver a talk about the political situation currently existing within that country. \r\n","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2004\/09\/116440.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}