Guatemalan Indian speaks

Guatemalan Indian speaks

By Bill Mason

BRISBANE — Federico Gomez, a Mayan Indian from Guatemala, launched his national tour of Australia here from July 14-19, to represent 500 Years of Indigenous, Black and Popular Resistance in Latin America.

"500 years of genocide, oppression and ecocide is enough", he declared at a public meeting held at the Metal Workers Union hall on July 17.

October 12, 1992, marks 500 years since the "discovery" of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, and is being celebrated by governments throughout the region.

"We cannot agree with this celebration of 500 years of massacre and oppression", Gomez said.

"We are faced with creating an alternative to this official occasion. 1992 will be the beginning of a new encounter of all the cultures of the region."

Gomez is a member of the International Council for Indian Treaties, a representative member of the Peasant Unity Committee of Guatemala and a cooperative leader who has been working for several years with the Indian communities.

Also speaking at Gomez's July 17 meeting were Bob Wetherall, president of the Aboriginal Provisional Government, and Michael Redshirt, a representative of the Canadian Indian peoples.

Gomez met members of the Aboriginal community here, spoke to church and migrant groups, and addressed a Green It Up cultural night at the Celtic Club.

He was also special guest at the annual CISLAC concert for Central America on July 18. Some 200 people danced to bands, including Bluefields Jamming and Sisters Karamazov.

From GLW issue 63