GUATEMALA  AT  THE  CROSSROADS

Commemorating five years since the Peace Signing

December 8, 2001

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO, LAKE SHORE CAMPUS
SULLIVAN CENTER - GALVIN HALL (Building # 44 on map)
6339 NORTH SHERIDAN ROAD (BY THE LAKE)

Guatemalan Food will available from 5 to 6:00 p.m.
Program will start at 6:00

On December 29, 1996, the 36 years old Armed Internal Conflict came to an end in Guatemala. The Guatemalan Government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) signed the Firm and Lasting Peace Accord. Despite its failures, imperfections, and its detractors, the Guatemalan Peace Accords are the scaffolding for the construction of a participatory democratic society in which Peace, Social Justice, and Reconciliation are some of the concepts that play a seminal role in its undertaking. Finally, the Peace Accords, endorsed by the International Community and Peace Makers, are considered to be the only legal, and viable instrument to pursue a culture of peace in a country that has been enveloped in violence since colonial times to our present days.

GUEST SPEAKER:
Dr. Vitalino Similox Salazar

As a founding member of the Ecumenical Forum for Peace and Reconciliation in Guatemala, he will talk of its achievements and future goals. Also, he will share his experience as a direct participant in the Peace Process in Guatemala, and will provide us with a first-hand report on the current state of affairs.

Presently, Dr. Similox is the Executive Secretary of the Conference of Evangelical Churches of Guatemala (CIEDEG), and a founding member of the Ecumenical Forum for Peace and Reconciliation in Guatemala. He has participated in the Peace Process since its beginning in 1987, and has played a crucial role in elaborating peace initiatives. He was a Vice-Presidential candidate for the New Nation Alliance in the 1999 Guatemalan general elections.

Mayan Ceremony and Original Mayan Marimba music

For More information please call: (773) 493-6114 --- 588-5938

Sponsored by:
Loyola's Peace Studies Program - Loyola Students Against Sweatshops - Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance - Chicago Religious Leadership Network - The Committee in Support of the Social Movement for Democracy in Guatemala

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