The former dictator of Guatemala Efrain Ríos Montt denied charges he ordered the mass genocide of the Ixil Mayas during the height of the Guatemalan Civil War. Ríos Montt was dictator in Guatemala from March 1982 to August 1983.
The Guatemalan Civil War was fought between the government and leftist rebel groups from 1960-1996.
The trial of 86-year-old Ríos Montt began March 19. Thursday was the first time the former dictator spoke at his own hearing. Montt denied having anything to do with genocide and said he never ordered such brutal tactics.
The New York Times says the prosecutors made a strong case against Montt and many witnesses spoke against him, detailing the violence they saw as children and teenagers.
The Times writes, "During General Ríos Montt's 17-month rule...the army swept through the Mayan highlands to flush out leftist guerrillas, slaughtering villagers, laying waste to their hamlets and crops, and killing livestock."
The President of the Justice and Reconciliation Association, Ixil Indian Benjamin Geronimo was present at Montt's trial speaking for the victims. The Washington Post reports Geronimo as saying,
"I saw it with my own eyes, I'm not going to lie. Children, pregnant women and the elderly were killed."
Despite what is being reported as overwhelming evidence against him, Ríos Montt adamantly denied having anything to do with genocide.
"I declare myself innocent," Montt told a panel of 3 judges that would decide his fate. "It was never my intention or my goal to destroy a whole ethnic group."
Montt added, "I never ordered attacks on a specific race. I never did it, and of everything they have said, there was no clear participation."
Despite the fact Ríos Montt is strongly denying the charges of genocide brought against him, Yahoo News reports the prosecution has said that "while in power, Ríos Montt was aware of, and thus responsible for, the slaughter of at least 1,771 Ixil Mayas in Guatemala's western highlands."
The judges will soon meet to deliberate the fate of Ríos Montt and Jose Mauricio (Montt's former chief of military intelligence, also on trial). If convicted the 86-year-old former dictator could face up to 75-years in prison.
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