Yesterday Rigoberta Menchú received the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize in an impressive ceremony in which international personalities from different countries participated, and in her acceptance speech she called for an end to discrimination against indigenous people, mainly in Guatemala.
The K’iche’ indigenous leader also called on the different Guatemalan social sectors to “actively participate in the peaceful solution to the armed conflict” and on the international community “to contribute with concrete actions so that the parties overcome differences” in the peace negotiations.
Before an audience made up of members of European royalty, political leaders and indigenous people from different countries, he asked that a peace agreement be signed in Guatemala.
After Mrs. Menchú received the award—medal and diploma—from King Harald V, the public stood and applauded for several minutes while she posed for European television and photographers from different countries. Perhaps in those moments his thoughts flew towards the homeland.
Speech
He began his speech by expressing personal emotion and “pride for my homeland of ancient culture, for the values of the community of the people to which I belong, for the love of my land and Mother Nature.”
He said that, in his opinion, “the priceless medal is an instrument of struggle for peace, for justice, for the rights of those who suffer abysmal economic, social, cultural and political inequalities.”
He added that it constitutes a sign of hope for indigenous peoples throughout the continent and is a tribute to the Central American peoples.
He lamented, however, that in his own country he encountered “objections, reservations and indifference on the part of ‘some’ for this K’iche Indian woman,” thus demonstrating the “discrimination against the indigenous, toward women, on the part of certain sectors.”
Celebration in Guatemala
Different ethnic groups in the country celebrated yesterday, at the Kaminaljuyú archaeological center, zone 7, the beginning of the International Year of Indigenous Peoples, declared by the United Nations, as well as the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Rigoberta Menchú. The celebration brought together indigenous mayors, cultural groups and representatives of Mayan peoples.
*With information from edition 1323
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This note is part of the commemorative series of our diamond wedding, it is a journey through news that marked the history of Guatemala, with original texts and images from each era, as a reliable testimony of our mission of service.