wfn.org | Rigoberta Menchu in New York Feb. 9-11

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Email: news@ncccusa.org; web: www.ncccusa.org
  
NCC2/5/99

NOBEL LAUREATE RIGOBERTA MENCHU AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS
****NEWS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD 11 a.m., FEB. 11 AT 777 UN 
PLAZA****

 NEW YORK, Feb. 5 ---- Rigoberta Mench£, the Mayan Indian from 
Guatemala whose work for indigenous peoples' rights in her own land 
and worldwide earned her the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize, will be 
available for media interviews as part of a Feb. 9-11 visit to New 
York City sponsored by the National Council of Churches (NCC) and 
the United Methodist Office for the United Nations.

 A news conference will be held Thursday, Feb. 11 at 11 a.m. 
on the 8th Floor of the Church Center for the UN, 777 United 
Nations Plaza (corner of 44th St. and 1st Ave.).  Media also may 
be able to schedule individual interviews with Ms. Mench£ as her 
schedule allows.  (Call 212-870-2227.)

 Ms. Mench£'s visit comes at a key time in her own and her 
country's life.  In recent months, the Nobel Laureate has come under 
attack from academics alleging inconsistencies in the book I, 
Rigoberta Mench£ which was based on taped interviews and published 
in 1983.  Meanwhile, a major report from the Truth Commission in 
Guatemala is due out at the end of this month that will contain much 
testimony from Mayan Indians about years of systematic violence 
carried out against them by the military regime.

Thousands of Indians were massacred and disappeared in the 
1970's and 80's, including many of Ms. Menchu's own family.  The 
Historical Clarification Commission was set up as part of the peace 
agreement which was brokered in Guatemala.

 "Rigoberta Mench£ continues to be an important symbol and 
representative for indigenous peoples not only in Guatemala but 
worldwide," said the Rev. Oscar Bolioli, Director of the NCC's Latin 
America Office, which is sponsoring the visit along with the NCC's 
International Justice and Human Rights Office.  "With the attacks 
and the upcoming report, we decided this was an important time for 
the religious community, a longtime supporter of Rigoberta Mench£, 
to express our continued support for her cause and to hear about her 
continued work for peace and justice."

 While in New York, Ms. Mench£ will meet with church and non-
governmental organization leaders at the United Nations and the 
Interchurch Center and possibly with UN Secretary-General Kofi 
Annan.

 She comes to New York following stops in New Mexico and Texas 
where she is part of the "Peace Jam" program, which brings Nobel 
Peace Prize winners to universities to speak and to offer support 
for local peace projects.

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