World

Guatemalan Protesters Demand President Colom's Resignation

by Jarrett Martineau | May 13, 2009 at 11:02 am

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Boing Boing directs us to an incredible UStream video channel that is currently broadcasting live events in Guatemala — where protesters are calling for the resignation of Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom.

Watch the live video stream here: Guatemala: Bloggers are Livestreaming Protests Calling for President To Step Down

Controversy has erupted in Guatemala in recent days after a video was posted by Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano, a lawyer who claims to have been assassinated by President Álvaro Colom.

Follow live updates to this story on Twitter at #escandalogt

A lawyer's murder has rocked Guatemala after the distribution of a video testament he recorded shortly before his death accused the country's president of orchestrating the crime.

The 18-minute film has caused a sensation in what was once of central America's most violent and unstable countries, and has prompted calls for President Álvaro Colom to step aside.

"Unfortunately if you are watching this message it means that I, Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano, have been assassinated by President Álvaro Colom," said the lawyer, looking directly to camera and seated behind a desk.

In the video, Rosenberg, 47, said his life was in danger over a corruption scam involving Colom, the president's wife and senior government officials. The lawyer was gunned down by unidentified men in two vehicles while cycling in a middle-class neighbourhood near his home in the capital, Guatemala City, last Sunday.

The crisis in Guatemala has intensified in recent days as the controversy over Rosenberg's death deepens.

The crisis in Guatemala sparked by an assassinated attorney's final words -- captured on YouTube -- continues to expand online and in the streets.

[...] a protest poster distributed on Twitter in posts marked with the hashtag #escandalogt (short for "Guatemalan Scandal," for those who don't read Spanish).

The poster reads: I WILL NOT BE AFRAID TO GO OUT INTO THE STREETS, DEFEND MY LIBERTY, UPHOLD THE LAW, DEMAND JUSTICE, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID TO LIVE IN MY HOMELAND AND CHANGE ITS FUTURE.... GUATEMALA, I WILL NOT ABANDON YOU.