Washington, July 26: The United States closed its embassy in Guatemala to the public today amid violent street protests and called for former dictator Efrain Rios Montt to stop his supporters from running amok. The State Department said the embassy in Guatemala had not been targetted for any attack in the pro-Rios Montt rallies that have turned violent and left at least one person, a journalist, dead but said the mission had closed its doors as a precaution.
In addition, spokesman Richard Boucher said the embassy had advised Americans in Guatemala to steer well clear of the demonstrations, which he branded as undemocratic for the second time in as many days. "We think these are dangerous," he told reporters. "These are an affront to democracy, and not part of the democratic process."
Boucher made similar comments in a written statement released Thursday night as the violence prompted Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo to call in the Army to restore order.
In that statement, Boucher called for Rios Montt's party, the right-wing Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), to clamp down on its supporters who are protesting a court decision that suspended the 77-year-old retired General's presidential campaign ahead of scheduled elections in November. Boucher dismissed Rios Montt's claim earlier this week that he could not control any violence, noting that the FRG was giving material support to the demonstrators. Bureau Report