Guatemalan congress approves resolution denying genocide occurred during civil war
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Guatemala's Congress has approved a non-binding resolution that calls for "national reconciliation," but also denies there was any attempt to commit genocide during the country's bloody 36-year civil war.
The resolution drew the support of 87 of the 158 legislators late Tuesday.
The resolution states "It is legally impossible ... that genocide could have occurred in our country's territory during the armed conflict."
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The resolution was proposed by Luis Fernando Perez, a legislator for the party founded by former dictator Efrain Rios Montt.
Rios Montt was convicted of genocide for crimes during his 1982-83 rule. But a court later annulled the 80-year sentence for the massacre of thousands of Mayans and ordered his trial re-started.
The vote apparently has no effect on that trial, scheduled to begin again in January.