First Lady Promises Assistance in Nun's Case
By Ann Devroy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 5, 1996
; Page A06
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday promised an American nun that
the Clinton administration will get "appropriate documents" related to her
abuse by Guatemalan military officials declassified and released within six
months, officials said yesterday.
The first lady made the pledge in a half-hour meeting she held yesterday
with Dianna Ortiz, a 37-year-old Ursuline nun who reported in 1989 that she
was kidnapped, raped and tortured in Guatemala by the country's security
forces. Ortiz, protesting the U.S. government's lack of response to requests
for information on her case, has been holding a silent vigil in Lafayette Park
across from the White House.
A year ago, President Clinton asked the Intelligence Oversight Board to
conduct a probe of the case and whether U.S. government-backed forces were
involved or the United States was making payments to those involved in her
torture.
Despite previous pledges from administration officials to speed the process
of searching for any classified material about her case and releasing it, none
has emerged.
A senior official said yesterday that Hillary Clinton asked to meet with
Ortiz because she "felt some personal concern for her." Ortiz has been keeping
her vigil about 20 hours a day since Monday.
Ortiz's case is one of several involving allegations of Guatemalan murder,
torture or other abuse of American citizens in which CIA complicity is being
charged. American lawyer Jennifer Harbury, whose husband, a Guatemalan rebel
leader, was killed by a death squad, has accused the CIA of complicity in his
killing.
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