The people of Guatemala have been celebrating the first anniversary of the peace agreement which ended 36 years of civil war between the government and left-wing guerrillas.

Church bells rang out around the country to mark the event.

But the euphoria which surrounded the signing has given way to increasing disillusionment as people realised the end of the civil war would not signal the end of decades of poverty.

The government's inability to reform the economy has stalled $2 billion of foreign aid and discontent has fuelled growing insecurity and caused a crime wave.

Under the accords, the leftist rebels, many of them Mayan Indians, agreed to return to civilian life and the government made cuts to the size of the armed forces.

But church officials, business leaders and the United Nations mission in Guatemala have warned that peace is being hampered by crime linked to the activities of former combatants.

The peace accord ended 36 years of civil war

A senior government official said crime levels were falling but asked for patience, saying the country needed time to recover from more than three decades of war in which 100,000 people died.

Hundreds of marchers took to the streets of Guatemala City on Monday to protest at the high levels of poverty in Guatemala, especially in the countryside.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
 

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