"Our history is a living history, that has throbbed, withstood and survived many centuries of sacrifice… The peoples of Guatemala will mobilise and will be aware of their strength in building up a worthy future."

Former Guatemalan leader Efrain Rios Montt has appeared in court but is refusing to testify in a genocide case involving crimes against indigenous communities during his dictatorship in the 1980s.

Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt must appear in criminal court in a genocide case involving crimes against indigenous Guatemalans during his de-facto government in the 1980s, a government prosecutor said.