9. The petitioners requested an additional hearing by means of a note of January 16, 1998. In a note of February 11, 1998, the Commission informed them that it would be unable to grant that request due to the volume of hearings already programmed for its next meeting. 10. On May 12, 1998 the petitioners provided the Commission with a copy of a letter which had been transmitted to the Presidential Coordinating Commission for Executive Policy in Human Rights Matters (COPREDEH), recounting the internal remedies which had been attempted or remained pending during the previous six months. In a note of July 15, 1998, the Commission indicated that the information would be incorporated in the case file. III. THE POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES A. The Position of the Petitioners 11. The petitioners characterize the area of Rabinal as predominantly inhabited by members of the Maya population, and described Plan de Sánchez as having had an entirely Maya-Achi population at the time of the events in question. The petitioners allege that the military maintained a strong presence in Rabinal in 1982, and that soldiers came to Plan de Sánchez periodically to ask about the movements of male residents, and to intimidate members of the local population, particularly those who did not participate in the Civil Self-defense Patrols (hereinafter "PAC’s"). 1 As a consequence, they contend that there "was a climate of considerable fear in the community in the first half of 1982," and the men would sometimes leave the community to hide from the soldiers. 12. Because Plan de Sánchez is located along a path to Rabinal, on Sunday July 18, 1982, a market day, people from neighboring villages were passing through the community. According to the petition, the victims of the massacre included residents of the communities of Chipuerta, Joya de Ramos, Raxjut, Volcanillo, Coxojabaj, Las Tunas, Las Minas, Las Ventanas, Ixchel, Chiac, Concul, Chichupac, Plan de Sánchez and the municipal center of Rabinal. 13. The petitioners allege that, early on the morning of July 18, 1982, two grenades fell to the east and west of Plan de Sánchez. A group of approximately 60 men dressed in military uniforms and armed with assault rifles, and four "judiciales" allegedly arrived in Plan de Sánchez between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. 2 Those four judiciales were identified by witnesses, and the two officials in charge were identified as Lieutenants Solares and Díaz. The petitioners report that soldiers monitored points of entry into the community, while others went house to house rounding up the population. Girls and young women were held in one location, while older women, men and children were gathered in another. Approximately 20 girls between 12 and 20 years of age were taken to one house where they were raped and then killed. The rest of the population was forced into another house and the adjoining patio. The petitioners allege that, at about 5:00 p.m., soldiers threw two hand grenades into that house, and then sprayed it and the patio with sustained gunfire. Small children were hit or kicked to death. Shots were reportedly heard in another location, where four bodies were later found. The petitioners describe the soldiers as having subsequently set fire to the house where the majority of the victims had been killed before leaving the community some hours later. 14. The petitioners allege that residents who had not been present or had escaped being rounded up returned early the next morning to find that house that had been burned still smouldering and the bodies of most victims burned beyond recognition. Military commissioners who arrived at the scene hours later reportedly consulted the military base in Rabinal for 1 The PACs were established at the end of 1981 by the de facto military regime of General Ríos Montt, as part of its policy to exterminate the guerilla movement through the relocation of the indigenous population, and the eradication of "any community or ... person that his government was suspicious of, using methods that violated human rights." IACHR, Fourth Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.83, Doc. 16 rev., June 1, 1993, at 53. The PACs were initiated in the Department of El Quiché, and expanded to other Departments. See generally, id. ch. VI. 2 The petitioners indicate that the "judiciales" had been an investigative body of the police. They had reportedly ceased to exist as an official matter prior to the events denounced, but had continued to function as a factual matter in association with the Department of Army Intelligence. The petitioners allege that these persons were known in their communities in this capacity and were able to threaten and intimidate the population with impunity. 2