2 (hereinafter "the President") issued an order dated July 15, 1991, whose operative part reads as follows: 1. To order the Government of Guatemala to adopt without delay all necessary measures to protect the right to life and the physical integrity of DIEGO PEREBAL-LEÓN, JOSÉ VELÁSQUEZ-MORALES, RAFAELA CAPIR-PÉREZ, MANUEL SUY-PEREBAL, JOSÉ SUYMORALES, AMILCAR MÉNDEZ-URIZAR, JUSTINA TZOC-CHINOL, MANUEL MEJÍA-TOL, MIGUEL SUCUQUI-MEJÍA, JUAN TUM-MEJÍA, CLAUDIA QUIÑONES, PEDRO IXCAYA, ROBERTO LEMUS-GARZA and MARÍA ANTONIETA TORRES-ARCE, in strict compliance with its obligation to respect and guarantee human rights under Article 1(1) of the Convention. 2. To convene a session of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights July 29 to 31, 1991, at its seat in San José, Costa Rica, in order to take up the Commission's request for provisional measures and this order. 3. To convoke the Government of Guatemala and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights to appear, through their representatives, at a public hearing to be held on this matter at 3:00 p.m. on July 29, 1991, at the seat of the Court. This order was transmitted to the Commission, and to the Government of Guatemala (hereinafter "the Government") through its Embassy in San José, Costa Rica. 3. The Government addressed a note to the President on July 24, 1991, regarding the order transcribed above. In that note, the Government declared that "for the last thirty years Guatemala has experienced armed internal conflict which has concentrated primarily on the highlands of the country, an area comprising several Departments. One of these is El Quiché, which has probably been the area most affected by the violence that the aforementioned armed conflict has generated." The note added that the community of Chunimá is located in the fighting zone "where the guerrillas conduct their war offensives and terrorist acts with greatest intensity." Guatemala argued that a "fundamental objective" of its Government is to achieve peace throughout the nation and that it is "actively seeking a resolution of the armed internal conflict and the reincorporation into peaceful political life" of the irregular groups. Guatemala declared that "in order to be able to give a full and accurate accounting to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as part of the proceedings for provisional measures requested by the Inter-American Commission," it needs to conduct a thorough investigation, obtain reports, hear from the inhabitants and carry out related efforts, all of which will require time. Consequently, the Government asked the Court for a postponement of the July 29 hearing for a period of at least 30 days. With regard to the Order of the President of July 15, 1991, the Guatemalan note states that "in compliance with Your Excellency's order, the Government of Guatemala has intensified the security measures of the Chunimá area in order to provide its inhabitants with better protection." This note was followed by another, dated two days later, in which Guatemala repeated its request for a postponement of the hearing and reported that "[a]s regards the emergency measures ordered by the President of the Court, the Government, aware of their nature and of the fact that such measures can be emitted without a hearing of the parties, finds them to be reasonable . . . "