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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Friends,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>This is a very serious situation so please stay tuned
for more information and alerts about this case as we await response from
the Department of Justice. In the meantime, please send this press
release around and encourage your contacts in the media to get the story
out there. It’s important to expose their dirty tactics and
thwart this throwback to illegal FBI harassment of the solidarity movement
in the 1980. We can’t let the Bush Administration intimidate
CISPES, or other opposition groups working to support grassroots,
anti-imperialist struggles around the world!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Adelante,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The CISPES National Office<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>*********<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><i><font
size=2 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:red;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>For immediate release<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>March 11, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Contact: Burke Stansbury, CISPES – 202 521 2510
ext. 205; <a href="mailto:burke@cispes.org">burke@cispes.org</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=4
face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:
bold'>Central American Solidarity Activists Dispute Department of Justice Order,
Denounce Possible Repeat of Illegal Harassment<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><i><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;
font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>Grassroots Group</span></font></i></b><b><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;
font-weight:bold'> <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Accused of Being
Foreign </span></i></span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial'>“<b><i><span
style='font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>Agent</span></i></b>”<b><i><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'> </span></font>of
Leftist Political Party in Lead-up to Contentious Salvadoran Presidential
Elections<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Washington</span></font></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <st1:State
w:st="on">DC</st1:State></span></font></st1:place><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>: The Committee in Solidarity
with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), illegally targeted in the
1980’s by the largest FBI Internal Security investigation of the
Reagan era, has in recent months again received threatening communications
from the U.S. Department of Justice. Citing the Foreign Agents Registration
Act of 1938, a letter sent to CISPES in January questions the
organization’s relationship with the leftist Salvadoran political
party known as the Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation, or
FMLN. CISPES received similar inquiries in the 1980s which eventually
led to an illegal FBI investigation into its activities.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The letter cites the organization’s website and an
article published in the Washington Post – which does not mention
CISPES – following the December 2007 visit of the FMLN’s presidential
candidate Mauricio Funes. It states that, “it has come to our
attention… that the FMLN, and/or possibly its candidate for El
Salvador’s 2009 presidential election, Mauricio Funes, hired your
organization for the purposes of conducting a public relations media
campaign to include political fundraising…” The
Department of Justice gave no other evidence to back up the claim.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>According to CISPES Executive Director Burke Stansbury,
“CISPES has never had a contractual agreement with the FMLN or Mr. Funes,
nor have we taken orders from the party to do publicity work in the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Rather, we have a solidarity relationship based on shared political values
that goes back to the struggle for democracy and economic justice that the
people of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>
fought against a brutal U.S.-backed military regime in the
1980s.” CISPES was founded in 1980 at the height of the civil
war between the US-backed Salvadoran government and the FMLN, at that time
an internationally recognized guerrilla force.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>“That the Department of Justice would wrongly
evoke the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to target this
organization at this particular moment demonstrates the Administration's
fear of progressive change sweeping <st1:place w:st="on">Latin America</st1:place>
. It is an effort to intimidate and stifle solidarity groups in the <st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> who oppose the Government's efforts to
install puppet regimes against the will of the people of <st1:place w:st="on">Latin
America</st1:place>,” said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a lawyer from
the Partnership for Civil Justice who is part of the team of attorneys
assisting CISPES in this matter.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The Salvadoran FMLN and its candidate Funes have gained
broad support 12 months ahead of the 2009 election, in large part due to
the failure of U.S.-supported neoliberal policies like the U.S.-Central
America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>“This shows that the Bush Administration is
terrified of another Latin American country electing a Left party,”
said Stansbury. “People in the region want fair and transparent
elections, free of outside intervention, and such actions by the Bush
Administration show a dangerous tendency towards once again disrupting the
electoral process of a sovereign country.” In 2004, the last
time the FMLN had a chance to win the presidency, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> government officials issued statements
showing clear support for the right-wing ARENA party and threatening to cut
off money sent from Salvadorans in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> to their families should
the FMLN win. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>In 1981 FBI investigated CISPES for allegedly acting as
a foreign agent of the FMLN. When that claim proved baseless, the
Department of Justice launched a full-scale investigation based on the
claim that CISPES was a front for the “terrorist” FMLN. The FBI
campaign of surveillance, harassment, and intimidation of CISPES lasted
until 1987 and ultimately became a major embarrassment for the Bureau when
CISPES and the Center for Constitutional Rights forced the release of FBI
files under the Freedom of Information Act. Subsequent Congressional
hearings showed the FBI to have conducted numerous illegal operations, led
to an internal inquiry by the Bureau, and curtailed the scope of domestic
surveillance activities which were later expanded again under the USA
Patriot Act.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>“In the 1980s the Department of Justice set out to
intimidate and repress the powerful <st1:place w:st="on">Central America</st1:place>
solidarity movement,” said Angela Sanbrano, CISPES Executive Director
during the FBI investigation of the1980s. “That infamous witch
hunt was a complete failure, and yet the Bush Administration has the nerve
to return to the original tactics of using an ambiguous law – FARA
– to threaten CISPES again.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>CISPES has continued its work of supporting real
democracy and human rights in <st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region>
by taking delegations of elections observers to <st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region>; touring prominent Salvadoran labor leaders
and human rights advocates in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region>;
and working to prevent a repeat of past <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> political
intervention. CISPES has opposed the opening of the U.S.-sponsored
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), claiming that it has served
to export repressive U.S. policing tactics – including harassment of
political activists from opposition groups – to Latin America. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>“It’s no coincidence that the Bush
Administration is targeting CISPES now for our solidarity with movements in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>,”
said Sha Grogan-Brown, CISPES’s Development Director. “As
more and more progressive forces take power in <st1:place w:st="on">Latin
America</st1:place>, the State Department is looking for ways to bolster
its few remaining allies and to thwart the rise of parties like the
FMLN. But their dirty tactics of harassment and intimidation will not
stop our solidarity work, as we refuse to submit to their pressure.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>- Go <a
href="http://cispes.org/documents/Doj_CISPES_Page1.pdf">here to view the
Department of Justice letter to CISPES</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>- Go <a
href="http://cispes.org/documents/Final_response_to_DOJ.pdf">here to view
the CISPES response</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>- Go <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=355&Itemid=75">here
for an article on the history of FBI harassment targeting CISPES in the
1980s</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>**********<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:
bold'>It's vital that CISPES continue its solidarity with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place> in the face of this
attack - <a href="https://chavez.mayfirst.org/cispes/">go here to make your
tax-deductible contribution today! </a><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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</span></font><span class=style21><font size=2 color=white><span
style='font-size:10.0pt'>© 2008 CISPES - The Committee in Solidarity with
the People of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El
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