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<p class=MsoBodyText><b><font size=4 face=Times><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Report by Delegation to El Salvador Calls into Question US
Government’s Role in Human Rights Abuses and Political Intervention<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><i><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>October 8,
2009<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'>Contact: Burke Stansbury –
202-521-2510 ext. 205 or <a href="mailto:burke@cispes.org">burke@cispes.org</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=2 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-style:italic'>Download report at <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/2008delegationreport">www.cispes.org/2008delegationreport</a>
(Spanish version coming soon)<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>A recently returned delegation to <st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region> has published a report on human
rights abuses, the potential for fraud and intervention in the 2009
Salvadoran elections, and the role that the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> government has played in the
cited injustices. The delegation was organized by the Committee in
Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) and was made up of 17 <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>
citizens and residents. The introduction to the report explains its
intended purpose of “offer[ing] elected officials, the media, and
concerned citizens a description of the deterioration of human rights in El
Salvador…[and] the potential impediments to true democracy faced by
the Salvadoran people as they approach a crucial election period in their
country.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Callie Arnold, a delegate from Seattle, stated
“We feel that US citizens and residents should be aware of and
concerned by the injustices carried out in El Salvador — particularly
the many that our government has a hand in — and we hope this report
will get people talking, increase media coverage, and encourage elected
officials to take action.” The Human Rights section of the report
cites evidence that the existence of the International Law Enforcement
Academy (ILEA) — a police training institution in San <st1:City
w:st="on">Salvador</st1:City> that is funded and administered by the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> —
has coincided with “an increase in repression, including arrest and
torture of citizens involved in peaceful protests.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>The section of the report entitled “2009
Elections and the Electoral Process” further calls into question the
role of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>
government in the Central American country. It cites instances leading up
to the 2004 presidential elections in <st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region> in which the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> “interfered with the
ability of Salvadorans to choose their preferred candidate.” It goes
on to discuss “similar patterns of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> political involvement in the
period leading up to the 2009 elections.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Andrew Kafel, a delegate from <st1:State w:st="on">New
York</st1:State>, says, “The current state of the economy in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>
is dire. The Central American Free Trade Agreement has devastated the
country and the 2009 elections offer Salvadorans an opportunity to bring
about democratic change that will better the state of their country. This
is why it is so important that they be allowed to freely choose their next
government.” On January 18, 2009, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place> will hold municipal
and legislative elections; on March 15 presidential elections will take
place. The leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) holds
a significant lead in presidential polls over the ruling right-wing
Republican National Alliance (ARENA). Kafel went on, “It is clear
the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region>
want change and we believe it is of utmost importance that the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>
stay out of their elections and allow for self-determination.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>The report also describes a meeting with US
Ambassador to El Salvador Charles Glazer as “a highly rhetorical and
hostile propaganda exercise with the delegates.” Rosa Lozano, a
delegate from Washington D.C., stated, “The Ambassador’s
behavior and demeanor was troubling, but it was especially surprising that
when directly asked about US involvement in the 2004 elections, he admitted
that the US had intervened. That is why it is so important that this
report be published and for US citizens and residents to pressure our
government not to repeat this intervention in 2009.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>The complete report can be downloaded at <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/2008delegationreport">www.cispes.org/2008delegationreport</a>
or obtained by contacting CISPES’ National Office in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">DC</st1:State></st1:place>
at 202-521-2510. For more information go to <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/">www.cispes.org</a>. <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;color:white'>© 2008 CISPES - The Committee in
Solidarity with the People of <st1:place u2:st="on"><st1:country-region u2:st="on"><st1:country-region u5:st="on"><st1:place u5:st="on"><st1:country-region
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<span class=style21>CISPES National Office | ph. 202-521-2510 | <st1:place u6:st="on"><st1:City u6:st="on"><st1:place u2:st="on"><st1:city u2:st="on"><st1:place
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