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<div align="center"><big><font color="#ff0000"><big><big><b>Action
Alert</b></big></big></font></big><br>
</div>
<br>
<div align="right">December 29, 2009<br>
</div>
<big><br>
</big>
<div align="center"><big><b><big>Second Cabañas Community
Activist Slain in a Week</big><br>
<i>Demand justice for the murdered activists and an end to
impunity!<br>
<br>
</i></b></big>
<div align="left">
<ul>
<li><i>Watch the <a
href="http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/29/anti_mining_activists_killed_in_el">Democracy
Now! interview with CISPES executive director Alexis Stoumbelis</a></i></li>
<li><i>Read our updated <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=654&Itemid=98">press
release</a> about the murders and distribute it to your media contacts</i></li>
<li><i>Take Action! Email Salvadoran Attorney General
and call Pacific Rim (see below)<br>
</i></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<img alt="dora" src="cid:part3.05000702.06090802@cispes.org"
align="right" height="143" width="152">On December 26, Dora “Alicia”
Sorto Recinos was murdered in El
Salvador—the second anti-mining activist killed in less than a week in
the small community of Trinidad in the department of Cabañas. Sorto
Recinos was eight months pregnant and carrying her two-year old child
when shot after doing laundry at a nearby river. The child, who was
also shot in the leg is currently receiving medical attention. Sorto
Recinos and her life partner, José Santos Rodríguez, were outspoken
opponents
of the El Dorado gold mine, which Pacific Rim, a Vancouver, B.C.-based
company, is desperate to open despite widespread community and
governmental opposition. <br>
<br>
The death toll for Cabañas anti-mining activists has risen to 3 in the
past week: <br>
<blockquote>• Alicia Sorto Recinos was a member of the
Environmental Committee of
Cabañas, which has been extremely active in educating and mobilizing
the local community against Pacific Rim’s El Dorado gold mine; her life
partner José Rodríguez is a current board member of the committee and
has personally received a number of recent death threats and survived
three separate attempts against his life. <br>
• Last week, the committee’s vice-president, <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=648&Itemid=27">Ramiro
Rivera, was
gunned down</a> in front of his daughter, despite his 24-hour police
protection since being shot eight times in August. His neighbor
Felicíta Echeverría was also killed in the attack.<br>
• The first murder occurred last June, when anti-mining and FMLN
<a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=610&Itemid=28">activist
Marcelo Rivera</a> (no relation to Ramiro) was found tortured and
killed in Cabañas.<br>
</blockquote>
A common thread among the two most recent slayings is Oscar Menjívar.
Currently awaiting trial for shooting Ramiro Rivera 8 times in August,
he was previously arrested for attacking José Rodríguez with a
machete. Menjívar’s neighbors report that he was one of Pacific Rim
Mining’s paid “promoters,” though Pacific Rim denies that he has ever
been on payroll.<br>
<br>
Violence has become a harsh reality for Cabañas residents since the
arrival of Pacific Rim. After community organizing efforts
successfully blocked Pacific Rim’s attempts to obtain gold mining
permits, the company filed a lawsuit against the Salvadoran government
under CAFTA, the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement for hundreds
of millions of dollars in damages (<a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=637&Itemid=1">watch
the Real News video here</a>). In
recent months, it has proven especially dangerous to oppose mining in
Cabañas, with a steady stream of attacks, death threats and attempted
assassinations and kidnappings against community leaders and
anti-mining activists.<br>
<br>
Despite the overtly political overtones of these violent acts, whose
frequency is only increasing, local police authorities and the former
Attorney General's office have classified these cases as “common
crimes”. Salvadorans are fearful and outraged by the continued violence
and by the inability or unwillingness of the police and the office of
the Attorney General to protect community activists like Alicia Sorto
Recinos,
Ramiro Rivera and Marcelo Rivera. <br>
<br>
Community members believe that until these cases are thoroughly
investigated for political motives and the perpetrators brought to
justice, impunity against the mining resistance movement in Cabañas
will continue, sending a message to the intellectual authors of these
crimes that they can continue their wave of violence and murders
without punishment. <br>
<br>
<i><b>Act now and call on the Salvadoran Attorney General
to carry out an
exhaustive investigation of these murders and their motives AND demand
that Pacific Rim recognize the social conflict surrounding the El
Dorado mine and stop trying to mine in Cabañas!</b></i><br>
<br>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
<div align="center"><font color="#ff0000"><b>TAKE ACTION!</b></font><br>
</div>
<br>
<b>1) E-mail Rodolfo Delgado (<a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:radelgado@fgr.gob.sv">radelgado@fgr.gob.sv</a>),
head of the
Organized Crime unit of the Attorney General’s Office and demand that
the Attorney General’s office: <br>
</b>
<blockquote>• Complete the recommendation of the
Ombudsman in Defense of Human
Rights Oscar Luna to create a special team with the National Civilian
Police to investigate these murders and threats against environmental
activists.<br>
• Investigate the cases exhaustively and impartially and bring the
intellectual and material authors of the crimes to justice. <br>
</blockquote>
<i>[See sample e-mail text at the end of this alert.]
Please copy Human
Rights Ombudsman Oscar Luna to your email, via his front desk:
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:heidybrizuela@pddh.gob.sv">heidybrizuela@pddh.gob.sv</a>
and forward a copy of your sent email to
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:cispes@cispes.org">cispes@cispes.org</a>.</i><br>
<br>
<b>2) Call Barbara Henderson, Vice President of
Investor Relations at
Pacific Rim Mining, using the talking points below. To call from the
U.S. dial 1- (888) 775-7097, or from Canada (604) 689-1976, and then
press ‘1’.</b><br>
<b><br>
SAMPLE SCRIPT: </b><br>
<br>
“Hello. I have been following Pacific Rim’s El Dorado mine and am
extremely disturbed by the recent news of two community members who
were murdered this past week. These individuals were part of local
organizations that have been actively opposing the El Dorado mine since
2004. I call on CEO and President Thomas Shrake and Pacific Rim’s
board of directors to recognize the social conflict the mine is causing
and to make the moral decision to:<br>
<ul>
<li>Immediately withdraw from Cabañas and cease all
efforts to mine
gold from the El Dorado site. </li>
<li>Immediately withdraw its lawsuit against the
government of El
Salvador. It is absolutely disgraceful for a company to sue a poor
nation like El Salvador, especially when the Salvadoran people and
government have every right to prevent cyanide gold extraction from
destroying their lands and their communities.</li>
<li>Cooperate fully with the official investigations
surrounding the
murders of Alicia Sorto Recinos, Ramiro Rivera and Marcelo Rivera,
providing full disclosure on all the people the company has contracted
in the region and any other monetary transactions it has conducted
among community members, organizations and local government officials.
Violence is tearing apart Cabañas, and the company has every obligation
to offer its full support to bring to justice the perpetrators of these
murdered community members, all of whom have openly opposed the El
Dorado mine. Thank you.”</li>
</ul>
<i><b>SAMPLE E-MAIL (English translation below):</b></i><br>
<br>
Jefe de la División Élite contra el Crimen Organizado<br>
Fiscalía General de la Republica de El Salvador<br>
Fiscal Rodolfo Delgado<br>
Presente.<br>
<br>
Estimado Señor Rodolfo Delgado:<br>
<br>
Como miembro de la comunidad internacional pro-derechos humanos, quiero
expresar mi profunda preocupación por lo más reciente hecho de
violencia contra la comunidad ambientalista en Cabañas, el asesinato de
Dora Alicia Sorto Recinos. Además, quiero expresar la indignación de
la comunidad internacional pro-derechos humanos por la falta de
justicia en los casos de asesinato y violencia política contra las
comunidades opuestas al proyecto minero El Dorado de la empresa
canadiense Pacific Rim.<br>
<br>
Hago un llamado para que la Fiscalía tome los siguientes pasos para
terminar con el ambiente de impunidad que permite estos asesinatos y
intentos:<br>
<br>
1) Cumplir la recomendación del Procurador para la Defensa de los
Derechos Humanos (PDDH) Oscar Luna para formar una comisión de trabajo
especial con la Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) para investigar los
atentados y amenazas en contra de defensores ambientales.<br>
2) Investigar los casos de una manera exhaustiva e imparcial y
llevar justicia a los autores intelectuales y materiales del crimen.<br>
<br>
El asesinato de Sorto Recinos parece otro hecho de violencia
sistemática que ha traspasado en Cabañas desde el junio de este año: el
secuestro y brutal asesinato del activista Gustavo Marcelo Rivera; las
amenazas de muerte a periodistas de Radio Victoria, al director de la
Asociación de Desarrollo Económico y Social Santa Marta (ADES) y a
varios líderes comunitarios del Comité Ambiental de Cabañas; el
sabotaje al sistema electrónico de Radio Victoria; el intento de
secuestro del Padre Luis Quintanilla; el asesinato de Ramiro Rivera la
semana pasada; y, los más de tres intentos de quitarle la vida a Santos
Rodriguez, compañero de vida de la señora Sorto Recinos.<br>
<br>
Es preocupante que la Fiscalía, bajo la dirección de Ástor Escalante,
adjudicó a priori estos crímenes a la violencia común, ignorando las
evidencias y antecedentes presentados que indican la naturaleza
política de los eventos. La Fiscalía, ahora bajo la dirección del Lic.
Romeo Barahona, tiene la oportunidad de terminar con esta impunidad.<br>
<br>
Después del asesinato de Marcelo Rivera en junio, más de cien
organizaciones de los Estados Unidos y Canadá mandaron una carta a la
Fiscalía expresando su preocupación grave con los atropellos a los
derechos humanos. También el Congresista Jim McGovern de los Estados
Unidos expresó la misma preocupación en reuniones con el Señor Fiscal
General, Romeo Barahona, y representantes de la Administración del
Señor Presidente Mauricio Funes, durante su visita reciente a El
Salvador.<br>
<br>
También le estoy mandando una copia de este mensaje al señor Procurador
para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, Lic. Oscar Humberto Luna,
quien ha mostrado un compromiso fuerte para proteger la seguridad y los
derechos humanos de los líderes sociales en Cabañas, además de
manifestar en su más reciente comunicado de prensa que existen
evidencias suficientes para descartar que estas muertes sean producto
de la delincuencia común.<br>
<br>
De quedar estos eventos en la impunidad, se estaría generando un clima
de temor e incertidumbre para los demás líderes comunitarios,
contrarrestando así los avances logrados en el proceso de
democratización del país. Además, mandaría un mensaje a los autores
intelectuales que pueden seguir su ola de violencia y asesinatos sin
ningún castigo.<br>
<br>
Agradezco de antemano sus gestiones para agilizar las investigaciones y
espero que pronto se haga justicia en estos casos y se brinde
protección a las víctimas y reparación a los familiares de los
asesinados.<br>
<br>
[Tu nombre y lugar de residencia/ Your name and place of residence]<br>
<br>
------------------<br>
Chief of the Elite Division Against Organized Crime (DECO)<br>
Office of the Attorney General of El Salvador<br>
Attorney Rodolfo Delgado<br>
Presente.<br>
<br>
Dear Mr. Rodolfo Delgado:<br>
<br>
As a member of the international community in support of human rights,
I want to express my profound concern over the most recent act of
violence against the environmentalist community in Cabanas, the murder
of Dora Alicia Sorto Recinos. Furthermore, I want to express the
indignation of the international community in support of human rights
for the lack of justice in the cases of murders and political violence
against the communities opposed to the Canadian company Pacific Rim's
mining project El Dorado.<br>
<br>
I call on the Attorney General's office to take the following measures
to put an end to the environment of impunity that has permitted these
murders and attempted murders:<br>
<br>
1) Complete the recommendation of the Ombudsman in Defense of Human
Rights Oscar Luna to create a special team with the National Civilian
Police to investigate these murders and threats against environmental
activists.<br>
2) Investigate the cases exhaustively and impartially and bring the
intellectual and material authors of the crimes to justice.<br>
<br>
The murder of Sorto Recinos appears to be the most recent act of the
systematic violence that has been taking place in Cabañas since June of
this year: the kidnapping and brutal murder of activist Gustavo Marcelo
Rivera; the death threats against journalists from Radio Victoria, the
director of the Association for the Economic and Social Development of
Santa Marta (ADES), and other community leaders in Cabañas; the
sabotage of Radio Victoria’s electronic equipment; the murder of Ramiro
Rivera last week; and more than three attempts against the life of José
Santos Rodríguez, Sorto Recino´s life partner.<br>
<br>
It is worrisome that the Attorney General's office, under the direction
of Astor Escalante, attributed these cases a priori to common crime,
ignoring presented evidence that indicates the political nature of
these events. The Attorney General, now under the direction of Lic.
Romeo Barahona, has the opportunity to end this impunity.<br>
<br>
After the assassination of Marcelo Rivera in June, over 100 U.S. and
Canadian social organizations sent a letter to the Attorney General's
office expressing their deep concern over the human rights violations.
U.S. Congressional Representative James McGovern also expressed the
same concern in meetings with the Attorney General and with
representatives of President Mauricio Funes' administration during his
recent visit to El Salvador.<br>
<br>
I am also sending a copy of this letter to the Ombudsman in Defense of
Human Rights Oscar Luna, who has shown a strong commitment to
protecting the security and the human rights of social leaders in
Cabanas in addition to expressing in his most recent press release that
their exists sufficient evidence to demonstrate that these cases were
not the product of common crime.<br>
<br>
If these events remain in impunity, it will generate an environment of
fear and uncertainty for the other community leaders, undoing the many
advances achieved in the process of democratizing the country.
Furthermore, it will send a message to the intellectual authors that
they can continue their wave of violence and murders without facing
punishment.<br>
<br>
I thank you in advance for your efforts to facilitate the
investigations and I expect justice is quickly brought to these cases
and that protection is provided for the victims and reparations for the
families of those murdered.<br>
<br>
[Your name and place of residence]<br>
<br>
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