<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="Street"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="address"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="PostalCode"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="State"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="City"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="country-region"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="place"/>
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoPlainText, li.MsoPlainText, div.MsoPlainText
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:Arial;
color:navy;}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:Arial;
color:navy;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:.6in 77.95pt .6in 77.95pt;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Vendors
Movement Protests CAFTA Reforms, Government Violation of Agreements;
Communities Win <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Battle</st1:City></st1:place>
over Water<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>CISPES El Salvador update<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>September 13, 2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The Salvadoran Market Vendors Movement (<i><span style='font-style:
italic'>Movimiento de Vendedores de CD-DVD y Otros Productos de Marcas</span></i>)
held peaceful protests yesterday morning to denounce police confiscation and
repression. In the last three weeks, the National Civilian Police (PNC)
has increased the seizing of vendors’ products and the capture of
vendors, despite agreements to suspend these actions until a viable solution to
the crisis in that sector was reached. The PNC has tried to justify its
escalation of intimidation against the informal sector by claiming that vendors
are involved in child pornography and extortion, an allegation that the
Movement categorically denies.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The work of market vendors were criminalized last December when the
right wing in the Legislative Assembly – pressured by the US Trade
Representative – pushed through dozens of reforms to bring El Salvador
into compliance with the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA.) “We defend the work and food of 60,000 people that
are able to live from this activity. The Government defends the interests
of a couple of transnational corporations,” said Martin Montoya, leader
of the Movement, at yesterday’s downtown street protest. “The
government’s negotiation table is a farce; they don’t want to talk
about real solutions,” he added. The government has attempted to
divide the movement by sponsoring a parallel Association of Vendors. This
Association also took to the streets yesterday afternoon, and their protest
ended in the burning of a bus, which the Movement denounced in a press
conference today as a tactic to de-legitimize their recent action.
Meanwhile in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City> <st1:State
w:st="on">DC</st1:State></st1:place>, CISPES Executive Director Burke
Stansbury praised the Salvadoran vendors<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>’</span></font> struggle during a press conference
about CAFTA implementation on Tuesday: “Thousands of poor people are being
denied their right to make a living in the informal sector because of the
implementation of CAFTA. This is one of the reasons that we opposed the
ratification of the agreement and continue to challenge its
implementation.” <i><span style='font-style:italic'>(see <font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'><a href="http://www.stopcafta.org/">www.stopcafta.org</a></span></font>
for the press release, and download the full monitoring report “DR-CAFTA
in Year One” at <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/cafta/CAFTA_Monitoring_sept12.pdf">http://www.cispes.org/cafta/CAFTA_Monitoring_sept12.pdf</a>)</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Despite violent repression of riot
police, community wins de-privatization of water system<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On September 8, the Salvadoran riot police violently dispersed a
peaceful protest in the Santa Eduviges community, which had taken over the <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Carretera de Oro</span></i> (one <st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region>’s main highways) in the city
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Soyapango</st1:City></st1:place>.
The community was demanding that the state-run water company ANDA take over the
administration of the water system since the privately-run system was failing
and the community had not received water in more than two months. The
riot police attacked the community with teargas, despite the presence of
children and the elderly, and later riot police sprayed pepper gas at community
members who sat down in civil disobedience. Five people were beaten, captured
and threatened with trials for public disorder.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The community occupied the space around the highway for 3 days, until
finally on Monday ANDA agreed to take over the administration of the system, and
all five community leaders were released from prison. Said Efren Mejia,
one of the community leaders released on Monday, “Although the action was
successful, we fear repression from the businessman who owned the water system,
since not only have we cut off his profit but we also demanded mitigation
projects for the 11 communities that have been affected by his unregulated
construction projects.” The battle in Santa Eduviges is one of many
over water in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
and the struggle against water privatization promises to heat up this fall. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>CISPES - Committee in Solidarity with the People of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>130 <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">W. 29th Street</st1:address></st1:Street>,
9th floor<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2
face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>New York</span></font></st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">NY</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">10001</st1:PostalCode></st1:place>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>212-465-8115<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>www.cispes.org<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>