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<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'>Please respond to the CISPES/Sister
Cities Action Alert, <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=250&Itemid=27">“Demand
the Immediate Release of Political Prisoners in El Salvador!”</a> and
participate in the call-in day targeting the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> State Department on July 30.
Also, call your Congressional Rep to have them sign on to the Dear
Colleague letter related to the recent repression in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>.. <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/documents/El%20Salvador%20Protesters%20Dear%20Colleague%20Letter.doc">You
can download that letter here</a>.<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'> </span></font>More
information at <a href="http://www.cispes.org/">www.cispes.org</a>. <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<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'>Appeals
Judge Says Terrorism Case Should Go Forward, Provisionally Releases Four
Prisoners<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 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'>July 25, 2007<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'>After hours of deliberation on Thursday, July 19, a judge in the
Specialized Tribunals decided to release four of the Suchitoto political
prisoners. The four prisoners released on Monday were Beatriz Eugenia
Nuila, Haydee Chicas, Sandra Guatemala and Ever Fuentes. The Committee of
Families of Political Prisoners welcomed them in their “Liberation
Camp,” a permanent gathering of families and supporters in the central <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">plaza</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>. The families, together
with the social organizations and the FMLN have committed to maintaining the
gathering of public protest until the rest of the 9 political prisoners are
released. While the provisional release on bail was cause for immediate
celebration, the four will still face the terrorism charges with the other
prisoners in two months. <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'>Meanwhile, the new Human Rights Ombudsman, Oscar Luna, has demanded
that the police involved in the brutal repression of political prisoners be
punished. One of the prisoners whose abuse has been highlighted is
Gertrudis Valladares Aquino; he was brutally beaten by the riot police during
and after his arrest and he was hospitalized for seven days because of the
beating. Luna has also called for an investigation into the reports by
some of the prisoners that police officers tortured them by threatening to
throw them into the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Suchitlan</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> while the police
were transporting the arrested protestors in helicopter from Suchitoto to a
nearby police station. The FMLN leadership has applauded Luna’s
report and used it to call for the creation of a special legislative commission
to investigate the entire process. <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'>Criminalizing Protest the
“Legal” Way: Reforms to Penal Code<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Under pressure both nationally and internationally, President Saca and
his cabinet have been making contradictory and diluted statements about the
Anti-Terrorism charges against the 13 Suchitoto prisoners. Saca has made
vague statements, saying it is important to make a distinction between “public
disorder” and acts of terrorism, although Attorney General Garrid Safie
is maintaining his position that the terrorism charges still apply.<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'>However, Saca is working to ensure that even if the terrorism charges
are thrown out the Suchitoto prisoners and others like them will still spend
significant time in jail. Saca has proposed that the Legislative Assembly
approve a series of reforms to the Penal Code. He wants the jail time for
“public disorder” and a newly created crime of “attempts
against public peace” to be punishable with 3-10 year imprisonment.
Given that protest actions fall directly under the definitions of these two
crimes, social movement activists see this move as a further attempt to
“legalize” the criminalization of protest. For example, under
these reforms any two or more people blocking a road in a “dangerous
manner” can go to prison for 3-5 years, and it is written so that anyone
who gathers in front of a public hospital in protest could go to jail for up to
ten years. This second reform to the Penal Code may be in response to the
increasing mobilizing against the steps Saca is taking towards the
privatization of both water and public health care. Security Minister
Rene Figueroa was most telling in his comments when he said, “our interest
is that those that are rebellious be punished; they must be punished, either
with the Anti-terrorism law or under regular criminal law”. <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'>Electrical workers’ union
leader murdered<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Miguel Angel Vasquez Argueta, finance secretary of the historic electrical
workers union (STSEL, Union of Workers in the Electrical Sector) was murdered
on Wednesday, July 18. Union members as well as the broader social
movement gathered to express condolences to his family as well as to fellow
STSEL members. The climate of repression towards the social movement
immediately provoked fear that this could be a politically motivated
murder. However, with no immediate evidence the union and Vasquez’s
family are simply calling for a full investigation. For more information,
see the CEAL report below.<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'>Water workers’ union and social
movement continue fight against privatization<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The fight against water privatization continues in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>, despite the
government’s protest. For a full article about the privatization
struggle, see the NACLA article at </span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><a
href="http://news.nacla.org/2007/07/24/el-salvador-water-inc-and-the-criminalization-of-protest/"
title="http://news.nacla.org/2007/07/24/el-salvador-water-inc-and-the-criminalization-of-protest/">http://news.nacla.org/2007/07/24/el-salvador-water-inc-and-the-criminalization-of-protest/</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style='border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<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 style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>From: <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Labor</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> Studies and Support (CEAL), El
Salvador, Central America.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><b><font size=3 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;font-weight:
bold'>VEIL OF DOUBT COVERS THE KIDNAPPING AND MURDER OF UNION LEADER.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
lang=ES-SV style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'><img
border=0 width=215 height=210 id="_x0000_i1025"
src="cid:image002.jpg@01C7CEE6.90CA1070"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><b><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;font-weight:
bold'>Miguel Angel Vasquez, Leader of STSEL</span></font></b><font size=2
color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>Miguel Angel
Vasquez was the Secretary of Finances of the Workers of the Electrical Section
(STSEL) <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>. His friends and co-workers
describe him as methodical, orderly, a family man, and very dedicated to his
union and his co-workers. He joined STSEL (then known as ATCEL) in 1990 and had
worked for more than 20 years in the electric sector. ´He was a friend with a
great loyalty to the organization` says Roxana Deras, General Secretary of
STSEL. Another friend and co-worker identified as Ernesto, mentioned `He was a
man who would take the shirt off his back for another`. Many who knew him said
he was a man without pride and always worked in collaboration with others. When
co-workers look back through the years of labor conflicts, Miguel is remembered
as always being concerned about the wellbeing of his fired work companions.
Miguel was also a person with strong religious convictions.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>On July 19<sup>th</sup>
co-workers had a ceremony to commemorate Miguel's years of service in the
company ´Duke Energy’ where he worked. This ceremony included executives
of the company, who gave their condolences to his family and friends, including
friends from the local union. It is of note that STSEL and Duke Energy
maintained a normal labor relation, which included collective bargaining.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>The causes for
his murder remain unclear for his family, the union community, and the
Salvadorian soical and popular movement.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><b><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;font-weight:
bold'>IN THE CASE OF HIS WORK</span></font></b><font size=2 color=black
face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>Miguel’s
wife stated that Miguel always came home after work. His co-workers last saw
him on Monday July 17<sup>th</sup> at 5pm after leaving the plant terminal of
Soyapango, the section he was in charge of. Friends of Miguel knew that his
plans were to go to the veterinary in downtown Sal Salvador to pick up some
vaccines. The owner of the veterinary, a friend of the family, said he never
arrived. It is supposed that he was kidnapped during this time, on his way
traveling to the veterinary<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>In the report
from police, he was in the vicinity of ´Las Palmas´ neighborhood in the <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">municipality</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Mejicanos</st1:PlaceName>
in the northern end of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>.
They report that he was in a vehicle that he owned which was parked on a side
street in ‘Mejicanos’. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>There were
several people in the parked car with him, and that the car was kept running
for close to two hours, with the lights on. Later, two shots were heard and the
vehicle sped off. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>The same
vehicle owned by Miguel was later found at 12pm on Wednesday July 18th in
Neighborhood ‘22 April’ in Soyapango. The search for Miguel by
family and friends started the same night, as they thought it was strange and
were worried that he had not come home or called the house. Police
investigators found an unknown body with two gunshots to the head at 9:10pm on
the night of July 17<sup>th</sup>. The next day family identified the body as
Miguel Ángel Vásquez. Miguel did not have any money or anything of value, only
his documents were taken.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>Members of
STSEL have pointed out that a murder of a union member has occurred in a very
difficult time for the popular movement, and union movement in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
and that this must be taken into consideration during the investigation. Right
now in the country, there is increased political repression and tension
surrounding the 13 political prisoners that are being charged with the new
anti-terrorism laws. These political prisoners were arrested on June 2nd for
protesting against the governments plans to privatize the water in Suchitoto.
As well, in the last three years, various murders of political leaders and
union leaders have occurred with complete impunity. One of these cases is the
murder of Salvadorian-American union leader Gilberto Soto, along with other
religious and left leaders in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Says fellow union member Roxana
Deras, ‘ We will not ignore any motive, but as well, we can’t be
sure of a concrete cause of this crime yet. The most important thing is that we
do not let impunity thrive and make sure this is investigated thoroughly.’
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>Though these
statements are sensible, it does not allow for the very serious threat this
sends to social and union organizations. ‘This reminds of 1978, when the
skillful and sinister assassinations of union leaders started’ mentioned
Miguel’s co-worker. The union community maintains that they will not
hurry to any conclusions, but they are not ruling out conducting a simultaneous
independent investigation, given that police investigations often turn up
empty.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>What is true
is that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>
can’t seem to shake the serious social and political crisis it is in. The
country is at a height of crime, economic crisis, and repression of social
organizations, causing great worry both inside and outside of the country. It
is evidence of governmental crisis and the exhaustion of the economic
model which is incapable of offering stability and wellbeing to the
population. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center'><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black'>* * * *<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=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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