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<h1><b><i><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:windowtext;font-style:italic'>In this CISPES update:<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></h1>
<h1 style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><b><font
size=2 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;font-weight:normal'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font></b><![endif]><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext;
font-weight:normal'><a href="#_Assassinations,_Death_Threats">Assassinations, Death
Threats Left Unresolved as Police Director Steps Down to Seek Presidency</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<h1 style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><b><font
size=2 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;font-weight:normal'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font></b><![endif]><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext;
font-weight:normal'><a href="#_Civil_society_and">Civil society and the FMLN
pressure ARENA to repeal salary increase for Legislative Assembly deputies</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<h1 style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><b><font
size=2 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;font-weight:normal'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font></b><![endif]><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext;
font-weight:normal'><a href="#_FMLN_commemorates_the">FMLN commemorates the
second anniversary of the death of Schafik Handal</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<h1 style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><b><font
size=2 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;font-weight:normal'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font></b><![endif]><font size=2 color=black
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext;
font-weight:normal'><a href="#_Take_action_to">Take action to protest Anti-Terrorism
law before hearing of Suchitoto 13</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<h1><b><font size=4 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1><a name="_Assassinations,_Death_Threats"></a><b><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Assassinations,
Death Threats Left Unresolved as Police Director Steps Down to Seek Presidency<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><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><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>February 1, 2008<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;color:black'><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;color:black'>On January 7, employees of <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Radio Cadena Mi Gente</span></i>, a progressive radio
station based in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>,
received death threats via telephone calls made to the station. Despite the
assurance of Rodrigo Ávila, then-Director of the National Civilian Police
(PNC), that he had “all intentions” of investigating the threats,
no investigation has yet moved forward. Ávila made a similar commitment last
year in response to the murder of <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Radio
Cadena Mi Gente</span></i> employee Salvador Sánchez. However, Sánchez’s
murder remains unresolved. <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;color:black'><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;color:black'>With the threats against <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Radio Cadena Mi Gente</span></i>, the murder of
Salvador Sánchez, and the recent assassination of Wilber Moises Funes –-
mayor of the town of <st1:City w:st="on">Alegria</st1:City> from the FMLN party
– still unresolved, PNC Director Ávila resigned his position on January
25 in order to run for the presidency of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Ávila is one of 18
candidates vying for the nomination of the right-wing ARENA party. <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;color:black'><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;color:black'>Despite frequently referencing his
government’s work in “defense of liberty,” Antonio Saca,
President of El Salvador and a radio station mogul himself, has yet to denounce
the threats made against <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Radio Cadena Mi
Gente</span></i>. The radio station, which has only been on the air for a year,
already enjoys broad support, having established itself as one of the few media
outlets that is independent of the ruling ARENA party.<b><span
style='font-weight:bold'> <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<h1><a name="_Civil_society_and"></a><b><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Civil
society and the FMLN pressure ARENA to repeal salary increase for Legislative
Assembly deputies<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><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;color:black'>Last Friday, January 18, the legislative
factions of the ARENA and PCN parties joined forces to approve a $1,800-$2,900
increase in the monthly salary of Legislative Assembly deputies. With this
raise, Assembly President Rubén Orellana, a member of the PCN, would earn more
that $8,600 monthly. This amount is exactly 100 times the average monthly
income of a Salvadoran agricultural worker. <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;color:black'><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;color:black'>The raise was approved by the Board of
Directors of the Legislative Assembly without the participation of members of
the leftist FMLN party, which declared the salary increase both illegal and
immoral.<b><span style='font-weight:bold'> </span></b>The FMLN immediately
called for the repeal of the salary increase, and its deputies in the
Legislative Assembly committed to invest their own additional income in various
social efforts, including hospitals and scholarships for students.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>The FMLN’s
candidate for the 2009 presidential elections, Mauricio Funes, publicly judged
the raise to be “alarming and illegal.” Funes also presented
official correspondence to the Legislative Assembly denouncing the hypocrisy of
the right-wing parties’ approval of such a dramatic salary increase after
approving only a $10 increase to the monthly minimum wage at the end of 2007.<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;color:black'> <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;color:black'>In that same vein, popular organizations
such as the Salvadoran Union Front (FSS) came out against the salary increase.
The FSS stated that the raise is “a slap in the face for the thousands of
families that survive on the minimum wage.” This opinion coincides with
the outrage the public has expressed through media outlets. Many Salvadorans
note that the salary increase would be financed by their taxes, while they
themselves continue to face an economic crisis.<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;color:black'> <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;color:black'>Despite popular sentiment, members of
ARENA initially declined to comment on the salary increase. However, two days
after the raise was announced, President Saca said that it will be necessary to
“revise” the increase. Finally on Thursday the right-wing
parties bowed to the pressure and voted along with the FMLN to rescind the law
which had authorized the increase.<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;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><a name="_FMLN_commemorates_the"></a><b><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>FMLN
commemorates the second anniversary of the death of Schafik Handal<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><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;color:black'>The FMLN commemorated the death of its
historic leader, Schafik Handal, on January 24 with a series of activities in
honor of his life and contributions to the revolutionary process in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
Handal died of a heart attack two years ago.<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;color:black'><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;color:black'>The principal activity in tribute to
Handal, the party’s 1994 presidential candidate, was an “open
tribunal.” FMLN party leadership dedicated this tribunal to Handal in
recognition of his role in initiating the “open tribunal” tradition
while serving in the Legislative Assembly. The FMLN’s ongoing weekly
tribunals provide a forum for party leaders and lawmakers to meet regularly
with the public to report on government issues.<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;color:black'><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;color:black'>In this special tribunal, members of the
FMLN provided a report on the party’s current work at the municipal and
legislative levels, and on the state of the party. Violeta Menjívar, Mayor of
San Salvador, described various projects that the FMLN’s municipal
governments around the country have carried out. Among these projects, a
highlight was the importation of fuel from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Venezuela</st1:country-region></st1:place>. This initiative, carried
out by the FMLN’s mayors, has allowed citizens to purchase fuel at
below-market level prices. <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;color:black'><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;color:black'>On behalf of the FMLN’s faction in
the Legislative Assembly, Salvador Sánchez Ceren, deputy and vice-presidential
candidate, presented a report on recently-approved laws that will benefit the
population. Sánchez Ceren also emphasized the importance of next year’s
municipal and legislative elections. It is necessary, he said, for the FMLN to
win a majority in the Assembly to prevent a coalition of the ARENA and the PCN
parties from approving more right-wing projects such as the Anti-Terrorist Law,
the CAFTA free trade deal, and the ILEA police academy. <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>
<h1><a name="_Take_action_to"></a><b><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Take
action to protest Anti-Terrorism law before hearing of Suchitoto 13<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1><b><i><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:italic'><a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=338&Itemid=27">Go
here to defend those being charged with terrorism in El Salvador!</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></h1>
<h1><b><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>February 8 marks an important date for the 13 protesters arrested in
July of last year in the town of <st1:City w:st="on">Suchitoto</st1:City> and
charged under <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
anti-terrorism law. The judge in the case has given the prosecution until that
date to present evidence, at which point she will transfer the evidence to the
defense and schedule a hearing for the defendants. CISPES and other US-based
organizations have been pressuring the Salvadoran government to drop the
charges, and carried out a successful week of action in mid-January. Various
Congressional Representatives are sending letters to President Saca to express
concern about the human rights situation in El Salvador, and a delegation of
social movement representatives from El Salvador met with House and Senate members
this week, as well as the secretary general of the Organization of American
States, to further denounce recent government repression, political violence, and
questionable electoral reforms passed by the right-wing parties. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><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>
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