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<div class=Section1>
<h1 align=center style='margin-left:0in;text-align:center;text-indent:0in;
mso-list:none'><b><font size=5 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Pacific Rim Mining opens legal process
against <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>
under CAFTA laws<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>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;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>December
16, 2008<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>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><img
width=412 height=288 id="_x0000_i1027" src="cid:image002.jpg@01C95F8A.DFD2CEB0"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";font-style:italic'>Also
in this update:<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<h1 style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo4'><![if !supportLists]><b><font
size=3 face=Symbol><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol;font-weight:
normal'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ˇ<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font></b><![endif]><font face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-weight:normal'><a
href="#_Obama_gives_Ambassador">Obama gives Ambassador Glazer the pink slip</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<p class=MsoBodyText style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo4'><![if !supportLists]><b><font
size=3 face=Symbol><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol;font-weight:
normal'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ˇ<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font></b><![endif]><font face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-weight:normal'><a
href="#_Minimum_wages_to">Minimum wages to rise in El Salvador, economist calls
the increases “insulting”</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h1 style='margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo4'><![if !supportLists]><b><font
size=3 face=Symbol><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol;font-weight:
normal'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ˇ<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font></b><![endif]><font face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-weight:normal'><a
href="#_FMLN_candidate_Funes">FMLN candidate Funes 13 points up in CID-Gallup
poll</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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-family:"Times New Roman";font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>On December 9, 2008, Canadian-based Pacific
Rim Mining Corp. filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) to begin arbitration
proceedings against the government of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The NOI was
filed under Central America-Dominican Republic-United States of America Free
Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) laws, and serves as the first step in opening up
legal proceedings against El Salvador (Canada is not a member of CAFTA but the
arbitration would be filed under its US-based subsidiary, Pac Rim Cayman.)
The company and country will have 90 days to amicably resolve their
dispute. If no resolution is reached by March 9, 2009 – just six
days before the Salvadoran presidential election — Pacific Rim can then
open arbitration proceedings under the Convention on the Settlement of
Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States and under the
Rules of Procedure for Arbitration Proceedings of the International Centre for
Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)—an affiliate of the World Bank.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Pacific Rim maintains that it has
invested over $75 million dollars in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">El
Dorado</st1:City></st1:place> mining project and that there is potential for
huge returns and the creation of new jobs. The company claims that,
despite its compliance with all laws, the government of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place> has failed to grant the
permits to begin to exploit the gold and silver mine. An eventual lawsuit
is expected to demand several hundred million dollars in damages from <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
an amount that would further damage a country that is already in a dire
economic situation, in part due to the effects of the CAFTA-DR accord.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Citizens' organizations in <st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region> have come out very strongly against
mining, and specifically against the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">El
Dorado</st1:City></st1:place> project. Environmentalists contend that
the project would lead to acid drainage, water pollution, and the evaporation
of cyanide, thus devastating the environment and public health. The
“I Reject Metal Mining” campaign is a combined effort of a broad
spectrum of environmental, labor rights, and community organizations that has
held many demonstrations and educational events throughout the country.
Some political analysts have suggested that the timing of the NOI,
putting the end of the 90-day grace period just days before the presidential
elections, opens the possibility that the governing Nationalist Republican
Alliance (ARENA) party could claim that a victory by the leftist Farabundo
Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party would open El Salvador to losing
the several hundred million dollar lawsuit.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoBodyText><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<h3><a name="_Obama_gives_Ambassador"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Obama gives Ambassador
Glazer the pink slip<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>On December 3, US President-elect Barack
Obama announced that, as of his inauguration, all <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> ambassadors that were
politically appointed by the Bush Administration should vacate their
posts. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Ambassador to El Salvador Charles Glazer, a Bush political appointee, is one of
the ambassadors that have been asked to relinquish their positions on January
20, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Many within the opposition political and
social movements in <st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region>
view Obama’s victory in November as a blow to the ARENA party in the
lead-up to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
2009 municipal, legislative, and presidential elections. The dismissal of
Ambassador Glazer reinforces this notion. Glazer, who has been the ambassador
since January 16, 2007, has spent the last two years fortifying a close
relationship between <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s governing right-wing
Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party and the Bush Administration.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>In a June 2008 meeting with a CISPES
delegation, Ambassador Glazer admitted to intervention by the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> on behalf of the ARENA party
during the 2004 Salvadoran presidential elections. However, he expressed
hostility towards the delegation throughout the meeting and dismissed the
delegates' concerns about intervention and potential fraud in the 2009
elections, as well as concerns about documented cases of human rights abuses in
the country. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h3><a name="_Minimum_wages_to"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Minimum wages to rise in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
economist calls the increases “insulting”<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>In the first week of December, the
Minimum Wage Council of El Salvador agreed to an increase in minimum wages that
will be effective on January 1, 2009. Economist Raúl Moreno, research
coordinator of the Foundation for the Study of the Application of Law (FESPAD),
called the increase of 8% for the industrial, commercial, agricultural, and
service sectors and 4% for textile workers “insulting.”
Workers in the commercial sector will only see their monthly salary go from
$192.30 to $207.68, the industrial sector from $188.10 to $203.15, and the
textile sector from $167.10 to $173.78. These wages are still
significantly lower than the estimated $360 basic cost of living, which only
includes food costs and a fraction of the costs of basic services and
goods. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Moreno</st1:City></st1:place>
expressed concern that minimum wage increases should be paired with responsible
regulation of the market, warning that otherwise “the trickle-down effect
will also appear” and increase the costs of many goods.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Former sweatshop worker-turned-union
organizer Estela Ramirez explained that that the increase “is a joke and
shows that the government couldn't care less about us, particularly the
sweatshop workers.” <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s Central Reserve Bank
reports that workers’ salaries only make up 32% of the gross domestic
product (GDP) of the country, while business profits make up 62% of the
Salvadoran GDP. “The businesses keep making money while the
government does nothing to lower the high costs of food and lets our families
starve. The raises are not in accordance with the cost of living,”
Ramirez said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>The minimum wage increase comes at a time
when all political parties are in the midst of campaigning for the upcoming
municipal and legislative elections in January of 2009 and the presidential
elections in March of 2009, causing some to believe that the motive of the
increase is to bolster support for the governing right-wing Nationalist
Republican Alliance (ARENA) party, which is lagging behind the left-wing
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in the latest presidential
polls, as well as many municipal and legislative races.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><![if !supportLists]><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><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 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></h1>
<h3><a name="_FMLN_candidate_Funes"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>FMLN candidate Funes 13
points up in CID-Gallup poll<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>The latest poll by international polling
firm CID-Gallup, conducted November 15-23 and released on December 3, 2008,
shows the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) presidential
candidate, Mauricio Funes, with a 13 point lead over the governing Nationalist
Republican Alliance (ARENA) party’s candidate, Rodrigo Ávila. When
asked which presidential candidate they would vote for if the elections were
held today, 44% of those polled selected Funes, while only 31% selected <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Avila</st1:City></st1:place>. Another 19%
were undecided and 5.9% would vote for candidates of the Party for National
Conciliation (PCN) or the Christian Democrat Party (PDC).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Reaction among civil society
organizations, and on the streets of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San
Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>, echoes the poll's findings. A representative
of the Movement of Technicians and Intellectuals of El Salvador (MPTIES)
recently stated that, “for 20 years, El Salvador has been governed by the
same right wing party,” which has applied policies “that benefit a
few, rather than the poor.” <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address
w:st="on">A street</st1:address></st1:Street> vendor, who did not want to be
identified, said “We can’t continue to vote for a party [ARENA]
that does not identify with us [the people]. They are mercenaries. We should
vote for change, and that is the FMLN.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Funes’ continued success in the
polls demonstrates the current unity and strength of the FMLN party as the
municipal, legislative, and presidential elections of 2009 approach. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Funes has drawn in many members of the
population who were not previously members of the FMLN party with his platform
of change and hope, which focuses on increased social investment and generating
more jobs in the country.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Thus far, ARENA candidate Ávila, former
chief of the National Civilian Police, has failed to unite or excite the
Salvadoran right and continues to lag in the polls. The nomination of
ARENA’s vice-presidential candidate, Arturo Zablah – who had
previously criticized the right-wing party and insisted it was imperative to
remove ARENA from power – further illustrates the divisions created
by the failed policies of 20 years of ARENA governance. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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