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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=5
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Urgent
Update: Two FMLN Activists Assassinated by Heavily Armed Group Dressed as
Police<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><i><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic'>High tensions on eve of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s municipal and
legislative elections<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></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'><a
href="http://www.cispes.org/">CISPES</a> Update - January 12, 2009<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=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><img
border=0 width=399 height=336 id="_x0000_i1030"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01C974B2.A40E4890"><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'>Also in this update:<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><a
href="#_Terror_campaign_leads">Terror campaign leads to domestic
deployment of Salvadoran Armed Forces</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><a
href="#_Government_ignores_healthcare">Government ignores healthcare
workers’ demands</a></span></font></b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<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'>A father and son, both activists of the leftist FMLN party in <st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region>, were shot and killed in their home
on January 9 in the small town of <st1:City w:st="on">Las Minitas</st1:City>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>. 26
year-old Maximino Rodríguez and 63 year-old Delfo de Jesús Rodríguez – an
ex-combatant of the former FMLN guerrillas – were attacked by a group of
six or seven heavily armed men who were reported to be dressed up to look like
special unit police officers. The style of the assassinations, in which the
masked men arrived in a vehicle and unloaded their weapons indiscriminately
into the Rodríguez house, recall the death squad killing of the 1980s. <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 FMLN immediately denounced the assassinations as part of an
escalation of political violence, and called on the government to carry out a
full investigation. Already the National Civilian Police and the Attorney
General have implied that the killings were carried out by gang members, an
assertion that friends and party leaders of the FMLN see as ridiculous. At
least two suspects have been detained by the police, but no charges have yet
been filed. The FMLN declared that continued impunity for the perpetrators of
such political violence is a severe setback for the 1992 Peace Accords. <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Please respond to the <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=502&Itemid=27">CISPES
alert from last week about political violence and the right wing dirty campaign.</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><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The FMLN also warned against further campaign violence as the country
moves toward the first round of voting. The Salvadoran municipal and
legislative elections will take place on January 18; the mayoral campaigns
throughout <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region>
officially end on January 12, and tensions have been high for months.<b><span
style='font-weight:bold'> <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><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><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>One such highly contentious race is for mayor of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:place></st1:City>, in which<b><span
style='font-weight:bold'> </span></b>Violeta Menjivar, current mayor and
candidate for the FMLN, has a 14 point lead over Norman Quijano, the candidate
for the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party. This race has already
seen several incidences of electoral violence. In November, campaign workers
for ARENA candidate Quijano attacked and injured a group of FMLN members
campaigning door-to-door, actions denounced by Salvadoran human rights
organizations and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s Human Rights Ombudsman
Oscar Luna. Quijano’s campaigners also attacked vendors and shoppers at the
Montserrat Market who refused their campaign flyers, turning over a market
stall and breaking a vendor’s cooking supplies. In response to the
attacks, Quijano infamously stated that his campaigners are usually armed and
should be “considered dangerous.” <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'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<h3><a name="_Terror_campaign_leads"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Terror campaign leads to
domestic deployment of Salvadoran Armed Forces<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-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'>In an attempt to continue instilling fear in the public during this
electoral period, the Ministry of Security announced on December 15 that
supposed armed groups are undergoing military training in the Salvadoran
countryside, an announcement that was disseminated by the Salvadoran media. The
key piece of evidence serving as proof of the existence of such groups is a
photograph of community members reenacting a military formation with plastic
prop guns taken during a social-cultural public event in El Paisnal, an event
that commemorates the civil-war death of Comandante Dimas Rodriguez. The
presence of members of the FMLN at the community event resulted in the Ministry
of Security and President Tony Saca of the ARENA party establishing false
connections between the FMLN and these armed groups before the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>’
FBI, Interpol, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the United
Nations (UN).<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 Minister’s announcement has more serious impacts than just
fear: Salvadoran military troops were deployed throughout the region
surrounding El Paisnal to monitor these supposed armed groups. As a response, organizations
in El Papaturro, Canton, <st1:PersonName ProductID="La Bermuda" w:st="on">La
Bermuda</st1:PersonName>, Suchitoto, and the department of Cuscatlan to
mobilize against and denounce the presence of soldiers in their communities. According
to Jose Antonio Rivera, a representative of the El Parpaturro community, the presence
of soldiers is viewed as a “very delicate” provocation and blatant
violation of the guidelines in the 1992 Peace Accords that ended the Salvadoran
Civil War, guidelines that prohibit armed forces from policing the country.
“We want the authorities to stop implicating our communities in this,
they have nothing to do with these false accusations,” said Rivera.<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 FMLN denounced the accusations as a “terror campaign”
and a last ditch effort to defame their party whose presiden<st1:PersonName
w:st="on">tia</st1:PersonName>l candidate Mauricio Funes has a 16 point lead
over the ARENA candidate Rodrigo Avila, according to the most recent polls.
“We don’t want this to be utilized in the current electoral climate
because it is a great violation of the political rights of citizens, and is intending
to provoke fear and terror so they will choose [ARENA] candidates,” said
Miguel Montenegro, director of the Human Rights Commission.<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'>At a public event, the Vice-presiden<st1:PersonName w:st="on">tia</st1:PersonName>l
candidate for the leftist party responded to the fear campaign launched against
the FMLN Salvador Sanchez Cerén by stating: “despite the dirty campaign,
people continue to trust in the FMLN to govern.” <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'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<h3><a name="_Government_ignores_healthcare"></a><b><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Government
ignores healthcare workers’ demands<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-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'>On January 7, health care workers powerfully marched from Benjamin
Bloom Children’s Hospital to <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Rosales</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Hospital</st1:PlaceType> in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City></st1:place> to demand that the government
improve working conditions, increase payments, and provide basic equipment to
the hospitals.<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'>This is the healthcare workers’ third action in three months. In
November, a two day public healthcare worker’s strike shut down
outpatient services at Rosales and Benjamin Bloom Children’s Hospitals in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>.
While the government agreed to nego<st1:PersonName w:st="on">tia</st1:PersonName>te
with the Healthcare Workers’ Trade Union of El Salvador (SIGEESAL), they
have yet to respond to SIGEESAL’s demands for a greater budget to
purchase medicine, food for patients, and pay the $300 year-end bonus (the
demand was since lowered to $200) owed to workers. <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'>Frustrated by the government’s negligence, the union organized
its second action for better working conditions, shutting down outpatient
visits at the hospitals again on Wednesday, December 16. In addition to
blocking the hospitals, SIGEESAL has organized the closing of major streets and
peaceful demonstrations at the Ministry of Treasury. <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, according to Mario Arevalo, secretary general of SIGEESAL,
“Our demands still have not been resolved.” “If we compare
the benefits given to the Ministry of Justice, who receive an $800 [year-end]
bonus, we should also have a bonus because we attend to 80% of the
population,” he continued. <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'>In addition to lack of pay, a nurse fro<st1:PersonName w:st="on">m t</st1:PersonName>he
Rosales hospital pointed out the hospital’s lack of funding for resources
and medicine needed to treat their patients. “We don’t have
materials to work with; as result patients’ relatives have to buy the
medicine that is very expensive, it can be up to $50 dollars.” <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'>SIGEESAL has led the struggle for more government investment in public
healthcare, as the present network of public hospitals endures a medicine and
food shortage, as well as low wages for workers. SIGEESAL has also helped fight
government efforts to privatize public healthcare, which would lead to greatly
reduced services and higher costs.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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