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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'>Body of
missing activist found with signs of torture; social organizations demand
justice<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'>CISPES
Update<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'>July 17,
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'><img
width=389 height=280 id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CA06ED.F02AE800"><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><b><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>Also in this update</span></font></i>:<o:p></o:p></b></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="#_FMLN_and_ARENA">FMLN and ARENA spar over response to Honduran coup</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="#_After_two_weeks">After two weeks of deadlock and vacancies in
Supreme Court, consensus is reached</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="#_Funes_announces_“House">Funes announces “House for
Everyone” plan</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></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'>On July 8, DNA tests confirmed that a body found in a well in the
department of Cabañas on June 30 is that of prominent community activist
Gustavo Marcelo Rivera. The body was found by community members who had
organized a search for Rivera, missing since June 18. Witnesses reported that
the body exhibited signs of torture techniques generally tied to targeted
political assassinations. However, initial reports coming from the National
Civilian Police (PNC) state that gang members were responsible for the murder.<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 victim's brother, Miguel Rivera, dismissed the gang violence
explanation. “Saying that my brother died at the hands of gang members is
an unbelievable story and becomes a mockery for my family. My brother was
tortured. He was alive for nine days after his disappearance. His trachea was
broken by a nylon cord that strangled him, pushing his arm up to his face. This
is not an act of gang members. It is torture.”<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'>Rivera was director of the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Casa de
Cultura</span></i> in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Isidro</st1:City></st1:place>,
Cabañas, and was active in social justice and environmental struggles. Friends
and family members report that he received many threats in response to his
public denunciations of San Isidro Mayor Ignacio Bautista of the ARENA party.
Rivera was vocal in his stance against attempted fraud in the municipal and legislative
elections of January 18, which led community members to shut down the town's
voting centers, forcing a make-up election to be held the following week.
Rivera was also active in the national movement against mining projects that
threaten <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s
principal watersheds.<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'>Civil society organizations Coordination for Peace, Dignity, and Social
Justice (CPDJS), the Foundation for the Study of the Application of Law
(FESPAD), and the National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining all denounced the
murder as politically motivated, and called on the PNC and Attorney General to
carry out an exhaustive investigation to determine the intellectual authors of
the crime. In a joint press conference, the institutions stated “Marcelo
was being threatened by members of the ARENA party in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">San Isidro</st1:City></st1:place> and by those that impose death
projects in the area [a reference to the proposed mines], which Marcelo always
opposed, and for this he was defamed and denigrated.”<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'>Social movement organizations argue that a thorough investigation in
this case is impeded by the ongoing vacancy in the office of Attorney General.
The Legislative Assembly has remained deadlocked on the question of appointing
an Attorney General since the outgoing official's term ended three months ago.
Adjunct Attorney General Astor Escalante has taken on the responsibilities of
the office, despite the Salvadoran Constitution’s requirement that the
Attorney General be elected with 56 votes in the Assembly. Critics have
denounced Escalante for usurping the position, and worry that his close ties to
the ARENA party make it likely he will carry on the office’s history of
allowing impunity for politically-motivated crimes. Go <a
href="http://www.mediacoop.ca/video/1731">here for more information and a video
of Marcelo’s funeral</a>.<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>
<h3><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman"'>FMLN and ARENA spar over response to Honduran
coup<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<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'>On Sunday, July 5<sup>th</sup>, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya
– deposed in a military coup a week earlier – flew to <st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region> after the Honduran military
prevented his plane from landing at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Tegucigalpa</st1:City></st1:place>'s
airport. </span></font><span lang=ES-SV>In El Salvador, Zelaya met with fellow
presidents Mauricio Funes of El Salvador, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of
Argentina, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay. </span>José
Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), and
Miguel D'Escoto, President of the United Nations General Assembly, were also on
hand. <o:p></o:p></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'>Earlier in the day, Zelaya attempted to return to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Honduras</st1:country-region></st1:place> to resume his duties as
president, but military vehicles and troops on the airport runway prevented him
from landing. Two Hondurans were killed and many others wounded when the
military opened fire on a peaceful demonstration welcoming the President's
return. A large crowd of well-wishers also greeted Zelaya upon his arrival in <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=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 a press conference at <st1:City w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City>'s <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Comalapa</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Airport</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, President Funes reiterated his
support for Zelaya, saying the only possible outcome of the situation is
Zelaya’s unconditional reinstatement. Funes also condemned the attacks on
civilians by the Honduran military, acting under the orders of <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>de facto</span></i> president Roberto Micheletti.
Zelaya, for his part, appealed directly to the Honduran soldiers, invoking the
words of Monseñor Oscar Romero’s last homily: “In the name of God
and the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Honduras</st1:country-region>,
I demand of you, I order of the soldiers, to stop repressing the people of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Honduras</st1:country-region></st1:place>.”<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'>Funes’ party, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
(FMLN), released an official denouncement of the coup, stating “The coup
d’état in Honduras was ordered and coordinated by those minds that
understand democracy in a totally restrictive sense, confined merely to
electoral events, forgetting that democracy is a concept far broader and far
deeper that has to do with human development and with citizen participation in
the major decisions of a society.” The FMLN’s statement concluded
with three demands: The immediate reinstatement of President Manuel Zelaya, the
rejection of any government that came to power through this institutional
rupture, and respect for the human rights and sovereignty of the people of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Honduras</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<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'>El <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>’s
other major party, the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA),
released its own statement on July 7<sup>th</sup> in a paid-advertisement in
the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>La Prensa Gráfica</span></i> newspaper.
The statement declares “If it is true that an error was committed in the
forcible removal of President Zelaya, an action that we must condemn, it is
also true that President Zelaya committed grave constitutional
violations.” ARENA also condemned the FMLN’s response, saying
“We lament that the FMLN, following the lead of directors outside of <st1:place
w:st="on">Central America</st1:place>, are intervening and running over the
sovereignty of the Honduran people.” <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'>Salvadoran social movements have been organizing regular marches and
demonstrations at the Honduran Embassy in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San
Salvador</st1:City></st1:place> and at the border between the two countries
to express their solidarity with Hondurans who are condemning the coup and
calling for Zelaya's return. “This was a military coup, plain and
simple,” said community organizer Laura Soriano. “The only
conceivable solution is the return of Mel Zelaya, who was elected by the people
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Honduras</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
The [Salvadoran] right’s response to the coup is truly troubling because,
even though they aren’t saying it exactly, they are essentially
recognizing the coup-plotter government. It scares you about what they might
think they can get away with here in <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=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h3><a name="_After_two_weeks"></a><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>After two weeks of
deadlock and vacancies in Supreme Court, consensus is reached<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<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'>For over two weeks, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ)
had been without 5 of its 15 magistrates, including the court's president, as
the right and left-wing factions in the legislature struggled to find consensus
on the election of new magistrates. The Salvadoran Constitution dictates that
new magistrates must be elected with 56 votes, a two-thirds majority that
neither bloc has on its own. After weeks of negotiations, mediated by
President Mauricio Funes, the Legislative Assembly finally came to an agreement
on the 5 magistrates on Thursday, July 16.<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 tense negotiations finally found a resolution in the election of
the lawyer José Belarmino Jaime as the court’s president. Jaime, a
financial lawyer, is associated with the right politically but does not have
public ties to any party. Medardo Gonzalez, General Coordinator of the FMLN
and president of the FMLN fraction in the Legislative Assembly explained,
“No, [Jaime] wasn’t the FMLN choice, it’s clear that it
wasn’t our choice, but the result is that he is a lawyer with recognized
credentials in the legal world, and he has a clean record as far as we know,
and we were able to reach consensus, allowing us to move on [to other
topics].”<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'>During the 16 days of vacancy in the CSJ, several of the remaining
magistrates had taken it upon themselves to rearrange the court, with
Magistrate Nestor Castaneda having named himself acting-President. This
decision had caused controversy among the magistrates, and a meeting called by
Castaneda ended when four magistrates abruptly left due to disagreements about
whether the court itself could appoint magistrates to new positions. The FMLN
faction in the Legislative Assembly introduced legislation reaffirming that the
Assembly is the only body with the authority to elect CSJ magistrates and
appointing the court's president. The proposed bill was met with opposition
from the ARENA party, which classified it as legislative intervention in the
powers of the Court.<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'>According to FMLN Legislative Deputy Ricardo González, the right-wing
was attempting to continue governing in a <i><span style='font-style:italic'>de
facto</span></i> form “through adjuncts, as in the case of the Attorney
General and PGR [General Ombudsperson of the Republic], or by changing
magistrates from one chamber to another in the Court.” Both the Attorney
General’s office and the PGR have been taken over by adjunct officials
linked to the ARENA party while the Assembly attempts to find consensus on who
to name to these offices. “ARENA has not recognized that it lost the
elections… it must understand that the institutions need to
change,” Gonzalez asserted.<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'>Now that the magistrates to the CSJ have been named, negotiations will
begin to name the new Attorney General. President Funes plans to continue
mediating in this negotiation.<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>
<h3><a name="_Funes_announces_“House"></a><b><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Funes
announces “House for Everyone” plan<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'>Thursday, July 16, President Mauricio Funes announced the
implementation of his “House for Everyone” (“Casa para
todos”) plan in a televised address to the people of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The plan is expected
to benefit 27,947 rural and urban families in the poorest municipalities of the
country and generate 41,886 jobs directly and at least 60,855 jobs indirectly.
The financing of the project will come from both the State’s Social
Housing Fund as well as the private sector and will amount to an investment of
$232.5 million.<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'>Two additional programs were also announced. The “Floor and
Roof” program will provide building materials to families living in homes
with dirt floors and damaged roofs and benefit over 20,000 families with a
total investment of $5 million. The other program, “Integral Improvement
of At-risk Urban Settlements,” will begin a series of public works to
protect communities that are in danger of destruction do to mudslides,
flooding, and earthquakes. It is anticipated that 3,079 public works projects
will be undertaken, totaling an investment of $11 million.<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'>Funes finished his public address by calling on the people of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>
to participate in the process of change. “It will not be this president
alone that will change from night to morning a reality as dramatic as the one
we live in; nor will the group of men and women who accompany me do it. It
will require the invincible force of the people prepared to advance towards a
future of dignity, peace, and union in order to close the wounds of the past
and overcome the miseries that are causing us pain,” he stated.<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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