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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1 align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=6
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>Twelve
rogue deputies split from ARENA legislative fraction<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1 align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3 face=Times><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1 align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";
font-weight:normal'>CISPES update<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'>November
6, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>Included in this update:<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></p>
<ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><i><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:
italic'><a href="#armedforces">Armed Forces granted domestic security role</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><i><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:
italic'><a href="#antimining">Salvadoran anti-mining activists honored in
Washington, DC</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><i><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:
italic'><a href="#ministers">Former ARENA ministers charged with
corruption</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></li>
</ul>
<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><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><b><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1><b><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Twelve rogue
deputies split from ARENA legislative fraction<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Times><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><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In a
midnight legislative plenary on October 31, the composition and leadership of
the National Legislative Assembly was dramatically transformed, following the
desertion of 12 deputies from the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA)
party’s fraction. This political division within ARENA gained
public attention on October 12, when over a third of ARENA’s 32 deputies
announced plans to vote against the rest of the fraction. The rogue deputies
cited deliberate exclusion from the party’s elected leadership as the
primary reason for their official split from the party, during a press
conference given the day after the new ARENA leadership was ratified.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
new party leadership, headed by ex-President of the Republic Alfredo Cristiani,
is replete with representatives of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s traditional,
wealthy elite and noticeably omits representation of the party’s business
class, associated with ex-President of the Republic and party Antonio
“Tony” Elias Saca. The twelve dissident deputies, known as
the “G-12”, are all politically associated with Saca, though they
deny acting under his orders.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>During
Saturday’s midnight plenary, the Legislative Assembly elected a new Board
of Directors, granting posts to the new G-12 fraction and reducing both ARENA
and the Christian Democrat Party (PDC) representation by one post each.
The body also negotiated a new plan for the Presidency of the Legislative
Assembly. The National Conciliation Party (PCN), which has held the
presidency ever since a <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=569&Itemid=28#_Right-wing_legislative_faction">controversial
vote on May 1</a>, will occupy the post for the next 15 months, after which
Sigfrido Reyes of the FMLN will take over the presidency for the remaining 15
months of the legislature.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Political
analysts expect the new composition of the Legislative Assembly to change the
“deadlock” dynamic that has existed since the new Assembly took their
seats last May. Before the appearance of the G-12, the right-wing parties
(ARENA, PDC, PCN) voting as a block could control the movement of legislation,
despite the fact that the FMLN holds the most seats of any party (35
seats). FMLN General Coordinator and legislative fraction president
Medardo Gónzalez acknowledged that the appearance of the G-12 fraction and
ARENA’s shrunken fraction offer new opportunities for negotiating
legislation. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><b><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><a name=armedforces></a><b><font size=3 face=Times><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-weight:bold'>Armed Forces granted domestic security role<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>This
past Tuesday, November 3, President Mauricio Funes officially announced his
plan to deploy more military agents to augment the ranks of the National
Civilian Police (PNC) as a measure “to protect tranquility, internal
peace and security for citizens of the country”. Beginning on
November 6, at least 1,300 additional soldiers will patrol the streets of 19
municipalities located in the 5 departments with the highest incidence of
crime: <st1:City w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Santa Ana</st1:City></st1:place>, La Libertad, San Miguel and
Sonsonate. Soldiers will participate in neighborhood patrols, search and
seizure operations of individuals and vehicles, and may detain individuals
caught in the act of committing a crime, although detainees must immediately be
handed over to PNC agents. After a 6 month period, the Executive office
will submit a report for review by the Legislative Assembly, analyzing the
effectiveness of employing <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El
Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s Armed Forces alongside the
PNC as a domestic security measure. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
initiative falls within the rights of the Executive as written in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
Constitution, which grants the President of the Republic the right to deploy
the military for the purpose of domestic security, should there be an
extraordinary risk to internal peace. According to poll results reported
by the right-wing Salvadoran daily <i><span style='font-style:italic'>El Diario
de Hoy</span></i>, 94% of residents of the capital city, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">San Salvador</st1:City></st1:place>, agree with employing the
military for domestic security purposes. The current FMLN government has
been under intense pressure from the Salvadoran populace to quickly address the
grave security situation, the inherited product of 20 years of structural
violence and destructive economic policies implemented by ARENA party
administrations. The new plan accompanies other longer-term security
strategies of the Funes government that are already in operation, such as the
creation of municipal crime prevention councils and economic measures intended
to alleviate poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Criticisms
of the plan have been aired since Funes began discussing the possibility of
expanded joint military-police efforts this past month. Opponents of the
initiative, including the Foundation for the Study and Application of the Law
(FESPAD) and Supreme Court Magistrate Mirna Perla have claimed that this new
role for the Armed Forces will not reduce crime, but rather serve to increase
repression and continue the failed anti-crime policies of the previous ARENA
administrations. “Unfortunately, thousands of people are captured
in the country on a daily basis and this has not meant fewer numbers of extortions,
murders, robberies, thefts,” stressed Magistrate Perla.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><b><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1><a name=antimining></a><b><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h1><b><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Salvadoran
anti-mining activists honored in Washington, DC<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>On<b><span
style='font-weight:bold'> </span></b>October 15, five members of the <st1:City
w:st="on"><i><span style='font-style:italic'>Mesa</span></i></st1:City><i><span
style='font-style:italic'> Nacional Frente la Mineria Metálica en <st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></span></i>, or the National
Roundtable Against Metallic Mining in <st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region>,
were celebrated in <st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">DC</st1:State>
with the prestigious <a href="http://www.ips-dc.org/about/letelier-moffitt">Letelier-Moffit
Human Rights Award</a> in recognition of their outstanding work against mining
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
(Watch <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><i><span style='font-style:
italic'>Mesa</span></i></st1:City></st1:place> delegates receiving the award:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlsFnpsOmqg">Part 1</a>, <a
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuKxS7YdKyo">Part 2</a>). <st1:City
w:st="on"><i><span style='font-style:italic'>La</span></i> <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Mesa</span></i></st1:City> was founded in 2005 when
regional groups—including community, environmental, faith-based and
development organizations—united in their efforts to close the <st1:City
w:st="on">El Dorado</st1:City> gold mine in <st1:City w:st="on">San Isidro</st1:City>,
Caba<a name="OLE_LINK1"></a><a name="OLE_LINK2"></a>ñas, a project of Canadian
mining firm <st1:place w:st="on">Pacific Rim</st1:place>. Since then, the
<st1:City w:st="on"><i><span style='font-style:italic'>Mesa</span></i></st1:City>
has evolved into a broad-based national coalition representing all 8<b><span
style='font-weight:bold'> </span></b>departments currently resisting the 29
foreign mining projects 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><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While
in <st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">DC</st1:State>,<i><span
style='font-style:italic'> <st1:City w:st="on">Mesa</st1:City></span></i>
representatives met with members of the U.S. Congress and the State Department
to discuss <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=631&Itemid=27">recent
lawsuits filed against the Salvadoran government</a><b><span style='font-weight:
bold'> </span></b>by the North American mining companies <st1:place w:st="on">Pacific
Rim</st1:place> and Commerce Group under the investor protections chapter of the
U.S. Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). According to <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><i><span style='font-style:italic'>Mesa</span></i></st1:City></st1:place>
delegates, the lawsuits are a way to blackmail the Salvadoran government.
“These companies want full access to pillage and exploit our natural
resources. If we don’t allow it, the people have to pay
millions,” insisted William Castillo of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on"><i><span style='font-style:italic'>Mesa</span></i></st1:City></st1:place>.
The delegation encouraged the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
solidarity community to join in the fight against the mining lawsuits and to
organize for a renegotiation of CAFTA.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
delegation also emphasized the political violence ravaging their
communities—including the brutal <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=617&Itemid=1">torture
and assassination of anti-mining activist Marcelo Rivera</a> last
July—which the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Mesa</span></i></st1:City></st1:place> believes to
be tied to international mining companies and the local governments that have
been paid off by the companies. The delegation called on <st1:country-region
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> government officials to demand that <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
newly-elected Attorney General Romeo Barahona conduct a comprehensive
investigation into Marcelo’s death as well as death threats and attempted
kidnappings of anti-mining organizers that have occurred in Cabañas.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a name=ministers></a><b><font size=3 face=Times><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-weight:bold'>Former ARENA ministers charged with corruption<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Times><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><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>On
Thursday, October 1, Minister of the Interior Humberto Centeno presented five
written reports of corruption involving René Figueroa and Juan Miguel Bolaños,
two ex-Ministers of the Interior. Charges include bribery, illicit
negotiations, perjury, failure to fulfill duties, and the embezzlement of over
3 million dollars. The Ministry of the Interior asserts it has sufficient
proof in the form of testimonies and physical evidence, such as falsified
documents, to merit a full investigation by the Attorney General of the
Republic. Centeno told the press that the reports were not presented four
months ago, when the crimes were discovered because he did not have confidence
in the interim Attorney General Astor Escalante.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
corruption charges will be a first test for the <a
href="http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=630&Itemid=28">new
Attorney General Barahona</a>, sworn in on September 18. Barahona’s
election was criticized by some as a continuation of the trend of previous
Attorney Generals that failed to investigate and expose corruption, opting to
perpetuate impunity among State functionaries. Social movement leaders
have expressed hope that the new FMLN administration will bring justice to the
population by holding government officials and ex-officials responsible for their
crimes.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><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>
<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><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Times><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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