Nine Student Protestors Followed and Arrested After Peaceful Protest

[CISPES National Office]

Nine Student Protestors Followed and Brutally Arrested After Peaceful
Protest 

CISPES Update

February 2, 2007

 

More than a thousand students and members of youth organizations mobilized
outside of the University of El Salvador on Wednesday in a protest against
the Anti-Terrorism Law and to demand an increase in government spending on
education, specifically for the public university.  The youth marched
peacefully to the Legislative Assembly where they called for the repeal of
the law and for increased funding for education.   They then marched to the
Supreme Court to demand the court declare the legislation unconstitutional,
since it defines legal means of protest as "terrorist" acts punishable with
decades in prison. 

 

Police presence during the protest was minimal, creating an image of the
police as keeping order and looking out for the well-being of even the
protesters. However, after the activity finished, police followed leaders of
the youth organizations and coordinators of this protest to the surrounding
municipalities where they live.  There, the police arrested 9 of the youth
including one minor.  One youth leader was badly beaten before they were
transferred to a police station in yet another municipality.  The protesters
are being charged with public disorder, carrying of weapons and resisting
arrest.  Those detained are still in police custody, with 2 lawyers handling
the case.  The youth organizations that coordinated the activity will be
holding a press conference on Monday demanding the immediate release of the
9 captured.  Social movement organizations are circulating electronic
denouncements on the criminalization of youth protest and for the release of
those arrested.

 

U.S. Officials Urged Application of Repressive Laws

Days before, outgoing U.S. ambassador Douglas Barclay applauded the ARENA
government's achievement of approving the Anti-Terrorism Law and the Law
against Organized Crime.  Barclay also urged government officials to apply
these laws and to create more repressive laws - including authorization for
domestic surveillance of phone calls - under the pretense of fighting crime.
The new US ambassador to El Salvador, Charles Glazer, was officially
accredited by President Saca behind closed doors Wednesday.  There was also
a public welcoming ceremony where Glazer expressed his enthusiasm to
maintain and strengthen the good relations between both countries.

 

Additionally, U.S. intervention in Salvadoran politics was evidenced by the
announcement of a bilateral agreement between the Attorney Generals Safie,
from El Salvador, and U.S. Attourney General Alberto Gonzalez in a meeting
held in Washington D.C. on January 26th.  The agreement included the sharing
of information between the agencies about those deported from the U.S. with
any police records, although they were not clear about what this information
will be used for.  They also agreed that the U.S. would send three permanent
anti-gang advisers to El Salvador.  There will be a second meeting on
February 5th between US and El Salvador Attorney Generals in El Salvador,
this time with the participation of Honduras and Guatemala officials, to
further discuss the operative mechanisms for the implementation of these
joint projects.  Salvadoran officials have also said that they want to sign
more anti-crime agreements with the U.S., but that that Gonzalez is asking
that El Salvador change its penal code to include life sentences and the
death penalty.

 

Government and Social Movement Present Contrasting Proposals on Water
Administration

The president of the national water administration office, Cesar Funes,
announced that the government's National Water Law proposal that would lead
toward privatization has been handed in to the President's "Technical
Secretary," which is the final step before it will be presented to the
Legislative Assembly for its approval.  Water workers and other social
organizations had days before presented their own proposal that would
guarantee the equal and sustainable access to water for the people of El
Salvador.  Additionally, the water workers' union has been holding regular
public forums in municipalities around the country as a means of public
consultation and to present their proposal.  The focus of the union's work
has been to increase awareness of the water crisis in the country and
promote organization as the solution for defense and demand of water as a
basic human right.

 

 

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