[Cispes-update] Judges Oppose Anti-Terrorism Law; FMLN Announces Candidates for President and Vice-President

[CISPES National Office]

Judges Oppose Anti-Terrorism Law; FMLN Announces Candidates for President
and Vice-President

CISPES Update

October 3, 2007



Market vendors show their support for the FMLN candidates

 

A year after the ARENA party and its right wing allies passed the
Anti-Terrorism law, three judges from the San Salvador tribunals criticized
the law as lacking clarity, saying that the law is much too broad and can
therefore be applied arbitrarily. Judges Rolando Corcio, Martin Rogel and
Aida Santos de Escobar declared the law "too confusing" and more
importantly, clarified that "simple street protests are not acts of
terrorism", which coincides with the analysis and resistance of the
Salvadoran social movement regarding the law.  

 

Despite the criticism of the Anti-Terrorist law, Attorney General Garrid
Safie insists that "acts of terrorism have occurred, but guilt has not been
proven".  More than 40 people have been arrested under the law since it went
into effect, yet none have been sentenced with terrorism charges. On
September 1, the 28 vendors charged with terrorism on May 12 were all
released as the judges in the specialized tribunals claimed there was not
enough evidence to convict them as terrorists.  As one judge stated, even
the arrests were arbitrary given that some people were arrested and charged
with acts of terrorism for "simply having been at the scene of the crime". 

 

Meanwhile, the 14 people charged with terrorism for their participation in
the Suchitoto protest against water privatization have joined with the
Committee of the Families of Political Prisoners to continue their struggle
for the charges to dropped. Two weeks ago they held a two-day fast in front
of the Legislative Assembly, and they won a temporary victory when it was
announced that their trail would be delayed.

 

FMLN publicly announces presidential and vice-presidential candidates for
2009 elections 


On September 27, the FMLN Political Commission publicly announced Mauricio
Funes and Salvador Sanchez Ceren as their proposed candidates for the
presidency and vice-presidency for the 2009 Salvadoran elections. The final
decision on the presidential candidates for the FMLN will made at the party
convention in November of this year; already, however, different sectors of
the Salvadoran social movement have announced their overwhelming support for
the FMLN's presidential slate - including at a rally of the National Vendors
movement this week - and excitement is growing around the FMLN's chance to
win in 2009.

 

ARENA's desperate and uncoordinated response to the FMLN's announcement
involved current vice-president Ana Vilma de Escobar calling for an
emergency press conference just hours after the announcement by the FMLN
Political Commission.  There she announced her intentions of becoming a
presidential candidate for ARENA, but the event was attended only by the
media and no fellow ARENA members were present.  

 

Internal divisions within ARENA have become more public in the past few
months. Escobar herself admitted to the press that she does not have the
support of her party members, to which Saca responded that she has the right
to launch her candidacy but that there are many men and women within the
ARENA party that also have candidacy inspirations. ARENA has announced that
it will not make it's candidates public until May 2008.

 

FMLN investigates National Civilian Police training in Military facilities

 

FMLN deputy Benito Lara, member of the Security Commission in the
Legislative Assembly, announced this week that the FMLN legislative fraction
will present a resolution to National Civilian Police (PNC) Director Rodrigo
Avila, Defense Minister Otto Romero and National Police Academy director
Benjamin Cestoni demanding an explanation for why police are being trained
in military facilities.

 

According to Guillermo Gallegos, head of the ARENA fraction in the Assembly,
the FMLN is "seeing ghosts where they don't exist".  Gallegos declared that
the PNC can in fact be trained in military facilities "as long as they have
verification from a superior" and said that the only coordination between
the PNC and the armed forces is in rescue operations during natural
disasters.  FMLN deputy Lara sustained that the national police is "becoming
militarized" and "increasingly repressive" and therefore the FMLN will
continue to push for an investigation.

 

Salvadoran Union Front gives full support to Costa Rica CAFTA Referendum 

 

The upcoming CAFTA Referendum in Costa Rica on October 7 is receiving
attention from unions in El Salvador, as well as from other representatives
in the Central American Union Platform (PSCC.)  Many union members are
accompanying the process as observers, and are also coordinating mobilizing
efforts that strengthen the NO CAFTA campaign.

 

The Salvadoran Union Front (FSS), a member of the PSCC, is coordinating
efforts with the NO campaign in Costa Rica to help guarantee a transparent
and democratic process in the referendum.  Unions such as the SETA water
workers union and the SUTTEL telecommunications union are sending
representatives to accompany and support the referendum process in Costa
Rica. 

 

In the U.S., CISPES and the Stop CAFTA also continue to support the struggle
against CAFTA.  Eight people representing the coalition are in Costa Rica
this week to present the report "DR-CAFTA Year Two:  Trends and Impacts",
which can be downloaded at www.lasolidarity.org
<http://www.lasolidarity.org/>  and to observe the referendum.  An interview
with CISPES director Burke Stansbury about the referendum is available from
Between the Lines at http://www.btlonline.org/btlseg2101207.html

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