[Cispes-update] Anti-mining activists demand justice, denounce wave of political violence

CISPES National Office cispes at cispes.org
Tue Aug 25 16:26:51 EDT 2009


Anti-mining activists demand justice, denounce wave of political violence
and resurgence of death squads in Cabañas


               


              CISPES Update


              August 25, 2009


              


               


Community groups organized marches and blockades to demand an investigation
into the assassination of Marcelo Rivera

 

Also in this update:


FMLN deputies present hate crime law in the Legislative <>  Assembly


Gilberto Soto murder case to be reopened by <>  Supreme Court; Attorney
General says he will not expand the investigation


Students take <>  the streets to commemorate 1975 University massacre


Municipal workers block street in protest <>  of mass firings

 

 

On Thursday, August 20, anti-mining organizations, community groups in the
department of Cabañas, and other sectors of the Salvadoran social movement
carried out coordinated actions protesting the surge of political violence
in Cabañas and the failure of the National Civilian Police (PNC) and
Attorney General to adequately investigate and prosecute these crimes. Among
the actions, which were coordinated by the Marcelo Rivera Committee for
Truth and Justice, were a demonstration in front of the Office of the
Attorney General and a blockade of the highway from Santa Tecla to San
Salvador.

 

The committee takes its name from assassinated community activist Marcelo
Rivera, whose body was found on July 1 in a well in San Isidro, Cabañas,
with signs of torture. Read more about the Marcelo Rivera murder case here
<http://www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&tas
k=view&id=233&Itemid=65>  or watch a video here
<http://www.jamiemoffett.com/> .

 

Marcelo Rivera’s murder is only part of a wave of political violence and
threats against anti-mining activists and journalists in Cabañas:

 

*                     On Friday, August 7, Ramiro Rivera (no relation to
Marcelo) was shot eight times, narrowly surviving the attack. As President
of the Community Development Association (ADESCO) of Nueva Trinidad,
Cabañas, Ramiro Rivera had been a leader of opposition to Canadian-based
company Pacific Rim’s mining operations in the region and had organized road
blockades to prevent transport of the company’s exploratory equipment.
Pacific Rim is currently suing the Salvadoran government for $70 million
under CAFTA’s investor protection clauses for not providing mining permits.
Read more about the Pacific Rim case here
<http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2049/74/>  and here
<http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1637/74/> .

 

*                     Journalists from community radio station Radio
Victoria in Cabañas continue to receive death threats as a result of their
efforts to report on the dangers of the proposed mining projects. Guillermo
Ramos, president of the board of directors of the Association of
Participatory Radios and Programs of El Salvador (ARPAS), described the
investigation of the threats as “stagnant” and called on the government and
corresponding authorities to “capture and bring to justice the material and
intellectual authors of these actions [the threats].”  

 

*                     On July 29th, Father Luis Quintanilla escaped a
kidnapping attempt by jumping into a ravine after he was pulled out of his
car by armed, masked men while driving in Cabañas. The priest is a leader in
the anti-mining movement and had been receiving death threats leading up to
the attack.

 

The organizations participating in the August 20th actions condemned the
surge of violence and threats against anti-mining activists in Cabañas, and
called for an exhaustive investigation by the PNC and Attorney General’s
office. Activists denounced the decision to investigate as common crimes
what they see as a politically motivated terror campaign.

 

 “We want to know who is behind all of this
and we have serious suspicions
that it has been the Pacific Rim mining company that is financing these
activities to terrorize those who are opposed [to mining],” said Marcelo’s
brother Miguel Rivera.

 

A declaration released by the Foundation for the Study of the Application of
Law (FESPAD) states, “Cabañas is experiencing the resurgence of hate,
intolerance, and a culture of death by the death squads that have
reorganized to attack anyone who is fighting in favor of life.” Click here
<http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=620&Itemid=
1>  to take Action to demand a real investigation into these
politically-motivated acts of violence.

 


 


FMLN deputies present hate crime law in the Legislative Assembly


In response to recent threats and political violence against journalists and
activists, legislative deputies of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation
Front (FMLN) faction in the Legislative Assembly have presented a reform to
the penal code that would define and require tougher punishments for “crimes
of intolerance.” These crimes are defined as having motivations of racial,
ethnic, gender-based, or homophobic hate, and, according to FMLN Deputy
Margarita Velado, would include “crimes resulting from or as a consequence
of the victim's work in the area of protection of human rights, defense of
the environment and the promotion of democracy and of human development.”

 

“Where a cadre of people from a conservative power are connected with
supposed benefits from mining, they want to do away with the opposition,”
Velado said when introducing the FMLN's legislation.

 

 

Gilberto Soto murder case to be reopened by Supreme Court; Attorney General
says he will not expand the investigation

El Salvador’s Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) ordered a new trial in the case
of the murder of Salvadoran-American unionist Gilberto Soto. Soto, a
representative of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from New
Jersey, was murdered on November 5, 2004, outside a relative’s home in the
department of Usulután while in El Salvador on union business. Initial
investigations concluded that his mother-in-law had paid gang-members $2,000
to murder Soto, motivated by internal family disputes.

 

At the time of the trial, the Teamsters, several other unions, and El
Salvador’s Human Rights Ombudsperson criticized the Salvadoran Attorney
General and PNC for not investigating motives related to Soto’s work as a
union organizer. During his visit, he had met several times with Central
American freight transport and port workers to explore the possibility of
forming a union. The final ruling found one of the suspected hired assassins
guilty, but absolved Soto’s mother-in-law of the intellectual-author
charges.

 

Two months ago, U.S. Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA) sent a letter to
President Mauricio Funes asking that Soto’s murder case be reopened.
McGovern cited new evidence of the involvement of the Perrones gang in
Soto’s murder. The Perrones are a consortium of businesspeople in the
eastern region of El Salvador that have previously been charged with drug
trafficking, money laundering, and tax evasion. Recent investigations
carried out by the newly installed General Inspector of the PNC found
evidence of collusion between PNC officials and the Perrones gang.

 

The CSJ’s decision to reopen the case hinges on the assertion that the
testimony used to absolve Soto’s mother-in-law of guilt should not have been
admitted into the court. The new trial will reopen charges against Soto’s
mother-in-law and against a second suspected hired assassin, Santos Sanchez
Alaya, who was also absolved in the original trial.

 

The Office of the Attorney General has no plans at this time to explore
motives other than the original internal family dispute theory, or
investigate the link between the Perrones gang and the murder. De facto
Attorney General Ástor Escalante said he would take Rep. McGovern’s letter
under advisement, but added, “What I cannot say, because it would be
irresponsible on my part, is that I am going to investigate the potential
link between this case and that criminal structure (the Perrones gang).”

 

Escalante, the former Adjunct Attorney General, usurped the position of
Attorney General on April 19 of this year when the former Attorney General’s
term expired amidst a legislative deadlock on naming his successor. The
narrowly divided Legislative Assembly has still been unable to find
consensus among the different party factions. The Nationalist Republican
Alliance (ARENA) continues to support Escalante staying in the position,
while the FMLN rejects this option, noting Escalante’s strong ties to ARENA
and arguing that he will continue the former Attorney General's policies of
impunity for politically-motivated crimes.

 


Students take the streets to commemorate 1975 University massacre


On July 30, hundreds of students commemorated the 34th anniversary of the
1975 student massacre with a march, street theater, and vigil. On July 30th,
1975, students at the University of El Salvador peacefully marched in
protest of the repressive conditions of the dictatorship of Colonel Arturo
Armando Molina and the military occupation of the university's Santa Ana
campus. Army and police forces, following orders of the military regime,
opened fire on the march and killed 30 students, leaving an estimated
hundred more wounded.

 

This year’s march was both an act of commemoration and an opportunity to
protest current events that are reminiscent of the past, particularly the
recent military coup in Honduras. Brightly colored banners displayed the
faces of the martyrs and carried slogans including “30 reasons to not
forget” and “We demand justice now!” A 12-foot tall gorilla statue with the
face of Roberto Michelletti, leader of the coup government in Honduras, was
burned at the end of the march, along with replicas of tanks and helicopters
that represented military repression of the past and present.

 

“Commemorating this date is a way for us to carry on the legacy of the
organized student movements of the '70s and '80s,” explained Sonia Dubón,
coordinator of the Roque Dalton University Front (FURD). “Only through
historical memory will the people become empowered to organize themselves
and demand a dignified life.”

 

 

Municipal workers block street in protest of mass firings

On Tuesday, August 18, and Thursday, August 20, members of the Municipal
Workers Association (ATRAM) and the Association of Municipal Professionals
and Technicians (APTM) blocked a section of the Avenue Juan Pablo II in
front of the San Salvador City Hall, denouncing a wave of firings carried
out by the new Mayor of San Salvador, Norman Quijano.

 

Before Quijano’s May 1st inauguration as mayor, he had promised that
municipal offices would not be politically purged and that he would not fire
employees who were effectively carrying out their jobs. However, Quijano
fired 50 workers on August 13, and another 25 on August 17, bringing the
total number of workers fired since he took office to over 100. Yaneth Mora,
one of the fired workers who participated in the road block, had worked for
the municipality of San Salvador for nine years in various positions. He was
fired without severance pay on August 13th.

 

According to René Saravia, Secretary of ATRAM, a law approved in 2005
protected municipal workers that do not hold positions of political
confidence during changes in administration. But recent reforms passed by
ARENA and its right-wing allies in the Legislative Assembly allow for
arbitrary application of that law.  “A CAM [security] agent is not in a
position of political confidence; he or she is one more worker. There are
others in similar positions that are being fired,” Saravia explained.
According to critics, Quijano’s office and other right-wing mayors' offices
throughout the country are choosing to cut jobs as a means of confronting
the current economic crisis faced by all municipalities and the central
government. These job cuts, however, are following a pattern of political
purging, with FMLN supporters being dismissed from their posts regardless of
their effectiveness in performing their professional functions.

 

Juan José Barahona, President of ATRAM, promised more actions similar to the
road-block if the firings are not stopped and if those fired are not
reinstated to their positions.

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