By Joanie Brooks
The history of El Salvador is so traumatic and devastating that some may think it’s best to forget. Yet recent events remind us their history has taught the people to respond quickly against oppression and act assertively to work toward justice. A summary follows of some of the recent events and issues as reported by the El Salvador office of the U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities Network .
On July 5, 2006 a student demonstration organized to protest bus fare increases turned deadly. There was a confrontation between the anti- riot police and protestors followed by shots being fired at the police by one or more gunmen who were not near the demonstrators. Two officers were killed and ten officers were injured. Police responded with a major show of force, occupied the National University, searched homes and offices in the vicinity, and made numerous arrests. They also used sharpshooters in helicopters and on tall buildings to fire into the University. A maintenance man attending a meeting on the second floor of the University Rectory was shot, probably by gunfire from government helicopters patrolling the area.
Also later that night, Union leader Daniel Ernesto Morales was illegally detained and tortured by the police.
These incidents are only a small example of increased violence. El Salvador has also seen a resurgence of death squads who torture and kill for various political and non-political reasons. Many Salvadorans fear for their own safety.
The government passed an anti-terrorism law in September, without clear definitions of terrorism and terrorists. Therefore it leaves interpretation to its enforcers and it supports the militarization of the country in the name of security.
On August 24th sixty government troops along with twenty-four police officers occupied La Sabana, a town within a 15-minute walk from Las Anonas. According to our El Salvador staff, they occupied the town all day, “raiding the local historical museum without a warrant, threatening to arrest community leaders, and intimidating the population. “
The government forces “claimed that the museum was a weapons cache, when in fact it holds artifacts that were decommissioned by the UN through the Peace Accords, have been in the community without incident during the fourteen years since they were destroyed, and all carry their UN documentation, certifying their status.” The National Civilian Police tried to arrest those in charge of the museum but the community protested that action. If needed, the people of Las Anonas and neighboring communities are ready to respond to unreasonable police and military actions.
Background on the issue: transnational Canadian mining companies are exploring the possibility of open-pit excavations using a cyanide extraction process that will poison the water, the land, and the health of the local communities. Political leaders from both the right and the left are opposed to the mining proposition in the region and are mobilizing together to resist the foreign investors and to defend the land. Even the conservative Archbishop of San Salvador, Fernando Saenz Lacalle has come out against mining based upon his concern for mining potentially contaminating the water supply of the whole country. Mining in neighboring Guatemala and Honduras led to a militarized environment and security forces intervening on behalf of the private companies.
In Chalatenango a truckload of soldiers arrived in the village of Carasque (sistered with Bangor, Maine) in late September. The community saw their arrival as a threat, and announced the news on a PA system. The villagers gathered together, and decided to follow the soldiers to confront them. The soldiers claimed they were surveying the land for environmental damage, deforestation, and erosion, but community leaders recognized mining company employees in the group. The community told the soldiers they were not welcome in the area and would not disperse until the soldiers left.
In spite of widespread opposition the Salvadoran government is supporting mining development. In November, the U.S. State Department’s development aid branch, the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) approved a 461 million dollar grant to ES to revitalize the economies of the northern part of ES. More than half the funds go to build transportation infrastructure, primarily on a superhighway to cut through the northern third of the country connecting ES with Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the east. Meanwhile the eroded road connecting Chalatenango City with Arcatao, a community sistered with Madison, Wisconsin, is not funded by the grant. This transportation issue illustrates an economic crisis for the rural people. Although the local people oppose it, the government’s supports the superhighway for the transnational companies to move minerals from the region through the Central American corridor for free market trade, This will benefit the foreign investors and the business import sector, but will totally neglect economic opportunities for the larger population, and damage the environment.
Since then supporters in the U.S. have lobbied our Congressional Representatives to sign a letter which was sent to ES legislators. The letter urged them to support a mining reform bill that would ban mineral mining.
It was also learned that the Canadian mining company Pacific Rim, has agreed to mediate a dispute using the executive directorate of Procuraduria de Derechos Humanos, an independent El Salvador human rights organization, as mediator.
Amazingly January 16, 2007 marked the 15th Anniversary of the Peace Accords. There were official celebrations on that day but many people in El Salvador and here feel the struggle for peace, social justice and dignity continues.
In solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Las Anonas, Carasque, Guajoyo, Arcatao, and all rural communities, we may be asked to advocate for just economic policies that will provide the rural poor with options beyond immigration and to prevent ecological damage from mining and other actions. Information on advocating in solidarity will be posted on our website and can also be found on other websites we list on our Advocacy & Web Resources on page.
Progress and Concerns
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