Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

/** carnet.alerts: 117.0 **/
** Topic: CUANES Alert 2-20-91 **
** Written  2:39 pm  Feb 20, 1991 by cuanes in cdp:carnet.alerts **
CUANES Alert 2-20-91
 
The Lutheran Church in El Salvador has made an analysis of the current
campaign of slander against the Lutheran church, the Catholic
Archdiocese, Tutela Legal, and popular organizations mentioned in the
Feb. 14 article in Diario de Hoy.  The Church views these recent
accusations of the government as the first part of an initiation of a
campaign of repression similar to what took place during the first few
months after the current government took office in 1989, which
increased incrementally, terminating in the assassination of the
Jesuits and open repression of churches and humanitarian
organizations.  In addition, the Lutheran church is deeply concerned
about the role of the U.S. embassy in the attempt to discredit Tutela
Legal and Maria Julia Hernandez.  The Lutheran church reaffirms its
complete moral support of the work of Tutela Legal.
 
The Salvadoran Synod of the Lutheran Church requests that we
communicate with the Salvadoran government and the U.S. government to
protest the growing level of human rights violations and the campaign
to discredit the churches and popular organizations, and to express
our solidarity with and support for these organizations.
 
Please encourage a strong and sustained response to the events
occurring in El Salvador and share this information and analysis
widely.  The text of a letter from Bishop Gomez and an analysis by the
Salvadoran Lutheran Synod follow as separate topics.
 
President Alfredo Cristiani
Casa Presidencial
San Salvador
El Salvador   C.A.
telex:  20245 or 20793
fax:  011-503-22-85-14
              71-09-50
telephone: 011-503-17-15-55
 
General Rene Emilio Ponce
Ministry of Defense
telex:  20446
telephone:  011-503-23-02-33
 
General Gilberto Rubio Rubio
Chief of Staff of Armed Forces
High Command/Estado Mayor
telex: 20346
telephone:  011-503-24-15-99
fax:  011-503-98-20-18
 
Ambassador William Walker
U.S. Embassy
telex:  20648  or 20657
telephone:  011-503-26-71-00
fax:  011-503-26-53-01
              26-58-39
 
More information: CUANES - 708-475-7980
To send a telex:  Worlklink  1-800-827-2831
 
** End of text from cdp:carnet.alerts **

/** carnet.alerts: 118.0 **/
** Topic: CUANES - Letter from Bishop Gomez **
** Written  2:41 pm  Feb 20, 1991 by cuanes in cdp:carnet.alerts **
I.  Statement from Bishop Medardo Gomez 2-15-91
 
II. Letter from Salvadoran Lutheran Synod 2-18-01
 
posted by Kathy Howell, CUANES   2-20-91
 
I.
 
VII Assembly of the World Council of Churches -
 
Friday, February 15, 1991
 
  With profound concern we have received the news that El Diario de
Hoy, in published declarations of government personnel, mentions the
Lutheran Church as forming part of subversive organizations.
 
  We reiterate that our mission as church is obedient to the promotion
of peace with social justice, the promotion of life.  Therefore, once
again, we energetically reject such unfounded slander, that so many
times we have suffered, and we hold (those who promote such slander)
responsible for the resulting prejudicial actions against the physical
and moral integrity of the members and employees of the church.
 
  This conduct is contradictory to the guarantees offered by the
President of the Republic to respect the right the Christian churches
have to exercise their ministry of service and attention to the most
needy.
 
  ". . .Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness
    sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
                                       (Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:10)
 
Medardo Gomez
** End of text from cdp:carnet.alerts **

/** carnet.alerts: 119.0 **/
** Topic: CUANES - Analysis of Lutheran Syno **
** Written  2:43 pm  Feb 20, 1991 by cuanes in cdp:carnet.alerts **
Analysis from Salvadoran Lutheran Synod
posted by CUANES, Kathy Howell,  2-20-91
 
ANALYSIS OF THE CAMPAIGN OF SLANDER AGAINST THE LUTHERAN CHURCH
AND OTHER CHURCH AND POPULAR ORGANIZATIONS
 
(This document is a translation from the original in Spanish)
 
  On the 14th of February, the newspaper El Diario de Hoy
published declarations accusing a series of popular organizations,
the Permanent Committee for the National Debate, Tutela Legal, the
Archdiocese, and the Lutheran Church of being subversive
organizations, citing the Ministry of Planning as the source for
these accusations.  This same day, the Minister of Planning
affirmed that a document, supposedly a diagram of the
organizations and their relationships to the FMLN, was sent to
various media outlets and embassies by means of the FAX machine in
the office of the Vice-Minister of Planning.
 
  At the same time the Minister of Planning declared that the
information in the article published by El Diario de Hoy was not
distributed, in an official manner, by the Ministry of Planning,
but rather that it was sent by an individual, acting on their own
initiative, and that this individual had been fired from their
position for this action.  The Minister did not present said
employee and did not disavow the information published in Diario
de Hoy.
 
  Two days later, Dr. Jose Francisco Guerrero, Private Secretary
of the Presidency and candidate for National Deputy in the current
elections, at a press conference called by the ARENA party, made
accusations similar to those that appeared on the 14th in the
newspaper.
 
THE CURRENT CONTEXT
 
  These most recent accusations against the popular organizations
such as the UNTS and FEDECOPADES, the church and the Permanent
Committee of the National Debate are part of a long history - not
just in this decade or the previous decade, but of many decades -
of governmental campaigns to discredit the popular organizations
and the churches and to justify repressive actions against them.
 
  The government issued these accusations in the midst of a series
of events that reveal a disposition towards a new campaign of
persecution against popular, civic, and church organizations.  In
recent days we have witnessed a campaign of slander against all of
the repopulation communities in the country, the massive masscre
of campesinos en El Zapote, the burning of the offices of Diario
Latino, a campaign by ARENA and the U.S. Embassy to discredit
Tutela Legal, and, finally, the declarations emanating from the
Ministry of Planning and from Dr. Guerrero.  All of this in the
context of an electoral campaign in which the clearing up of the
case of the Jesuits, of the massacre in El Zapote, the burning of
the Diario Latino could potentially damage the political future of
the current government.
 
EVALUATION
 
  In this context we interpret these recent accusations by the
government as the first part of the initiation of a campaign of
repression similar to what took place during the first few months
when the current government took office in 1989 during which we
witnessed a campaign of repression that developed incrementally,
each step forward being stronger, terminating with the
assassination of the Jesuits and open repression of some churches
and humanitarian organizations.
 
  In regard to these particular accusations - their timing and
their content - our analysis is that the government has at least
three objective in mind:
 
  1. Restrict the ability of Tutela Legal to continue making its
     important contribution to the current pending list of human
     rights violations.
 
  2. Provide a previous base of justification for a future, wider
     campaign of persecution of the churches, popular
     organizations and unions mentioned in the accusations.
 
  3. Divert public attention from the fact that up to this point
     there is no substantive progress in prosecuting those
     responsible for the assassination of Jesuits nor in
     clarifying those responsible for the massacre in El Zapote
     and the burning of the Diario Latino.
 
CONCLUSIONS
 
1. We reaffirm what Bishop Medardo Gomez stated in his letter of
   February 15, 1991, ". . .once again, we energetically reject
   such unfounded slander, that so many times we have suffered,
   and we hold (those who promote such slander) responsible for
   the resulting prejudicial actions against the physical and
   moral integrity of the members and employees of the church."
 
2. We affirm our complete moral support for the work of Tutela
   Legal of the Archdiocese in its courageous efforts to search
   for justice in the midst of a situation of a rising level of
   violation of the human rights of Salvadorans and of the little
   will demonstrated by the organisms of the state to defend the
   people against the violators.
 
3. We reiterate that "our mission as church is obedient to the
   promotion of peace with social justice, the promotion of life"
   and that since the time of our predecessor in faith, Moses, who
   accompanied the people of God in their liberation from slavery
   until the time of our Lord Jesus Christ who liberated us from
   the power of death, it has been and continues to be our
   obligation to accompany the people and their organizations in
   the path toward a more just, peaceful and fraternal world.
   This evangelical mission should be respected by all governments
   in our world, even more so by those who claim to promote the
   principles of democracy.
 
4. WE LAMENT that the current government, instead of promoting
   democratic processes and protecting human rights and free
   expression, spends its energy, repressing popular and church
   organizations which demonstrate good will in promoting a wider
   democratice participation and a commitment to defend human
   rights.
 
   WE LAMENT that the U.S. Embassy participates in the campaign of
   slander with its irresponsible accusations against Tutela
   Legal, an organism of the Archdiocese that has realized and
   continues to realize an important and valuable service to the
   Salvadoran people.
 
FOR ALL OF THESE REASONS WE MAKE AN URGENT CALL:
 
* To the Salvadoran government that it would truly protect and
defend the human rights of all Salvadorans; that it would assure
the total respect of the integrity of the churches and of the
legitimate organizations of the people (such as the UNTS,
FEDECOPADES, C.P.D.N.); and that it would give its total attention
to the clarification of the Jesuit case, the massacre in El
Zapote, the burning of the Diario Latino, and the thousands of
other cases of violations of human rights not resolved.
 
* To the U.S. Embassy that it would desist from its campaign of
slander against Tutela Legal, retracting its irresponsible
accusations and assume a role more consistent with the aspirations
of the Salvadoran people to achieve peace with social justice by
means of a political negotiated settlement of the war.
 
* To the churhces and Christian communities of our country and of
all nations and to the people of El Salvador that we would be
united in using the spiritual disciplines of the Lenten Season to
strengthen our commitment to making the Kingdom of God real in our
society and calling upon all of the worlds "powers" to convert
their "swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning
hooks." (Isaiah 2:4)
 
             UNITED IN CHRIST, WE WILL LIVE IN PEACE!
                 Dignity, Justice, Reconciliation
 
Salvadoran Lutheran Synod
 
** End of text from cdp:carnet.alerts **
    
    

------------------------------------------------------------------
** Topic: SALPRESS News 02/24/91 **
** Written  9:05 pm  Feb 26, 1991 by salpress in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                 NEWS SYNTHESIS ON EL SALVADOR
          WEEKEND SUMMARY for FEBRUARY 22 - 24, 1991
                 A Special Service of SALPRESS
 
HUMAN RIGHTS, A TASK THAT CAN'T WAIT
 
Auxiliary bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez said yesterday that justice in
El Salvador is not doing very well because death squads, with army
complicity, continue to kill.  Speaking at a regional conference on
the state of Central America's democratization, the bishop said that
instituting respect for human rights is one of the country's most
urgent tasks.
 
He described the atmosphere in the current pre-election period as
"convulsed."  The prelate nevertheless indicated that the Church
believes that 1991 will be the year peace comes to El Salvador, and
invited voters to "contribute" to this end, because "the military
solution doesn't make sense."  With respect to negotiations between
the rebels and government, he said he is optimistic because of
progress on the theme of demilitarization.  According to the bishop,
an important step forward in the peace process was agreement by the
two sides that "there are people who deserve to be punished because
they are guilty" of atrocities.
 
The issue of army impunity has been one of the most controversial of
the negotiations.  Yesterday, a political prisoners support group,
FECMAFAM, staged a rally in front of the attorney general's offices to
demand he end impunity by solving high-profile crimes committed by the
army.  The group mentioned cases such as the January 21
massacre of 15 peasants in El Zapote, the November, 1989 slaying of
six Jesuit priests, and the October, 1989 bombing of the FENASTRAS
union federation hall, which killed ten and injured 30.
 
 
NEWS SYNTHESIS ON EL SALVADOR is a special service of
 
SALPRESS, available Monday through Friday.  For more details
on information included in this summary, contact SALPRESS:
011-525-705-6532 (fax) or 011-525-592-2184 (voice).
 
------------------------------------------------------------------
Some key excepts from Amensty's Report, _El Salvador: ``Death Squads''
-- A Government Strategy_ :
 
   "Tens of thousands of people have been the victims of extrajudicial
   execution and "disappearance" by El Salvador's armed forces since
   1980... NONE of the armed forces officers responsible have been
   brought to justice, most remain in positions of command."
	(emphasis added)
 
   "Amnesty International has concluded that the Salvadoran `death
   squads' are simply used to shield the government from
   accountability for the torture, `disappearance' and extrajudicial
   executions committed in their name. The squads are made up of
   *regular army and police agents*, acting in uniform or plain
   clothes, *under the orders of superior officers*."  [emphasis
   added] [Who Runs the ``Death Squads''", pp. 8-9]
 
 
   "All sectors of Salvadorian society have been the target of ``death
   squad''-style killings...in a great many cases the choice of victim
   has been indicator of who lies behind the ``death squads''. Those
   targeted have been members of groups perceived to be in opposition
   to the government, or to represent a nucleus around whom such
   opposition could coalesce, including students, trade unionists,
   members of cooperatives, church workers and peasants." [Page 25]
 
 
   "Efforts by El Salvador's independent and church-run human rights
   organizations to investigate these killing have been hampered by
   the harassment, intimidation, imprisonment, torture, mutilation,
   extrajudicial execution and "disappearance" of their members..."
 
******************************************************************
[This 50 page report, with pictures (which are clearer in the Spanish
edition), is only $5 from Amnesty International, Publications, 322
Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10001. Ask for "El Salvador: ``Death
Squads'' -- A Government Strategy", first published in October, 1988;
or call Amnesty at: (212)807-8400 (ask for "publications")]
******************************************************************

/** reg.elsalvador: 265.0 **/
** Topic: IDHUCA: Attacks on Tutela Legal **
** Written 12:40 pm  Mar 13, 1991 by cidai in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
PROCESO 465
March 6, 1991
 
IDHUCA Report:
Vicious campaign against Tutela Legal
 
     A series of attacks, distortions and slander have been leveled
against the humanitarian work of the Legal Aid Office of the
Archdiocese of San Salvador [Tutela Legal] during the current election
campaign. The Church's courageous effort to solve the case of the El
Zapote massacre, its interviews with former FMLN combatants accused of
killing two U.S. servicemen and, more recently, the pastoral message
on the elections published by the Salvadoran Bishops' Conference
(CEDES), have been interpreted tendentiously by some political figures
and sectors in an attempt to discredit the Church.
 
The investigation of the El Zapote case
 
     With its characteristic thoroughness, Tutela Legal began from the
outset to investigate the case of the massacre committed in the
village of El Zapote (Proceso 461). Its well-trained legal and
forensic team began to look into the crime, which had been roundly
condemned both in El Salvador and abroad. Tutela Legal made it clear
that although it possessed information regarding the identity of the
authors of the massacre, it would let the authorities carry out their
own investigations, and warned that if they failed to do so diligently
and honestly, the Church would proceed to make public the information
it had obtained (La Prensa Grafica, 2/2/91). Archbishop Rivera
eventually indicated that there was enough evidence to focus the
evidence on the Armed Forces, in particular, the First Infantry
Brigade (Diario Latino, 2/4/91).
     Without even reading the results of Tutela Legal's investigation,
the Attorney General's Office immediately wrote them off, arguing that
no individual or entity had "legal capacity" to assign responsibility
in the case; according to the president of the Supreme Court, Mauricio
Gutierrez Castro, it would be "irresponsible" to make "a priori"
accusations. A campaign was immediately launched to pressure the
Archbishop and the Auxiliary Bishop to provide sworn statements to the
court, while at the same time, government officials attempted to
undercut statements made by the Archbishop and by Tutela Legal
director Maria Julia Hernandez. Armando Calderon Sol, ARENA president
and mayor of San Salvador, said that if the Church "was only providing
suppositions, these made no sense" (El Mundo, 2/5/91). Vice-President
Merino, in turn, criticized Tutela Legal's report, disqualifying its
attempt to assign responsibility in the massacre as unfounded; at the
same time, he downplayed the importance of the Church's humanitarian
work, saying that "any participation they might undertake on their own
does not give them the right to comment on what occurred" (El Mundo,
2/6/91). Meanwhile, ARENA legislative deputy Raul Somoza Alfaro warned
that Tutela Legal "often provides false information to the clergy
about events," and said that in this case, the group had acted in a
biased manner by holding the First Brigade responsible (El Diario de
Hoy, 2/26/91-2/27/91).
     This knee-jerk reaction to the Church's posture was an attempt to
divert attention from the statement of fact that the Armed Forces was
responsible for the crime of El Zapote. The Church, however, held firm
in its position despite the serious accusations leveled by the
government and the Armed Forces that Tutela Legal "spread hatred among
the different social sectors of our country." In a clear show of the
Archdiocese's willingness to contribute to truth and justice, Maria
Julia Hernandez delivered sworn statements by Archbishop Rivera and
Auxiliary Bishop Rosa Chavez to the justice of the peace of
Ayutuxtepeque, attaching a report on Tutela Legal's investigations.
The legal authorities declared that the statements provided by the two
prelates contained little information useful to the case, and
requested a statement from the director of Tutela Legal. After Ms.
Hernandez appeared before the Ayutuxtepeque court, the authorities
disqualified her testimony, calling it simply "a set of presumptions."
     The legal authorities rejected any element whatsoever which
strayed from the hypothesis developed by the Special Investigative
Unit (SIU), which attributed the massacre to a "family quarrel," while
the government published a communique warning that "any accusation
made outside the legal framework constitutes an attack on the
institutionality of the country" (El Diario de Hoy, 2/9/91).
     The Church's determination to reveal the shadowy realm of
impunity has opened it up to accusations of "rebellion," of "lack of
cooperation with justice" for "interfering" with the nation's judicial
system, of obtaining "false testimony" from the elderly witness
Eleuteria Ortiz, and of "politicizing" the case during an electoral
campaign. As could be expected from the anti-democratic record of El
Diario de Hoy, its tendentious editorials published on February 16 and
19 brazenly ignored the arduous and heroic professional work carried
out by Tutela Legal in denouncing a long series of cases of human
rights violations and of clearing up cases of disinformation. Tutela
Legal enjoys great prestige within El Salvador and among international
human rights organizations. Precisely the credibility of its
investigations maintains its work and, as Auxiliary Bishop Rosa Chavez
said, makes it continue in its efforts to "be a refuge for hope and
respect in the face of pain."
 
Distortions of Tutela Legal's statements in the case of the U.S.
servicemen
 
     The pain to which Auxiliary Bishop Rosa Chavez referred becomes
even more dramatic in the context of the civil war in which the Church
must carry out its humanitarian mission.  Promoting and defending
human rights includes assisting prisoners of war; thus its concern for
the situation of the two former FMLN combatants accused of killing the
U.S. servicemen.
     The FMLN admitted that the two former guerrillas were responsible
for the killing, which led Tutela Legal to investigate further the
circumstances surrounding the incident.  Maria Julia Hernandez
traveled to Perquin to take statements from the defendants. After the
visit, she told the press that, in their own words, one of them "gave
the order [to kill the servicemen] because it seemed they were
suffering greatly" (El Mundo, 2/5/91).
     This statement was distorted so that it came out sounding as if
it were a justification for the crime. State Department spokesperson
Margaret Tutwiler said the U.S. government "was distressed to hear
that Tutela Legal, an organization which defends human rights in El
Salvador, has apparently characterized the murder of two U.S. officers
as a mercy killing" (La Prensa Grafica, 2/8/91). The State Department
appears to be getting its information from biased sources, or else its
impulsive statements constitute support for the persecution of human
rights organizations, as it added: "We find it unacceptable that a
human rights group can accept unchallenged the story offered by the
defendants in the crime, present this story to the press, and
furthermore attempt to issue a verdict on the crime committed by the
guerrillas." The State Department ignored the fact that in the press
conference it cited, Ms. Hernandez categorically condemned the killing
of the servicemen, basing her judgment on international humanitarian
law.
     Denying that either her office or the Archdiocese had labeled the
killing of the U.S. servicemen a "mercy killing," Ms.  Hernandez once
again made a statement to the court, this time before the 8th Penal
Court, and, at the same time, demanded that the State Department
withdraw its accusations; if not, they would be "one more example of
State Department persecution of the work of the Church" (El Mundo,
2/13/91).
 

The organizational chart published in El Diario de Hoy
 
     It comes as no surprise that El Diario de Hoy, taking advantage
of this new wave of charges against the Church and its human rights
organizations, would once again resort to its old trick of publishing
phantom statements attributed to government entities. This time, on
February 14, it published a libelous story entitled "Tutela Legal,
UNTS and Debaters tied to Subversives," which was based upon an
"organizational chart" of the "subversion," reportedly circulated by
the Planning Ministry (MIPLAN). The story characterized Tutela Legal,
the UNTS (National Unity of Salvadoran Workers), the Lutheran Church
and the Permanent Commission of the National Debate for Peace as
organizations "which are part of the organizational structure of the
subversion commanded by the FMLN-FDR" (El Diario de Hoy, 2/14/91).
     In what could be characterized as a subtle confrontation between
more moderate and more radical positions within the ruling party, the
Planning Minister publicly denied that the chart in question emanated
from her office and the Vice-Minister apologized to the director of
Tutela Legal. Yet Jose Francisco Guerrero, ARENA's candidate for
legislative deputy from San Salvador, who is also former legal counsel
to Maj. D'Aubuisson and currently the President's private secretary,
Jose Francisco Guerrero, said in a press conference: "the FMLN has
begun to implement a strategy to discredit the electoral process. The
organizations carrying out this strategy are Tutela Legal, the UNTS,
the UNOC (National Union of Workers and Peasants), National Debate, as
well as the Democratic Convergence party, Christian Democratic Party
and the Nationalist Democratic Union. All of them, directed by the
FMLN, are singing the same song." Guerrero backed up his charges with
reports from the Armed Forces, which he said would in time make their
own statement about this (El Diario de Hoy, 2/16/91).
 
Vigorous protests from the Inter-American Human Rights Commission
(CIDH)
 
     The irresponsible statements from some public officials including
Dr. Guerrero are only part of a campaign against human rights
institutions, which has understandably attracted the attention of
international organizations. In its 79th session, the Inter-American
Human Rights Commission (CIDH), troubled by this aggressive
atmosphere, sent a letter to the Salvadoran Minister of Foreign
Relations, Manuel Pacas Castro, expressing that it had "become aware
of a series of news accounts emanating from government institutions or
important Salvadoran political figures, in which several institutions
dedicated to defending human rights are linked to the actions of the
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. The Inter-American
Commission takes special note of references made to the Legal Aid
Office of the Archdiocese of San Salvador and the [non-governmental]
Human Rights Commission, as well as allegations against other social
and humanitarian organizations." The statement went on to say:
"Taking into account the painful circumstances which have affected the
Salvadoran human rights community and the acts of violence which have
been carried out in the past against social and humanitarian
organizations, [the Commission] addresses itself in the strongest
possible terms to the Government of El Salvador in order to remind it
that it has the obligation to guarantee the free and full exercise of
the rights of its citizens. This guarantee implies the duty to
investigate the charges leveled against institutions and persons, and
prevent intimidating actions against those who work in defense of
human rights" (La Prensa Grafica, 3/4/91).
     The CIDH's strong appeal in defense of human rights work
constitutes an important show of support for Tutela Legal and other
human rights organizations which carry out similar work, and verifies
that their work is hindered by the present climate of intimidation.
     In general, the Church has been very critical of the guarantees
for its pastoral and humanitarian work under current conditions.
Despite relative progress in the negotiations, safe conditions still
do not exist for all social sectors and organizations to participate
actively in national life. "Until now, we have seen a hard-line
government which views everything as a product of outside and
ideological influence, which avoids discussing the issue of justice,"
commented Auxiliary Bishop Rosa Chavez in an international conference
about "The state of the democratic process in Central America" held in
Costa Rica last February 27.
     The recent statement issued by the Salvadoran Bishops' Conference
(CEDES) on the elections makes it clear that the Church is not tied to
any political agenda whatsoever, and considers that the elections
could have a beneficial effect on the negotiations by offering a
favourable opportunity for making a decisive contribution to peace.
 
Conclusions
 
     The last several months have seen a particularly aggressive
government response to the Church's work in defense of human rights.
That response attempts to discredit the serious and responsible
efforts undertaken by the Legal Aid Office of the Archdiocese over the
last eight years.
     One must ask: What can we expect from this climate of aggression?
In the past, deaths have occurred after the preamble of public
defamation and irresponsible statements from government and military
officials which later justify acts of violence against individuals and
institutions which defend human rights.  In 1989 alone, one can recall
the defamatory campaigns which preceded the attack against FENASTRAS
and the UCA massacre.
     The attacks and attempts to undermine the work of human rights
organizations once again reveal the obstacles in the way of the search
for peace and democracy. And, for this very reason, human rights
organizations will have a lot of work to do for a long time to come in
terms of denouncing violations of civil and political rights. The El
Zapote massacre; the arson fire which destroyed Diario Latino; the
brutal murder of two members of the UDN party, carried out on February
21 in broad daylight in an area under total military control; and,
more recently, the shooting attack by members of the ARENA party
against a UDN candidate for legislative deputy, are all evidence of
this. For all of the above, the future of peace, democracy and respect
for human rights in El Salvador remains doubtful.
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador **

Article          825
From: [email protected] (ARLEY MUNOZ)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.religion,clari.news.terrorism,clari.news.demonstration,clari.news.top.world
Subject: Marchers commemorate Salvadoran archbishop's assassination
Date: 24 Mar 91 21:56:12 GMT
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- Thousands marched through San
Salvador Sunday to mark the 11th anniversary of the assassination of
Archbishop Oscar Romero, who has become a symbol for the opposition in
war-torn El Salvador.
	Romero was shot in the heart by unknown assassins in the chapel of
the Divine Province north of the capital on March 24, 1980.
	Marchers carried placards accusing the military of repression and the
leader of the party in power of masterminding the killing of the 62-
year-old church leader.
	The Catholic Church, in a statement issued by Archbishop Arturo
Rivera Damas, said Romero's killers ``engineered his death to eliminate
the prophet of justice and the fearless defender of all victims of
injustice.''
	``We hope that the death of Monsignor Romero will be solved,'' said
the Rev. Edgar Palacios, coordinator of the Committee for National
Debate that organized the march.
	Romero, a former conservative cleric who later pushed for social
action on behalf of the poor, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in
1979, the year it was won by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India.
	The march, dubbed the ``walk for peace'' by organizers, drew
participants from opposition parties and organizations. Marchers carried
posters with Romero's photograph and phrases from his sermons.
	Several thousand marchers, chanting, ``Pastor, friend, the people are
with you,'' gathered at the Metropolitan Cathederal, where Romero is
buried, for a religious service.
	The Sunday before his death Romero gave a sermon asking soldiers to
stop killing civilians and to lay down their arms. ``In the name of God
I urge you, stop the repression,'' Romero said in the sermon.
	Romero became a symbol of opposition to successive U.S.-backed
governments, prompting a U.S. movie about his death.
	Roberto D'Aubuisson -- congressman, leader and founder of the ruling,
rightist National Republican Alliance Party, or Arena -- is accused by
opposition parties of plotting Romero's death.
	D'Aubuisson, who labeled Romero a communist, has denied any role in
the killing. He was implicated during a subsequent investigation, but no
one was charged.
	D'Aubuisson, known to many as ``the major'' from his days with the
National Guard's brutal intelligence division, became a public figure in
the early 1980s by using the media to point out ``communists,'' many of
whom would then fall victim to right-wing death squads.
	Romero's death came as leftist rebels of the Farabundo Marti National
Liberation Front, or FMLN, launched a guerrilla insurgency, now in its
11th year. The civil war has cost an estimated 75,000 lives, mostly
civilians.
	The government of President Alfredo Cristiani has met with rebels for
a series of peace talks, but the war grinds on.

Article: 1572
From: [email protected] (DANIEL ALDER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.law.investigation,clari.news.religion,clari.news.gov.usa
Subject: Moakley charges cover-up in Jesuit case
Date: 2 Jul 91 01:49:34 GMT
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- Rep. Joe Moakley, D-Mass., accused
top-ranking Salvadoran army officers of covering up the investigation
into the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her
teenage daughter by soldiers.
	``There is a strong possibility that the murders were ordered by
senior military officers not currently charged,'' said Moakley, who
heads a congressional task force monitoring the case.
	Salvadoran Defense Minister Rene Emilio Ponce ``has said over and
over again that these murders should be considered the acts of
individuals and not the responsibility of the armed forces as an
institution,'' Moakley said.
	``General Ponce is just plain wrong,'' he said.
	Eight members of the military, including a colonel, are charged with
the December 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and
her teenage daughter.
	The case is expected to go to trial in three to six months.
	Moakley accused high-ranking military officers of trying to limit the
scope of the investigation, and called on other members of the armed
forces to come forward.
	Moakley arrived in El Salvador Friday for a five--day visit.
	``We haven't seen any real movement in this case,'' he said. ``That's
one of the reasons we are down here now, to rattle some cages.''
	Moakley said he believed many members of the armed forces ``fear they
will be killed'' if they come forward with information.
	``The fact is that there is nothing a soldier or officer could do
that would be more patriotic or better for the armed forces or for El
Salvador than to come forward with the truth in this case,'' Moakley
said.
	``I believe there are many in the armed forces who want to see the
full truth come out'' and see the armed forces ``take its proper place
within your society,'' he said.
	The Salvadoran military, which governed the country for half a
century before the outbreak of civil war in 1980, is still one of the
most powerful players in Salvadoran politics.
	Rebels of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or
FMLN, and government representatives have been engaged in U.N.-mediated
peace talks more than a year, trying to negotiate an end to the 11-year-
old war that has killed more than 75,000 Salvadorans.
	One of the rebel's key demands is that the armed forces be reformed
and purged of human rights abusers.
	``How can we expect those who have seen their relatives and neighbors
kidnapped and tortured and murdered to lay down their arms unless they
can do so in an atmosphere of justice and law?'' Moakley asked.

    The Cental American University of El Salvador (UCA) recently sponsored
    a forum on the Jesuit case, featuring U.S. representative Joe Moakley. 
    I would like to reprint some excerpts from an English language
    translation of the UCA publication concerning this event.
    
/** reg.elsalvador: 199.1 **/
** Written 12:14 pm  Jul  8, 1991 by cidai in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
Introduction: 
UCA Forum on the Jesuit Case with Rep. Joe Moakley
 
      On July 1, the UCA organized a University Forum on
Contemporary Issues called "The Jesuit case and U.S. policy."
Expectations were high, since both issues -murders in El Salvador
and U.S. interference- are individual realities which clearly
epitomize the whole of Salvadoran reality. But more than that,
the keynote guest speaker was John Joseph Moakley, the Democratic
Congressman from Massachusetts, in El Salvador probably the most
well-known and admired of all U.S. politicians throughout the
entire sad history of relations between the two countries. The
auditorium was packed.
      Congressman Moakley has been known in our country since the
days when he began lobbying in the U.S. Congress for laws to
protect the hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans who are refugees
there. His efforts won him, together with Fr. Segundo Montes, a
prize from CARECEN, a Washington-based institution which works to
protect the rights of Salvadorans. Then in 1989, he was appointed
Chair of the Speaker's Task Force on El Salvador, formed to
monitor the investigation of the murders of the Jesuits. Since
that time, the "Moakley reports" have been notable for their
objective presentation of the truth and their unfettered freedom
in proclaiming it, heretofore unseen in issues involving our
country.
      These observations were made by P. Miguel Francisco Estrada,
rector of the UCA, in his introductory speech, to which he added
this profound reflection: "the task force has served as the State
Department's conscience" and has carried on its work "despite
powerful forces who surely would have preferred that they not
take their mandate quite so seriously." And as Jon Sobrino
acknowledged later in the final speech of the forum, "I sincerely
do not remember when I have ever heard such true words spoken by
a U.S. politician on Salvadoran soil."
      Mr. Moakley's words were clear, emphatic and often direct.
His fundamental position is the one he has reiterated ever since
he was appointed to the task force: the truth -and the entire
truth, whatever that truth may be- must be known about what
occurred the night of November 15-16, 1989. And on that issue he
made a telling reflection: "if El Salvador... cannot bring those
who murdered the Jesuits to justice, how can anyone expect
justice the next time a labor leader or a teacher or a campesino
is killed?... How can we expect an end to the violence of the
left unless there is an end to the impunity from prosecution of
the right?"
      In a passage met with prolonged and enthusiastic applause,
Mr. Moakley addressed himself directly to Defense Minister Ren
Emilio Ponce: "General, believe me, you have got an institutional
problem," thereby rejecting the oft-repeated position of the
Salvadoran government and Armed Forces to the effect that the
murders were committed by individuals acting alone.
      In another strongly-applauded part of his speech, Moakley
dealt head-on with the simplistic and purposefully distorted view
that violence in El Salvador is rooted in traditional culture. He
retorted that it would be quite arrogant for the United States -a
nation with an enormous defense budget, a huge foreign military
aid budget, and the highest murder rate in the western world- to
"criticize another society for its tendency towards violence."
The applause which followed Moakley's speech was emotional,
sincere and practically unanimous.
      In his response, Fr. Jon Sobrino analyzed what is at stake
for El Salvador in solving the case, and what is at stake for the
United States as well. He urged the U.S. government, the State
Department and the U.S. Embassy to show much greater
determination and cooperation in solving the case, adding a list
of specific demands, and concluded: "This is the U.S.
government's last chance to show it is truly interested in the
case."
      The importance of the issues presented in the forum was
mirrored in the strong turnout (including many U.S. citizens) for
the event. The many spontaneous interruptions of applause, and
the interest demonstrated by the thoughtful questions posed after
the formal presentations, only reinforced the truth behind the
basic positions set forth by the speakers. As Ignacio Ellacur!a
used to say: "they put their finger right on the key issue." And
for those in the government, Armed Forces and U.S. Embassy who
disagree with them, it would be worth recalling that Congressman
 
Moakley himself, who once spoke the truth about Salvadoran
refugees -and was praised for it- today speaks the truth about
the murders of the Jesuits, of Julia Elba and Celina, and for
that reason he must be heard.
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador **

 
/** reg.elsalvador: 199.2 **/
** Written 12:16 pm  Jul  8, 1991 by cidai in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
PROCESO 480
July 3, 1991
 
Welcoming remarks by Fr. Miguel Francisco Estrada, S.J.
Rector of the University of Central America (UCA)
University of Central America, San Salvador, El Salvador
July 1, 1991
 
     Honorable Joe Moakley, friends of the UCA and of the Jesuits
here with us this afternoon; ladies and gentlemen:
     Following the murder of our eight companions in November
1989, when the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
appointed a special task force to follow the "Jesuit Case," here
in El Salvador he had no idea of its significance. We had never
heard of a certain Congressman from Massachusetts, although Mr.
Moakley has shown a special interest in questions of military aid
and Salvadoran refugees for over ten years.
     The appointment of this commission was a surprise even in
the United States: never before had a congressional task force of
such stature been appointed to monitor so closely the
investigation of a particular human rights case.
     In our country, we all know that there is an enormous and
terrible lie which remains to be invetsigated: 75,000 dead, among
them many anonymous as well as celebrated victims.
     Over the last decade of civil war, the United States
government has used its influence and pressure selectively, at
times with good effect. But we had historical reasons to fear
that, once the outrage had died down, Washington would lose
interest in our Jesuit case and move on to other issues.
     The Moakley task force made such forgetfulness impossible.
Its reports and the Chairman's public statements soon became
front-page news in El Salvador as well as the United States.
     In April of 1990, the publication of the "Interim Report"
changed perceptions in the United States of how the case was
proceeding and who was to blame for blocking the legal
investigation.
     In October of 1990, Mr. Moakley uncovered the fact that a
U.S. military advisor, Major Eric Buckland, may have had prior
knowledge of the crime. With great courage and against the wishes
of the Department of State, he boldly made the existence of this
testimony public, and opened a new avenue of inquiry concerning
prior knowledge and perhaps complicity by the country's top
officers. Satisfactory answers to all the questions raised by
Major Buckland's account have yet to be provided.
     Over the last 19 months, it has become clear that the task
force's analysis and reporting has time and again moved the case
forward and determined how the investigation is viewed
internationally.
     For example, it was through the work of the task force that
the existence of an institutional coverup of the crime was
definitely established. That point is no longer controversial.
Indeed, from the beginning, Mr. Moakley insisted that the Armed
Forces as an institution was responsible for the murders.
     The proverbial gadfly, Mr. Moakley has tirelessly prodded
and chided the State Department, reminding U.S. officials that
the case cannot be resolved until all intellectual authors of the
murder plot have been identified. Until that has been
accomplished, we hope that the task force will not cease its
work.
     Over the last year and a half, the task force has served as
the St{ate Department's conscience, staying a moral course
directed toward the establishment of the complete truth. The
commitment of Mr. Moakley and his colleagues has remained
constant, despite powerful forces who surely would have preferred
that they not take their mandate quite so seriously.
     While the investigation of what happened here on November
16, 1989, is fundamentally inadequate, we should also keep sight
of what has been accomplished--military officers have been
investigated by civilians, will stand trial before a civilian
magistrate and be judged by a civilian jury. The case has
developed, thanks in important measure to Mr. Moakley's interest;
yet much remains to be revealed.
     We cannot anticipate the results of the trial, and we don't
want to. But we can anticipate a very sincere word of gratitude
to Congressman Joe Moakley, for all that you have done to ensure
that this case has been, as much as possible, a process of truth
and justice. I'll finish here, since we are now eager to hear
what new elements and insights you have to offer us. The Central
American University "Jose Simeon Canas" and the Society of Jesus
in El Salvador wish to bid you a warm Welcome!
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador **

Article: 1633
From: [email protected] (DANIEL ALDER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.religion,clari.news.law.investigation,clari.news.military
Subject: Jesuits say U.S. blocking probe of priest killings
Date: 30 Jul 91 21:43:37 GMT
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- The U.S. government continues to
block efforts to clear up the 1989 killing of six Jesuit priests by
members of the Salvadoran military, a Jesuit official said Tuesday.
	The Rev. Jose Maria Tojiera, head of the Jesuit order in Central
America, told reporters the U.S. government decided to keep Jesuit
attorneys from being present during depositions, testimony given outside
the courtroom, from U.S. military and diplomatic personnel involved in
the case.
	``This is not the first time that the State Department has obstructed
the investigation,'' Tojiera said. ``The general pattern has been to
limit the political costs of the Jesuit murders for the United States'
policy of supporting a war in El Salvador.''
	A colonel and seven lower-ranking members of the Salvadoran army are
scheduled to stand trial for homicide in the Nov. 16, 1989, slaying of
six prominent priests, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter. But
Jesuit officials and members of the U.S. Congress say they believe other
top officers helped plan the killings, which took place just outside
Salvadoran military headquarters during a major rebel offensive on the
capital.
	The Fourth Penal Court in San Salvador on May 23 formally requested
depositions from nine people who held U.S. military or diplomatic posts
in El Salvador at the time of the killings. The sister of one U.S.
adviser also has been asked to testify.
	Tojiera said the State Department relayed a Justice Department
decision denying the Jesuit presence at the depositions on the grounds
that the priests' lawyers would have ``a chilling effect'' on the U.S.
diplomatic and military personnel being questioned.
	``We doubt that that is true,'' Tojiera said. ``We see that the
United States State Department is seriously interfering with the
investigation of the case.''
	U.S. officials publicly joined the international outcry set off by
the killings and have characterized the trial as a test case for
establishing civilian rule over the politically powerful Salvadoran
military.
	But the Jesuits say the U.S. government is more interested in
protecting key military officers than pursuing democracy and respect for
human rights in El Salvador.
	The United States has pumped about $1 billion in military aid into
the Salvadoran government's 11-year-old attempt to put down an
insurgency led by the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front.
	Human rights organizations estimate 75,000 Salvadorans have been
killed in the civil war and related political violence.

Article: 696
From: [email protected] (Rich Winkel)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism
Subject: El Salvador:death threats continue against religious community
Date: 14 Sep 91 22:39:35 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Rich Winkel)
Organization: PACH
 
/** carnet.alerts: 130.0 **/
** Topic: SUCESOS EN EL SALVADOR **
** Written  3:18 pm  Sep 12, 1991 by codehuca in cdp:carnet.alerts **
                            URGENT COMMUNICATION
 
    EL SALVADOR: DEATH THREATS CONTINUE AGAINST 
              "LA PEQUENA COMUNIDAD"
 
     CODEHUCA has received information from the
Tutela Legal Office of the Archbishop of El Salvador
about the ongoing death threats, raids, and
persecution directed against the religious community
"La Pequena Comunidad" in that country.
 
     The missionaries, dedicated to pastoral and
humanitarian work, have been victims of this
persecution by the death squads since 1990.  Serious
violations of human rights continue unabated in El
Salvador in spite of the government's promise to the
international community and within the peace
negotiations to respect human rights.
 
     The threats have taken diverse forms and
represent a very grave risk to the lives of the
members of the religious community.  There are many
precedents in which similar threats have led to
assassination of church workers linked with the
popular sectors of Salvadoran society.  The
perpetrators have always been protected by impunity.
 
     This situation continues while no new light is
shed on the murders of Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo
Romero, the American religious women, the Jesuit
priests of the Central American University, and many
other priests and layworkers who have been killed as
they fulfil their pastoral and humanitarian
responsibilities.
 
     The sisters of "La Pequena Comunidad" carry out
their work and maintain offices in San Jose de la
Montana and in San Ramon, both part of San Salvador. 
These communities have been raided and destroyed on
repeated occasions by unidentified men in civilian
clothing, whose modus operand identifies them as
members of the security forces active in the "death
squads". 
 
     The sisters have received many anonymous phone
calls threatening them, accusing them of being
guerillas, and singling out two sisters, Hortensia
and Isabel. 
 
     It is important to note that this kind of
accusation is the same as that which was used to
justify the assassination of the Jesuit priests in
November 1989.
 
     The threats which are now being made against the
community raise concerns about the possibility that
the sisters may be targeted for assassination.  For
this reason, CODEHUCA calls on the international
community, religious workers, etc., to make known
their concerns to the government of Alfredo
Cristiani.  We ask that you condemn the systematic
violation of human rights in El Salvador and urge the
Salvadoran government to act to avoid another tragic
assassination.
 
 
San Jose, Costa Rica
English translation September 12, 1991 

Article: 700
From: [email protected] (Rich Winkel)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism
Subject: INS raids church refugee office
Date: 14 Sep 91 23:22:18 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Rich Winkel)
Organization: PACH
 
/** pn.alerts: 54.0 **/
** Topic: INS Raid on Wash. DC Assoc of Churc **
** Written  8:47 am  Sep 13, 1991 by peacenet in cdp:pn.alerts **
From: <peacenet>
Subject: INS Raid on Wash. DC Assoc of Churches
 
Go to the conference "pn.dc" to respond to this issue.
 
From mplante Thu Sep 12 16:34:04 1991
 
On Wednesday, August 14th, at least 10 armed INS agents came to
the Washington Association of Churches Immigration and Refugee
Program Office with a search warrant.  They ordered staff to leave
the office immediately while they conducted their search.  Two
agents were posted at the door to bar entry.  They left after 4 hours
later with over 35 different items including files related to
personnel, finance, clients served (mostly Salvadorans), two
computers, a keyboard and a printer.  The search warrant for the
raid has been sealed.  Subpoenas to appear before a grand jury
have been issued to IRP staff and to a number of clients served
the agency.  Several Salvadorans have been granted immunity and
face inprisonment or deportation if they incur contempt citations
for failure to testify.  No formal charges of any wrong doing have been made.
This raid was order by Richard Smith, Director INS Northwest Region.
This same Mr. Smith canceled a meeting with Rev. John Boonstra,
Executive Minister of Washington Association of Churches scheduled
for August 12th.
 
Please write personal letters of support to Washington Association of Churches, 4759 15th Ave. N.E., Seattle, WA 98105.  Write letters to your local
press descibing this action and decrying this shocking raid on church
ministry.  Suggest that you point out the increasing religious
freedom in the Soviet Union and contrast that to IRS persecution in
the US.  Similar attack by INS has been launched against ecumenical
group providing service to undocumented Central Americans in New York
state.  Speak out strongly against this action which violates the
spirit of the Temporary Protected Status legislation passed by Congress 
in 1990.
 
Submitted by Mary W. Plante, Board Member Washington Association of
Churches, staff member Associated Ministries of Tacoma/Pierce County
 
** End of text from cdp:pn.alerts **

Article 800 of misc.activism.progressive:
Path: nntpd.lkg.dec.com!datum.nyo.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!wupost!mont!rich
From: [email protected] (Rich Winkel)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism
Subject: El Salvador: fast against military aid
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 25 Sep 91 06:13:49 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Rich Winkel)
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Organization: PACH
Lines: 58
Approved: [email protected]
Xref: nntpd.lkg.dec.com misc.activism.progressive:800 alt.activism:17337

/** reg.elsalvador: 145.0 **/
** Topic: CUANES - Fast in Morazan **
** Written 12:56 pm  Sep 18, 1991 by cuanes in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
CUANES Information 9-18-91

The following statement was released on September 16 by the Segundo
Montes Community and CEBES - Ecclesial Base Community of El Salvador.

September 16, 1991

  Today the 16th of September 1991, we declare ourselves to be FASTING
and in PRAYER against the military aid that is being given to the
Salvadoran Government.  Thirty inhabitants from the communities of
Estancia, Jocoatique, San Fernando Arambala, Perquin and the Segundo
Montes Community and a group from the Congregation of Christian Mothers
for Peace are taking part in this event.

  Today, we reflect on the sense of the Christian fasting.  A document
has been sent to different communities and many countries so that we
would be in solidarity with the suffering of the Salvadoran people.
The north of Morazan calls upon the North American congressmen to
reduce the military aid to the government of El Salvador.

  The fasting for Peace will take place on the week of September 16-22
in the Segundo Montes City.  On the 22nd, we will have a massive
activity to finish the fasting in which Father Esteban Velasquez from
wherever he is will accompany us.  We have two objectives, the first
one is to call the conscience of the congressmen to reduce the military
aid to the Salvadoran Army.  We have written a letter to address this
issue.

  The second objective is to call the conscience of the Salvadoran Army
so that would stop the repression of the people.  Once again, we are
living in repression with the military maneuvers that are taking place
in the north of the Torola River and they have fired shots, threatened,
captured, and destroyed the property of the civilian population.

  Without the military aid and with an army that respects human rights,
we will look forward to Peace in El Salvador.  Because of these
objectives, the Salvadoran people have struggled for so many years.
That is why Monsignor Romero wrote a letter to the President of the
United States opposing the military aid and he also pleaded in the name
of God that the Salvadoran Army stop the repression.

  Today, the same as then, the cry is needed.  The church proclaims in
the name of the God of Life and also proclaims the people of El
Salvador that they are struggling for Peace with Justice.

NO MORE MILITARY AID FOR EL SALVADOR
CEASE THE ARMY REPRESSION AGAINST THE PEOPLE


                                           Segundo Montes Community

                             Ecclesial Base Community of El Salvador
                                             CEBES

** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador **

Article: 1771
From: [email protected] (DANIEL ALDER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.fighting,clari.news.religion,clari.news.issues.civil_rights,clari.news.top.world
Subject: Jesuit trial tests Salvadoran justice
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 91 16:39:26 EDT
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- Nine Salvadoran soldiers charged
with murdering six Jesuit priests and two women go on trial Thursday,
pitting a weak justice system against the politically powerful armed
forces.
	The Fourth Penal Court had tried to keep the date secret because
Judge Ricardo Zamora feared potential jurors would fail to show up if
they knew they were being asked to decide the fate of members of El
Salvador's politically powerful armed forces, according to judicial
sources who requested anonymity.
	The controversial case has been cast by some observers as a test of
the traditionally weak Salvadoran justice system's ability to stand up
to the powerful military, which ruled this small Central American nation
for 50 years leading up to the outbreak of civil war 11 years ago.
	When the accused, including a colonel, were charged with murder
almost two years ago, U.S. Ambassador William Walker said the
indictments represented ``an historic moment'' for Salvadoran justice.
	It was the first time an officer of that rank had been charged with a
political murder despite claims by human rights groups that the army had
carried out thousands of such killings.
	Col. Guillermo Alfredo Benavides is charged with ordering U.S.-
trained commandos from the army's elite, U.S.-trained Atlacatl Immediate
Reaction Battalion to execute the priests.
	In statements to investigators, several of the accused soldiers said
Benavides told them to carry out the ``mission'' and to ``leave no
witnesses.''
	In the middle of the night, under cover of a dusk-to-dawn curfew and
confusion caused by a massive rebel attack on San Salvador at the time,
the commando unit went to the priests' residence on the University of
Central America campus, dragged them outside and shot them while they
lay face-down on the lawn.
	The Jesuits' housekeeper and her teenage daughter were machine-gunned
as they lay cowering arm-in-arm inside the residence.
	Benavides and three lieutenants who told investigators they
participated in the killings will stand trial along with four enlisted
men. A ninth man, also a private, is a fugitive and will be tried in
absentia.
	Judge Zamora Tuesday called defense attorneys, state prosecutors and
private prosecutors to court to witness the initial stage of jury
selection. Of 12 names that were randomly selected from an existing
pool, five will be called on to decide the case.
	Washington is seen by critics of the Salvadoran military as a
hindrance to a rigorous prosecution of the case.
	The Society of Jesus for Central America, the Jesuit order's regional
authority, on Monday accused the U.S. military of impeding the
investigation by not producing as a witness a U.S. officer who allegedly
was told about involvement in the killings of high-ranking Salvadoran
officers.
	The order issued a statement thanking Congress for its support in the
investigation of the slayings, but said the Bush administration, via the
U.S. Embassy in El Salvador, ``have made insufficient efforts and at
time slowed the investigation into this case.''
	The killings prompted Congress to withhold $42.5 million in military
aid for 1991. The Bush administration opposed the move and promptly
reinstated the aid after the rebels launched a limited offensie in
November 1990.
	Private prosecutor Henry Campos said defense lawyer Carlos Mendez's
decision to announce the trial date on television may have been an
attempt to scare away potential jurors, forcing a delay of the case.
	``The judge asked us not to reveal the date,'' Campos said. ``If the
defense has made that public, perhaps it was with the intention of
frustrating the trial, of scaring the people so that (potential jurors)
do not show up.''
	The trial will be conducted under tight security with measures to
ensure that jurors do not appear on television or in photographs. But,
as observers noted, the defense team, and therefore the army will be
directly involved in the jury selection process.

Article: 1768
From: [email protected] (DANIEL ALDER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.fighting,clari.news.religion,clari.news.issues.civil_rights,clari.news.top.world
Subject: Court waits to see if jurors will show
Date: 26 Sep 91 16:07:30 GMT
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- Salvadoran court officials and
attorneys gathered early Thursday for the trial of nine soldiers charged
with killing six Jesuit priests, but it was not clear if the jury would
show up.
	``There is a 75 percent chance that the trial will be frustrated by
the absence of a jury,'' said a court official who asked not to be
identified. 
	The Fourth Penal Court had tried to keep the trial date secret
because Judge Ricardo Zamora feared potential jurors would not show up
if they knew they were being asked to decide the fate of members of El
Salvador's politically powerful armed forces, according to judicial
sources who requested anonymity.
	Jurors are legally obligated to appear but the fine for staying home
would cost only about as much as a family dinner at a nice restaurant.
	A specially outfitted courtroom in the top floor of the Supreme Court
Building, surrounded by armed guards, was prepared for the trial.
	The case has been cast as a test of the traditionally weak Salvadoran
justice system's ability to stand up to a military that ruled the small
Central American nation for 50 years before the outbreak of civil war 11
years ago.
	When the accused, including a colonel, were indicted for murder
almost two years ago, U.S. Ambassador William Walker called it ``an
historic moment'' for Salvadoran justice.
	The trial is the first in which an officer of that rank had been
charged with a political murder despite claims by human rights groups
that the army had carried out thousands of such killings.
	Col. Guillermo Alfredo Benavides is charged with ordering U.S.-
trained commandos from the army's elite Atlacatl Immediate Reaction
Battalion to execute the priests.
	In statements to investigators, several of the defendants said
Benavides told them to carry out the ``mission'' and to ``leave no
witnesses.''
	In the middle of the night, under cover of a dusk-to-dawn curfew and
confusion caused by a massive rebel attack on San Salvador at the time,
the commando unit went to the priests' residence on the University of
Central America campus, dragged them outside and shot them while they
lay face-down on the lawn.
	The Jesuits' housekeeper and her teenage daughter were machine-gunned
as they cowered arm-in-arm inside the residence.
	Benavides and three lieutenants who told investigators they
participated in the killings will stand trial with four enlisted men. A
ninth man, a private, is a fugitive and will be tried in absentia.
	Zamora Tuesday called defense attorneys, state prosecutors and
private prosecutors to court to witness the initial stage of jury
selection. Of 12 names randomly selected from a pool, five will be
called to decide the case.
	Washington is seen by critics of the Salvadoran military as a
hindrance to a rigorous prosecution of the case.
	The Society of Jesus for Central America, the Jesuit order's regional
authority, on Monday accused the U.S. military of impeding the
investigation by not producing a U.S. officer it said knew of the
involvement of high-ranking Salvadoran officers.
	The Jesuits issued a statement thanking Congress for its support in
the investigation but said the Bush administration, via the U.S. Embassy
in El Salvador, ``have made insufficient efforts and at times slowed the
investigation into this case.''
	The killings prompted Congress to withhold $42.5 million in military
aid for 1991. The Bush administration opposed the move and promptly
reinstated the aid after the rebels launched a limited offensive in
November 1990.
	Private prosecutor Henry Campos said defense lawyer Carlos Mendez's
decision to announce the trial date on television may have been an
attempt to scare away potential jurors, forcing a delay of the case.
	``The judge asked us not to reveal the date,'' Campos said. ``If the
defense has made that public, perhaps it was with the intention of
frustrating the trial, of scaring the people so that (potential jurors)
do not show up.''
	The trial security will ensure that jurors do not appear on
television or in photographs. But, as observers noted, the defense team,
and therefore the army, will be directly involved in the jury selection
process.

Article: 1976
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.fighting,clari.news.issues.conflict,clari.news.religion,clari.news.top.world
Subject: Church says peace accord won't stop right-wing violence
Date: 12 Jan 92 22:02:30 GMT
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- Violent right-wing groups will
continue to operate in El Salvador even after an accord to end 12 years
of civil war is formally signed this week in Mexico, a Salvadoran bishop
said Sunday.
	``We would like to be able to affirm euphorically that the imminent
Mexico accord will bring peace to El Salvador,'' Auxilary Bishop
Gregorio Rosa Chavez said during a Sunday homily.
	``However, I predict that if in fact the bloody combat becomes a
thing of the past, there are other war fronts perhaps less visible that
will still remain active,'' Rosa Chavez said during his talk in the
Salvadoran capital.
	Asked later by reporters what these other war fronts were, the Roman
Catholic bishop said he was referring to ``clandestine groups of the
extreme right that in these recent days have made their presence known,
including through attacks against the press.''
	Just after the preliminary peace accord was signed at the United
Nations early Jan. 1, the car of a foreign correspondent was destroyed
in a bomb blast in San Salvador and the reporter has since left the
country. Almost simultaneously, the home shared by a United Press
International reporter and another correspondent was ransacked.
	The Jan. 1 agreement signed by the government of President Alfredo
Cristiani and leftist rebels of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation
Front, or FMLN, is to be formally signed in Mexico City Thursday. The
accord calls for a cease-fire to begin Feb. 1.
	Rosa Chavez urged El Salvador's political and military leaders to
crack down on the ``small but powerful'' right-wing groups so that true
reconciliation can occur following a war that has taken an estimated 75,
000 lives.
	Human rights groups have claimed that so-called ``right-wing death
squads'' have been responsible for killings, disappearances and other
human rights abuses during more than a decade of fighting and that they
have links to the military.
	Cristiani's ruling party, the rightist Nationalist Republican
Alliance, proposed Saturday an amnesty for soldiers and rebels accused
of crimes during the Central American nation's 12-year conflict.

Article: 1997
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.fighting,clari.news.religion
Subject: Church opposes general amnesty in El Salvador
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 92 15:01:13 PST
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- A Salvadoran bishop said Sunday the
church opposes a blanket amnesty for crimes committed during the
recently ended 12-year civil war, since reconciliation requires 
``justice'' and forgiveness.
	Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez asked the Salvadoran Congress ``to make
the correct decision'' when it formulates an amnesty law this week
called for in historic peace accords signed in Mexico City Thursday.
	``We have arrived at the end of the horrible tunnel of war,'' Rosa
Chavez said in his Sunday homily in the capital.
	He then asked rhetorically, ``Should the future be constructed based
on truth and justice, or on pardon and forgetting?''
	``We believe that pardon and forgetting are only useful in achieving
reconciliation when beforehand a space is opened for the establishment
of truth and the pursuit of justice,'' the Roman Catholic bishop said. 
``We are not in favor of a general amnesty as if nothing had happened
here.''
	Rosa Chavez and other church officials have said amnesty should not
cover war crimes committed against innocent civilians, such as the
November 1989 killings of six Jesuit priests and their two employees by
the Salvadoran army.
	Nor should rebels of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front,
or FMLN, be let off for their crimes against civilians, church officials
have said. On the other hand, the church supports giving rebels amnesty
from a law which made it illegal to belong to the FMLN.
	Some 75,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed as a result of a
12-year conflict characterized by widespread human rights abuses,
particularly by the U.S.-backed army, human rights groups have said.
	The ruling party of President Alfredo Cristiani supports a general
amnesty for all war-related crimes, but opposition parties oppose a
blanket amnesty.

/** carnet.alerts: 115.0 **/
** Topic: CUANES Update 1-20-92 **
** Written  8:57 am  Jan 21, 1992 by cuanes in cdp:carnet.alerts **
CUANES Update 1-20-92  (Alert 349)

The leadership of the C.N.I - National Council of Churches of El
Salvador (Consejo Nacional de Iglesias) has again been the target of
threats and harassment.  On Thursday, January 16, at about 8:30 pm, a
threatening telephone call was made to the house of Fr. Victoriano
Jimeno, of the Episcopal Church.  The caller gave the C.N.I. leadership
72 hours to get out of the country or face the consequences.  (The 72
hour period has now expired.)  The call came after Fr. Jimeno had just
arrived at home following a public appearance on the grandstand at the
Civic Plaza during the events celebrating the signing of the peace
accords.

Fr. Jimeno received a earlier threatening call at his house on Sunday,
January 12.  This call also followed a public appearance by him in
Cojutepeque.

In addition to these phone calls, and the written death threat sent to
the C.N.I. on January 7 by the "Secret Army of National Salvation",
other leaders in the C.N.I. have noticed strange vehicles and
individuals lurking around their homes.  The office of ALFALIT, a
Christian development organization, has being under surveillance
frequently during the last few weeks.  The Executive Director of ALFALIT
is Rev. Santiago Flores Amaya, who is also Secretary General of the
C.N.I.

On January 10, a vehicle with men in civilian clothes with rifles was
parked outside the Christian Reformed Church in the colonia El Refugio
in San Salvador.  The pastor of that church, Rev. Jose Roberto Palacios
was captured by the National Guard on November 19, held for four days,
intimidated and threatened before being released on November 22.

** End of text from cdp:carnet.alerts **

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% To: mtwain::trubey
% Subject: El Salvador: more death threats for church leaders
% Date: Wed, 22 Jan 92 14:39:46 -0800
% From: [email protected]

** Written  7:15 pm  Aug 10, 1992 by ghrc in cdp:reg.guatemala **
                  GHRC/USA Human Rights Update*
                      PEACENET Version #31

DEATH THREATS

Archbishop Prospero Penados del Barrio Receives Death Threats
Archbishop of Guatemala PROSPERO PENADOS DEL BARRIO reported that
he has been receiving anonymous telephoned death threats warning
him to stop denouncing human rights abuses committed in
Guatemala.  The threats are allegedly in response to recent
public statements made by the Archbishop denouncing human rights
abuses carried out with impunity in Guatemala.

Judge in Coban Resigns Due to Death Threats  The second trial
judge for Coban, Alta Verapaz, Dr. OLGA ESPERANZA CHOC JOLOMA,
resigned from her post on July 25 due to repeated death threats
in which she was given 24 hours to abandon her post or be killed.

EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS

CESAR AUGUSTO NAVAS LOPEZ (28) was abducted on July 26 in central
Retalhuleu by several armed men driving in a vehicle with
darkened windows.  The unknown assailants forced him into their
vehicle as he was leaving the Whole Gospel Church with his wife
Elsa Us Cano.  Three days later the nightly news reported the
discovery of Navas Lopez's body near the Santa Rita housing
development in Retalhuleu.  The victim's body had four bullet
wounds and signs of strangulation.

On July 20 the body of CARLOS ENRIQUE TORRES MONTESDEOCA was
found with signs of torture in the Calderas lagoon in Amatitlan,
Guatemala.  The victim's head was covered with a nylon bag, and
his legs were bound with a plastic cord to a rock weighing more
than 15 pounds.

On July 25 medical doctor JORGE HAASSEN RODENAS (75) was shot to
death, and his son WALTER HAASSEN (39) was critically wounded, by
three unknown men who attacked them while they were at work on
the Arcadia farm, km. 23, in the Mejia village, San Juan
Sacatepequez, Guatemala.

Businessman JOSE MANUEL ZUNUN (45) was shot and killed on July 27
by three unknown men who had abducted him earlier that day.  The
victim was found in the back seat of his car (license number P-
272446) at 30th Street and 7th Avenue, Zone 3, Guatemala City.

The bodies of JORGE ARTURO VASQUEZ ESQUIVEL (30) and CARLOS
HUMBERTO MENDEZ CORADO (20) were found on July 28 in La Puerta,
Jalpatagua, Jutiapa.  The victims had been shot several times.

The body of SALVADOR CORADO MUNOZ (20) was found on July 28 in El
Coco, Jalpatagua, Jutiapa, with several bullet wounds.

UNIDENTIFIED BODIES

The bodies of TWO UNIDENTIFIED MALES (15) were found on July 25
at Ferrocarril Avenue and 48th Street, Zone 12, Guatemala City
with several bullet wounds, including final shots to the head
(coup de grace).

The body of ONE UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (35) was found on July 27 at
km. 4, on the route to the Atlantic, a few meters from the Belize
bridge in Guatemala City.

OTHER INFORMATION

Increased Harassment of the Media  Editors and personnel at La
Cronica magazine reported on July 28 that they have been
receiving telephoned bomb threats in which a woman warns them to
vacate their offices immediately.  The La Cronica offices are
located on the third floor in Tower II of the Commercial Center
in Zone 4, Guatemala City.

The Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA monitors the human
rights situation in Guatemala and provides information to various
constituencies in the United States and to a limited extent
abroad.  Information in the Guatemala Human Rights Update is
compiled from a variety of international sources including: the
Comisi"n de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala/Mexico (Guatemalan
Human Rights Commission/Mexico), Americas Watch, Amnesty
International and Inforpress.  Information is also gathered from
reports and alerts from groups in Guatemala including: the
Archbishop's Human Rights Office, the Council of Ethnic
Communities Runujel Junam (CERJ), labor unions, the University
Students Association (AEU), the Conference of Religious of
Guatemala (CONFREGUA) and the Mutual Support Group of Relatives
of the Disappeared (GAM).
** End of text from cdp:reg.guatemala **

	   Memorial Service for Slain Jesuits and Their Co-Workers
		     in this Quincentennial Year 1992

Monday November 16
First Parish Church of Chelmsford (on the common) 7:30 pm

	Service followed by Candle Light Vigil on the Common

	On the third anniversary of the assassination of the six Jesuit 
priests and two witnesses by the U.S.-backed Armed Forces of El Salvador, the
Jesuits, their co-workers, as well as the over 75,000 Salvador killed since 
1980 are remembered. 

	The service (one of over 1,000 nation-wide) is held at the First
Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Chelmsford, where February 25, 1989,
one of the Jesuits, Ignacio Martin-Baro, visited with area activists
concerned with ending the war in El Salvador and bringing about democratic 
reform. 

Salvadoran Government Misses Deadline for Implementation of Military Purge

On December 31, the Salvadoran government missed the deadline
established by the peace agreement for the implementation of the
civilian purge of the military.  The Military General Order issued
on New Year's Eve by the Defense Ministry, failed to include the
list of over 100 officers recommended for dismissal or transfer by
the Ad Hoc Commission.  According to the Washington Post, "The
failure was widely viewed as a demonstration that despite the end
of the war, the military retains veto power over civilian decisions
that affect the armed forces."

The United Nations has responded by issuing a statement denouncing
the Salvadoran government for its action, calling it a clear
violation of the peace agreement.  Likewise, Archbishop Rivera y
Damas denounced the Salvadoran government for its non-compliance
with the Accords, and demanded full implementation of the civilian
purge of the military.  Meanwhile, the State Department has been
trying to minimize the severity of this crisis by maintaining that
the peace process is moving forward, and the current deadlock
around the purge will be resolved in just a few days.

In recent months, El Salvador has witnessed a surge in violent
criminal activity.  It is believed by many that the right wing and
the death squads are taking advantage of the crime wave to mask
political assassinations as common crime.  El Rescate has reported
several vicious murders of popular movement leaders.

On the morning of February 21, Fredy Torres, a member of FENASTRAS
and the FMLN Municipal Committee of Mejicanos, was assassinated.
His body was found with all of his money and personal belongings
intact and with one bullet wound to the head, apparently fired at
close range.  Prior to his murder, Torres received death threats in
December 1992 and was attacked and stabbed in January 1993.

Other murders include the brutal February 17 killing of Jose
Alberto Delgado Noyola, a member of ATMOP.  Delgado and a friend
were kidnapped by three men and taken to an empty lot where
Delgado's arms were amputated and he was killed.  The companion was
injured but managed to escape with his life.  Bishop Rosa Chavez
said that the assassination of Delgado along with the murders of
Juan Carlos Garcia Panameno and Manuel de Jesus Panameno (son and
nephew of COMADRES leader Alicia Garcia) "have the characteristics
of political crimes...The investigations point to the death
squads."

This stepped up attack on the popular movement comes at a time when
full implementation of the Ad Hoc Commission recommendations is
still pending and the Truth Commission report is due for release in
a few weeks.  Arena has responded to the sharp increase in violent
crime by proposing the deployment of Army and Air Force troops and
equipment in civilian policing - a direct violation of the
Constitution and Peace Accords.

Article: 2427
From: [email protected] (DANIEL ALDER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.issues.civil_rights,clari.news.fighting,clari.local.new_york,clari.news.top.world
Subject: Archbishop criticizes Salvadoran amnesty law
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 93 13:51:19 PST
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- El Salvador's Roman Catholic
archbishop Sunday criticized as a ``desperate maneuver'' the
government's new amnesty law that pardons those named in the wake of a
U.N. report on war atrocities.
	``Reconciliation cannot be the fruit of a decree,'' Archbishop Arturo
Rivera said after celebrating Sunday mass in San Salvador. The prelate
said the amnesty was pushed through to sweep wrongdoing under the rug.
	President Alfredo Cristiani's conservative ARENA party Saturday
narrowly won approval in the Salvadoran Congress for a ``broad,
unconditional and absolute amnesty'' law for those named in the U.N.
Truth Commission report as responsible for abuses during the nation's
12-year civil war.
	Moderate and leftist opposition parties opposed the amnesty in
Saturday's tumultuous session boycotted by some politicians and
suspended for three hours due to protests.
	The amnesty came less than a week after the March 15 release of the
Truth Commission's report, which blamed government troops, police, and
right-wing political figures for ``the vast majority'' of human rights
abuses committed during the civil war, which ended last year and claimed
some 75,000 lives.
	Opposition parties had tried and failed to condition the passage of
the amnesty on a government commitment to reforms of the military and
judicial system.
	Political analysts said the hurried passage of the amnesty signaled
the government's reluctance to carry out reforms called for by the Truth
Commission and other provisions of the U.N.-brokered peace accord.
	Government officials have tried to undermine the U.N. report by
saying it is unbalanced and claimed the immediate amnesty was necessary
so that El Salvador could forget its bloody past and move on.
	``This war was the dirtiest war that you can imagine, but it was
dirty on both sides,'' ARENA legislator Gerardo Escalon said Saturday as
the amnesty law was debated in Congress. ``There is no reason to rub
more salt in the wounds.''
	The archbishop, however, sided with opposition forces who insisted
that an amnesty should be preceded by a period of reflection and that
those who committed abuses should have to admit their crimes before
benefiting from the amnesty.
	Rivera said the government's actions raised the danger that the Truth
Commission's efforts ``will be a waste of time and a big disappointment
for the the whole world, which up to now has viewed our peace process
with admiration.''
	The 12-year war between El Salvador's U.S.-backed government and
rebels of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or
FMLN, was formally ended on Dec. 15, 1992, through a complex negotiated
settlement. The FMLN is in the process of converting its guerrilla army
into a political party but the government has yet to comply with a
series of military and judicial reforms mandated by the peace accord.
	Gerardo LeChevallier, a Christian Democrat in the legislature, said
the passage of an amnesty law without a broad consensus could undermine
international support for El Salvador's peace process.
	``This is a mistake that will cost them dearly internationally,''
LeChevallier said. ``Voting against reconciliation is is a big mistake.''
	The government is counting on international donations to help rebuild
El Salvador's war-torn economy.

It seems I recall in the last couple weeks hearing of a report which
identified Reagan-backed Salvadoran forces as responsible for the deaths
of the Archbishop Romero, 6 Jesuit priests (their housekeeper and her
daughter), and 4 nuns.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Richard

          UN report on El Salvador seems to vindicate Sen. Dodd

                           States News Service

    Washington--He was called "El Raton Blanco," the white rate, by the
    Salvadoran ruling elite.  At home, he was branded a Communist,
    un-American, a Sandinista.

    Even some of the friends of Sen. Christopher Dodd, Democrat of
    Connecticut, questioned his decade-long crusade against the Salvadoran
    military, whose repressive policies were nurtured during the 1980s by $6
    billion in US aid.

    But with the recent release of the United Nations "Commission on the
    Truth" report detailing atrocities committed by El Salvador's military
    and right wing, political observers in and out of Congress say he seems
    finally to be vindicated.

    "All those editorial boards across the country are now screaming with
    rage because of the report," said Jim McGovern, an aide to Rep. Joseph
    Moakley, Democrat of Massachusetts, who also tried to expose El
    Salvador's military in the 1980s.  "But I'm surprised they're surprised.
    If you look at the record, Dodd was saying then the same things the
    commission is saying now....The bottom line is, he was right."

    The commission report has prompted a minor firestorm on Capitol Hill,
    with Democrats calling for a thorough investigation of Reagan
    administration officials who--in light of the commission's findings--are
    accused of misleading Congress.

    As chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Western
    Hemisphere, Dodd immersed himself in the affairs of Central America,
    becoming the Senate's leading voice on the region and the most dogged
    challenger of the Reagan and Bush administration's policies.

    Many now credit Dodd's 1991 bill rescinding half the aid to El Salvador
    for pushing the government to the negotiating table.  They also say the
    bill heralded an end to that country's decade-long civil war.

    While Dodd fought first to stop aid, and then to make it conditional on
    improving human rights, the White House used its Latin American Affairs
    Office of Public Diplomacy to discredit and "smear" the senator and
    other outspoken critics, according to Joe Eldridge, director of the
    Washington office of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

    A disgruntled FBI agent even spread rumors that the agency was watching
    the senator and keeping a "terrorist" file on him and other activists.
    The FBI assured Dodd in writing that the reports were false.

    "This stuff seeped out into the conventional wisdom," Eldridge said. "He
    paid a political price, but he stuck to his guns.  The price was his
    constituents thought he was being too solicitous of international issues
    to the detriment of state concerns."

    "Frankly, even the people voting with me said I was spending too much
    time on this, asking me why are you doing this and putting us in an
    awkward position," Dodd said.

    Now, the commission has substantiated many of his claims and found solid
    evidence of human rights abuses at the hand of the US-supported military,
    including its links to the El Mozote massacre in 1981 that claimed the
    lives of more than 700 men, women, and children.

    "There's little joy in saying I told you so in the face of the death of
    more than 70,000 people," Dodd said.

    There is a strong corrolation between the sermon in 219.8 and
    the information contained in 166.27.
    
    Richard
    

Subj:	NicaNet NY Weekly Update #166 4/4

JESUIT KILLERS FIRST TO BE FREED BY SALVADORAN AMNESTY

On Apr. 1, a Salvadoran judge ordered the release of two military
officers serving time for the murders of six Jesuit priests and
two women in November of 1989. The officers, Col. Guillermo
Alfredo Benavides and Lt. Yusshy Rene Mendoza, were freed later
in the day--the first to benefit from El Salvador's general
amnesty, which took effect on Mar. 31.

It is thought that release orders will also be given for the
national guardsmen convicted of raping and killing four US
churchwomen in 1980, as well as Major Mauricio Beltran, who is
being held for the 1988 San Sebastian massacre of ten peasants.

Unaffected by the amnesty are five FMLN rebels, whose cases
involve victims protected under international law. Three rebels
are in prison for murdering four US Marines and nine civilians in
1985, the other two are awaiting trial for a 1991 incident in
which two US servicemen were killed after their helicopter was
shot down. FMLN leaders have argued that given the vital role of
the US in maintaining the war, members of the US military in El
Salvador are not entitled to diplomatic immunity. [New York Times
4/2/93; Washington Post 4/2/93]
    

	The current issue of The New Yorker magazine (Dec 6) is almost 
entirely devoted to the Massacres in Mozote by U.S. trained Salvadoran
forces and the subsequent cover up on the part of the State Department 
and the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. 

	Here's the text from the front cover:

	The Massacre at El Mazote
		by Mark Danner

		Even in the most brutal phase of El Salvador's 
		civil war, the people of El Mazote trusted the Army.
		But in December of 1981 the Atlacatl Battalion, which
		had been trained by the United States, set out to kill
		every man, woman, and child in that village. The murders
		could not have come at a worse time for Washington. The 
		reports were denied--for more than a decade. Then slowly,
		the evidence emerged that proved the terrible truth.