~~~ This is an update following the brutal attack on
the student mobilization on July 5. The escalating
human rights violations in El Salvador has resulted in
a call for a press conference on the steps of City
Hall next Tuesday, July 18 at 11:00 a.m. The press
conference is called by the SO CAL EMERGENCY COMMITTEE
ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN EL SALVADOR. More info:
323-852-0721.
==================================
Dangerous Repercussions of July 5 Violence in El
Salvador
Jailed students released, but harsh threats by Saca
Administration, U.S. Embassy continue
CISPES Update
July 13, 2006
Its been just over a week since a student protest in
San Salvador resulted in violent police repression and
two police deaths. The violence, which erupted during
a student protest against bus fare hikes, also led to
the police occupation of El Salvadors National
University (UES) for days, the emergency evacuation of
more than 700 people, the capture of between 20 to 30
students, and a university administrator being gravely
injured. Over the weekend the students were released
from jail due to lack of evidence, the police finally
left the university, and on Tuesday a captured union
leader was also released. However, the ramifications
of last weeks repression remain frightening. The
Human Rights Office has called the violence
instigated by the National Civilian Police (PNC) the
worst violation of human rights since the Peace
Accords. And although there was indeed a renegade
within the protest that fired at police, social
movement organizations, human rights groups, and
student groups have all called the governments
response an unjustified use of force that represents a
serious setback to the 1992 Peace Accords.
Background The events of July 5
On Wednesday, July 5th an impressive array of police
including riot police (UMO), an elite, specialized
group of police (known as the GRP), and snipers on the
rooftop of a nearby childrens hospital were
stationed at the main entrance of the National
University (UES) even before a student march arrived.
The high school and university students were demanding
reduced bus fare for students, elderly, and the
differently-abled, a demand the students have been
mobilizing around for at least two years. When the UMO
violently apprehended two 15-year-old students (at
least one of whom was later taken to the hospital
because of the severe beatings) the other students
responded by throwing rocks at the police. Police
then began firing rubber bullets and tear gas, and
advancing ominously towards the students. A
participant in the protest pulled out an M-16 and
fired at police. Two riot police died and nine more
were injured. All students ran into the UES for
cover.
Soon, police began firing real bullets
from both the ground and from at least two artillery
helicopters flying over the UES. A UES administrator
was shot at from the air while inside a university
office and remained hospitalized for a week because
the bullet came so close to his heart. That
afternoon, the government continued to militarize the
surrounding streets of the UES, cordoning off entry
and exit from the university and randomly rounding up
students trying to evacuate the campus. At 10:00 that
evening, the police violated the legally guaranteed
autonomy of the National University by breaking the
locks and occupying the campus. They remained inside
for the next 4 days.
Government Response: Smear, Disinformation, and more
Repression
Within a matter of minutes of the violence, ARENA
public officials were blaming the FMLN party, long
before any clarification of the incident or an initial
investigation of the events was possible. I formally
accuse the FMLN of being behind these actions, said
Saca on radio and TV stations shortly afterwards.
It is time Salvadorans realize that if the FMLN had
won, there would be armed groups circulating the
streets. All of the mainstream media joined Saca in
accusing the protestors and the FMLN of attacking the
PNC, the media and the paramedics. At a press
conference held at noon that day, the government used
false information to justify the use of force by
police. Officials claimed that students had AK-47s
and snipers within the UES, and they claimed that the
FMLN had planned to the action to distract attention
from an internal crisis.
Despite an understanding that the police would be
accompanied at all times while on campus, the PNC
broke into the university at 10:00 pm that Wednesday
where ARENA claimed there were weapons arsenals and
were not joined by university officials or Human
Rights observers until 8:00 am the following morning.
Simultaneously, about 30 police raided the offices of
the Union Confederation of Salvadoran Workers (CSTS)
in another alleged search for weapons. Union leader
Daniel Ermesto Morales was beaten and detained for
illegal gun possession, although the only gun they
found was registered to a private security officer on
the premises. The police raid and pillage of the CSTS
offices came in response to a press conference held
there by social movement organizations on July 5th in
which they denounced the governments repressive
actions that morning. Initially, police refused to
provide information about the whereabouts of Morales
and the captured students. Morales was ultimately
held for five days until a judge released him on
Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, the police have arrested one man that they
claim was giving cover to the shooter that fired the
M-16, and have begun a massive manhunt for Mario
Belloso Castillo, the supposed murderer of the two
riot police. Because both men have been members of
the FMLN, ARENA has launched a full-blown smear
campaign claiming that the FMLN was behind the attacks
and that it is a terrorist organization. The FMLN
responded to the attacks on the party by condemning
the use of violence in protests and pointing out that
it cannot control the individual actions of the
100,000 party members.
However, while Belloso has indeed been identified in
photos, only a thorough investigation can prove that
he actually killed the two riot police. Last
Thursday, the Human Rights Ombudswoman Beatrice de
Carrillo declared that the deaths appeared to be very
exact sniper executions that hit one police officer in
the head and the other in the heart, to kill. This
indicates that there has been a specific will to
provoke this outcome. She added that media footage
of the shooter isnt proof that this person was the
author of these executions, and that the governments
only source of information an anonymous informant
is insufficient.
Challenged accounts, and more fallout from the
violence
Authorities of the National University have challenged
claims by the PNC that there were weapons found on the
campus. PNC officials have also asserted that police
helicopters did not shoot, despite witnesses, pictures
and video footage to the contrary. They also deny
claims that there were snipers at the nearby
childrens hospital despite equal proof, as well as
claims that multiple air force planes flew over the
university, in addition the helicopters. On Tuesday,
University officials released photos showing police
firing from helicopters.
In defiance of the judiciary, President Saca and
Minister of the Interior Figueroa have stated they
will appeal the release of the students, claiming that
there is more than enough evidence to incriminate
them, while the union leader from CSTS will be
prosecuted for illegal firearms possession.
Most ominously, ARENA has repeated labeled all those
involved in recent protests terrorists and used the
justification of the violence to push the so-called
anti-terrorist law, a draconian measure that would
criminalize building occupations, street blockades,
and other common popular protest tactics. The law is
so outlandish that even allied right-wing parties
refused to support it last Thursday, and the Assembly
voted instead to create an ad hoc commission to
further investigate the events of July 5. Still, the
law may be presented again by ARENA in the coming
weeks.
Whats next for El Salvador?
Without a fair, transparent investigation, it is
possible that the whole truth about the shooting last
Wednesday will never be known. What is clear is that
the aftermath of the violence gives the government
justification for a dramatic escalation of violence
against the social movement. Already the government
is threatening to investigate student groups and
others because they are presumably armed. Student and
youth groups have denounced intimidation after their
offices were ransacked by police. Auxiliary bishop
Gregoria Rosa Chavez demanded to know the truth this
past Monday, echoing the demand of many Salvadorans: a
thorough, independent investigation.
Such an investigation, however, is even more unlikely
given U.S. intervention into the case. U.S.
Ambassador Douglas Barclay gave a rare interview to
the press on Saturday in which he repeated Sacas line
of calling this a terrorist act and implying that
the FMLN was behind the shootings. He then suggested
that the U.S. could help in the investigation
through FBI assistance. This incident makes clear
that the U.S. should not continue its training and
support of Salvadoran police, or legitimize their
actions through the presence of a police
professionalizing academy the ILEA which
coincidently graduated its first class at the end of
June. As social movement leader, Santiago Flores
said, The government is sharpening its repressive
tools as the only answer to continue with this
exclusionary economic model and maintain power. Even
though the mainstream media has concealed the original
causes of the protest the economic crisis that
exists in El Salvador it will certainly be the cause
for more mobilizations.
CISPES
Committee In Solidarity With The People of El Salvador
8124 West 3rd Street L.A. Ca. 90048
323-852-0721
Founded: 1980 - 25 Years of Solidarity
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