Newsgroups: alt.activism,talk.politics.misc,misc.headlines,soc.culture.latin-america Subject: Salvadoran Prosecutors Allege US Coverup in Jesuit Murders Distribution: world Keywords: [PeaceNet forward from AML (ACTIV-L) -- see bottom for more info] ------------------------------------------------------------------ ** Topic: SALPRESS News 01/10/91 ** ** Written 5:31 pm Jan 10, 1991 by salpress in cdp:reg.elsalvador ** ------------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS SERVICE ON EL SALVADOR for THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1991 A Special Service of SALPRESS U.S. EMBASSY, ARMY OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE: PROSECUTIONS Two prosecutors accused the Salvadoran army and the U.S. embassy of obstructing the investigation of the conspiracy behind the November 1989 assassination of six Jesuit priests. Henry Campos and Edward Sidney Blanco, two of seven of the case's prosecuting attorneys, resigned on January 8. The men said the U.S. embassy and the Salvadoran army know the names of those who planned the murder, but that both institutions have blocked investigators' access to the upper levels of the military where the crime's planners are believed to be. According to Blanco, the American embassy and the investigating commission "have an understanding with respect to how far the investigation into the crime's intellectual authorship is allowed to go." He indicated that the Jesuits' assassination was possibly not planned by the army, but the cover-up is being carried out by the armed forces as an institution. Blanco and Campos recalled how U.S. embassy officials warned them of a guerrilla plot to kill judicial personnel. The two said they later learned that no such rebel plan existed and understood the embassy warning to be pressure from those concerned about where the Jesuit investigation might lead. Both prosecutors indicated that case judge, Ricardo Zamora, is honest, but that uncovering the conspiracy depends on the army's high command. They said the case is being brought to trial now to keep the investigation from reaching higher up. According to Blanco and Campos, if their hands were not tied, they would have arrested a long list of persons form the army chiefs of staff, the defense ministry, the army's Honor Commission responsible for investigating the Jesuit murder, and the Atlactl Battalion to which eight of the nine accused assassins belong. They criticized defense minister Gen. Rene Emilio Ponce, for his refusal to wave immunity and testify in the case. Regarding the crime's material authors, they said it is possible these would be punished if a jury is found that feels it can freely decide the case. ================================= From Amensty International's report On El Salvador: "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." "The military court system in El Salvador has routinely failed to prosecute military personnel accused of involvement in torture, "disappearance" and extrajudicial execution. The exclusive jurisdiction of the military courts over members of the armed forces provides a shield behind which armed forces personnel commit grave crimes with impunity." "In exceptional cases in which military court jurisdiction has been waived - notably the murder in 1981 of two American labour advisers and their Salvadorian colleague - civilian courts have been intimidated and proceeding obstructed by lack of cooperation by the armed forces. [See also the sections "The Courts and the Military: Obstacles to Effective Investigation" and "The Legal Framework: A Smokescreen for Official ``Death Squad'' Activities"] "Convictions of five National Guards were eventually obtained in the case of the four US churchwomen murdered in 1980, but two judges involved in the early stages of the case quit after threats to their lives. The judge who eventually heard the case suspected that his brother's murder was an attempt to warn him off, and the lawyer defending one of the convicted guardsmen later said he was forced to take part in a cover-up to prevent senior officers being indicted. According to the lawyer's account, he was abducted by National Guardsmen in civilian clothes, tortured at National Guard headquarters and released only after pressure from the US Embassy and the ICRC. The lawyer left the country shortly afterwards and was treated in Los Angeles for broken ribs. Earlier, his brother had been arrested and brother-in-law abducted - all part, he says, of pressure to ensure his collaboration in the cover-up." p.32 (Section 4.6.5) ================================= FMLN WILL NOT ALLOW IMPUNITY IN RANKS The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) will not allow crimes within its own ranks to go unpunished, rebel comandante German Serrano said yesterday.. Serrano's comments were made over clandestine Radio Farabundo Marti, following the FMLN's announcement that it had arrested two insurgent fighters for the possible execution of American military advisors on January 2. If the charges are proven, the FMLN will apply "all the rigor of our laws of war," he said. Serrano ruled out the possibility that the rebels would turn the two detained combatants over to the country's judicial system. With respect to Washington's reaction to the U.S. servicemen's possible execution, Salvadoran grassroots leader, the Rev. Edgar Palacios, warned the U.S. against unfreezing $42.5 million in military aid to the Alfredo Cristiani government, saying the move would close up spaces for peace in the country. He called for continued investigation of the advisors' deaths by both American and Salvadoran authorities. ================================================================== 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). ** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador ** -- Transfer complete, hit to continue -- ################################################################## For more information about ACTIV-L or PeaceNet's brochure, send inquiries to harel@dartmouth.edu ################################################################### # Harel Barzilai for Activists Mailing List (AML) # ################################################################### To join AML, just send the message "SUB ACTIV-L " to the address: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET; you should then receive a message confirming that your name has been added to the list. Other addresses to try (only) if the above fails are: "LISTSERV@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU" or "ucscc!umcvmb.missouri.edu!LISTSERV"] List Administrator: Rich Winkel, MATHRICH@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU / MATHRICH%UMCVMB.BITNET