Hi all,
   Just wanted to provide you an update regarding Marcelo Rivera and the violence against activists in Cabañas, El Salvador.  Our company - Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production, Inc. - is a signer on an important letter to the US State Department and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  I've posted it here for you to read and share.  Please spread the word, and continue to share our short film "The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera".  Thanks so much for your continued support of independent film makers, journalists and rights advocates in the field - asking the questions we all want answers to.

***************************************

September 1st, 2009
 
 
The Honorable Hillary R. Clinton
Secretary of State
Harry S. Truman Building
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
 
 
Dear Secretary of State Clinton:
 
The undersigned organizations write to express our grave concern about the violent events that are taking place in the Department of Cabañas in El Salvador. For years we have monitored and celebrated the democratic progress that El Salvador has achieved since the 1992 Peace Accords. We believe that the recent presidential election that resulted in a healthy change of power represents an important step for Salvadorans to consolidate this democracy. However, we are deeply concerned that, in addition to representing a deterioration of human rights, recent events may indicate the resurgence of death squad structures, endangering the achievements for which Salvadorans have worked for so long.
 
Context in Cabañas
Cabañas, one of the poorest regions in the country, has many strong local organizations that have flourished to respond to the community’s diverse needs.  These organizations address local development, human rights, and environmental issues.
 
Recently these community organizations have successfully advocated, based on economic, environmental, and human health concerns, to prevent the expansion of gold mining in their province by the Canadian company Pacific Rim Mining Corporation. El Salvador is a densely populated country, and access to water is of great concern in Cabañas and other regions.  Exploratory drilling has depleted local wells by lowering the overall level of the water table in the area.  It is extremely unusual for exploration drilling to cause this level of disturbance, indicating that the water table in this region is particularly vulnerable, a fact that Pacific Rim does not address in its Environmental Impact Assessment.  The Salvadoran government has declined to renew the company’s mining permit based upon these environmental concerns and widespread, vocal opposition to the project from the local communities.  Pacific Rim, through an American subsidiary, has begun arbitration proceedings against El Salvador under CAFTA, arguing that the country violated its rights as a foreign investor.
 
The local organizations mentioned above were also very active in denouncing and halting fraud in the January 2009 municipal elections in San Isidro, Cabañas.  Irregularities and fraud in the January elections were widely documented and recognized by international observer missions and, in San Isidro particularly, by Salvadoran political parties (excluding the ARENA party).  As a result of these irregularities being denounced by three of the four political parties taking part in the elections, the municipal elections in San Isidro were actually stopped mid-morning of Election Day on January 18, 2009, and the mayoral election was postponed.
 
Violence against Community Leaders
In recent months many community leaders from Cabañas have been the target of violence. On June 18th Marcelo Rivera, a community leader, environmentalist, and teacher from San Isidro, Cabañas, was disappeared.  His body was found two weeks later with signs of brutal torture typical of death squad killings. Mr. Rivera was a founder of the grassroots association Friends of San Isidro, Cabañas (ASIC), through which he was a leader in the widespread opposition to Pacific Rim’s mining in the region. This made him very unpopular with local authorities, who seek the tax revenues and royalties that the mining company was going to pay to the local government. Mr. Rivera also led the efforts to prevent electoral fraud in San Isidro last January. Shortly afterward, he was the target of a defamation campaign by the mayor and someone attempted to run him over with a car. After these incidents, Mr. Rivera had lodged an official complaint against the mayor with the National Civil Police.
 
After the murder of Mr. Rivera, the staff of a youth-run community radio in Victoria, Cabañas, began receiving death threats. Radio Victoria’s young journalists have covered topics such as the fraud scandals in the local elections, the community struggle against mining and more recently the disappearance and murder of Marcelo Rivera. Members of Radio Victoria had previously received death threats during the 2006 and 2009 elections, but these intensified after they began denouncing the murder of Mr. Rivera. One recent threat said that the youth will end up “just like Marcelo.”  On July 29, Radio Victoria’s antenna was stolen and its electrical system sabotaged, forcing the radio to go off air temporarily.
 
On July 27, four armed and hooded men attempted to kidnap and murder Father Luis Quintanilla, a Catholic priest and long time human rights defender.  The priest escaped by jumping into a gully when his car alarm distracted the kidnappers. Father Quintanilla has a program on Radio Victoria and had been receiving the same sort of death threats as the staff. 
 
On August 7, activist Ramiro Rivera was shot 8 times near his home in Trinidad, Cabañas. He survived but is currently in delicate condition.  Ramiro Rivera is another environmentalist and community leader who helped the community efforts to oppose Pacific Rim’s exploration activities.
 
We believe that the events described above are linked and are part of a systematic campaign to intimidate environmental and community organizations in Cabañas.  We vehemently reject the statement by the prosecutor from the Attorney General’s Office, Rodolfo Delgado, when he said that in the case of Marcelo Rivera “there is not evidence of an intellectual author of the assassination.”  We believe that there is ample evidence to indicate that these violent events are politically motivated, premeditated and with involvement of intellectual authors and hired hit men. The political nature of the crimes is even stated in the death threats. Some of the threats talk about the victims being on a “list”, suggesting social cleansing. This is not surprising, as in recent years human rights organizations have reported an increase in politically-related crimes. In a recent press release, José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, stated that "to dismiss this brutal murder as a gang killing and not look into the circumstances and the menacing aftermath would have a chilling effect on El Salvador's civil society."
 
 
Increase in Political Violence in El Salvador
According to a 2007 report from the Legal Department of the Archbishop in San Salvador, of the cases it investigated that year, only 31% of the homicides were attributed to gangs and common crime while 69% fit the profile of social "cleansing" and death squad types of crime. The Foundation for Application and Study of Law (FESPAD) has documented more than 20 murders of young social activists between 2007 and 2009. In most cases these crimes were officially attributed to common violence, ruling out political motivations a priori, when these have been suggested by evidence.
 
We are encouraged by President Mauricio Funes’ commitment to combat corruption and organized crime, as he announced in his inaugural speech. We hope that his administration will investigate these and other cases of human rights violations.  However, we are also aware that his administration faces many challenges in dismantling powerful structures that for years have been operating with impunity, taking advantage of a dysfunctional and politicized justice system. For this reason we consider it vital that the U.S. government demonstrate its support for the Salvadoran government’s efforts to carry out the necessary reforms to depoliticize and modernize the judiciary system and the National Civil Police (PNC). 
 
Requests
We respectfully request that the State Department take the following action:

• To send a letter to the de facto Salvadoran Attorney General, Astor Escalante, insisting upon further investigation into these violent acts and their intellectual authors, including a serious examination of the evidence that indicates that they are politically motivated. We respectfully request that this letter come directly from the Secretary of State, in addition to the letter currently being written by Embassy chargé d’affaires Robert Blau.
• To make a public statement denouncing the resurgence of death-squad style violence in El Salvador and calling for transparent, nonpartisan investigations into all of the above mentioned cases of violence by the de facto Salvadoran Attorney General and the National Civil Police (PNC).

In addition we request that the State Department move quickly to appoint a new U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, who is committed to accompany and respectfully support the new Salvadoran government in its efforts to advance democracy and rule of law.
 
We urge the State Department to undertake the requests noted above to prevent future human rights violations and allow Salvadorans to enjoy their democratic right to organize and advocate for their well being. We believe there is a new era of hope starting in El Salvador, and any attempt to return to a past of repression and insecurity should be prevented. We thank you in advance for taking the necessary steps to aid El Salvador in the pursuit of justice.
 
Sincerely,
 
Agricultural Missions, Inc.
Asociación Cultural MILPA
American Jewish World Service (AJWS)
Bend-Condega Friendship Project, Bend, OR
Catholic Caucus of Southeast Michigan
CATA, El Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas, NJ and PA
Center for Alternative Mining Development Policy
Central American Resources Center (CARECEN)
Chicago-Cinquera Sister Cities, IL
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)
Caribbean & Latin America Support  (CLASP)
Colombia Action Network
Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM)
Dialogo Social Abierto Permanente de Los Angeles (DSAPLA)
Doctors for Global Health
Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean (EPICA)
First United Methodist Church of Decorah, IA
FOCUS Central America
Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America (FSSCA)
Friends of Chilama, Crystal Lake, IL
Global Exchange
Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Good Shepherd Church-El Salvador Ministry, Shawnee, KS
Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA
Hands Across Borders
International Partners
Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production, Inc., Philadelphia, PA
Latin American Solidarity Organization
Latino Fellowship of Calvary Baptist Church, Washington, DC
Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR)
Loretto Community, Latin American/Caribbean Committee, Littleton, Colorado
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Maryland Presbyterian Church
Medical Mission Sisters Alliance for Justice
National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association, Washington, DC
Nicaragua Network
Oxfam America
Pax Christi USA: National Catholic Peace Movement
Peace through Interamerican Community Action (PICA)
Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, Palo Alto, CA
Resurrection Lutheran Church, Oakland, California
Romero Interfaith Center- Las Anonas Sister Cities, Philadelphia, PA
Saint Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, Philadelphia, PA
Salvadoran American National Association (SANA)
Santa Marta Committee, Virginia
School of the Americas Watch
SHARE Foundation: Building a New El Salvador Today
Sister Parish, Inc. /Iglesias Hermanas
South Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Palo Alto, CA
St. John Fisher Catholic Community Justice and Peace Ministry
The Detroit SHARE Sister Community Committee
The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Ceremony
The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence
The Institute for Global Leadership
The Interfaith Community Building Group, Philadelphia, PA
The Session of Govans Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, Maryland
The Sister Parish Work Group Committee of St. Patrick's Parish Seattle, WA
The Poverty Initiative
The Quixote Center
The Teosinte Committee of Saint Sebastian Parish, Milwaukee, WI
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
US-El Salvador Sister Cities
Voices on the Border
Washington Ethical Society Global Connections
 
 
Cc:


Ambassador Craig Kelly, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Maria Otero, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs

Daniel Restrepo, Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, National Security Council

Senator John F. Kerry, Chair, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Representative Howard Berman, Chair, House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Representative Bill Delahunt, Chair, Subcommittee on International organizations, Human Rights and Oversight

Representative Elliot Engel, Chair, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

Representative Jim McGovern, Chair, Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House Rules Committee

Representative Mike Michaud, Chair, Subcommittee on Health of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee

Robert Blau, Chargé d’Affairs, U.S. Embassy in El Salvador

Hugo Martínez, Foreign Affairs Minister of El Salvador

Francisco Altschul, Chargé d’Affairs, Embassy of El Salvador in the United States