Tag: El Salvador

Voices 12/16/08

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

The stage is set in El Salvador for the FMLN party to defeat the right wing ARENA party in the upcoming elections. The groups that eventually became the FMLN and ARENA parties, fought on opposite sides in the war in El Salvador in the 1980s.  The right had ties to the small number of wealthy families that had long controlled the country, and included paramilitaries who committed widespread massacres and other crimes against humanity, and assassinated Archbishop Romero. They received funding from the U.S. government, which labeled the uprising of the poor rural people against that right wing regime “communism”.
Since the peace accords that ended the war nearly 17 years ago, former paramilitaries—who have gone unpunished—-have been active in the right-wing ARENA party, and many of those involved in the people’s uprising are associated with FMLN.
The ARENA party has been in office and has had a close relationship with the Bush regime.  Now that polls indicate that the FMLN will likely win in next year’s elections, many in El Salvador believe that the U.S. will go to great lengths to prevent that from happening.
We spoke by phone yesterday to a community organizer in El Salvador, and a member of the Sister Cities organization that helps coordinate WERU’s relationship with our sister station Radio Sumpul, as well as the sistering relationships between Maine Organic Farmers and Gardener’s Assoc and the rural communities of El Salvador, and PICA and Bangor’s Sister City relationship with Carasque.

Guests: Bernardo Belloso is a National Directive Council Member of the Association of Rural Communities for the Development of El Salvador,CRIPDES*.* CRIPDES is the largest rural grassroots movement in El Salvador which coordinates the organizing, education and mobilization of over 300 rural communities spread through seven provinces of El Salvador
Michelle Anderson is the Co-Coordinator for the U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities network, linking 16 cities across the U.S. as a movement in solidarity with the Salvadoran organized communities.  In this interview Michelle is translating Bernado’s comments to English

FMI: www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org

<!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

Weekend Voices 10/18/08

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Audio recorded by Matt Murphy

Topic: The historical significance of the upcoming elections in El Salvador.

Bernardo Belloso, a Directiva member of the Association of Rural Communities for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES), and Jose Heriberto Orellana Franco, a Directiva council member from Carasque, Chalatenango (Bangor’s Sister City), spoke about the topic in Bangor, Maine on 10/9/08. Jan Morrill co-coordinator of US-El Salvador Sister Cities translates

FMI: www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org ; www.weru.org (El Salvador/ Radio Sumpul Archives section); www.mofga.org, www.pica.ws,

RadioActive 10/16/08

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Topic: Organized Rural Communities of El Salvador on Free Trade and Immigration

How do free trade policies and neo-liberal economics effect the economy and people of El Salvador?  How does free trade effect immigration?  How do free trade policies effect the agricultural economy in small rural communities?

Bernardo Belloso is a National Directive Council Member of the Association of Rural Communities for the Development of El Salvador, CRIPDES. CRIPDES is the largest rural grassroots movement in El Salvador which coordinates the organizing, education and mobilization of over 300 rural communities spread through seven provinces of El Salvador.
Jose Heriberto Orellana Franco is a Directive Council Member in the community of Carasque (the Sister City of Bangor), one of the strongest CRIPDES-organized communities in the department of Chalatenango.

www.cripdes.org; www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org

RadioActive 5/22/08

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

TODAYS TOPIC(S): The assassination of Hector Antonio Ventura Vasquez, one of the Suchitoto 14 in El Salvador; Reflections on International Worker’s Day, May 1st, in San Salvador; the Salvadoran social movement opposes the  Association Agreement (ADA), a free trade agreement currently being negotiated with the European Union and Central America

Salvadoran organizations call on the Attorney General to investigate the assassination of Hector Ventura, who,  was recently dismissed of terrorism charges along with 13 others after they were arrested prior to an anti water privatization forum in July. They also call for the investigation of a number of other assassinations classified political in the last 3 years. There is fear violence could escalate leading up to the presidential elections in March 2009.

Though government representatives  currently negotiating the  Association Agreement (ADA)  between the European Union and Central America, say human rights and political dialogue are important components of the free trade agreement,  they are backing off requiring the  ratification of the Rome Statutes, which created the International Criminal Court.  Central American countries allege this would overturn amnesty laws which block the prosecution of anyone for war crimes during the civil wars in Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

The social movement networks through out Central America say the negative impacts that have resulted from CAFTA, will be amplified in the ADA, particularly in the areas of intellectual property rights and services. They say, European companies have the strongest interest in the privatization of water and energy.

GUESTS:

Hector Antonio Ventura Vasquez, Suchitoto 14;

Liga Guevara, the Foundation of Studies for the application of Law (FESPAD);  Rosa Santana, CRIPDES (the Association for the Development of El Salvador; Pedro Juan Hernandez, the MPR-12 (the October 12th Popular Resistance Movement)

FMI: www.elsalvadorsolidary.org