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SHARE News
This week we bring you more unsettling news
from El Salvador. Elly Jordan, our Grassroots
Delegation Coordinator in El Salvador reflects
on the torture and murder of Lutheran University
security guard, Manuel de Jesús Martinez,
on January 29th. Please also read the short
piece on other violent attacks in El Salvador
and Guatemala against faith and justice organizations
in the last few months.
Don’t forget about the National
Week of Action Against CAFTA February 21st-25th
and the Global
Week of Action April 10th-16th. Consider
doing something in memoriam to those who gave
their lives to construct a Salvadoran reality
based on justice.
Reflection on the
murder at the Lutheran University by Elly Jordan
February 10, 2005
Dear Friends,
It is with heavy hearts that we bring you news
from El Salvador. In the middle of the night
on Saturday, January 29, the guard at the Lutheran
University here in San Salvador, Manuel de Jesús
Martinez, was brutally tortured and killed.
His body was hung from a tree, his hands and
feet were tied up, and his eyes were covered
with a red cloth. In addition to the murder,
the perpetrators stole thirty computers, stereo
equipment, a university vehicle, and several
personal and professional documents. This was
a clear attempt to render the university incapable
of proceeding with normal operations.
This act, conducted with tactics reminiscent
of those used by the death squads during the
armed conflict, was intended to send a message.
The Lutheran University has always been very
outspoken in its solidarity with the poor, and
recently, with its rejection of the Central
American Free Trade Agreement. This murder,
along with the four other violent assassinations
of justice workers that have taken place in
El Salvador since the beginning of January,
was intended to stifle opposition. These events
make it obvious that oppression and intimidation
still thrive among the strategies employed by
the powerful in this region.
Those of us in attendance at the ecumenical
prayer service last week were reminded of faith’s
ability to calm, support and give strength.
In a dark moment of intimidation, the people
in this ecumenical community were invited to
raise their voices in prayer and song. Reverend
Fernandéz of the Lutheran University
urged us not to fall into the temptation of
fear, but instead to show the power of love
and peace in the midst of a dark and frightening
time. The service concluded with resounding
chants, proclaiming: “Manuel lives on!
The fight goes on!”
SHARE joins the international ecumenical community
in solidarity with the Lutheran University and
the family and friends of Mr. Martínez
in mourning his death and the loss to the school
as a whole. SHARE and the Lutheran University
maintain a historic relationship that began
during the war years. In this period, SHARE
accompanied Lutheran Bishop Medardo Gomez, the
founder of the Lutheran University, when his
life was in danger. Our paths crossed again
this fall when SHARE facilitated advocacy meetings
in Washington, DC for Bishop Gomez, who warned
law makers of CAFTA’s potential impact
on El Salvador’s poor.
We will respond to this loss with courage,
rededicating ourselves to the majority poor
in El Salvador. We will also respond with resolve
to fight the Central American Free Trade Agreement
and the model behind it. Finally, we will respond
with worldwide solidarity, rejecting the “Salvador
Option” that would export these death
squads to Iraq. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Peace,
Elly Jordan
Grassroots Delegation Coordinator
SHARE Foundation
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Assault
on the Faith and Justice Community
Mr. Martinez’s brutal murder is just
another chapter in a series of violent crimes
against people working for social and economic
justice in El Salvador. Assaults began with
the assassination of Salvadoran American unionist
José
Gilberto Soto on November 5th,
2004 in Usulután. Between November 2004
and the end of this January six people were
assassinated, five organizations were raided
and one person was attacked in El Salvador and
Guatemala.
Most recently, SHARE learned of the failed
assassination plot against Guatemalan Bishop,
Álvaro Ramazzini. Ramazzini, a strong
critic of CAFTA and a pivotal player in the
1996 Guatemalan Peace Accords, is a friend of
SHARE’s and of the Central American poor.
Any plans that would jeopardize Ramazzini’s
life concerns us.
May our hearts, intentions and prayers also
go out to the families of Mercedes Gómez,
Isidro Hernández and Manuel Hernández
from the El Porvenir community in the municipality
of Tecoluca, San Vicente, who were murdered
in January. These three people were active members
of CRIPDES, one of our close partner organizations
in El Salvador. SHARE has a long history of
sistering and local development projects in
San Vicente. These friends and the contributions
they make to build a Salvadoran society based
on justice will be missed.
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