Peace & Justice UpdateNovember 13, 2009

(Volume 23, Number 7)

The countries for the Peace & Justice Updates have been chosen as areas of focus at the Institute.

Source information: Information presented in this update is condensed from wire and newspaper reports from Lexis/Nexis and from electronic sites on the World Wide Web. Complete bibliographical information is unavailable from these services, but every attempt has been made to properly cite information and give credit to source materials. This update is intended for use by IPJ staff and associates for informational purposes only. As the material in this update is condensed, and does not directly quote the primary source, information from the update should not be quoted.

Update subscriptions: Electronic subscriptions to the Peace & Justice Updates are free; simply send an email to updates@sandiego.edu and include the word “subscribe” in the subject line.

1

The Peace & Justice Updates are written by the Fall 2009 interns at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of

San Diego.

The interns are Christina Chen (University of California, San Diego), Jill Covert, MA (University of San Diego ’09), Hannah Evans

(University of San Diego), Elizabeth Skurdahl (University of San

SOURCE LIST

AFP = Agence France-Presse (www.afp.com)AI = Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org)Al-Jazeera = Al-Jazeera (http://english.aljazeera.net)All Africa = AllAfrica.com (www.allafrica.com)Analyst = The Analyst (http://www.analystliberia.com)AP = Associated Press (www.ap.org)Asia News = Asia News Network (www.asianewsnet.net)BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation (www.news.bbc.co.uk)BBC Monitoring = BBC Monitoring International Reports (www.monitor.bbc.co.uk)BBC Mundo = BBC Mundo (www.bbc.co.uk/mundo)Bloomberg = Bloomberg (www.bloomberg.com)CFR = Council on Foreign Relations (www.cfr.org)Chicago Tribune = The Chicago Tribune (www.chicagotribune.com)CIA = CIA - The World Factbook (www.cia.gov)CNN = Cable News Network (www.cnn.com)Colombia Reports = Colombia Reports (www.colombiareports.com)CSM = The Christian Science Monitor (www.csmonitor.com) Daily Monitor = Daily Monitor (www.monitor.co.ug)Daily Nation = Daily Nation (www.nation.co.ke)Daily Observer = Daily Observer (http://www.liberianobserver.com)DPA = Deutsche Presse-Agentur (www.dpa.de/index.html)DSR Sri Lanka = Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (www.priu.gov.lk) Economist = The Economist (www.economist.com)El Tiempo = El Tiempo (www.eltiempo.com)Enough = Enough (www.enoughproject.org) Financial Times = Financial Times (www.ft.com) Guatemala Times = Guatemala Times (www.guatemala-times.com) Hill = The Hill (www.thehill.com)Himalayan Times = The Himalayan Times (www.thehimalayantimes.com)Hindu = The Hindu (www.hindu.com)

2

HRW = Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org)IANS = Indo-Asian News Service (www.ians.in) ICG = International Crisis Group (www.crisisweb.org)IHT = International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com)Independent = The Independent (www.independent.co.ug) IPS News Agency= Inter Press Service News Agency (www.ipsnews.net)IRIN = Integrated Regional Information Network (www.irinnews.org)Jeune Afrique = Jeune Afrique (http://www.jeuneafrique.com)E-Kantipur = Kantipur News (www.ekantipur.com)LAHT = The Latin American Herald Tribune (www.laht.com)LA Times = Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com)Latin America Press = Latin America Press (www.latinamericapress.org)LBO = Lanka Business Online (www.lankabusinessonline.lk) Liberian Observer = Liberian Observer (www.liberianobserver.com)Liberian Times = Liberian Times (www.theliberiantimes.com)Monitor = The Monitor (www.monitor.co.ug)NACLA = North American Congress on Latin America (www.nacla.org)Nepal News = Nepal News (www.nepalnews.com)New Times = The New Times (www.newtimes.co.rw) New Vision = The New Vision (www.newvision.co.ug)NYT = The New York Times (www.nytimes.com)ON = Omidyar Network (www.omidyar.com)Oxfam = Oxfam International (www.oxfam.org)PCA = Court of Arbitration (www.pca-cpa.org)Prensa Libre = Prensa Libre (www.prensalibre.com)ReliefWeb = ReliefWeb (www.reliefweb.int) Reuters = Reuters (www.reuters.com)RFI = Radio France Internationale (www.rfi.fr)República = República (www.myrepublica.com)RSF = Reporters Sans Frontières, Reporters without Borders (www.rsf.org)Sec. Council Report = Security Council Report (www.securitycouncilreport.org)SC-SL = Special Court for Sierra Leone (www.sc-sl.org)Shabelle Media Net = Shabelle Media Network (http://www.shabelle.net/)Sierra Express Media = Sierra Express Media (http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com)SLCMP = Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Program (www.slcmp.org)South Asia News = South Asia News Magazine (http://www.southasia.net)Star Radio = Star Radio Liberia (http://www.starradio.org.lr/)Sudan Tribune = Sudan Tribune (www.sudantribune.com)

3

Sunday Leader = The Sunday Leader (www.thesundayleader.lk)The Times = The Times (www.thetimes.co.za)The Monitor = The Monitor (www.monitor.co.ug)Tico Times = Tico Times (www.ticotimes.net)TIME = Time (www.time.com)Times of India = Times of India (www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com) TimesOnline = Times Online (www.timesonline.co.uk) Toronto Star = Toronto Star (www.thestar.com)TRC = Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (www.trcofliberia.org)Ugandaclusters = Ugandaclusters.ug: (www.ugandaclusters.ug)UGPulse = UGPulse (www.ugpulse.com)UHRC = Uganda Human Rights Commission (www.uhrc.ug)UN News = UN News Center (www.un.org/news)UNESCO = UN Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization (www.unesco.org) UNHCR = UN High Commissioner for Refugees (www.unhcr.org)UNICEF = UN Children’s Fund (www.unicef.org)UNIFEM = UN Development Fund for Women (www.unifem.org)Univision = Univision (www.univision.com)UNMIL = United Nations Mission in Liberia (http://unmil.org) VOA = Voice of America News (www.voanews.com)Vancouver Sun = Vancouver Sun (www.vancouversun.com)WSJ = The Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com)WP = The Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com)Xinhua = Xinhua News Agency (www.xinhuanet.com/english)

UPDATE SUMMARY

AFRICA

CÔTE D’IVOIRECEI announces “slight delay” in presidential elections.

GUINEAAU imposes sanctions against junta as daily hardships increase.

LIBERIA

4

Montserrado special election demonstrates “slow progress” and “general disorganization” instead of democracy.

SUDANDarfurian rebel group threatens election officials.

UGANDASouthern Sudanese army leads attacks in northern Ugandan district.

ASIA

NEPALMaoists announce parallel government, surround capital in peaceful siege.

PAKISTANGovernment rejects American journalist’s remarks about U.S. strategy on nuclear security as violence continues.

PHIILIPPINESMilitant group beheads school principal.

SRI LANKAGovernment quickens relocation of Tamils into areas still containing land mines; IMF approves loan.

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

COLOMBIAVenezuela sends 15,000 troops to Colombian border.

CUBABloggers claim to have been beaten and detained.

EL SALVADORFloods, mudslides kill nearly 160 people. 20th anniversary of Jesuit massacre.

GUATEMALACICIG reports to the IACHR it has identified clandestine groups.

5

HAITINew prime minister is confirmed.

6

AFRICA

CÔTE D’IVOIRECEI announces “slight delay” in presidential elections. The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) announced November 11 that the November 29 presidential elections will be postponed for a third time. President Laurent Gbagbo and opposition leaders have acknowledged the impossibility of holding a November 29 election as the eligibility of over one million voters still needs to be verified. The publication October 5 of the list of 6.4 million registered voters was fraught with controversy due to the discovery of 2.7 million “ghost voters.” Ghost voters are registered voters who are ineligible to vote due to their lack of ready citizenship documentation. In an attempt to resolve the identity issue for the 2.7 million ghost voters, the CEI agreed October 12 to give citizenship to 1.1 million of them. An additional 900,000 people were positively identified November 5. Opposition leader Henri Konan Bédié stated November 9 that the new presidential election date should not be determined by Gbagbo without the consultation of all political parties. Bédié and other rivals have accused Gbagbo of delaying the elections until he is confident of his own victory. The opposition also prefers a delay in order to verify more voters, but do not want to delay the elections too long as they have limited campaign resources. The UN received the updated provisional voter list November 10, which is a step forward towards holding the elections. The already twice-delayed presidential elections are the first since the 2002-2004 civil war. (Abidjan, November 11; Reuters, November 9; UN News, November 10; Xinhua, November 5, 2009)

GUINEAAU imposes sanctions against junta as daily hardships increase. The African Union (AU) imposed sanctions November 7 against several dozen individuals in Guinea’s junta, led by Moussa “Dadis” Camara, who have opposed a return to constitutional order in Guinea. The sanctions include travel bans and the freezing of their liquid assets. According to Reuters, however, with no sanctions on trade measures, the junta’s access to Guinea’s mineral wealth will help it avoid the impact of international sanctions. Guinea’s trade minister, Mamady Traoré, stated last month that the country was in talks with China Investment Fund for a $7 billion mining deal, which has been met with international condemnation, especially by the United States. P.J. Crowley, a U.S. State Department spokesman, stated October 14, “We think it’s important that, as you do business with countries, that you also have respect for human rights.” Though the Chinese have not confirmed these talks, the mining deal with China would weaken

7

international sanctions and boost the junta’s finances. Guinea continues to be “volatile” due to widespread poverty, limited access to education and health and a sharp economic decline with food prices increasing and the value of the Guinean franc (FGN) falling. The price of rice has increased 25 percent, cooking oil 15 percent and sugar 40 percent since September 28. Moreover, last month, 6,000 FGN was equivalent to one euro; today, 7,300 FGN equal one euro. The U.S., European Union and the Economic Community of West African States also have sanctions and embargoes against Guinea in response to the September 28 massacre and Camara’s decision to run for president in the next elections. Camara seized power in a coup d’état December 2008. When opposition leaders protested his hold on power September 28, Camara’s soldiers opened fire, killing 157 and wounding 1,200. Burkina Faso’s president, Blaise Compaoré, continues mediating talks between opposition leaders and the junta. Opponents are negotiating for Camara’s resignation, however, Camara’s party, the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), has ruled out the possibility of its leader going into exile. Instead, the CNDD has called for an “open government” to help Guinea transition into democracy. A CNDD delegation met with Compaoré November 10. Although the composition of the delegation was not revealed, it is known that Camara did not make the trip, according to APA. (AFP, November 7, 10; Agence Syfia, November 11; All Africa, October 16; APA, IRIN, Jeune Afrique, Reuters, November 9; Jeune Afrique, October 31, November 7, 2009)

LIBERIAMontserrado special election demonstrates “slow progress” and “general disorganization” instead of democracy. The Montserrado special election was held November 10 to fill a vacant senate seat and had been expected to demonstrate “a true sense [of] democracy.” The election in Montserrado, a northwestern region in Liberia, is important because the county has a voting population of over 400,000, constituting one-third of Liberia’s population. In addition, a win in the Montserrado special election will likely be followed with a seat in the national government. To garner mass participation in the election, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf declared November 10 to be an observed holiday. The election was expected to demonstrate democracy with citizens voting without corruption involved. While no corruption was determined, the special election was characterized as being a “slow progress” with “general disorganization.” Polls ran behind schedule and the location of several voting centers could not be identified, leaving voters frustrated, tired and confused. A particular instance involved voters who were redirected to six different polling centers before reaching one where they could vote. Furthermore, the election was marked by poor voter turnout. The

8

election was between the two largest political parties, the Congress for Democratic Change and Sirleaf’s party, the Unity Party. Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, created to expose the truth behind the civil war, has recommended barring Sirleaf from holding public office for three decades due to her support of armed forces during Liberia’s civil war (1989-2003). A victory in Montserrado by the Unity Party, however, would solidify Sirleaf’s presidential candidacy for 2011, according to VOA. The winner of the by-election will be announced November 14. (Analyst, November 10, 11; Front Page Africa, October 15; Liberian Observer, November 11; Liberian Times, November 9; Star Radio, VOA, November 10, 2009)

SUDANDarfurian rebel group threatens election officials. On November 9, the Abdel Wahed faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) Darfurian rebel group made statements warning that it would attack any election officials who entered into territory under their control. The officials, who are attempting to register voters for the upcoming 2010 presidential election, recently began working in the Darfur region. The SLA accuses these officials of promulgating propaganda that hides the “continuing atrocities in the western region.” Ibrahim al-Helwu, a senior official in the Abdel Wahed faction, claimed the election officials were “security men in the clothes of civilians” and vowed that “if any of them come into our territory, we will target them as soldiers.” The Sudanese election commission, however, claimed it had heard no news of these threats and said they were “receiving very good reports. [The registration] is going on very well without any obstacles.” Despite increasing pressure from both the UN and the African Union (AU), the Abdel Wahed faction, which enjoys substantial support from many of Darfur’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), has refused to participate in any peace negotiations until security has been returned to the region. According to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the civil war between northern and southern Sudan in 2005, the Sudanese presidential elections were to be held in 2009. The elections have been delayed until 2010 as “organizers have struggled to meet key deadlines and observers say they will face enormous challenges organizing the poll in Darfur and other remote areas.” (Reuters, November 9, 2009)

UGANDASouthern Sudanese army leads attacks in northern Ugandan district. The Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) attacked residents of Uganda’s Moyo District November 6. The SPLA entered the district searching for Thomas Olima, whom they accused of spying on the Southern Sudanese administration. Olima had previously been in SPLA custody but had managed to escape back to Uganda. Olima was

9

allegedly conducting research in Southern Sudan for the Goodall Institute in an effort to protect chimpanzees for tourism. According to Odrale Kalama, a supervisor at the Goodall Institute, the work of the Institute has been continually “interrupted by SPLA soldiers.” Unable to locate Olima, the SPLA held five of his family members, an official from the National Forestry Authority and two police officers hostage for four hours. The Moyo District Police Commander, Ojok Anthony, vowed to protect civilians from further attacks while simultaneously working to improve relations with the Sudanese: “we shall not allow such incidences to continue because we believe in [a] good relationship with the Sudanese.” However, according to the Daily Monitor, “this renewed attack puts reconciliation efforts by the district leaders with Sudanese officials in jeopardy.” This was the second attack perpetrated by the SPLA in the Moyo District this year. In June, the SPLA led an attack against Moyo farmers that resulted in injuries to four children who were watching over crops. (Daily Monitor, November 9, 2009)

ASIA

NEPALMaoists announce parallel government, surround capital in peaceful siege. On November 8, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal warned that his party would form a parallel government if Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Marxist-Leninist party (CPN-UML) did not address the “key dispute over civilian supremacy.” Gopal Kiranti, a politburo member of the Maoist party (UCPN-M) subsequently announced a new shadow government November 9. Nepal News called the shadow government “symbolic” in that has no formal structure or announced officials. During the announcement, which took place at a mass gathering in Khotang district, Kiranti declared that people of all castes who want to live in religious harmony and who oppose foreign intervention were welcome to live in the symbolic state. The announcement was made with seeming consent of Dahal. On November 10, Maoists continued with their two-week protest program and blockaded all major roads leading in and out of the capital city Kathmandu, as well as neighboring Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts. Ganeshman Pun Sagar, Chief of the Young Communist League (a youth division of the UCPN-M) stated, “it is a peaceful protest and we are not stopping ambulances, tourist buses, the media, human rights workers and security forces from moving around.” The UCPN-M has also been obstructing business in Parliament, preventing the state budget from being approved. Maoist lawmakers in the House have chanted slogans and picketed, halting activities and causing House Speaker Subas Nemwang to announce

10

that the political body will adjourn until Sunday when the protest program is expected to end. Maoist protests follow months of deadlock in the government due to the unwillingness of all parties to compromise on how to address the president’s decision to retain the army chief in May, which caused Dahal to step down as prime minister in protest. (Al-Jazeera, November 10; Nepal News, November 9, 10; Press Trust of India, November 8; RTT News, November 8; Times of India, November 10, 2009)

PAKISTANGovernment rejects American journalist’s remarks about U.S. strategy on nuclear security as violence continues. Seymour Hersh wrote an article for the latest issue of the New Yorker that loosely described a U.S. military strategy to fly in and secure Pakistan’s nuclear weapons if the Taliban gained access to nuclear facilities. He identified both rebel militants and “extremists within the military” as threats to Pakistan’s nuclear security. Hersh is an investigative journalist whose critical work on U.S. military operations has received much international attention. To substantiate his claim, Hersh quoted unnamed current and former U.S. officials, and mentioned the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund passed by Congress in June which authorized providing immediate assistance to Pakistani military forces in times of crisis. Pakistan’s chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Committee, General Tariq Majid, responded November 9 by calling the article “absurd and plain mischievous,” ridiculing the U.S. government for assuming any knowledge of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, rejected Hersh’s comments as well, saying, “The United States has no intention to seize Pakistani nuclear weapons or material.” In an interview November 11, Hersh responded by asserting that he did not reference a formal agreement between the two nations, but a “sensitive understanding.” Analysts have cited the success and sophistication of recent militant attacks as causes for concern with regards to weapons security. In some cases, suicide bombers have worn military uniforms in order to gain access to government and UN offices where their bombs were detonated, causing concern about security enforcement. Suicide bombings have claimed more than 340 lives since mid-October, when the Pakistani army launched an offensive to defeat the Taliban. Tensions with the U.S. have heightened in recent weeks due to continued U.S. drone attacks and an aid bill put forth by the U.S. Senate which includes conditions that President Asif Ali Ardari has opposed. (AFP, November 9; Dawn, November 11; New Yorker, November 16; Reuters, November 10; Xinhua, November 9, 2009) PHILIPPINES

11

Militant group beheads school principal. Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim militant group, kidnapped and later beheaded a public school principal, Gabriel Canizares. Canizares’ head was found in a bag at a gas station in Jolo November 9, although his body remains missing. Canizares, who was described as a “relatively senior public figure in the impoverished area,” was flagged down and then abducted by Abu Sayyaf gunmen as he was traveling home by jeep October 19. The rebels demanded 2 million pesos (approximately $42,000) in ransom. Canizares was allegedly beheaded November 8 when negotiations halted because his family refused to pay the ransom. This is the seventh kidnapping of a schoolteacher that Abu Sayyaf has been responsible for this year. Despite threats to behead them, all previous six teachers were released unharmed. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said his “department was at a loss as to how to ensure security for public schoolteachers in high-risk areas, and [he] feared that the kidnappings would discourage others from teaching underprivileged youths in Muslim areas.” President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered increased military operations against Abu Sayyaf that are intended to “put an end to the Abu Sayyaf group’s heinous and inhumane atrocities.” Abu Sayyaf is a Muslim militant group that is linked to al-Qaeda and is blamed for many of the Philippines’ most devastating terrorist attacks. The group seeks an independent state for the Muslim minority in the Philippines. (BBC, Mindanao Examiner, New York Times, November 9, 2009)

SRI LANKAGovernment quickens relocation of Tamils into areas still containing land mines; IMF approves loan. The UN Refugee Agency reported November 6 that since October 24 an estimated 39,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their villages, and 16,500 have been released to “host families,” marking a significant and sudden increase in the number of IDPs leaving the camps. Sri Lanka’s secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, Rajiva Wijesinha, announced November 9 that the government is “now moving with incremental swiftness” to relocate internally displaced ethnic Tamils that have been held in camps since the end of the country’s conflict in May. Until recent weeks, the Sri Lankan government had delayed releasing the IDPs, garnering extensive international criticism. Formerly government officials had explained the delay by asserting that the government needed to vet IDPs to make sure none of those released were part of the militant rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In his recent announcement, Wijesinha attributed the delay to on-going projects designed to clear landmines in the region where Tamils would be returning, and the need to rebuild the region after destruction caused by the 24-year conflict. The government estimated that there are 1.5

12

million landmines in the region. The recent surge in releases came after the EU’s concern over Tamils’ human rights, which caused the European coalition to reconsider investments in Sri Lanka’s garment industry. Including the recent releases, an estimated 90,000 Tamils have been let go from the camps since May, but an estimated 164,000 remain of the nearly 300,000 people who were displaced during the conflict. Most of the released IDPs have returned to Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the second installment of a controversial $2.6 billion loan to Sri Lanka November 9, citing a strong national economy. The U.S., which has a majority on the voting board of the IMF, had been delaying the loan until human rights issued were addressed. Accountability for war crimes is still inconclusive, as the government has repeatedly denied any abuses occurred and has refused questioning on numerous occasions. (Al-Jazeera, November 6; Bloomberg, November 9, 10; IRIN, November 9; UN News Centre, November 6; Voice of America, November 9, 2009)

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

COLOMBIAVenezuela sends 15,000 troops to Colombian border. Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez said he needed to send 15,000 troops to the border with Colombia to increase security, fight drug trafficking and contend with paramilitary groups. Recent shootings and killings along the border have increased tensions between the two nations. Chávez has accused Colombia in the past of allowing violence to cross over into Venezuela to “destabilize” his government. Originally, Chávez said Venezuela’s military buildup was unrelated to the agreement between the U.S. and Colombia that allows the U.S. access to seven of Colombia’s military bases. Chávez stated on his weekly television show November 8, however, that the country should be prepared in case the U.S. tries to provoke a war between Colombia and Venezuela. He argued, “The best way to avoid war is preparing for it.” Chávez believes the U.S. will use its position in Colombia to attack Venezuela for its vast oil reserves and to destabilize the leftist government. Colombia has requested dialogue with Venezuela, but getting no response, sent a letter November 11 to the UN Security Council regarding “Venezuela's threats of using force against Colombia.” According to Reuters, Chávez has since softened his stance and it is unlikely the two countries will engage in armed conflict. Also according to Reuters, “Both Chávez and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe tend to get domestic political mileage out of the verbal sparring.” (AP, November 6, 9; CNN, El Tiempo, November 10; Reuters, November 12, 2009)

13

CUBABloggers claim to have been beaten and detained. One of Cuba’s most well-known dissident bloggers, Yoani Sánchez, said she was abducted, beaten and briefly detained by state security agents November 6. Sánchez, 34, and blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, were on their way to a demonstration for non-violence in Havana when they were stopped by three men in an unmarked car. Reportedly, “the men wore civilian clothes but Sánchez said there was no doubt they were state agents.” Pardo and Sánchez demanded to see identification or a warrant for their detainment, but the agents refused to show any documents. The two detainees claimed to have been forced into the car, beaten and threatened for criticizing Cuba’s communist government. Sánchez shouted at people passing by that they were being kidnapped, but the men told the bystanders: “Don’t mess with it, these are counterrevolutionaries.” According to Sánchez, after about 20 minutes, they were issued a warning by the agents and released near Sánchez’s home, “bruised and shaken, but not seriously hurt.” Two more bloggers, friends of Sánchez, were said to have been taken away in a different patrol car and released in a different location. Sánchez’s blog, “Generación Y,” criticizes life under the Castro rule in communist Cuba, and receives nearly 1 million views every month. The blog is followed primarily by an international audience due to Internet restrictions for Cubans imposed by the government. According to the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, there are more than 200 political prisoners in Cuba. The government does not recognize the legitimacy of this figure, and has claimed that those imprisoned are “paid mercenaries of Washington.” (AP, Generaci ó n Y , November 7; The Guardian, New York Times, November 8; Reuters, November 6, 2009)

EL SALVADORFloods, mudslides kill nearly 160 people. President Mauricio Funes reported that at least 160 people have died due to floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains. El Salvador has been in a state of alert since November 5 and was hit with the anticipated heavy storm November 8. A reported 12,930 people have been left homeless and dozens of people remain missing. According to the government’s website, there were “108 landslides, 209 destroyed buildings and another 1,835 damaged ones. In all, 18 bridges were affected.” The most affected communities were San Salvador, La Paz, Cuscatlan, Usalatan, and San Vincente. In San Salvador and San Vincente, many areas were left without electricity or running water. Destruction of roads and bridges has compromised the accessibility for aid in isolated communities, making them reachable only by helicopter. Private, government and UN aid have been promised, but according

14

to Carlos Alvarado, the communications director for the government’s rescue team, the needs of the country exceed the supplies promised. There is high demand for “food, construction materials, plastic sheeting, medications and…clothes.” Dorte Ellehammer, a UN World Food Program (WFP) representative said, “Severe flooding washed away entire harvests, homes and livelihoods. This disaster has compromised the food security of thousands of people.” According to WFP, at least 10,000 Salvadorans are in urgent need of food aid due to the storm. (Catholic News Agency, November 11; CNN, November 9; The Miami Herald, November 10, 2009)

GUATEMALACICIG reports to the IACHR it has identified clandestine groups. Carlos Castresana, director of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), reported to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) November 6 on CICIG’s accomplishments during its first two years of operation. Castresana said the commission has identified groups in Guatemala involved in organized illegal activities, knows who the important members are and knows where each group is operating. Castresana said these groups emerged during the country’s 36-year internal conflict that ended 13 years ago, but over the years have transformed from common criminal groups into organized crime rings. The clandestine groups are operating within the nation’s institutions including immigration, the judicial system and the national police. Castresana argued that the state has maintained these embedded structures for over 40 years. He reiterated the 98% impunity rate he reported when the commission began in 2007 and denounced the “virtual collapse” of Guatemala’s judicial system. Castresana also reported to the commission on the alarming increase in the number of women being

15

20th Anniversary of Jesuit Massacre:

November 16, 2009 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Jesuit Massacre in El Salvador. On November 16, 1989, during a rebel offensive that proved a turning point during El Salvador’s 12-year civil war, the Salvadoran military entered the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeon Cañas (UCA) in El Salvador and murdered the rector, five other Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter. On November 13, 2008, the Center for Justice and Accountability filed a criminal case in Madrid against former Salvadoran military officials for their role in the murder. The complaint alleges crimes against humanity, the cover up of crimes against humanity and state terrorism. On January 13, 2009, the Spanish National Court formally charged 14 former officers based on these allegations. The

murdered in Guatemala, a phenomenon today known as femicide. After Castresana’s report, university professor Carlos Pop, Maria Eugenia Mijangos of the Institute of Comparative Studies in Criminal Sciences and the father of a young Guatemalan woman who was brutally murdered in 2005, testified further about the femicides, as well as the increasing impunity surrounding the murders. They asserted that in 2004 there were 322 murders of women with 75 people arrested. In 2008 the number of women murdered increased to 708 and only 28 people were detained. Castresana argued during his presentation that CICIG’s work is essential given the widespread impunity found in Guatemala. In July 2009, CICIG’s mandate was extended until 2011. (Prensa Libre, November 6, 2009)

HAITINew prime minister is confirmed. The lower house of parliament confirmed Jean-Max Bellerive as prime minister November 7. Bellerive was approved with a vote of 52 members in support and two in opposition, and had been unanimously confirmed by the Senate November 6. The new prime minister is expected to be sworn in the week of November 8 by President René Préval. Before being sworn in, Bellerive must form a cabinet and present his government plan for approval by parliament. Bellerive replaced former Prime Minister Michéle Pierre-Louis, who was fired by the Senate Oct. 30 for “allegedly failing to improve the country’s economy.” Bellerive, 51, is Haiti’s fifth prime minister within five years and has held different positions with at least 10 different government administrations, including at least six prime ministers, during his political career. According to Marc Bazin, government official and friend of Bellerive, “He’s never been a candidate for any higher office, but he was always indispensable to all the people he served.” Bellerive is an economist and previously served as the Planning and External Cooperation Minister. He has stated that he hopes to further Haiti’s “pro-business stance” and explore domestic and international investment opportunities. (Business Wire, November 10; The Miami Herald, The Washington Post, November 7, 2009)

16