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Monday, October 3
Santa Ana Volcano Erupts
The Ilamatepec Volcano, more commonly known as the Santa Ana Volcano, erupted Saturday morning shortly after 8 o’clock, spewing ash and volcanic rock in the surrounding areas. Two people were killed by falling rock. El Salvador’s National Geological Studies Service (SNET) reported receiving calls from citizens concerning ash falling in Nahuizalco, Salcoatitlán, Juayúa, Ahuachapán, Los Naranjos and in the area closest to the volcano, defined as the zone approximately 4 km from the center of the crater. SNET warned that the current climactic conditions could cause an increase in acid rain, landslides and mudslides. In the days before the eruption, over 5000 people evacuated the areas surrounding Ilamatepec. Many of them have sought refuge in temporary shelters that lack sufficient supplies.
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Go to La Prensa Grafica for more pictures
Go to Diario de Hoy for more pictures
Country on Red Alert Due to Heavy Rains
This morning, the National Emergency Committee declared a nation-wide red alert due to heavy rains that have fallen throughout the country. Seventeen people have been killed due to flooding and landslides caused by the rain. El Salvador has received up to 82 mm in the last few hours and the rain is expected to continue falling at the same intensity for the next three days. The rain is an effect of Tropical Storm Stan, currently in the Gulf of Mexico.
Flooding has already been reported in the flood-prone communities surrounding the Lempa and San Miguel Rivers in the departments of San Miguel and Usulatan and in Ciudad Merliot and the 22 de abril neighborhood in Soyopango. Many families have been forced to evacuate these areas. Landslides have blocked or limited traffic on two major highways, Carretera Comalapa and Carretera La Libertad. The Ministry of Education suspended all classes today.
Last week during heavy rains from Hurricane Rita, neighborhoods south of the capitol were flooded. One person was killed and the area suffered substantial material damage.
If you are interested in donating to help those adversely affected by the eruption or flooding, CRISPAZ recommends two of our partner organizations, OIKOS Solidarity and the Salvadoran Ecological Union (UNES), who are working to provide essential items to displaced evacuees.
Click here for account information
Thousands of Prison Members Participate in Coordinated Hunger Strike
On Monday, September 26, prisoners in the Chalatenango, Ciudad Barrios, Cojutepeque, Quezaltepeque and Zacatecoluca prisons and inmates at the Tonacatepeque juvenile detention center began a hunger strike to call attention to repeated violations of prisoner rights and to pressure the government to revoke practices that violate the Constitution and penal code. Chalatenango and Cojutepeque house members of the 18th Street gang, while Cuidad Barrios, Quezaltepeque and Tonacatepque accommodate the rival gang, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS). Members of both gangs are being held at the maximum security prison in Zacatecoluca as well as non-gang members.
To date twelve inmates from the Ciudad Barrios prison and five from Quezaltepeque have been hospitalized for severe dehydration. Inmates in the Chalatenango and Cojutepeque prisons decided to lift the hunger strike in these two prisons on Saturday, October 1. At the same time, the General Warden of Prisons, Astor Escalante, reached an agreement with prisoners from the Mariona prison who have taken over the prison by refusing to return to the cells for lock down and have not attended scheduled hearings.
Mariona prison has been under the control of the inmate population since September 2. Prisoners there have similar demands regarding visitation, operation of the detention center and overpopulation of the prison system. While the prisoners will not be relinquishing control of the prison, they will resume attending hearings today. Escalante has agreed to review visitation regulations and procedures and will evaluate the performance of the Mariona warden, Ricardo Ramos. Ciudad Barrios, Quezaltepeque, Tonacatepeque and Zacatecoluca prisons remain on hunger strike.
Click here to read more about the prisoners' demands
Forum Held on the Persecution of Human Rights Defenders in El Salvador
On Wednesday, September 28th the Human Rights Office hosted a forum focused on the persecution of human rights defenders in El Salvador.
Invited speakers included Human Rights Ombudswoman Dr. Beatrice de Carrillo, David Ernesto Morales, also from the Ombudswoman’s office; Abraham Ábrego of the Foundation for the Study and Application of the Law (FESPAD), Miguel Montenegro of the Non-governmental Human Rights Commission of El Salvador and Benjamin Cuellar of the UCA’s Human Rights Institute.
The purpose of the event was to bring to light and discuss the different ways in which organizations and individuals dedicated to the defense of human rights in El Salvador and in Central America have been and continue to be persecuted.
De Carrillo and Morales reported on the number of ways in which the Ombudswoman herself and lawyers employed by her governmental office continue to receive anonymous death threats as a result of their work 13 years after the signing of the Peace Accords. Both emphasized that the dignity and integrity of the Ombudsperson’s office has repeatedly been challenged by the State and public functionaries, by acts such as the arrest of two Human Rights Office representatives at the Comalapa Airport during at the time of the deportation of Ecuadorian doctor Pedro Enrique’s deportation and more recently the call for de Carrillo’s resignation by Legislative Assembly Deputies of the ARENA party. ARENA Deputy Guillermo Gallegos based his motion to request her resignation on reported accounting anomalies which were later explained by the government accounting office and the Ombudswoman’s office.
Miguel Montenegro, whose participation focused on the persecution of non-governmental organizations, stated that not only those who appear in front of the cameras are at risk of intimidation, but that union members, campesinos, teachers, students and anyone who defends human rights are subject to persecution. Abraham Abrego discussed how US national security doctrine is being used in Central America to criminalize and repress human rights defenders.
The event closed with a statement from the Lenca, Nahuatl and Cacaopera indigenous peoples declaring their support for the Ombudsperson’s office in the face of this persecution and thanking de Carrillo for her commitment to defending the rights of the indigenous people’s of El Salvador.
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