As reported by U.S.- El Salvador Sister Cities

TIMELINE OF EVENTS
SUCHITOTO JULY 2ND

U-A non-violent protest had been organized in Suchitoto for Monday morning, July 2nd, 2007 .   The protest was organized by the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES), its regional branch in Suchitoto (PROGRESO), and the people of the organized rural communities in that municipality, as well as the the Union of Water Workers (SETA) and a number of other social organizations.

 - This protest coincided with the visit of President Elias Antonio Saca and his cabinet to Suchitoto.  The purpose of this visit was to inaugurate the public water system in the municipality and with it a “Plan for the Decentralization of Public Services,” a policy which is viewed as a step towards privatization of the public water system.  The communities, organized and accompanied by CRIPDES, staged a demonstration and other public protest activities around the visit of President Saca and in opposition to the movement toward privatization of water.

 - Four members of the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES) were arrested before their vehicle reached the protest, when their vehicle was stopped by National Civilian Police (PNC) several kilometres before they arrived in Suchitoto, outside the community of Milingo.  There a police car pulled in front of them and blocked their path, and officers forcefully arrested the following people: Marta Lorena Araujo, President of the CRIPDES National Directive Council; Rosa Valle Centeno, Vice-President CRIPDES National Directive Council; María Haydee Chicas, CRIPDES journalist and photographer; and Manuel Antonio Rodriguez, driving the CRIPDES vehicle.

 - Manuel Antonio Rodriguez, the driver of the vehicle, was struck violently by police officers immediately after the officers approached the car.  All four CRIPDES members were handcuffed and thrown into an army vehicle, which took them through back roads to the police station in Suchitoto.

 - Shortly thereafter, the CRIPDES leaders arrested were taken from Suchitoto police station to Cojutepeque, the capitol of the Cuscatlán Province .  From there they were then taken to the police station in Santa Cruz Analquitos, to the south of Cojutepeque.  As of July 4, all the detainees were being held once more in Cojutepeque.

 - Those arrested were charged with “Creating Public Disorder,” and lawyers who had been in contact with the police headquarters in Cojutepeque confirmed that their case will be designated under those charges to the Cojutepeque departmental attorneys and court system.  Under Salvadoran law the departmental prosecutors have 72 hours (that is, until late morning or midday on the 5 th of July) to present charges at a public hearing.

 - Despite the charges of “Creating Public Disorder,” the CRIPDES leaders arrested never came close to the protest activities being carried out in Suchitoto.  News footage shown on the Salvadoran Tele-Corporation (TCS) channels clearly showed the police vehicle overtaking the CRIPDES truck on the paved road between Suchitoto and San Martín, swerving in front and stopping the CRIPDES leaders.  The video also shows the police forcefully removing the passengers from the pick-up truck, and taking them away in handcuffs, several kilometres away from where the protest took place. 

When news of the arrest reached the protesters in Suchitoto on the morning of July 2, the people moved from the central park protest site to the police station to demand information and the liberation of those arrested.

 - The police found themselves surrounded, and called in the “UMO” (Unit for Maintenance of Order) Riot Police, who forcefully dispersed the crowds with tear gas, rubber bullets and wooden batons. 

 - Repression of the protest was not limited to the crowd at the police station; rather it was widespread.  As of the evening of July 3, preliminary reports indicate that a total of 13 people were arrested (including the 4 CRIPDES members and 9 local community members), 25 injured by rubber bullets, 18 suffering serious effects of tear gas, 2 hospitalized, and an undetermined number beaten by police officers.

 - In the community of Guillermo Ungo, several kilometres south of Suchitoto, where the UMO riot police attacked community members on the road on their way to the Suchitoto protests, again using rubber bullets and tear gas, forcing the community members to flee into the hills.  Police also entered the homes of community members in Guillermo Ungo without legal warrant to do so. 

 - Fleeing community members were followed by the UMO riot police and the Police Reaction Groups (GRPs) by land and by air for more than 4 hours, with several arrests made.  School classes in the nearby community were suspended because of the effects of the tear gas.

 - The local community members captured report psychological intimidation after their arrest.  One report reveals that detainees were taken in a helicopter above Lago Suchitlán and told by the police holding them that they were going to be thrown out of the helicopter.

 - These specific tactics of repression, intimidation, persecution by helicopter, and invasion of homes are reminiscent of the most painful and disturbing moments of the armed conflict in El Salvador during the 1980’s.  This repressive events of July 2 represent a step backwards in the process of building democracy that was proposed with the signing of the Peace Accords of 1992.