NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/9821

Text File | 1993-01-07 | 5.9 KB | 121 lines

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From: [e-mail] (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Proceso 543: Peace Process
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/** reg.elsalvador: 122.0 **/
** Topic: Proceso 543: Peace Process **
** Written  6:42 am  Jan  6, 1993 by [e-mail] in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
From: [e-mail] (Centro de Informacion Documentacion y Apoyo a la Invest. - UCAJSC)
Subject: Proceso 543: Peace Process

Center for Information, Documentation and Research Support (CIDAI)
Central American University (UCA)
San Salvador, El Salvador

PROCESO 543
December 16, 1992

PEACE PROCESS:
The first stage of the peace process is over

     After eleven difficult months, the peace process concluded its
first and most decisive stage, with the formal end of the armed
conflict. With this, not only has any attempt to return to a
military conflict finally been rendered impossible, but also, the
groundwork has been laid to begin truly modernizing and
democratizing Salvadoran society. A new horizon has thus been
opened for the entire nation, one in which peaceful coexistence
will provide the framework for pursuing economic development and
consolidating pluralist political participation.

Pending commitments

     The final stretch of the cease-fire continued to be plagued
with last-minute problems. From December 9 to 14, the Legislative
Assembly maintained a series of extraordinary plenary sessions to
discuss and pass a set of new laws related to the peace accords,
all of which were seriously behind schedule. This race against the
clock produced a series of reforms to the judicial profession, the
way judges will be selected and monitored, reforms to the electoral
law and a law to benefit war disabled.
     Of all the laws passed, the reforms to the Electoral Code
generated the most controversy within the legislature. Some
articles of the Code did not enjoy the support of the opposition
parties, and were thus passed by a simple majority and not by
consensus. Among the articles which did not enjoy consensus were
those related to the creation of Municipal Councils without full
party representation, the residential vote, and spending limits on
campaign publicity.
     In contrast, the FMLN finished demobilizing its fifth and last
contingent of combatants on December 14, in all fifteen
concentration points. The former rebels also concluded the process
of destroying the bulk of the weapons they used throughout the war.
ONUSAL, in compliance with its mandate, verified that the FMLN had
abolished its military structures. The U.N. secretary General thus
satisfied the government's demand that it confirm that the FMLN's
detailed weapons inventory was accurate and complete. ONUSAL, in
turn, certified before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal that all
guerrillas had been demobilized, allowing the Tribunal to revoke
its suspension of the FMLN's right to become a political party.

Official ceremony on December 15

     The end of the cease-fire period was sealed with a symbolic
protocol act attended by renowned international figures, the
majority of whom have played an active role in the process.
     Some of the principal figures included the U.N. Secretary
General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who was accompanied by his close
advisers Alvaro de Soto and Marrack Goulding; the Presidents of
Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua; the Prime Minister of Belize;
and the Vice-Presidents of Costa Rica, Spain and the United States.
Personal representatives of the presidents of Colombia, Mexico and
Venezuela also attended.
     Other guests included top Salvadoran political officials,
including the presidents of the three branches of government,
members of the government's negotiating commission, members of
COPAZ and FMLN leaders.
     The act, which was held in the International Fairgrounds,
included all the necessary speeches, including, in order: the U.N.
Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali; FMLN leader Shafick
Handal, representing the former rebels; the Vice-President of the
United States, Dan Quayle; the Vice-President of Spain, Narcis
Serra, representing the Four Friends of the Secretary General; the
President of Guatemala, Jorge Serrano, representing the countries
of Central America; and finally, the President of El Salvador,
Alfredo Cristiani.
     At the end of the ceremony, the distinguished guests signed a
declaration as witnesses to the end of the armed conflict.
     The protocol act was, of course, accompanied by popular
celebrations organized by the government, on the one side, and the
grassroots organizations and the FMLN on the other. It continues to
be impossible to hold one single concerted celebration which could
demonstrate true national reconciliation. The activities on the
15th included a popular rally outside the Flor Blanca Stadium,
beginning at noon with an ecumenical ceremony and then a political
act with the participation of social forces, trade unions and
opposition political parties.
     These events have marked the end of a cycle of political
transformations aimed principally at the end of military domination
over society. These transformations implied, among other things,
the reduction (ongoing until 1994) and purging (to be finalized
over the next few weeks) of the Armed Forces. In exchange, the FMLN
renounced the use of military force and initiated its incorporation
into the legal and institutional system of Salvadoran society as a
political organization which, in the future, must wage its battles
in the electoral arena. We have thus reached a definitive end to
the war, and one which can unquestionably be termed satisfactory.


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