NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #26/NN_1992_26.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/8285

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From: [e-mail] (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Proceso 537: News Briefs
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/** reg.elsalvador: 125.0 **/
** Topic: Proceso 537: News Briefs **
** Written  3:07 pm  Nov  8, 1992 by [e-mail] in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
From: [e-mail] (Centro de Informacion Documentacion y Apoyo a la Invest. - UCAJSC)
Subject: Proceso 537: News Briefs

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

PROCESO 537
November 4, 1992

NEWS BRIEFS:

ARONSON:  The U.S. Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs,
Bernard Aronson, in an interview broadcast via satellite, said he
did not believe the Salvadoran peace process was facing a crisis.
"I must admit that there have been difficult issues, but all cases
have been resolved and the process is going ahead," he said.
Aronson said he felt that the new December 15 deadline represents
the last phase of the peace accords, and that no new deadlines will
be set. He also stressed that the FMLN must demobilize all its
troops, "it must dismantle its military structures, and I think it
is important that it carry out its obligations and commitments, in
order to convince anyone who doubts what its intentions are." In
response to a question posed by an AP correspondent about the
exhumation of the remains of the victims of the El Mozote
massacres, Aronson said, "I was not holding a political post at
that time. You are talking about something that happened eleven
years ago." He also recalled that the former Assistant Secretary
for Inter-American Affairs, Thomas Enders, told Congress in 1982
that no massacre had occurred. "What I do know is that on that
date, the State Department was unable to send anyone to El Mozote,
because it was a conflict zone controlled by the FMLN, and I do not
believe any attempt was made to cover up the truth," he said.

TRUTH COMMISSION:  The Truth Commission has reported that the phase
of receiving testimonies and denunciations, known as the Open Door
Policy, ended on October 31 after two and one-half months of work.
The Commission heard testimony from thousands of individuals, both
in its departmental offices (San Miguel, Santa Ana and
Chalatenango) and the central office in San Salvador. Starting on
November 1, the commission will thoroughly study the incidents
which were reported, and begin drawing up recommendations and
conclusions.

PETITION:  On October 27, the ARENA party, represented by its
president (Armando Calderon Sol) and its Director of Legal and
Electoral Affairs (Raul Somoza Alfaro), presented a petition to the
Supreme Electoral Tribunal asking the TSE to reject the FMLN's
petition for legalization as a political party until all the former
rebels are fully demobilized and disarmed. The TSE had resolved on
October 19 that the FMLN had, as an organization, complied with the
necessary requirements. However, the TSE's president, Luis Arturo
Zaldivar, said the tribunal would respond to the ARENA petition on
November 4.

THREAT:  On October 23, in a communique titled "Death to the
Terrorists," the clandestine organization calling itself the
"Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez Brigade" threatened to kill the
FMLN General Command and other top leaders of the former rebels.
The Brigade said it would carry out the death sentence against top
FMLN leaders starting October 31, and warned ONUSAL and foreign
correspondents that they must leave the country. A number of
political leaders condemned the threats. Amanda Villatoro, of the
Christian Democratic Party, said such groups only seek to undermine
the negotiations. Col. Sigifredo Ochoa Perez, of ARENA, said that
groups of this type, whether on the left or the right, no longer
have a place in El Salvador.

SUPPORT:  The National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP) and
the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIES) issued
separate statements of support for President Cristiani's decision
to accept the U.N. Secretary General's proposal to reschedule the
peace accords. Both groups conditioned their support on guarantees
that the FMLN was truly demobilizing and that the accords would be
completed by December 15.

ECONOMY:  According to the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), the Index of
Economic Activity (IVAE) grew by 7.6% between January and August of
this year. This figure is 6.5% higher than for the same period in
1991, and is reportedly due mainly to growth in manufacturing,
transportation, agriculture and construction. The BCR also said
that the manufacturing industry continues to show a high rate of
growth, reaching 17.7% for the period mentioned, and 4.8% higher
than for the same period in 1991. Agriculture grew by 5.5% during
the January-August period, 0.7% more than last year. The growth in
agriculture was attributed to timely loans, good rains, and
increased activity in the sugar cane industry.

UNEMPLOYMENT FUND:  Legislative deputies Mario Valiente (ARENA) and
Jorge Arriaza (PDC), both members of the Treasury Commission of the
Legislative Assembly, visited the governing board of the
Association of Medium and Small Business (AMPES) to explain the
proposal to create a "Social Fund for Unemployment." The purpose of
the Fund is to pay the equivalent of the minimum wage for six
months to persons who are laid off or fired for unjustified
reasons. AMPES expressed its support for the initiative and its
hope that the rest of private business will cooperate in setting up
the Fund.

REQUEST:  On October 22, the FMLN General Command called on
campesinos who currently work the land without legal title to
refrain from land takeovers, explaining that this would benefit the
implementation of the peace accords. In its communique, the FMLN
expressed its "firm decision to comply with all the commitments
made in the Chapultepec accords, even if it is necessary to prolong
the terms of the cease-fire in order to ensure lasting and
irreversible peace, based on precise compliance by both sides with
all the commitments which were signed and ratified."

REPORT:  According to the Economic and Social Report on Latin
America issued by the Inter-American Development Bank (BID), the
Salvadoran economy grew by 3.5% in 1991. This was chiefly due to
the positive performance of the manufacturing and construction
sectors. There was also a "significant reduction" in inflation
thanks to fiscal and monetary discipline, while foreign reserves
showed a moderate increase. A high proportion of public investment
was financed by foreign loans (chiefly BID and the World Bank), and
the total accumulated foreign debt in December 1991 was $2,172
million, mostly owed to AID. The report asserts that the future of
the Salvadoran economy is promising, as long as the government
continues to carry out its structural economic reforms and as long
as peace prevails. BID projects a 4.5%-5% growth rate as well as
one-digit inflation for 1992.

U.S. AID:  The information service of the U.S. Embassy in El
Salvador reported that in fiscal year 1992, the United States
provided a total of $268 million to support the peace process and
reconstruction. Of this amount, $238 million came from AID and $30
million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through PL-480,
Title I.  Some $82 million of the total was immediately disbursed,
another $82 million is for the Reconstruction Plan and its
executing agencies, and $74 is for development projects aimed at
extending coverage of basic services.


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