Interim Report - Report No 234, June 1984

Case No 1016 (El Salvador) - Complaint date: 03-JAN-81 - Closed

COMPLAINTS SUBMITTED BY SEVERAL TRADE UNION ORGANISATIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF EL SALVADOR

• COMPLAINTS SUBMITTED BY SEVERAL TRADE UNION ORGANISATIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF EL SALVADOR
  385. 385 The Committee has examined these cases on several occasions and most recently at its meeting in May-June 1983, when it submitted an interim report to the Governing Body. [226th Report (paras. 91-131). This report was approved by the Governing Body at its 223rd Session (Geneva, May-June 1983).] Subsequently the Government supplied certain information in communications of July 1983 and 20 January 1984 and in telegrams of 13 and 29 June 1983.
  386. 386 El Salvador has ratified neither the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) nor the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Case No. 953

1. 387. The complaint presented by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) on 18 July 1980 is concerned mainly with the death on 24 June 1980 of Tomás Rosales, a leader of the workers' union Granja Santa Inés, and the wounding of four other trade unionists during clashes with the armed forces which occurred in connection with a peaceful strike called by them in support of a number of wage claims.
2. 388. From the outset the Government, although it transmitted no comments on this case, refuted none of these allegations and on 24 September 1980 furnished information to the effect that Carlos Hernández, another trade union leader, had been arrested on 24 June 1980, the day of the strike, for disturbing the peace and threatening to damage the installations of the undertaking and had been released on 29 June 1980.
3. 389. Thereafter, in other communications, the Government never denied the facts alleged by the complainant organisation but did not transmit, as requested by the Committee, its observations concerning the death of Tomás Rosales and the wounds inflicted on four other trade unionists on 24 June 1980 during a peaceful strike at the Granja Santa Inés.
4. 390. The Committee observes, however, that in its communication of 20 January 1984 the Government denies any knowledge of the facts alleged, according to a report of the Ministry of Defence and Public Safety contained in Note No. 3740 dated 23 June 1983.
5. 391. The Committee keenly regrets that the Government has not supplied specific information on this case, which has been requested several times and it recalls that a free and independent trade union movement can develop only where fundamental human rights are respected. It can only deplore the existence of situations in which trade unionists are killed or wounded in the performance of their trade union functions and in particular when engaged in peaceful strikes. It draws the Government's attention to the urgent need to take active measures to prevent in the future any loss of human life in similar situations.

B. Case No. 973

1. 392. The complaint of the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) concerned the murder of trade union leaders. In a communication of 21 April 1981 the WCL reported that José Santos Tiznado and Pedro González, the leaders of the Salvadorian Peasants' Central, had been murdered by uniformed members of the National Guard in the Jesús Suburb of San Ramón, Department of Cuscatlán, at midnight on 10 May 1980. In addition Manuel Antonio Carillo and José Antonio Carillo, former leaders of the Salvadorian Peasants' Central and members of the El Rosario Agricultural and Consumers Limited, had been murdered by agents of repressive forces on 3 June 1980; this, said the complainant organisation, was proved by the calibre of the bullets found near their bodies. In addition, Rafael Hernández Olivo, Secretary-General of the Irrigation and Drainage Section of the National Association of Workers in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (ANTMAG), had been taken to Metapán Hospital after being injured in an accident, had subsequently been arrested by the rural police and had since disappeared.
2. 393. Successive items of information transmitted by the Government showed that investigations were being made into the murder of these four peasants and the disappearance of the Secretary-General of ANTMAG. The Government had never denied the facts but had not supplied specific information on the circumstances surrounding the death of José Santos Tiznado, Pedro González, Manuel Antonio Carillo or José Antonio Carillo or the disappearance of Rafael Hernández Olivo. In May 1983 the Committee urged the Government to supply such information without delay. In addition it drew attention to the importance it attached to the holding of an independent judicial inquiry when there was loss of human life.
3. 394. As in the previous case, the Committee notes that the Government, in its communication of 20 January last, declares that the Ministry of Defence and Public Safety knows nothing whatsoever about the death of these persons and that Rafael Hernández is not, to its knowledge, detained by any unit of the forces of public safety according to information received in Note No. 1061 of 25 February 1983 which contains a report from the Ministry in question.
4. 395. The Committee draws attention to the contradiction between the earlier information and this last communication, inasmuch as it was stated previously that investigations into these murders were under way. The Committee again emphasises the need to ensure that justice punishes the guilty parties and for the Government to keep it informed of the results of the investigation and any penalties imposed. In addition it urges the Government to supply precise information on these events and, in particular, on the fate of Rafael Hernández Olivo.

C. Case No. 1016

1. 396. In this case, on 7 January 1981 the ICFTU denounced the assassination on 3 January 1981, of Rodolfo Viera, Secretary-General of the Salvadorian Communal Union, and of two American trade unionists, Mark Pearlman and Michael Hammer, representatives of the AFL-CIO in El Salvador, while staying at the Hotel Sheraton in San Salvador where they were working on an agrarian reform programme to improve living and working conditions in rural areas.
2. 397. In June 1982, the Government stated that a trial was being held in the Fifth Criminal Court of San Salvador and that the accused, Ernesto Sol Meza, had been released by order of the Supreme Court after submitting an appeal, and that the other accused, Hans Krist, had been acquitted. The Committee therefore urged the Government to pursue actively its investigations into the case and to send it the text of any judgment handed down.
3. 398. The Government, in its communication of 14 March 1983, repeated the same information but added that judgment had been delivered in the proceedings against other accused persons who were deemed to have been material perpetrators of the crime, but that the parties had lodged appeals.
4. 399. The Government states in its communication of 20 January 1984 that the Second Criminal Chamber of the First Section of the Central Court delivered on appeal a ruling dated 29 April 1983 pursuant to sections 547 and 548 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of which the Government supplies an extract. This ruling upholds the dismissal, by order of the Supreme Court dated 16 December 1981, of the charges against Ernesto Sol Meza and Hans Krist after they had lodged their application therefore; it confirms the judgment delivered against the accused José Dimas Valle Acevedo and Santiago Gómez González, from which they had appealed, and stays execution with a reservation in favour of Lieutenant López Sibrian; it vacates the order for the detention of Hans Krist and López Sibrian for lack of grounds; it orders that the statement made by the Prosecutor of the Chamber in his reply to the accusations concerning the accused López Sibrian should be reported to the Supreme Court.
5. 400. The Committee takes note of this information and notes in particular that a sentence has been handed down against the persons deemed to have been material perpetrators of the crime, namely José Dimas Valle Acevedo and Santiago Gómez González. It requests the Government to continue to send it information on the final outcome of this case and to inform it in particular whether the investigation has managed to identify the instigator or instigators of the crime.

D. Case No. 1150

1. 401. The Trade Unions International of Transport Workers, in its communication of 19 August 1982, alleged that several trade union activists including Alejandro Martinez Alvarado had been wrongfully arrested by the police at the premises of the"Transport Workers' Trade Union on 12 August 1982. After the Committee had examined the case in November 1982, the question of the detention of Mr. Martinez Alvarado remained pending; the Government stated that he had been arrested by the police on 9 August 1982 and detained at "La Esperanza" Penitentiary Centre in the Canton of San Luis Mariona. The Government later indicated that this trade unionist had been in custody at the Central Penitentiary by order of the military examining magistrate since 28 August 1982 and had been prosecuted under Decree No. 507, which contains provisions concerning procedure in case of offences against the peace and independence of the State and against international law.
2. 402. In a communication of 14 April 1983 the complainant organisation supplied additional allegations concerning Marta Imelda Dimas, the secretary of the trade union, who had also been in prison since 9 October 1982, and further alleged that the Government had arrested Jorge Benjamin Rodriguez, Disputes Secretary of the same trade union, on 19 February 1983.
3. 403. At its previous examination of the case, in May-June 1983, the Committee noted with grave concern that Alejandro Martinez Alvarado had been in custody without trial since August 1982. The Committee also observed that, according to the Government, this trade unionist was being prosecuted for offences against the peace and independence of the State and against international law but that the Government had communicated no information about the specific acts of which he was accused; according to the complainants, on the other hand, the person in question had been arrested without justification - along with others who had since been released - by the police at the premises of the Transport Workers' Trade Union.
4. 404. The Committee also noted that the trade unionists Marta Imelda Dimas and Jorge Benjamin Rodriguez were reported to have been in prison since October 1982 and February 1983 respectively, and the Committee requested the Government to communicate its observations in this regard.
5. 405. In its telegram of 13 June 1983 the Government mentions that Alejandro Martinez Alvarado has been released under a Legislative Decree of amnesty. It repeats this information in its telegram of 29 June and adds that Jorge Benjamin Rodriguez has also been released under the same law. In its communication of 20 January last, the Government explains that Alejandro Martinez Alvarado was released under the amnesty law adopted by the Government of El Salvador on 16 May 1983.
6. 406. The Committee, while noting the release of the two above-mentioned trade unionists under the amnesty law of 16 May 1983, observes that the Government supplies no information concerning Marta Imelda Dimas, the union secretary, who according to the complainant organisation has been in prison since 9 October 1982.
7. 407. Consequently, the Committee urges the Government to supply precise information concerning the detention in which this trade unionist has been held for many months and to state the specific acts with which she is charged. The Committee requests that this person be released or tried as soon as possible by an impartial and independent judicial authority, and asks the Government to keep it informed of developments in the situation.

E. Case No. 1168

1. 408. In this case the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) reported on 26 October 1982 that the following trade union leaders had been arrested or had disappeared during October 1982: Silvestre Ortíz, treasurer of a sugar refinery trade union, arrested on 9 October; Daniel Avalos, leader of the trade union of a dairy products undertaking, and Pablo Ramírez Cornejo, leader of the Industrial Workers' Trade Union, both arrested on 10 October; Raúl Antonio Castro Palomares, secretary of the Federation of the Unions of Workers in the Food, Clothing, Textile and Allied Industries arrested at his home on 15 October; Héctor Hernández, second secretary of SETRAS, imprisoned by the rural police; and Berta Alicia Cosme of the FENASTRAS trade union, who had disappeared on 14 October. In a supplementary letter dated 10 May 1983, the WFTU also referred to many other arrests and disappearances of persons, a list of whom is supplied as an annex to this case.
2. 409. With its letter of 4 March 1983 the Government transmitted a photocopy of a note from the Ministry of Defence and Public Safety (Note No. 974 of 22 February 1983 signed by Colonel René E. Auerbach) in which this officer admitted that Daniel de Jesús Avalos de Paz, Pablo Cornejo Ramirez and Raúl Antonio Castro Palomares had been arrested by the police, the first two on 10 October and the third on 15 October. These three persons were being detained by order of the competent court, Raúl Antonio Castro Palomares being at the Mariona Penal Centre.
3. 410. In a communication of 14 March 1983 the Government stated further that Berta Alicia Cosme, known as Berta, had been arrested in October 1982 with other persons who, like her, were accused of being members or leaders of organisations engaged in terrorist activities, and that they were being held by order of the judge because the proceedings against them were at the preliminary investigation stage.
4. 411. The Committee, while expressing its concern at the length of time for which these trade unionists had been kept in detention pending trial, considered in May-June 1983 that the Government ought to take steps to ensure that the persons mentioned in the complainants' communications of 26 October 1982 and 10 May 1983 be released or, if charges were being preferred against them, brought before the courts. The Committee further requested the Government to supply detailed information concerning the fate of those persons.
5. 412. By a telegram of 13 June 1983 the Government reported that Raúl Antonio Castro Palomares, Pablo Cornejo Ramírez, Alicia Cosme, known as Berta, and Pedro Ramirez Esquivel had been released under the Legislative Decree of amnesty of 16 May 1983. This information was enlarged upon in the communication of 20 January 1984, in which the Government states that, according to the report of the Ministry of Defence and Public Safety, Raúl Antonio Castro Palomares had indeed been amnestied on 26 May 1983, Pablo Cornejo Ramirez on 31 May 1983, Berta Alicia Cosme on 24 May 1983 and Antonio Campos Mendoza on 2 August 1983, and that Daniel de Jesús Avalos de Paz had been released under a ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice on 15 May 1983.
6. 413. The Committee, while taking note of this information, observes with deep concern that in this case most of the persons mentioned by the complainants remain in custody since October 1982, or are still missing, and that no explanation of their fate has been provided by the Government. The Government stated in its telegram of 13 June 1983 that, generally speaking, the annexed list was made up of trade unionists detained for criminal offences and awaiting trial for acts carrying penalties of more than four years' imprisonment. The Government states that it respects fully human rights but that persons involved in activities running counter to the rights and freedoms of the people of El Salvador as recognised in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights could not be exonerated under the basic domestic legislation.
7. 414. In these circumstances the Committee urges the Government to keep it informed in detail on the situation of all these trade unionists; to communicate to the Committee its observations on the specific acts with which these persons are charged and the text of the judgments concerning them; and to provide details as to the fate of those who are missing.
8. 415. The Committee keenly deplores the fact that, in all the cases examined above, a very violent situation has resulted in the death, wounding or arrest of trade unionists in circumstances which, in the absence of specific and detailed information, are difficult for it to assess. The Committee emphasises that such a climate of violence is unpropitious for the development not only of industrial relations but also of a free and independent trade union movement inasmuch as, for such a movement to develop, fundamental human rights must be respected.
9. 416. The Committee points out that, when cases of this nature - namely, of detention under emergency regulations - have been referred to it, it has always [see, for example, Fourth Report, Case No. 30 (United Kingdom/Malaya), para. 1601 stressed the importance which it attaches to all detained persons receiving a fair trial at the earliest possible moment. The Committee considers that measures of preventive detention should be limited to very short periods intended solely to facilitate the course of a judicial inquiry. [See 223rd Report, Case No. 842 (Argentina), para. 31.]

The Committee's recommendations

• Recommendations of the Committee
  417. 417 In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body to approve this interim report and, in particular, the following conclusions:
       • (a) The Committee takes note of the release, under the amnesty law of 16 May 1983, of Alejandro Martinez Alvarado and Jorge Benjamin Rodriguez (Case No. 1150), Raúl Antonio Castro Palomares, Pablo Ramirez Cornejo, Berta Alicia Cosme, Pedro Ramírez, Esquivel, Antonio Campos Mendoza and Daniel Jesús de Paz (Case No. 1168).
       • (b) The Committee expresses once again its concern at the situation of the many trade unionists named in the annexed list, who either have been in custody since 1982 awaiting trial for acts carrying penalties of more than four years' imprisonment, or have disappeared. The Government is urged to provide precise information on the charges brought against these persons, on the progress of the proceedings against them and on the fate of those who have disappeared.
       • (c) While noting, first, that the Government now denies any knowledge of the death of Tomás Rosales, which the Committee had deplored, and consequently supplies no information either on that event or on the wounds inflicted on four other trade unionists during a peaceful strike on 24 June 1980 (Case No. 953), and secondly that the Government also denies any knowledge of the death of the trade unionists José Santos Tiznado, Pedro González, Manuel Antonio Carillo and José Antonio Carillo and states that Rafael Hernández Olivo, who was alleged to have disappeared, is not, to its knowledge, in detention (Case No. 973), the Committee repeats that it has always attached importance to the holding of an independent judicial inquiry when there is loss of human life.
  418. It urges the Government to supply precise information on these cases.
       • (d) In addition the Committee requests the Government to supply information on the final outcome of the trials described in the context of Case No. 1016 and to state, in particular, whether it has been possible to establish any responsibility on the part of instigators of the crime.
       • (e) The Committee keenly deplores the fact that, generally speaking, all the cases examined reveal a situation of violence that is unpropitious to the development of industrial relations and to the normal exercise of the activities of a free and independent trade union movement; it deplores, in particular, the existence of circumstances in which trade unionists are killed or wounded in the performance of their trade union functions, particularly during peaceful strikes. It requests the Government to take active measures to prevent in the future any loss of human life in situations such as exist in Case No. 953.
       • (f) The Committee requests the Government to adopt as a matter of urgency appropriate measures to ensure a climate in which trade union activities can be pursued freely and without fear and where the human rights essential to such pursuit are fully respected.

Z. ANNEX

• List of trade unionists at present in prison or missing
• Jorge Alberto Artiga Member of Stecel
• Chedor Lahomer Ascencio Member of Stecel
• Raúl Baires Propaganda secretary of BPR
• Francisco Gómez Calles Worker at the Izalco textile mill
• Santos Rivera Calzadia Member of Stecel
• José Vidal Cortez Propaganda secretary of the Intesa textile trade union
• Luis Adalberto Díaz General Secretary of the Peoples' Liberation Movement (MIP)
• Marta Imelda Dimas Employee of the Transport Workers' Trade Union
• Héctor Fernández Member
• José Sánchez Gallegos General Secretary of FSR, captured in Guatemala
• José Arnulfo Grande A leader of Stecel
• Héctor Hernández Second Secretary of the Trade Union of the Sugar Refineries of El Salvador (SETRAS)
• Jorge Alberto Hernández A leader of Stecel
• Jorge Hernández Member of the Trade Union of Workers of the Salvadorian Social Security Institute (STISS)
• Arturo Valencia Linares A leader of Stecel
• Julián Alberto Lizama Industrial Disputes Secretary for the Trade Union of Workers of the Goods' Supervision Institute (IRA)
• Dagoberto Rodríguez Machuca Member of Stecel
• Elsy Marquez Leader of the National Federation of Trade Unions of Salvadorian Workers (FENASTRAS)
• Arcadio Rauda Mejía Member of Stecel
• Rafael Hernández Olivo Secretary-General of ANTMAG
• Carlos Bonilla Ortíz Member of STISS
• Silvestre Ortíz Industrial Disputes Secretary of SETRAS
• Maximiliano Montoya Pineda SETRAS
• Raúl Alfaro Pleitez Former General Secretary of the Trade Union of Workers of "Constancia" SA (brewery)
• Roberto Portillo Leader of the Trade Union of Workers in the Electronics Industry of El Salvador (SIES)
• Antonio Quintanilla Former General Secretary for administration of the Constancia Trade Union, captured when accompanied by his wife
• Héctor Barnabé Recinos General Secretary of FENASTRAS and a leader of Stecel
• Alfredo Represa A leader of Stecel
• Santos Serrano General Secretary of the Trade Union of the firm of "Rayones SA"
• Auricio Alejandro Valenzuela Finance Secretary of SIES
• René Pompillo Vázquez Member of STISS
• Manuel de la Paz Villalta General Secretary of STISS
• José Alfredo Cruz Vivas Member of STISS
• Francisco Zamora Member of STISS