Interim Report - Report No 288, June 1993

Case No 1273 (El Salvador) - Complaint date: 05-APR-84 - Closed

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INTRODUCTION
A. Previous examination of the cases
D. The Committee's conclusions
The Committee's recommendations
ANNEX 1

1. The Committee on Freedom of Association, set up by the Governing Body at its 117th Session (November 1951), met at the International Labour Office, Geneva, on 20, 21 and 25 May 1993 under the chairmanship of Mr. Jean-Jacques Oechslin, former Chairman of the Governing Body.

1. The Committee on Freedom of Association, set up by the Governing Body at its 117th Session (November 1951), met at the International Labour Office, Geneva, on 20, 21 and 25 May 1993 under the chairmanship of Mr. Jean-Jacques Oechslin, former Chairman of the Governing Body.
2. The Committee had before it various complaints of violations of freedom of association in El Salvador, presented by a number of international and national trade union organizations (Cases Nos. 1273, 1441/1494 and 1524).
3. On several occasions the Governing Body asked the Government to give its consent that a representative of the Director-General visit El Salvador to carry out a study of the facts relating to the complaints, within the context of the direct contacts procedure.
4. At the March 1993 Session, the Government had not yet given a positive response to the direct contacts mission nor to the allegations concerning these cases. In these circumstances, the Committee recommended that if no reply was received from the Government prior to its next meeting, wider publicity should be given to the Committee's report.
5. Since then, no reply has been received from the Government. The Committee submits for the approval of the Governing Body a further report on this matter and recommends that it examine this report at its 256th Session.
6. In examining Cases Nos. 1273, 1441, 1494 and 1524 at its February 1993 meeting (see 286th Report, paras. 316-345, approved by the Governing Body at its 255th Session (March 1993)), the Committee deplored and emphasized the seriousness of the outstanding allegations and the new allegations which referred to the murder and disappearance of a large number of trade union leaders, as well as to death threats, physical attacks, arrest and detention of workers and trade unionists, the searching of trade unionists' homes, the searching and ransacking of trade union premises and acts of anti-union discrimination (see 286th Report, para. 335).
7. The Committee noted, once again, the Government's manifest lack of cooperation in observing the Committee's procedure and, specifically, the inexplicable failure to send almost any of the information repeatedly requested by the Committee so as to enable it to determine the veracity of the outstanding allegations. The Committee pointed out that it had made use of urgent appeals that had been ignored, and found itself obliged, in view of the time that had elapsed since the allegations had been presented, to examine those cases once again without having the Government's observations in respect of the large majority of the allegations presented by the complainants (see 286th Report, para. 333).
8. In addition, the Committee recalled that it had requested the Government, in February, May and November 1991 and in February and May 1992, to accept a direct contacts mission (see 277th Report, para. 382, 278th Report, para. 7, 279th Report, para. 543, 281st Report, paras. 281 and 294, and 283rd Report, para. 9), there having been no response to those requests by the Government (see 286th Report, para. 319).
9. The Committee drew attention to the Government's persistent negative attitude, shown since February 1991 by its refusal to accept a direct contacts mission to the country. The Committee, bearing in mind that the Government has shown for many years, despite the extreme seriousness of the allegations, an almost total lack of cooperation with the Committee's procedure, pointed out that it intended to examine the present cases once again in May 1993. If the Government again failed to send the required information in a full and detailed manner and if it did not accept the direct contacts mission, the Committee would recommend to the Governing Body to give the widest publicity to the report in question (see 286th Report, para. 344).
10. Since that time, the Government has still not transmitted the information requested by the Committee and has failed to respond to the Committee's request that it accept a direct contacts mission. In these circumstances, the Committee has decided to submit a new report on these cases to the Governing Body.
11. El Salvador has ratified neither the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), nor the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the cases

Case No. 1273
12. The complainants' allegations which remained outstanding refer to the serious death threats against Mrs. Castañeda and Mrs. Sigüenza (members of the Coffee Union) in April 1988, the disappearance of trade unionist Alberto Luis Alfaro in March 1988, the violent death of trade unionists Jesús Rodas Barahona in April 1988 and Julio César Inglés Chinchilla in May 1988, and the dynamite attack against the ASTTEL trade union premises in April 1988.
13. The Committee had also requested information on the judicial inquiry initiated in July 1986 into the murder of trade union leader José Arístides Méndez.
14. At its March 1992 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations (see 281st Report of the Committee, para. 281):
The Committee again expresses its concern at the seriousness of the allegations and requests the Government to reply to them urgently, and to state whether judicial investigations have been carried out for the purposes of clarifying the alleged facts, identifying the parties responsible, punishing the guilty and preventing the recurrence of such acts. Likewise, the Committee again requests the Government to inform it of developments in the trial concerning the murder of the trade union leader José Arístides Méndez, which commenced in July 1986.
Cases Nos. 1441 and 1494
15. The complainants' allegations referred to the assassination of the teacher Vilma Chavez on 22 October 1990; to the arrest on 14 March 1991, by members of the police force, of 15 employees, members of the General Association of Employees of the Ministry of Finance (AGEMHA), who had gone on strike (they included Inmar Rolando Reyes, Melvin Ovidio Portillo and Oscar Bonilla Segovia); to the arrest by the police on 15 March, during a strike by more than 4,500 workers of AGEMHA in pursuance of wage and labour claims, of Ernesto Beltrán, Carlos Salvador Viscarra, Mario Alberto Aviles, Jorge Alberto Quijano, Jesús Alvarado, Edgardo Orellano, Jorge Alberto Araujo, Tomás Montenegro, Nelson Pineda, Ambrosio N.; the detention of Mrs. Vilma Guzmán of the Seamstresses' Union; the arrest of Pedro Matozo, Juan Lico and Adalberto Gonzales, grass-roots members of the National Association of Agricultural Workers (ANTA); and the detention of 23 members of ANTA in the same canton of Río Frío (Ahuachapán) on the San Francisco de Asís hacienda by members of the National Guard and Military Unit No. 7.
16. Other allegations which remained outstanding were those relating to the searching of and attack against the headquarters of FENASTRAS (November 1989), which left nine persons dead and many injured; the assassination, on 23 February 1989, of Miguel Angel Lazo Quintanilla (a member of ANDES) and Carlos Rodríguez Domínguez (a member of FUSS); and the arrest, on 16 March 1989, of the leader of FENASTRAS, Juan José Huezo.
17. At its November 1991 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations (see 279th Report of the Committee, para. 543):
As regards the attack against the FENASTRAS headquarters on 2 November 1989, which left nine persons dead and many injured, the Committee strongly hopes that the Government will be in a position to inform the Committee of progress in the investigations carried out by the special commission set up to shed light on the circumstances of this attack;
As regards the assassination, on 23 February 1989, of Miguel Angel Lazo Quintanilla of ANDES and Carlos Rodríguez Domínguez of the FUSS, the Committee, in the light of the apparently contradictory information, urges the Government to transmit as soon as possible the complete text of the judgement issued by the tribunal of Soyapango, concerning all the persons involved in these events, in which several trade unionists lost their lives;
As regards the arrest on 16 March 1989 of the leader of FENASTRAS, Juan José Huezo, although the Committee notes the information from the Government on the circumstances of his arrest, given the time which has since elapsed, it asks the Government to inform it without delay of the results of the proceedings initiated on 17 March 1989 against this official;
The Committee regrets that the Government has not replied to the serious allegations made following the last examination of these cases, namely: the assassination of the official of ANDES-21 de junio, Vilma Chavez on 22 October 1990, following the end of a national movement by teachers; the detention on 14 March 1991 of 26 members of the General Association of Employees of the Ministry of Finance (AGEMHA) who had gone on strike in support of wage and labour claims; and the detention of Mrs. Vilma Guzmán, of the Seamstresses' Union. It urges the Government to send its observations on these and other serious allegations still pending in these cases.
Case No. 1524
18. The allegations of the complainant organization (FENASTRAS) which remained outstanding at the March 1992 meeting referred to numerous murders (87) and disappearances of trade union leaders, arrests and detentions of trade unionists and workers (the complainants supplied the names of 331 of them) and 56 attacks on trade union headquarters.
19. At its March 1992 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations (see 281st Report of the Committee, para. 294):
As regards the violent deaths and the disappearance of trade union leaders (see Annexes 1 and 2), the Committee requests the Government to have an urgent judicial inquiry carried out with a view to shedding light on the murders and disappearance, to determining responsibilities, punishing the guilty parties and avoiding a recurrence of such acts; it requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of the inquiries;
As regards the numerous arrests and detentions of trade unionists, the Committee requests the Government to furnish information on the situation of the trade union militants and leaders who have been arrested, as well as on such rulings as may have been handed down and the outcome of the inquiries being carried out; it also requests the Government to give the necessary instructions to the competent authorities to ensure that no detainee is subjected to ill-treatment and to impose sanctions in those cases in which ill-treatment has taken place;
As regards the violent searching of trade union premises without a court order, the interruption of trade union meetings and the destruction and ransacking of property belonging to the organizations in question (see Annex 3), the Committee once again requests the Government to undertake judicial inquiries into these allegations with a view to punishing the guilty parties and avoiding a recurrence of such acts; it requests the Government to inform it rapidly of the outcome of these inquiries.
B. New allegations
20. In its communications of 17 December 1991 and 19 August 1992, the ICFTU alleges that the general climate of intimidation and violence continues to prevail in El Salvador, making it dangerous or impossible to engage in lawful trade union activities. It indicates that the Government is a party to the disinformation campaigns that are intended to show trade unions as being allied to the armed opposition and thus to make them the object of repression by paramilitary units and armed forces death squads. Also, the ICFTU calls upon the Committee to renew its efforts to obtain acceptance by the Salvadorean authorities of a direct contacts mission as soon as possible. Finally, the complainant organization indicates that between April 1990 and September 1991 trade union leaders, trade unionists and workers were the object of numerous murders, disappearances, detentions, physical assaults and death threats (see Annexes 1 and 2), and that trade union premises and the homes of trade union leaders were searched (see Annex 3).
C. The Government's reply
21. In its communication of 15 May 1992, the Government states that the judicial inquiries concerning the murder of Porfirio Vásquez and Miguel Angel Martínez are currently under way; that 23 members of the National Association of Agricultural Workers (ANTA) were evicted and detained on the San Francisco de Asís hacienda in the canton of Río Frío, Ahuachapàn jurisdiction, on a charge of usurpation, but that once the competent magistrates' court had considered the case they were released; that Carlos Aguilar García, Norma Elizabeth Flores Portillo, Carlos Enrique Escobar Figueroa, Evelyn Jeannette Alvarado Crisóstomo and Maria Cristina Alvarenga were arrested by the Hacienda police after being caught painting anti-government slogans, but that following the intervention of the competent court, they were released in the absence of sufficient grounds for their continued detention.
22. In its communication of 26 May 1992, the Government states that although a number of steps have been taken (the dispatch of material to the FBI's technical laboratory in the United States of America, statements by witnesses, examination of the corpses, etc.) with a view to shedding light on the dynamite attack against the headquarters of FENASTRAS in October 1989, and taking into account the fact that no group claimed responsibility for the attack, it has been decided to shelve the case in view of the lack of success in identifying those responsible.

D. The Committee's conclusions

23. The Committee notes, once again, the Government's manifest lack of cooperation in observing the Committee's procedure and, specifically, the inexplicable failure to send almost any of the information repeatedly requested by the Committee so as to enable it to determine the veracity of the outstanding allegations. The Committee has made use of urgent appeals that have been ignored, and finds itself obliged, in view of the time that has elapsed since the allegations were presented, to examine these cases once again without having the Government's observations in respect of the large majority of the allegations presented by the complainants.
24. The Committee once again reminds the Government that the aim of the whole procedure is to ensure respect for trade union rights, both in law and in practice. The Committee is convinced that whilst this procedure protects governments against unreasonable accusations, governments on their side should formulate, so as to allow objective examination, factual replies to the allegations brought against them (First Report, para. 31, approved by the Governing Body in March 1952).
25. The Committee deplores and emphasizes the seriousness of the outstanding allegations and the new allegations which refer to the murder and disappearance of a large number of trade union leaders, as well as to death threats, physical attacks, arrest and detention of workers and trade unionists, the searching of trade unionists' homes, the searching and sacking of trade union premises and acts of anti-union discrimination.
26. The Committee takes note of the Government's observations to the effect that it has been decided to shelve the case relating to the investigation into the criminal act of setting off explosives in the headquarters of FENASTRAS in October 1989 which left nine persons dead and many injured, a decision which was taken in view of the impossibility of identifying the authors of this criminal act and since no group had claimed responsibility for it. The Committee considers it unacceptable in such circumstances that the investigation has been shelved because of the fact that the inquiries undertaken by a special (non-judicial) ad hoc commission failed to produce positive results. The Committee stresses the obligation on the Government to undertake the necessary measures so as to identify and punish those responsible for this condemnable attack so that the application of rapid and efficient justice serves in the re-establishment of peace.
27. As regards the new allegations presented by the ICFTU, the Committee takes note of the Government's remarks to the effect that the judicial inquiries are currently under way into the murder of Porfirio Vásquez and Miguel Angel Martínez. The Committee deplores these murders and expresses the hope that the judicial procedures that are under way will serve to clarify the facts and lead to the punishment of the guilty parties. The Committee requests the Government to inform it of the result of the judicial inquiries undertaken.
28. The Committee likewise takes note of the information sent by the Government in which it states that 23 members of the National Association of Agricultural Workers (ANTA) were evicted from the San Francisco de Asís Hacienda in the cantón of Río Frío, Achaupan jurisdiction, and arrested on a charge of usurpation; however, after the competent court considered the case, they were released. The Committee also notes that Carlos Aguilar García, Norma Elizabeth Flores Portillo, Carlos Enrique Escobar Figueroa, Evelyn Jeannette Alvarado Crisóstomo and María Cristina Alvarenga were arrested by the Hacienda police upon being caught painting anti-government slogans, but that they were released following the intervention of the competent magistrates' court in the absence of sufficient grounds for their further detention. The Committee considers that the detention of the mentioned trade unionists and of the 23 workers belonging to ANTA is an act that should not be repeated, and draws the Government's attention to the fact that the arrest of trade unionists who are involved in acts of public protest that are not offences, or their arrest without the intervention of the corresponding judicial authority with the clear intention of teaching them a lesson as is the case when subsequently no grounds for laying charges are found which would justify their having been denied their freedom, are acts amounting to serious violations of their trade union rights. Governments should take steps to ensure that the authorities concerned receive instructions appropriate to eliminate the danger which arrest for trade union activities implies (see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 3rd edition, 1985, para. 97).
29. The Committee draws attention to the fact that the Government has not replied to the remaining outstanding allegations, nor to the large majority of the new allegations presented by the ICFTU in Cases Nos. 1441 and 1494.
30. As regards the large number of violent deaths (43), disappearances (17), physical assaults and death threats against trade union leaders and trade unionists (see Annexes 1 and 2), the Committee once again deplores these acts, which directly undermine the most basic human rights and the development of a free and independent trade union movement. The Committee draws the Government's attention to the fact that a situation which gives rise to a climate of violence such as that which encourages the murder, kidnapping or disappearance of trade union leaders and persons is totally incompatible with the principles of freedom of association. In these circumstances, the Committee requests the Government urgently to order a judicial inquiry aimed at shedding light on the murder and disappearance of, and the physical assaults and death threats against trade union leaders and trade unionists, to punish the guilty parties and to avoid a recurrence of such acts. In the Committee's opinion, the absence of judgements against the guilty parties creates, in practice, a situation of impunity, which reinforces the climate of violence and insecurity, and which is extremely damaging to the exercise of trade union activities. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of all investigations undertaken.
31. As regards the numerous arrests and detentions of trade union leaders and trade unionists (390 in all), the Committee draws the Government's attention to the fact that the arrest and detention of trade unionists on the grounds of trade union activities constitute a serious infringement of freedom of association and a serious obstacle to the exercise of trade union rights. The Committee once again requests the Government to release all those who might have been detained on the grounds of trade union activities and to provide information on the situation of all trade union members and leaders referred to in these cases, indicating whether they are currently detained, on trial or free.
32. As regards the 22 instances of searches, carried out with violence, of trade union premises and homes of trade unionists, as alleged by the complainants (see Annex 3), the Committee considers these acts to be inexcusable and points out that any search of trade union premises or unionists' homes, without a court order, constitutes an extremely serious infringement of freedom of association. It emphasizes that the resolution concerning trade union rights and their relation to civil liberties adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 54th Session (1970), provides that the right to adequate protection of trade union property constitutes one of the essential civil liberties for the normal exercise of trade union rights. The Committee urges the Government to undertake judicial inquiries into the violent searches carried out against trade union premises and the homes of trade unionists, with the aim of identifying and punishing the guilty parties in an exemplary manner so as to avoid a recurrence of such acts. The Committee requests the Government to supply it as soon as possible with all the relevant information it has at its disposal.
33. As regards the new allegations concerning acts of anti-union discrimination at the ADOC works (the dismissal of ten trade union leaders and 40 workers for attempting to establish a trade union) and at ARCO S.A. (police repression of striking workers), the Committee notes that the Government has neither supplied its observations on these allegations nor put forward reasons to justify this omission, and again requests the Government to send its comments in the shortest possible time.
34. The Committee draws attention to the Government's persistent negative attitude, shown since February 1991 by its refusal to accept a direct contacts mission to the country and by its failure, despite the extreme seriousness of the allegations, to send the information required by the Committee. The Committee deplores the Government's unacceptable attitude. It urges it once again to send the information and accept the mission in question, and recommends to the Governing Body to give the widest publicity to the present report, particularly in El Salvador.

The Committee's recommendations

E. The Committee's recommendations
1. 35 In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
  - (a) The Committee notes once again the Government's manifest lack of cooperation in observing the Committee's procedure and, specifically, the inexplicable failure to send almost any of the information repeatedly requested by the Committee so as to enable it to determine the veracity of the outstanding allegations.
  - (b) As regards the violent death and disappearance of, physical assaults on and death threats against trade union leaders and trade unionists (see Annexes 1 and 2), the Committee draws the Government's attention to the fact that a situation which gives rise to a climate of violence such as that which encourages the murder, kidnapping or disappearance of trade union leaders and persons is totally incompatible with the principles of freedom of association. The Committee urges the Government to instigate as a matter of urgency a judicial inquiry in order to shed light on the facts, to punish the guilty parties and to avoid any recurrence of such acts. In the Committee's opinion, the absence of judgements against the guilty parties creates, in practice, a situation of impunity, which reinforces the climate of violence and insecurity, and which is extremely damaging to the exercise of trade union activities. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any inquiry it undertakes and to communicate to the Committee the results of the judicial inquiry undertaken into the murder of Porfirio Vasquez and Miguel Angel Martinez.
  - (c) As regards the numerous arrests and detentions of trade union leaders and trade unionists, the Committee once again requests the Government to release all those who might have been detained on grounds of trade union activities and asks it to furnish the Committee with information on the situation of all trade union members and leaders referred to in these cases, indicating whether they are currently detained, on trial or free.
  - (d) The Committee urges the Government to undertake judicial inquiries into the cases of searches of trade union premises and of the homes of trade unionists carried out with violence and without court orders (see Annex 3), with a view to identifying and punishing the guilty parties and avoiding a repetition of such acts. The Committee requests the Government to inform it as soon as possible of any information it may have in that connection. The Committee likewise requests the Government to take further measures to identify and punish those responsible for the condemnable attack against the headquarters of FENESTRAS in October 1989.
  - (e) The Committee points out that the Government has not provided its observations on the new allegations concerning acts of anti-union discrimination at the ADOC works and at ARCO S.A., nor puts forward any reasons to justify this omission. The Committee again requests it to send its comments in the shortest possible time.
  - (f) The Committee draws attention to the Government's persistent negative attitude, shown since February 1991 by its refusal to accept a direct contacts mission to the country and by its failure, despite the extreme seriousness of the allegations, to send the information required by the Committee. The Committee deplores the Government's unacceptable attitude. It urges it once again to send the information and accept the mission in question, and recommends the Governing Body to give the widest publicity to the present report, particularly in El Salvador.
  - (g) In accordance with its procedure (see 164th Report, para. 23), the Committee requests the Director-General of the ILO to contact the representatives of the Government of El Salvador at the next session of the International Labour Conference (June 1993), and to urge the Government fully to abide by the Committee's recommendations.

ANNEX 1

Murdered trade unionists
Name: Date of murder
1. Rosa Hilda Saravia de Elías: (31.10.89) STITAS and FENASTRAS
2. Luis Gerardo Vásquez: (31.10.89) member of SIGEBAN
3. Vicente Salvador Melgar: (31.10.89) member of SETA
4. Ricardo Humberto Cestoni: (31.10.89) member of SETA
5. José Daniel Meléndez: (31.10.89) member of SOICSCES
6. Julia Tatiana Mendoza Aguirre: (31.10.89) member of STITGASC
7. Febe Elizabeth Velásquez: (31.10.89) member of FENASTRAS
8. Miguel Angel Lazo: (19.3.89) member of ANDES
9. María Cristina Gómez: (4.4.89) member of ANDES
10. Pablo Obducio Vargas: (11.5.89) member of SICAFE
11. Carlos Rodríguez Domínguez: (4.3.89) member of FUSS
12. José Joaquín González: (20.6.89) member of COACES
13. Gregorio Ascencio Portillo: (2.8.89) no information
14. Gregorio Nuñez: (2.8.89) member of ASID
15. Rodolfo Andrés Prieto: (12.11.89) General Secretary of SETA
16. Simón Massin: (12.11.89) member of UNTS
17. Juan Antonio Inglés: (12.11.89) member of STITAS
18. Leonardo Beltrán:
(12.11.89) member of SIDPA and General Secretary of the
Cooperative of Municipal Employees of Santa Ana
19. Héctor Gómez: (12.11.89) member of ANTRAM
20. Julia del Carmen Ponce Flores:
(31.12.89) member of "La Reforma" Cooperative,
La Magdalena, Santa Ana
21. Angel María Flores Aragón:
(31.12.89) member of "La Reforma" Cooperative,
La Magdalena, Santa Ana
New allegations:
Name: Date of murder
22. Profirio Vásquez:
(12.1.91) member of the 4 de Junio Cooperative Association
23. 12 rural workers:
(30.6.91) Río Frío, Department of San Vicente
24. Martín Ayala Ramírez and:
(8.7.91) both were members of the Leticia Campos (seriously
Salavadorian Communal Movement injured) (MCS)
25. Pedro Pérez, Islao Ortiz:
(13.7.91) National Association of and two members
Rural Workers (ANC)
26. Miguel Angel Martínez:
(24.9.91) member of the Building Industry Trade Union (SURC)
27. Miguel Angel Alvarenga:
(22.7.92) leader of FENASTRAS and Second Secretary (Disputes)
of the Trade Union of Workers in the Tourism and Gastronomic
Industry and Similar and Related Activities
28. Iván Ramírez:
(31.7.92) First Secretary (Disputes) of FENASTRAS and Labour
Adviser of SOICSES
29. Nazario de Jesús Gracias:
(3.3.92) member of the IRA trade union
ANNEX 2
Trade unionists who have disappeared
Name: Date
1. Mateo Díaz Bernal: (24.2.89) member of FECORAO
2. Salvador Miranda: (24.2.89) member of FECORAO
3. Amilcar Pérez: (17.3.89) affiliated to SETA
4. Nicolás Aviles Urbina: (22.9.89) member of ANTA
5. Manuel de Jesús Molina Gómez: (11.11.89) member of FUSS
6. Manuel de Jesús Guevara Gómez: (14.11.89) member of SETA
7. Jorge Alberto Sosa: (19.1.90) member of SICAFE
8. Adán Chacón: (19.1.90) member of SICAFE
9. Mariano de Jesús Carranza Menéndez: (19.1.90) member of SICAFE
10. Sara Cristina Chan Chan: (19.8.89) member of FENASTRAS
11. Seven rural workers:
(8.91) from Soledad Viuda de Alas, Soyapango
New allegations: Physical assaults and death threats against trade union
leaders, trade unionists and workers:
1. Workers from the Ministry of Public Works were violently attacked by army
personnel on 20 December 1990;
2. Members of the General Association of Employees of the Ministry of Finance
who had declared a strike were attacked by the police on 20 March 1991;
3. Norma and Virginia Guirola de Herrera, both workers in the Institute for
Research and the Training and Development of Women, were threatened and
ordered by the "Condor Group" to leave their work premises on 8 June 1991;
4. Salvadorean participants in the Trade Union Training Seminar organized by
the Interamerican Regional Organization of Workers of the ICFTU (ORIT) were
subjected to threats by the "Salvadorean Anti-Communist Front (FAS)" from 17
to 21 June 1991;
5. Amanda Villatorio, Vice-President of the Womens' Committee of ORIT,
national coordinator of UNOC-CTD and member of the Legislative Assembly, was
threatened by the FAS on 16 July 1991;
6. The rural workers of Soledad Viuda de Alas, Soyapango, were brutally beaten
by military forces in August 1991;
7. MCS leader Mario Chávez and members of the cooperative association of the
department of La Libertad were threatened by the colonel of the artillery
brigade during the months of August-September 1991;
8. Pedro Regalado Orellana and Fredy Vásquez, both SUTC leaders, were
threatened by the FAS on 24 September 1991;
9. Death threats against Juan José Huezo, Secretary-General of FENASTRAS
(August 1992).
New allegations: Detentions:
Name: Date of detention
1. Four members of the Buena Vista Cooperative: (30.4.90)
2. María Isabel García Ayala:
(1.5.90) member of the Association of Independant Workers of
los Arenales de la Cañas, Tiaca
3. Gregoria Antonia Avalos:
(21.6.90) official of the Teachers' Union ANDES
4. Rodolfo García Ayala: (3.7.90) trade unionist
5. Luis Felipe Díaz:
(22.6.90) President of the Flor de Primavera Cooperative
Association
6. Lucio Sánchez: (24.8.90) UCS official
7. Juan Antonio Serrano Moltalvo:
(16.11.90) Secretary (Disputes) of the Salvadorean Association
of Workers in the Institute for the Regulation of Supply
(ASTIRA)
8. Luis Barrios, Manuel Pérez:
(15.3.91) members of the General and Jorge Araujo Menjívar
Association of Employees of the Ministry of Finance
9. Víctor Méndez López: (9.5.91) member of the National Union for the Meat
Industry
(SNIC)
10. Ruiz Ascencio: (14.9.91) member of SNIC
11. 23 rural workers: (17.5.91) Department of Auhuachapán
12. Luis Arcenio Sorto:
(8.91) employee of the Institute for the Regulation of Supply
Wuilfredo Hernández Quijano: (21.9.91) member of CODYDES
Miseal Hernández and Rodil Antonio Pereda:
(8-9.91) from San Francisco Cabañas
ANNEX 3
Searching of trade union premises
Trade union premises searched: Date of search
1. Offices of ASTTEL: (11.3.89)
2. Premises of UNTS: (21.3.89)
3. Premises of FENASTRAS: (26.3.89)
4. Premises of FUSS: (26.3.89)
5. Premises of UNTS: (26.3.89)
6. Premises of SIGEBAN: (sacked) (12.4.89)
7. Premises of FUSS: (20.4.89)
8. Premises of FESTIAVSCES: (20.4.89)
9. Premises of CODYDES: (20.4.89)
10. Premises of ASID: (15.5.89)
11. Premises of FENASTRAS: (25.5.89)
12. Premises of FUSS: (25.5.89)
13. Premises of SOICSCES: (sacked) (6.6.89)
14. Building of the "El Soto" Cooperative: (sacked) (5.7.89)
15. Offices of ANTA: (13.7.89)
16. Offices of FENASTRAS:
(surrounded by the (28.7.89) national police, entrance being
refused to an international delegation)
17. Offices of ANTMAG: (9.9.89)
18. Offices of ANTMAG: (sacked) (24.9.89)
New allegations:
19. The home of Arturo: (1.5.90) UNOC leader
20. The home of Luis Felipe Díaz:
(10.9.91) President of the Flor de Primavera Cooperative
Association
21. Premises of the El Palmital Cooperative, Association in
Ozathlán: (10.9.91)
22. Premises of the Salvadorean Women's Movement: (10.9.91)