Stop The ILEA in El Salvador!
Participate in the June 19 Call-in day: Tell Congress to vote to close the SOA and stop ALL U.S.-backed repression in Latin America! download call-in script here
go here for CISPES background and outreach materials about the ILEA
Stop the ILEA! No new SOA! No to US political and Military intervention in the Americas!
The International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) is a US-funded police training school for all of Latin America that opened in El Salvador in late 2005 despite the opposition of numerous Salvadoran social movement organizations. The long history of US-supported repression in El Salvador - through military aid and training at the U.S. School of the Americas (SOA) - is grim, and many Salvadorans see the ILEA as the U.S.s latest attempt to exert its dominence over the entire region.
In ElSalvador repression has been on the rise against activists and socialmovement leaders, and the ILEA does nothing to address the governmentswillingness to use dirty tactics against organizers. Over the past twoyears there have been a number of high-profile and still unsolvedmurders, including the murder of Teamsters union organizer GilbertoSoto and the brutally violent murder of the elderly parents of FMLN andcommunity activist Mariposa Marina Manzanes. Meanwhile, the head ofpolice and the Minister of Security have labeled organizers asterrorists and had their pictures published in the major right-wingnewspapers.
Thegovernment has refused to investigate or respond to such cases; rather,it has been complicit in the recent repression. The US embassy alsorefuses to acknowledge these cases, and instead called El Salvador amodel of peace this past January on the 15th anniversary of the PeaceAccords. All of these case amount to a roll-back of the Peace Accordsand a move towards consolidating power by the right-wing government.The situation is dire, and the construction of the ILEA will onlyexacerbate matters and give security forces more tools and incentive touse repression against those who are resisting and building toward realdemocray!
Please call your representative and tell them to CUT FUNDING TO THE ILEA!
You can contact them at:
U.S. Capitol Hill Switchboard -- 212-224-3121 (just ask for your Representative)
"I am a CISPES supporter because continuing to fight for social justice and a more people-centered country means continuing the dream and sacrifice of thousands of my fellow Salvadorans who died for that vision.” - Padre Carlos, New York City
