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Memorial of massacre site at El Mozote, Morazan, El Salvador. Public Domain.

In
September 2016, after 35 years of relentless struggle, human rights defenders
in El Salvador seized a new hope for truth and justice with the reopening of
the El Mozote case by the Second Court of San Francisco de Gotera. The judicial
investigation had been closed in 1993, shortly after the General Amnesty Law
was approved by the national parliament. It was not until last year, in July
2016, that the Constitutional Court in El Salvador declared the General Amnesty
Law unconstitutional, opening
the door for
pursuing justice for war crimes committed in the country. El Mozote
is the first case to be reopened involving crimes against humanity committed
during the Salvadoran civil war (1979 – 1992).

The civil
war in El Salvador pitted the military government against a leftist insurgency
for more than 12 years, and resulted in an estimated 75,000 dead and 8,000
disappeared. The brutal massacre in El Mozote is widely considered the worst
atrocity committed during the war. On 10, 11 and 12 December 1981, the Salvadorian
Army attacked a number of villages in the northeast of the country. Soldiers
detained all the inhabitants, tortured and raped hundreds, and murdered between
900 and 1,200 civilians, mostly women and children. The case is emblematic of
the brutal attacks the civilian population faced at the hands of the military
during the war.

The civil war in El Salvador pitted the military government against a leftist insurgency for more than 12 years, and resulted in an estimated 75,000 dead and 8,000 disappeared. 

Shorty
after the General Amnesty Law was declared unconstitutional in July 2016, human
rights defenders, survivors and victims' family members filed a request to
reopen the case. Eighteen high-ranking military officials (three of them
deceased) were charged, including former minister of defense, General Jose
Guillermo Garcia, former joint Chief of Staff of the armed forces, Rafael
Flores Lima, and former commander of the 3rd infantry brigade, Colonel Jaime
Flores Grijalva. They are accused of crimes ranging from murder, aggravated
rape, forced disappearances, acts of terrorism, robbery and aggravated damage
under the 1973 Criminal Code, which was in force at the time.

The brutal massacre in El Mozote is widely considered the worst atrocity committed during the war.

“We have the
strong advantage that, over the past 36 years, human rights defenders and
organisations have undertaken arduous work to gather scientific evidence and
document what happened over those three days.” said Alejandro Lening Díaz
Gómez, member of human rights organisation Tutela Legal “Dra. María Julia Hernández”,
complainant at the trial. The investigations and perseverance of victims and
organisations such as Tutela Legal del Arzobispado and Tutela Legal “Dra. María
Julia Hernández” resulted in national and international organisations like the
Truth Commission in El Salvador, the international experts at the Argentine
Forensics Team (EAAF) and the InterAmerican Commission and Court of Human
Rights issuing reports and rulings on the evidence of the responsibility of the
State in this and other indiscriminate attacks against civilians. “It has been
demonstrated that the military carried out a planned, massive, systematic
operation. The scale of the offensive was such that it wouldn't have been
possible without the involvement of the different army corps. That is why the
highest ranking officials are accused of these crimes against humanity”,
explains Díaz Gómez.

The case is emblematic of the brutal attacks the civilian population faced at the hands of the military during the war.

On 11 May,
former Salvadoran defense minister, Jose Guillermo García, the first accused to
be summoned to court, declined the judicial order to attend trial. “For
victims, human rights defenders and organisations, this is a dangerous sign. It
could be the start of the same strategy to evade justice that we have seen over
the killings
of the Jesuits, for which impunity persists. We are worried that the
prosecutors aren't willing to take a stand against this”. Tutela Legal notes
that the Salvadoran mainstream media has largely failed to look critically at
the role of the military. “There is still an inclination in the media to
provide the military with a space to defend themselves, and little space for
human rights defenders and victims to uphold their demands. However,
perpetrators have been identified and accused because the investigations have
uncovered the truth. We are now battling to lead the way to justice and
reparation".

Against
this long-lasting prevalence of the interests of the military, Alejandro
explains that the meaningful work of human rights defenders has granted them
recognition, support by the population, and protection. “Human rights defenders
and victims participate in the hearings, push the judicial processes forward,
maintain the pressure… they has been very effective participation. There is a
lot of expectation and interest as a result of the recent victories. But HRDs
are daunted by the support granted by the State and the media to the military.
The [former] military officers are transported by army cars, operated by the
brigades of the area. We are investigating whether the 25 defendant lawyers are
being payed by the Ministry of Defense. In some cases, the Office of the
Prosecutor has made inexcusable mistakes". However, the recognition of the
experience and perseverance of human rights defenders over the past 36 years
has granted them protection against intimidation and harassment, and counter-balanced
efforts to discredit and defame them. This enduring struggle has also allowed
for the reemergence of the human rights movement in the country. “[HRDs] have
an important presence in the defense of other social and environmental issues.”

The Salvadoran State and Public prosecution must live up to this historic opportunity to achieve justice and heal the society.

The
reopening of the Mozote case brings an unprecedented opportunity to achieve
justice in El Salvador and to honor the victims and the arduous work of human
rights defenders, as well as to demonstrate to the entire region that justice
and accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity are possible. The
Salvadoran State and Public prosecution must live up to this historic
opportunity to achieve justice and heal the society, as well as to establish a
precedent for other important cases where justice is pending, such as the
assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980. As El Mozote survivor Dorila
Márquez stated in front of the InterAmerican Court for Human Rights in 2012,
“We want to forgive, but we need to know what and who to forgive”.