Threats Continue at Radio Victoria: Please Show Your Solidarity!

"Since the early 1990s, Radio Victoria has provided a voice for the residents of the northern hills of El Salvador. Founded in the aftermath of the nation's bloody civil war, today Radio Victoria transmits daily local and international news and other programs to communities so poor they often lack telephone and mail services.

The journalists who run the station are mostly 16 to 24 year-olds who grew up in Honduran refugee camps and returned to the area with their families as the civil war raged around them.

And now, someone wants them dead."

Threats to members of the Radio Victoria continue:
Oscar:
1) "extermination > look oscar we aren't kidding shut up this radio or you also die you dog”
Pablo:
1) "extermination > look pablo we are watching you better than your police we are close to you where you go the cameras in the radio will not save anyone get out or what" 
Cristy:
1) " exrerminio > griga (exterminio > gringa???) today yes we have to act with the people in your radio now it is too much manuel pablo oscar and maricela are to be assassinated you should leave... "

PLEASE support the radio by sending your messages of support—emails in Spanish and especially voice recordings they can play on the radio.  The authorities and people responsible need to continue to hear that the international community is paying attention and in solidarity with the Radio.  As Cristina Starr at the Radio says: “We are only little people and we keep getting these nasty things and it scares us and upsets us and wears us down psychologically, so all forms of support are helpful, we are together here, we are in touch with each other, supporting each other and we feel all your support surrounding us too.”

You can also sign the change.org petition: Investigate Death Threats against El Salvador Journalists.

El Salvador Sees Epidemic of Violence Against Women

This article written by Hannah Stone, talks about femicide in El Salvador and mentions SHARE Counterpart ORMUSA.

A rise in brutal killings of women, known as “femicides,” in El Salvador can be blamed on various factors, from gender inequality to organized crime to a society hollowed out by gang culture, features common to many parts of Central America

Non-governmental organization Salvadoran Women for Peace (Organizacion de Mujeres Salvadoreñas por la Paz - ORMUSA), which tracks violence against women, reported that, according to police statistics, there were 160 such murders committed in the country in the first three months of the year. This would put the country on track for a record 640 such killings in 2011 - higher than any year since the organization began to track the issue in 1999.

Human rights organizations in Latin America use the word “femicide” to refer to the murders of women who are killed because of their gender. Murders defined in this way typically involve sexual violence, mutilation, and torture, with the mangled bodies of victims often left in public places.

El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with almost 70 per 100,000 people. This is mostly due to soaring gang violence, with the country an increasingly important transit location for drugs being trafficked into the U.S., and the local “maras” or gangs fighting over the business. Sexualized killings of women make up a relatively minor proportion of the many violent deaths -- of some 4,000 murders the police registered in 2010, 580 were identified as femicides.

Read more

Urgent Action for Radio Victoria: Change.org Petition!

Change.org recently created an online petition that makes it easy to take action to demand an Investigation of Death Threats Against Radio Victoria Journalists in El Salvador (click here) and spread the word. 

Investigate Death Threats Against El Salvador Journalists

SIGN PETITION

Change.org published the following article on Tuesday May, 10th

El Salvador: Protect Independent Radio from Death Threats

by Antonio Ramirez · May 10, 2011

Since the early 1990s, Radio Victoria has provided a voice for the residents of the northern hills of El Salvador. Founded in the aftermath of the nation's bloody civil war, today Radio Victoria transmits daily local and international news and other programs to communities so poor they often lack telephone and mail services.

The journalists who run the station are mostly 16 to 24 year-olds who grew up in Hondruan refugee camps and returned to the area with their families as the civil war raged around them.

And now, someone wants them dead.

Last month, Radio Victoria's workers began receiving a wave of death threats from a shadowy group reminiscent of the macabre rightwing "death squads" active during the civil war.

Demand an Investigation of Death Threats Against Radio Victoria Journalists in El Salvador! (Click Here!)

ACTION ALERT! Support Radio Victoria

Action Alert! Support Radio Victoria

On May 3rd, World Press Freedom Day, Radio Victoria in Cabañas, once again denounced death threats against their workers.

During the early hours of Saturday April 30th a note was slipped under Radio Victoria´s front entrance naming 3 workers  and threatening their lives if they did not leave the Radio by Wednesday May 4th.

On May 2nd during the evening 2 radio journalists received text messages on their cell phones threatening them in different ways including saying that one of the workers´ 3 year old daughter would be the one to pay if they did not change the tone of the radio.

On May 4th, new threats were sent to two of the radio workers. Radio Victoria needs your help and solidarity.  Here is who you can contact to ask for an exhaustive investigation, for results of the investigations, for full protection for ALL workers at Radio Victoria, for guarantees of freedom of the press y freedom of expression, for democratic and independent media and whatever else you want to say.

PLEASE CONTACT:

Send an email to the Attorney General Romeo Barahona to demand a full investigation and protection for our workers.  The Attorney General of the Republic is the only one who can decide what gets investigated and he is not taking us seriously.  Please send an email to his assistant at: hector.burgos@fgr.gob.sv

If you speak Spanish, you could also call Salvadoran Attorney General Romeo Barahona at 011-503-2260-6350 and make your voice heard.

Send an email to David Morales, Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Relations to demand specialized police protection for those being threatened: dmorales@rree.gob.sv

The Struggle Against Climate Change in El Corozal

This update was originally published in our eNewsletter on Earth Day 2011.

The small 60 family community of El Corozal, where SHARE counterpart REDES has been working since 2006, is so remote and tucked away into the hills outside of Berlin, Usulután, that they still do not receive running water or electricity in the community. The school only goes up to fifth grade and with only two teachers and one principal who is also teaching classes, there are two grades of students being taught by one teacher at the same time. Given the distance to the middle school in Berlin, very few students are able to continue studying after the fifth grade. In fact, when the mayor’s office of Berlin offered to train someone from the community as a health promoter with the condition that it be someone with a high school degree, the community realized, upon searching for an eligible person, that nobody in the community had obtained a high school degree.

Radio Victoria Press Release

Dear SHARE family,

Once again, the Radio Victoria in Victoria, Cabañas is receiving death threats.  Threats against many of the young people at this community radio have been going on all year, along with threats to burn down the radio.  Numerous anti-mining activists have already lost their lives and many other leaders in this movement have been threatened or attempts have been made on their lives. 

Please stay posted for ways to stand in solidarity with these inspiring, dedicate young people at the Radio Victoria. 

In solidarity,
Tedde

PRESS RELEASE 

Today, May 3rd, is World Press Freedom Day and on this day Radio Victoria is again denouncing death threats against their workers. 

During the early hours of Saturday April 30th a note was slipped under Radio Victoria´s front entrance naming 3 workers  and threatening their lives if they did not leave the Radio by Wednesday May 4th.

On May 2nd during the evening 2 radio journalists received text messages on their cell phones threatening them in different ways including saying that one of the workers´ 3 year old daughter would be the one to pay if they did not change the tone of the radio.

Tomorrow May 4th Radio Victoria and ADES, Santa Marta´s Social and Economic Development Association, will hold a press conference in front of El Salvador´s Attorney General´s office denouncing the total lack of results from investigations into who are the intellectual and material authors of these continuous threats.

We will send out more information soon on how you all can support the Radio and other human rights defenders in El Salvador.

Thank you for your attention and support.

May 1st: Change Through Mobilized Communities!

Excerpt from the Pagina de Maiz, a weekly publication put out by SHARE counterpart, Equipo Maiz.

This May 1, 2011, workers, student organizations, farmers, women, and entire communities will come together to mobilize with workers from all around the world in unity for political change to end capitalist exploitation and imperialist domination.

The reality of today is that capitalism is in an economic crisis, and this crisis is causing nations to turn against one another for vital resources such as gas and water.

This May 1st will be the 3rd year in a row that the people of El Salvador will be able to march freely away from the corrupt government of ARENA. Yet they are still battling for historic demands on increased minimum wages, educational rights, healthcare, and more. 

Mobilized communities have realized that they cannot simply "sit and wait" for changes to happen. With FMLN they must make these changes happen. They've realized they need to push for more communities, factory workers, wealthy business owners, and the like in order to have a bigger voice in political changes and policies. 

The freedom of the working class will not be obtained by anyone but the working class! They must continue their struggle for political rights! To all the workers and organized communities fighting for their rights as people, we thank you for your continued dedication!