A human rights agenda for El Salvador
At the end of June, Amnesty International, met with the
president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, to deliver a set of
recommendations concerning the human rights situation in El Salvador. The brief deals with the need to assess responsibility
for historic human rights abuses in the civil war, the rights of women and
girls, the need to protect human rights defenders, the needs of migrants, human rights in public security and policing,
and adherence to international human rights commitments.
Bukele has frequently voiced a commitment to human rights standards,
but the level of his commitment to human rights is most in question as he deploys
a mano dura / iron fist approach in his Territorial Control Plan to combat gang
violence in the country. Adding to the
security presence on the streets of the country, Bukele announced
that the armed forces will recruit another 3000 soldiers to engage in domestic
crime fighting actions.
El Salvador’s police and armed forces are not known for
their attention to human rights. This
reflects the sentiment of the Salvadoran population as a whole. According to a recently
published poll, 81.2% of Salvadorans are in favor of Bukele’s Territorial Control
Plan, so there is little political cost for Bukele in allowing troops wide
latitude in policing.
Similarly, he has not shown much interest in the need for
protection of human rights defenders, instead taking a rhetorical approach of
asserting that anyone who criticizes his approach must be siding with the gangs
against the Salvadoran people.
With respect to the rights of migrants who have fled El
Salvador, Bukele acknowledges that the country is responsible for addressing
the conditions which lead migrants to leave.
He has largely refused, however, to criticize the Trump administration with
respect to its treatment of immigrants in detention.
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https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/envian-a-prision-a-tres-policias-acusados-de-golpear-a-un-menor-de-edad-en-soyapango/620558/2019/
Also, why would Bukele criticize Trump? How would that benefit any Salvadoran? Bukele has to manage the relationship with the U.S. government perfectly to get the right result. Lives are on the line, but for some reason, people are calling on Bukele to posture. Criticizing Trump's concentration camps won't have any positive effect for Salvadorans. Bukele is trying to convince the U.S. government that his government is doing what it has to in order to stop forced migration. That should not be considered bowing to Trump. Sure, you can blame U.S. backed neoliberal austerity for the problems that we face today until you're blue in the face. But when you're finished criticizing the U.S. (your biggest trade partner and the place where millions of Salvadorans live) you are still going to be sitting in a country without security and opportunity. Bukele is letting his actions do the talking.
If you say that Bukele is not interested in protecting human rights workers, then you should provide proof. Bukele is interested in protecting everybody, including human rights workers.
Also, U.S. Immigration policy is a U.S. matter and to date it has been one of the most porous in the world. Witness the immigration policies of Mexico, Central and South America, for example. Far more stringent and potentially violent if one does not follow their processes.
"Concentration camps"? The application of that term is a tactic of those whose arguments are weak in and of themselves - spurious and distorted for an agenda not in the best interests of anyone trying to mend the problem. If you want to see concentration camps do the research beginning with Nazi Germany and Stalin's Russia...fast forward to the "re-education camps" of post war Vietnam...North Korea...take a Google tour of Images for the war in Bosnia/Kosovo...those are concentration camps.
Keep it real.