Salvador's top court orders massacre probe

[Judi Lynn]

Salvador's top court orders massacre probe
Feb 6, 9:40 PM EST

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) -- El Salvador's Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors must investigate the massacre of 45 farmers allegedly at the hands of the military during the country's civil war, heeding a decades-long call by the victims' relatives.

In its resolution announced late Wednesday, the top court ordered "a thorough, serious, diligent and conclusive investigation done within a reasonable amount of time."

The court says investigators need to find out what happened July 25, 1981 in the town of San Francisco Angulo, 46 miles (75 kilometers) east of the capital, San Salvador.

A judge ordered an investigation after the remains of 30 people, including several children, were exhumed in 2005 but prosecutors ignored the order.

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_SALVADOR_MASSACRE?SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Judi Lynn]

1. Communities Creating Justice: Fredy Gomez and San Francisco Angulo

Communities Creating Justice: Fredy Gomez and San Francisco Angulo
August 3, 2012

While the El Mozote Massacre, Romero’s Assassination, and the Massacre of the Jesuits receive the most attention, tens of thousands of people were massacred, assassinated, and disappeared across El Salvador during the 1980s. Hundreds of communities have worked long and hard to uncover and preserve the truth of their histories.

One of these stories is that of Fredy Gomez, who was a member of the CRIPDES San Vicente team and the community of San Francisco Angulo, he was also a survivor of one of the many massacres happening during the 1980′s. He dedicated himself to recording the history of his community. This February, Fredy was murdered, many believe because of his activism. His commitment to uncovering the truth and seeking justice brought the massacres in San Francisco de Angulo to the national attention. The legacy of his work continues as we remember these victims.

During the 1980s, the national guard and other security forces carried out three different massacres in the area of San Francisco de Angulo. During the first massacre, on July 25th, 1981, the national guard and death squads killed forty-five women who had been preparing the day’s tortillas, and an unknown number of children. In October of the same year, the military arrived in neighboring Lomas de Angulo, where many people had taken refuge, rounded up the inhabitants and took them down to the river to kill them. Only two children survived. Several of Fredy’s siblings and his mother all died. On June 19th, 1982 the military swept through the region, killing all the community members and animals they came across, as part of the scorched earth campaign. While many fled, an estimated six hundred people lost their lives. Following these massacres, the community remained uninhabited until 1992, as community members, refugees, ex-combatants, and displaced Salvadorans began to return. Upon re-settling, residents of San Francisco Angulo worked to get access to land through the land transfer program, build dignified homes, get access to water, form a community council, and build a school and clinic.

More
http://www.share-elsalvador.org/2012/08/communities-creating-justice-fredy-gomez-and-san-francisco-angulo.html#sthash.8xE3Zv4d.dpuf