On July 2, hundreds of people had gathered in the Suchitoto municipality to protest President Antonio Saca’s plan to decentralize water distribution. They saw the plan as an attempt to privatize municipal water resources as stipulated in a 1998 World Bank loan. The protestors were met with heavily armed riot police who fired rubber bullets and tear gas on the crowd and detained fourteen people. Among those arrested was a journalist covering the protest and members of CRIPDES, the Association of Rural Communities for the Development of El Salvador. They were on their way to attend the rally in Suchitoto.

Last week the prisoners were released on bail as a result of national and international pressure. But the charges of terrorism remain and if found guilty they could face up to 60 years of prison time. El Salvador’s anti-terrorism law came into effect last year and is modeled on the USA Patriot Act. Human rights groups have condemned the government’s response and application of this draconian law. Human Rights Watch said yesterday that the law criminalizes a wide variety of acts most of which “do not fall within any reasonable definition of terrorism.”

• Krista Hanson. Program Director of Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. Website: Cispes.org.

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