tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583054.post110986756528230966..comments2023-09-27T05:42:00.018-04:00Comments on The Progressive Iconoclast: Desperately seeking justice in El SalvadorUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583054.post-1110035351626242132005-03-05T10:09:00.000-05:002005-03-05T10:09:00.000-05:00I'm afraid I have no real answers. Many people po...I'm afraid I have no real answers. Many people point to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a process which worked and helped heal the wounds of apartheid. The transgressors get amnesty after cooperating with the process. The victims have the opportunity to have their stories told, listened to, and acknowledged.<br /><br />I think part of the problem in El Salvador was the appearance that the Truth Commission report was rejected by those in power and that probably leads to skepticism about whether it was just a paper exercise. I don't think it was a paper exercise, and it led to good things like the purge of the military. Yet how can a victim react when a perpetrator is identified in the report and two days later receives a blanket amnesty?<br /><br />Bottom line -- I'm not sure there is a way to do this when the party seen as affiliated with the crimes is the party in power and in charge of implementing any recommendations.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583054.post-1109965358105779582005-03-04T14:42:00.000-05:002005-03-04T14:42:00.000-05:00I would agree with you, and it is a dilemma.
It m...I would agree with you, and it is a dilemma.<br /><br />It might be easier, wouldn't you think, for victims to accept a lack of prosecution in their individual cases IF the system were now seen as reformed and functioning, which is obviously not the case. <br /><br />But maybe it would be no consolation, even if impunity was less of a problem now?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16596363377059790052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583054.post-1109947181601463052005-03-04T09:39:00.001-05:002005-03-04T09:39:00.001-05:00As usual, your posts show your greater experience ...As usual, your posts show your greater experience in all things Salvadoran. Certainly the purge of Army officers involved in war crimes was a very important achievement of the Peace Accords. I also agree that some type of amnesty is almost always a necessary part of a negotiated resolution to such civil conflicts.<br /><br />On the other hand, work with victims groups generally and the interviews with the Salvadoran plaintiffs in the suits brought in the US, like <A HREF="http://luterano.blogspot.com/2004/11/journey-of-dr-ramogoza.html" REL="nofollow"> Dr. Ramagoza</A> show that formal determinations of responsibility can have an important role in providing catharsis and closure.<br /><br />More importantly, my sense is that very little has happened since 1992 to dispel the impression for the Salvadoran populace that the rich and powerful in the country, even where they commit atrocities and war crimes, act with impunity. The amnesty contributed to this impression. <br /><br />I'm not sure I have a solution, but the problem of impunity will continue to poison political dialogue in the country if it is not addressed.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583054.post-1109947172181935782005-03-04T09:39:00.000-05:002005-03-04T09:39:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452039674856298357noreply@blogger.com