Subject: Salvadoran AIDS agency targeted
From: [email-masked] (Rich Winkel)
Date: 6 Jul 1995 22:53:51 GMT

/** reg.elsalvador: 90.0 **/
** Topic: Salvadoran AIDS agency targeted **
** Written  8:17 PM  Jul  5, 1995 by cispesnatl in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
C   I   S   P   E   S
ACTION ALERT

						July 3, 1995

HIV/AIDS ADVOCATES AND GAY COMMUNITY 
TARGETED FOR REPRESSION IN SAN SALVADOR 

On Saturday June 24, between 9:00 and 9:30 AM, 3 armed men entered 
the San Salvador office of FUNDASIDA, El Salvador's non-
governmental National Foundation of HIV/AIDS Patients for 
Prevention, Education and Control.  At the time, a secretary, 3 health 
promoters and 10 young people were in the office, participating in a 
"Holistic HIV/AIDS Prevention Workshop."  The armed men said that 
they were looking for Dr. Francisco Carrillo, FUNDASIDA's Executive 
Director.  The intruders said that they would kill Dr. Carrillo when 
they find him and threatened to kill everyone present.

On being told that Dr. Carrillo was not in, the assailants took the 
FUNDASIDA computer, television, a typewriter and confidential 
documents from the office.  The computer contains the database of 
information on FUNDASIDA's clients.

Since the above incident, the office and homes of FUNDASIDA 
employees have received death threats on a daily basis.  Early this week 
FUNDASIDA staff recorded one of the threats on the phone.  The caller 
identified himself as a member of La Sombra Negra, Black Shadow, 
death squad.

In related news, San Salvador's Mayor, Mario Valiente, recently issued 
a statement declaring that the city will actively work to "eliminate 
prostitution and homosexuals in San Salvador."  Valiente is a big 
supporter of a pending bill in the National Assembly that would 
punish prostitutes and gays with three days in jail and heavy fines.  
The legislation is expected to come to a vote in late July or early 
August.

BACKGROUND: Last November, the Co-Director of the Oscar Romero 
AIDS Project, Wilfredo Valencia Palacios, was attacked by three men 
while doing street outreach work.  The Oscar Romero AIDS Project is 
concerned that there is a growing pattern of intimidation and violence 
against healthcare workers involved in educational work around AIDS 
and HIV.

Gays and lesbians and their allies have always been the victims of 
repression in El Salvador and throughout Latin America.  Today gays 
and lesbians are struggling more openly for social space and avenues 
for mutual support.  On June 17, Tiajuana held its first gay pride day 
ever.  In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the International Lesbian and Gay 
Association held its annual meeting - only the second time they had 
ever met in a Latin American country.  In San Francisco, the Oscar 
Romero AIDS Project marched in Gay Pride for the first time.  Their 
participation was covered in the media.  It is clear that the increasing 
organizing and visibility of queers in Latin America and El Salvador as 
well as grassroots AIDS and HIV education by queer-friendly groups are 
seen as a threat to the retrograde world view of those that continue to 
employ violence to reach their political ends in El Salvador.

ACTION:

The international solidarity community needs to demand an 
investigation into the robbery and threats against FUNDASIDA and 
oppose pending anti-gay legislation in El Salvador which Salvadoran 
AIDS/HIV and gay activists fear will push the clock back three years for 
their organizing.

Call and Fax:

1. Rodrigo Avila, Director of the Civilian National Police, to demand 
an investigation into the FUNDASIDA robbery and threats.

	Fax: 011 503 298 5082	Phone 011 503 298 2558

2. Armando Calderon Sol, President of the Republic, to demand that he 
urge the PNC to carry out an investigation into the break in and the 
death threats against FUNDASIDA staff, and that he oppose 
pending anti-gay legislation as a violation of basic human rights.

	Fax: 011 503 271 0950	Phone: 011 503 271 1555

Copies of faxes should also be sent to Victoria de Aviles, the National 
Counsel for the Defense of Human Rights at 011 503 271 2886

3. Your Congressional Representatives: should be asked to fax the 
above Savadoran officials and to call the State Department to demand 
information on these cases. Your rep. should also ask what the US 
Embassy is concretely doing to end the impunity that continues to 
allow incidents like these to happen.

	The Capitol Switchboard in D.C. is  202 224 3121, 
	call and ask for your representative by name

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador

National Office: P.O. Box 1801, New York, NY 10159 ~ 212-229-1290 * 
Regional Offices: 
	Boston, MA 617-524-1166 *  New York, NY 212-229-1290 *  
	Chicago, IL 312-227-2720 *  San Francisco, CA 415-648-6520

** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador **

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