From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: El Salvador: Proceso 531: Peace Process & World Court
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 00:34:08 GMT

/** reg.elsalvador: 121.0 **/
** Topic: Proceso 531: Region **
** Written  5:09 pm  Sep 26, 1992 by cidai@huracan.cr in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
From: cidai@huracan.cr (Centro de Informacion Documentacion y Apoyo a la Invest. - UCAJSC)
Subject: Proceso 531: Region

tCenter for Information, Documentation and Research Support (CIDAI)
Central American University (UCA)
San Salvador, El Salvador
 
PROCESO 531
September 23, 1992
 
REGION:
The peace process following the World Court ruling
 
     Honduras won two-thirds of the disputed territories on the
basis of some 15,000 documents drawn up over a period of eight
years. El Salvador, however, never presented enough documents,
although it was able to argue that the majority of those residing
in the disputed border "pockets" were Salvadorans... but "the Court
only listened to juridical arguments and not to arguments with
human considerations." Thus declared Manuel Pacas Castro, Minister
of Foreign Relations, on September 17. Despite the disappointment,
Pacas Castro argued that each country received its due (El Mundo,
9/17). The 25,000 Salvadorans who now live on the Honduran side of
the border, however, do not agree.
     The most controversial case has been that of Nahuaterique,
located in northern Morazan. On September 16, area residents hung
up a sign which read, "although it will cost us blood, we will
never turn over our lands." On September 14, Honduran soldiers
attempted to capture a Salvadoran who was cutting wood, but were
prevented from doing so by local residents, who later warned there
might be confrontations with the Honduran army if they were denied
access to the wood, since selling firewood is an important source
of income for them. Similar declarations were made by residents of
El Zancudo, who expressed their refusal to abandon their lands even
though they claimed they would honor the World Court ruling.
     A common theme has been the refusal of Salvadorans living in
the "pockets" to turn over their lands, much less to assume a new
nationality overnight. This attitude could be interpreted by the
Honduran armed forces as belligerent. Another common factor is the
fear and uncertainty generated by the Honduran miliary presence;
residents insist their human rights be respected, and that they be
permitted to make full use of the lands which until September 11
were Salvadoran.
     Even before the ruling, the governments of both countries knew
it would chiefly affect the residents of the disputed zones.
Therefore they decided to create the Binational Demarcation
Commission, which on October 2 must present a joint plan to resolve
the human problems, case by case, which arise in the new border
zone.
     Meanwhile, an FMLN delegation made up of Salvador Sanchez
Ceren, Jorge Melendez, Miguel Saenz Varela and Salvador Mejia,
traveled to Tegucigalpa on September 17 to meet with the Honduran
Demarcation Commission and President Callejas, in order to discuss
the problems faced by the residents of the formerly disputed border
zones. The arguments brought to the meeting by the rebel chiefs are
based on the fact that a great number of these people are part of
the FMLN's social base, and that a significant part of the
reapportioned territory was part of the FMLN's land inventory and
thus slated for transfer to former combatants. The FMLN leaders
also pointed out that these zones are listed in the National
Reconstruction Plan, under which they were to be developed; given
the new situation, both the Plan and land transfers have been
nullified, leaving the residents of these zones with no further
opportunities to improve their living conditions. In conclusion,
the FMLN leaders requested that the territories affected by the
World Court ruling be declared "zones of peace and development" as
a way to counteract the problems which have arisen.
     The visit produced no concrete results, but both the Honduran
Commission and President Callejas expressed willingness to resolve
the problems, as long as the framework of national legislation and
sovereign rights is respected.
     However, on September 15, the head of the Honduran armed
forces, Gen. Luis Alonso Discua, rejected the FMLN's proposal to
demilitarize the reapportioned territories and turn them into peace
zones, arguing that no one could tell the Hondurans what to do. The
FMLN responded on September 17 by saying that the intent was never
to give an order, but rather to find a civilized solution to the
problems faced by the residents of those territories. That same
day, Gen. Discua declared that Hondurans would exercise sovereignty
in the recovered territories, but without violence and in the
spirit of friendship, adding that Honduras could resort to the U.N.
to request supervision of the implementation of the World Court
ruling. Also on the 17th, the president of the Sovereignty and
Border Commission of the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Relations,
Pedro Pineda Madrid, stated emphatically, "in Honduran territory,
the exercise of authority and sovereignty corresponds to Honduras,"
and that therefore, "we cannot admit that any group exercise
greater authority than the State." Pineda also said that the
Honduran government is not under any obligation to respect prior
agreements made between the FMLN and the Cristiani government; now
it is up to the Honduran government to appoint authorities in the
formerly disputed zones. Could it be possible that, within the
Central American ideal of union and peace, Honduras has discarded
the possibility of threatening El Salvador's domestic stability?
     The Hondurans' response would undoubtedly be, "let us say that
yes, as long as our national sovereignty is respected." Honduras
also appears to be ignoring the implications of this matter for the
Salvadoran peace process, particularly with regard to land
transfers and the National Reconstruction Plan.
     We are not saying that the Honduran government does not care
what happens to the Salvadorans who now live on Honduran soil,
since it has indeed showed concern, as demonstrated by President
Callejas' visit to the Zazalapa pocket on September 18, on the
first leg of a trip to all different pockets in order to listen to
local residents and try to resolve their problems. Nevertheless,
the importance of resolving the problems faced by residents of
those zones is a fundamental one for El Salvador, especially
problems relating to the peace accords. For this reason, the issue
has provoked immense debate within El Salvador. Some have gone so
far as to insinuate that the World Court ruling is the result of
deliberate negligence on the part of the Salvadoran government,
which did not supply precise documentation and thus let the
"pockets", in which the FMLN and its social base had a strong
presence, fall into Honduran hands. If we were still at war, the
ruling would have been a clear triumph for counterinsurgency
strategy.
     In conclusion, it is necessary for both the government and the
FMLN to take up the matter and demand that the Salvadoran
Demarcation Commission pay serious attention to any problems
arising from the ruling which undermine the peace process.
 

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