POLITICAL MURDER IN CENTRAL AMERICA: Death Squads and U.S. Policies

135 Pages·1985·38.74 MB·English

by  Gary E.McCuen

POLITICAL
MURDER
IN CENTRAL
AMERICA
Death Squads U.S. Policies
Library / Media Canter
St. Charles Preparatory School
2010 E. Broaa Street
Columbus, Ohio 43209
Gary E. M cCuen
IDEAS IN CONFLICT SERIES
publications inc.
411 MaUalieu Drive
Hudson, Wisconsin 54016
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or stored
by any means without prior permission from the copyright owner.
L
Illustration & photo credits
Carol & Simpson 12, 59, 64,108, Christie Institute 97, Granma 112, Guard­
ian 26, 88, Ollie Harrington 19, 123, Charles Keller, 33, Medical Aid for El
Salvador Fund 75, The Militant 71, The Minneapolis Star & Tribune 60,
Nicaragua Solidarity Committee 119, Oxfam America 48, 81, 94,104, USA
Today 98, Washington Post Writers Group 42, 57
©1985 by Gary E. McCuen Publications, Inc.
411 Mallalieu Drive • Hudson, Wisconsin 54016 •
[phone]
International Standard Book Number 0-86596-050-X
publications inc. Printed in the United States of America
C O N T E N T S
Ideas in Conflict 6
Introduction 9
CHAPTER 1 TERROR ON THE RIGHT: Right-Wing
Violence in Central America
11
1 NO ONE IS SAFE
Aryeh Neier
CO 2 THE TERROR AND TORTURE
<D CONTINUE 17
z
National Labor Committee
o
3 GENOCIDE IN GUATEMALA 24
LU John Hammond
QC 4 A NATION OF PRISONERS 31
Orville Schell
CHAPTER 2 TERROR ON THE LEFT: Communist
Violence in Central America
5 SANDINiSTA HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS 40
CO U.S. State Department Report
§ 6 COMRADES KILL EACH OTHER 46
— Fred Schwarz
§ 7 GUERILLA TERROR IN EL SALVADOR 51
lu Norman C. Mintle
“ 8 IN SEARCH OF DEATH SQUADS 55
M. Stanton Evans
CHAPTER 3 THE DEATH SQUADS AND U.S.
POLICY: Points and Counterpoints
9 SUPPORTING THE DEATH SQUADS 62
Robert White
CO 10 PROMOTING DEMOCRATIC
CD PLURALISM 69
Z National Bipartisan Commission on
O Central America
< 11 STOP THE MILITARY AID 73
cc The People Newspaper
12 MILITARY AID SHOULD BE
INCREASED 79
Melvyn Krauss
CHAPTER 4 CENTRAL AMERICAN REFUGEES: The
Flight from Terror
13 PROVIDING AN AMERICAN
SANCTUARY 86
CO Patrick A. Taran
^ 14 PREVENTING A FLOOD OF REFUGEES 92
Z
Ronald S. Godwin
§15 REFUGEES FLEE POLITICAL TERROR 96
Daniel P. Sheehan
LU
cc 16 THE FLIGHT FROM POVERTY 102
Elliott Abrams
CHAPTER 5 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES: The Conflict
in Central America
17 U.S. TERRORISM IN CENTRAL
AMERICA 111
£0 The German Democratic Republic
Z 18 DEMOCRATIC VALUES IN CENTRAL
q AMERICA 117
<£ The Norwegian Embassy
UJ 19 AMERICAN AGGRESSION IN
^ EL SALVADOR 121
The Cuban Newspaper, Granma
20 NEGOTIATIONS, NOT INTERVENTION 126
The French Information Service
21 MEXICAN POLICY IN CENTRAL
AMERICA 129
Walter Asti6 Burgos
BIBLIOGRAPHY 134
REASONING SKILL DEVELOPMENT
These activities may be used as individualized study
guides for students in libraries and resource centers or as
discussion catalysts in small group and classroom
discussions.
Z
1 Recognizing Author's Point of View 37
o (O
co UJ 2 Interpreting Editorial Cartoons 59
to h 3 What Is Ethnocentric Bias? 83
D >
o 4 Examining Counterpoints 107
I—
CO
CJ 5 What Is Political Bias? 132
Q <
IPE4S .
in © N FLICI
This series features ideas in conflict on political, social and
moral issues. It presents counterpoints, debates, opinions, com­
mentary and analysis for use in libraries and classrooms. Each
title in the series uses one or more of the following basic ele­
ments:
Introductions that present an issue overview giving historic
background and/or a description of the controversy.
Counterpoints and debates carefully chosen from publica­
tions, books, and position papers on the political right and left
to help librarians and teachers respond to requests that treat­
ment of public issues be fair and balanced.
Symposiums and forums that go beyond debates that can
polarize and oversimplify. These present commentary from
across the political spectrum that reflect how complex issues
attract many shades of opinion.
A global emphasis with foreign perspectives and surveys on
various moral questions and political issues that will help
readers to place subject matter in a less culture-bound and
ethno-centric frame of reference. In an ever shrinking and
interdependent world, understanding and cooperation are
essential. Many issues are global in nature and can be effec­
tively dealt with only by common efforts and international
understanding.
Reasoning skill study guides and discussion activities provide
ready made tools for helping with critical reading and evalua­
tion of content. The guides and activities deal with one or
more of the following:
RECOGNIZING AUTHOR'S POINT OF VIEW
INTERPRETING EDITORIAL CARTOONS
VALUES IN CONFLICT
WHAT IS EDITORIAL BIAS?
6
WHAT IS SEX BIAS?
WHAT IS POLITICAL BIAS?
WHAT IS ETHNOCENTRIC BIAS?
WHAT IS RACE BIAS?
WHAT IS RELIGIOUS BIAS?
From across the political spectrum varied sources are pre­
sented for research projects and classroom discussions. Diverse
opinions in the series come from magazines, newspapers, syndi­
cated columnists, books, political speeches, foreign nations, and
position papers by corporations and non-profit institutions.
About The Editor
Gary E. McCuen is an author and publisher of anthologies for
public libraries and curriculum materials for schools. Over the
past 14 years his publications of over 200 titles have specialized
in social, moral and political conflict. They include books,
pamphlets, cassettes, tabloids, filmstrips and simulation games,
many of them designed from his curricuiums during 11 years of
teaching junior and senior high school social studies. At present
he is the editor and publisher of the Ideas in Conflict series and
the Editorial Forum series.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
The statistics are simply astounding. Over 40,000 political
murders in El Salvador and 30,000 in Guatemala have been re­
ported in press releases. Estimates place over 120,000 Salva­
doran refugees and 100,000 Guatemalan refugees in Mexico,
over 300,000 Salvadoran and Guatemalan refugees in the United
States and thousands more displaced within El Salvador, Guate­
mala and Nicaragua.
Stories of massive human rights violations stagger the imagi­
nation. The torture of parents in front of their children and chil­
dren in front of their parents are related by human rights organi­
zations. They report the establishment of institutions that
process thousands of children and adults through torture centers
before they are killed by one gruesome manner or another.
Press reports daily carry testimony from survivors telling of slay­
ings of pregnant women, cutting out of fetuses, raping of
young girls, throat-cutting and beheadings.
Chapters one and two present ideas in conflict on the political
violence from the Central American right and left, Other chapters
present counterpoints on death squads and U.S. policy, a debate
on the questions of sanctuary for Central American refugees in
the United States and foreign perspectives on the Central Ameri­
can conflicts.
9
C H A P T E R 1
TERROR ON THE RIGHT: RIGHT-WING
VIOLENCE IN CENTRAL AMERICA
1 NO ONE IS SAFE
Ary eh Neier
S
G 2 THE TERROR AND TORTURE CONTINUE
N National Labor Committee
I
D
A 3 GENOCIDE IN GUATEMALA
E
R John Hammond
4 A NATION OF PRISONERS
Orville Schell
10
TERROR ON THE RIGHT
NO ONE IS SAFE
Aryeh Neier
Ary eh Neier is Vice Chairman of America's Watch, an
international organization concerned with human rights
violations. Over the past few years more than a dozen of
the America's Watch executive committee and staff have
travelled to Central America to gather information on the
human rights situation. They have interviewed heads of
government, military commanders, police chiefs,
prisoners, rank and file soldiers, priests, Journalists,
lawyers, judges, doctors, refugee workers and victims of
human rights abuses and members of their families.
Points to Consider
1. What has been the extent of violence in El Salvador?
2. Who commits this violence and why does it take place?
3. How should the U.S. respond to the human rights abuses in
El Salvador?
4. How is information on the political killings obtained?
Excerpted from testimony presented by Aryeh Neier before the National
Bipartisan Commission on Central America, 1984. Henry Kissinger was
the chairman of this committee.
11