Last week we mentioned how activists have campaigned so that those responsible for a 1989 El Salvadoran massacre are brought to justice. Among those accused of wrongdoing includes former army officials and even ex-president Alfredo Cristiani.Though six Jesuit priests were among the eight murdered in the massacre, several religious leaders in El Salvador are not throwing their support behind seeking prosecution. According to an AP article published yesterday:
The Roman Catholic archbishop of San Salvador opposes reopening the prosecution of Salvadoran officials in the 1989 massacre of six Jesuit priests, the cleric said Sunday…El Salvador’s civil war may have officially ended in 1992, yet for many the wounds remain deep. Though the hope remains that the perpetrators of the 1989 killing pay for their crimes, it will be very difficult to overcome the suffering that continues nearly two decades later.
Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle called the killings at the height of the country's 1980-92 civil war "a frightful crime," but said he was sure that former President Alfredo Cristiani was not involved.
"Opening this case in another country's courts won't help the process of domestic reconciliation," he said. "El Salvador's affairs should be resolved in El Salvador."
The Jesuit order in El Salvador also decided not to participate in the Spanish case, Jesuit university rector Father Jose Maria Tojeira said.
Image- AP (“People hold candles during a march to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priests in 1989, in San Salvador, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008.”)
Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, AP, IHT, BBC News
Sources (Spanish)- El Faro
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