Hope for change in El Salvador

Press, 11 September 1989, Page 9

Hope for change in El Salvador

By

RICHARD CRESSWELL

The El Salvadorean opposition movement hopes a summit meeting in Mexico City this week will provide the basis of a provisional democratic % government for the coun■r* try. * A Pacific representaZ tive of the opposition Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (F.M.L.N.), Mr Oscar Cor- "■ tez, is touring New Zealand to speak about the situation in Latin America.

He plans to meet representatives of the Ministry of External Relations and Trade, the National Party, and the Council of Trade Unions. He said the Government in El Salvador was implementing harsh and repressive policies. Since elections in March about 500 civilians and political prisoners had been killed or had “disappeared.” The F.M.L.N. had been consulted about the election and had asked for it to be delayed about six months to allow the present negotiations to be

heard. But suggestions made had been rejected by the Government, the Republican National Alliance (A.R.E.N.A.), formed in 1980 through connections with the El Salvadorean army. The summit in Mexico had come out of a meeting in Honduras of five central American presidents and heads of State earlier this year. Mr Cortez said the F.M.L.N. had called for a ceasefire in the lead-up to the negotiations in Mexico. He said the Govern-

ment was losing support because of its economic policies and repressive regime. The summit in Mexico will be attended by representatives of the El Salvadorean Government, the Opposition, the Catholic Church and the United Nations. Mr Cortez, a trade unionist in El Salvador, is working for the F.M.L.N. in Sydney. El Salvador was the fifth-largest recipient of American aid, receiving about $2.5 million a day, he said.