Earlier this week, Pope Francis declared that Archbishop Oscar Romero died as a martyr, clearing the way for Romero's beatification, which will likely take place within a few months in San Salvador. Monseñor Romero,  a champion of the poor and an advocate of peace, was shot to death on March 24, 1980 while celebrating Mass at a small chapel near his cathedral in San Salvador the day after giving a sermon in which he called for Salvadoran soldiers to stop the repression and to end the killing of their own people. With a few exceptions, much of the media coverage of Pope Francis' declaration left out Romero's condemnation of the U.S. funding and training for the Salvadoran military. SOA Watch is hoping that Romero's recognition by the Vatican will spur more discussion about how he died.
"There needs to be further accountability for those that committed these human rights violations, including the killing of Romero -- and including those in the U.S., who trained and armed the killers," Arturo J. Viscarra, SOA Watch's Advocacy Coordinator, told the Huffington Post. "If you're going to talk about a martyr, there should be discussion of who's responsible for his murder."
Oscar Romero's assassins were members of Salvadoran death squads, including two graduates of the School of the Americas. The 1993 United Nations Truth Commission report on El Salvador identified SOA graduate Major Roberto D'Aubuisson as the man who ordered the assassination. A fitting tribute to Romero's legacy would be the closure of the school that trained his murderers. The U.S. continues to support repressive regimes such as Honduras, that further U.S. interests and continues to fund the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (also known as the School of the Americas), the U.S. military training facility that has left a trail of blood and suffering throughout the Americas. A new $1 billion dollar proposal by the Obama Administration for an "Alliance for Prosperity" with El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala was unveiled last week. Dressed in the language of aid and investment, it appears to be a boon for corporate infrastructure and war, including a doubling of U.S. "security aid" to these countries that are already being eviscerated by militarization and the Drug War. Tellingly, the U.S. government qualifies the disastrous "Plan Colombia" as a success, and envisions using Colombia's SOA trained soldiers as proxy trainers to Central American military and police. What these three counries need from the U.S. are genuine apologies, respect, and reparations, not more of the same old military and corporate "solutions".
Stand with the People of the Americas
Join us in Washington, DC from April 22-25, 2015 for the Spring Days of Action: GROWING STRONGER TOGETHER - Resisting the "War on Drugs" across the Americas.
El Salvador Romero Delegation: March 20-29, 2015
Join SOA Watch Founder Father Roy Bourgeois and SOA Watch Latin America Liaison Brigitte Gynther in a delegation to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero by joining in the remembrance activities, participate in Citizen Diplomacy efforts to ask the government of El Salvador to stop sending soldiers to the SOA/WHINSEC, and learn about the achievements and challenges of the current government, including efforts to address the root causes of migration. Cost: $1600, which covers all in-country costs and is also a fundraiser for SOAW's work in Central America. Airfare not included. Contact Brigitte @ soaw.org for more information and an application.
In the face of the ongoing SOA/ WHINSEC support for the repression in Honduras, Mexico, and other countries, Oscar Romero's last speech still rings true today:
"Brothers, you came from our own people. You are killing your own brothers. Any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God, which says, 'Thou shalt not kill'. No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time you obeyed your consciences rather than sinful orders. The church cannot remain silent before such an abomination. ... In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cry rises to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you: stop the repression."
- Oscar Romero |
