Funes won't end honors to human rights violators

Salvadoran president Mauricio Funes has backed off from his orders to the military two years ago to stop honoring officers who had committed atrocities during the civil war.   It was at El Mozote, the site of the massacre of a thousand men, women and children by the army, where Funes ordered the armed forces to cease honoring those who had violated human rights during the war.  

As I wrote last month, Colonel Domingo Monterrosa and Major José Azmitia who commanded the massacre at  El Mozote, continue to be celebrated as war heroes by the Salvadoran armed forces with commemorations of their exploits and with military units named for them.   But today, on the 32nd anniversary of that massacre, Funes told a journalist that "I never promised to remove the names from the regiments."   Funes now says he only asked for a review of the issue by the military, and he will study the results of that review.

 Apparently the president of El Salvador lacks the political will to confront the military and honor his commitment to the innocent victims of the war.


Comments

Robert said…
Thanks for this blog, Tim. I am new in el Salvador, and reliable news (in English) is hard to find.
easton.robert@amschool.edu.sv
Greg said…
The unit names should remain. Unless other similar honors that bear the names of FMLN personalities linked to war crimes are likewise devested.
Unknown said…
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