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El Salvador, August 16, 2018
Respectable brothers and sisters of the
Cultural Network Techantit and TONATIERRA, we, the Indigenous Peoples of El
Salvador, Indigenous Peoples of the Sacred Land of the Smiling Jaguar with the
permission of the Creator and the Ancestors, we write to you requesting your
support to communicate and make our voice known internationally regarding the
current situation we are experiencing in our country.
We now pronounce:
Although there have been advances
relative to the issue of the visibility of Indigenous Peoples by the Salvadoran
State, and some organizational processes have been strengthened, there are
still no appropriate mechanisms for the visibility and empowerment of indigenous
communities, which results in the violation our rights.
That although as Indigenous Peoples we
have constructed a National Policy in favor of our communities, a policy that
was elaborated by several leaders, leaders, communities and indigenous organizations
in conjunction with the Multi-sectorial department of the Indigenous Peoples of
the Ministry of Culture and several other State Institutions, and that even
though this policy has passed all the legal filters of the office of the Presidency
and has even been signed and endorsed by the President of the Republic Salvador
Sánchez Cerén, it has been blocked constantly, even to the point of suspending
its launch on more than five occasions.
In the same way, we denounce the way in
which the process of construction of the Plan Pies has been carried out, which
has been elaborated by the indigenista
NGO CCNIS, which calls itself the coordinator and national and international
representative of the indigenous peoples of El Salvador. This plan has been supported by the
Chancellery of the Republic of El Salvador, the Salvadoran Institute of Land
and Agriculture (ISTA), FAO, FIDA and the United Nations itself. For this Plan,
no consultations were officially held with the Indigenous Peoples, just as
there never was an inclusive process where all the different organizations and
indigenous communities of the country will be taken into account in an integral
manner.
The same situation occurred with the
Foreign Ministry, which ended up excluding a representative number of
indigenous communities by biasing their support to the indigenous NGO, NCNIS,
to the extent that, on the advice of the CCNIS, obstacles have been placed to
launch the National Policy on Indigenous Peoples. The election of a new representative of the
Indigenous Fund has been prevented, Amadeo Martínez being the same
representative since 1999 (almost 20 years) without open and democratic
elections where indigenous communities are called to elect a new
representative, which converts Amadeo Martínez into a dictator who refuses to
leave office.
That is why as Salvadoran Indigenous
Peoples we believe that the State of El Salvador should be impartial and stop
favoring the CCNIS, since that favoritism does not allow for the processes of
cohesion and community collaboration of the indigenous constituencies.
That the CCNIS stop halting the launching
of the Public Policy of Indigenous Peoples since this blockade only makes the
original communities more invisible and hinders the processes of revitalization
of our culture.
That is explained to us why the National
Coordinating Council of the Salvadoran Indigenous CCNIS influences internally
from within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other State institutions to
obstruct or control the decisions in the work that corresponds to the Ministry
of Culture, when according to article 35 of the Law of Culture of El Salvador,
the cultural issue as well as the indigenous issue is established to be under
the purview of the Ministry of Culture.
That it be explained to us and an audit
be conducted regarding the funds of the Indigenous Fund that have always been
diverted to CCNIS since 1999, in order to know how they were expended and what
benefit has been delivered to the Salvadoran Original Peoples, because to date
for almost 20 years, our communities they have not received any benefit.
We ask for the opening of an
investigation to the Salvadoran Institute of Land and Agriculture (ISTA) who
has manipulated institutional documents to the detriment of the Ministry of
Culture in order to obtain a fund of $ 75 thousand dollars for the Plan Pies
seeking to favor its exclusive implementation with the CCNIS and to exclude the
indigenous communities of the country.
As Indigenous Peoples we also demand that
the Foreign Ministry immediately call for open, democratic and transparent
elections to elect a new representative of the Indigenous Fund and to end once
and for all with the 20-year dictatorship of Mr. Amadeo Martínez.
That it be investigated who is the person
within the Ministry of the Interior of El Salvador that has held meetings with
representatives of certain groups, with the aim of dismantling the Directorate
of Indigenous Peoples of the Ministry of Culture and thus affecting the work
carried out by the Multi-sectorial department of the Indigenous Peoples.
That it be investigated who are the
people or the group that is behind the threats to the president of the Republic
Salvador Sánchez Cerén, who expressed his concern during his visit to the
indigenous municipality of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Sonsonate, last July
affirming that "whenever someone tries to launch the National Policy for
Indigenous Peoples, is always threatened by a group that claims they will take
to the streets and generate destabilization."
Finally, we want to add two Internet
links with news articles that show how the CCNIS has blocked both the launch of
the National Policy on Indigenous Peoples, and the Harmonized Plan for
Indigenous Peoples.
The Indigenous Peoples of El Salvador are
united and working together for the good of the future of our communities and stand
firm to defend our rights.
Sincerely,
NATIONAL NETWORK OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF
EL SALVADOR
"THE SMILING JAGUAR"
"THE SMILING JAGUAR"
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