El Salvador: Mistreatment of FMLN youth since the 1992 peace accords, and the drive-by shooting of an FMLN youth member in Chalatenango in May 1998
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV32028.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Mistreatment of FMLN youth since the 1992 peace accords, and the drive-by shooting of an FMLN youth member in Chalatenango in May 1998, 1 June 1999, SLV32028.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aac088.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The information that follows was provided by a representative of the FMLN youth (Juventud del FMLN) during a 10 June 1999 telephone interview.
Since the peace accords, many FMLN members have been robbed, attacked, injured and killed. This has occurred as the country is affected by increasingly intense and violent crime; however, there is a possibility that some attacks could have had some political motivation, since the motives for every attack are not always clear or conclusively determined.
Since the peace accords, three killings of FMLN youth members have been unequivocally proven to have been politically motivated: during the 1994 electoral campaign, two members were attacked by a group of right-wing party militants, and during the 1997 electoral campaign, one was killed when a grenade was thrown at him.
During electoral campaigns, more incidents of clearly political violence occur. Although the 1999 presidential campaign was relatively peaceful as a result of an agreement between opposing candidates, a number of confrontations and aggressions against FMLN youth members took place in San Salvador and throughout the country. There were no deaths reported during this last campaign, but a number of militants were injured, including the son of the vice-presidential candidate.
Outside electoral campaigns, the FMLN youth is generally impeded from effectively participating in the political process. The political hierarchy is largely dominated by older persons, and the media generally does not provide space for left-wing political expression, much less by the leftist youth. This leaves only the streets to express and demonstrate, and in this venue the FMLN youth often encounter opposition and police repression.
Both the central FMLN youth office in San Salvador and the FMLN office in Chalatenango were unable to verify within the time constraints of this Response whether an attack against an FMLN youth member took place in May 1998. However, the sources indicated that this does not necessarily mean the attack did not take place, but rather that a witness or a record of it is not readily available to either source.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below a list of additional sources consulted in researching this information request.
Reference
FMLN Youth office, San Salvador. 10 June 1999. Telephone interview with coordinator.
Additional Sources Consulted
FMLN office, Chalatenango.
Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 1998.
Central America Report [Guatemala City]. 1998.
Electronic sources: IRB databases, REFWORLD, Internet, WNC.
Note:
This list is not exhaustive. It does not include publications available in the Resource Centre.
