1) Role of the Evangelical Church vis-à-vis the guerrilla movement and the military in El Salvador; 2) The law concerning military service; 3) Guerrilla and military activity in the Usulatan department

1) The IRB Documentation Centre has little information on specific relations between the Evangelical Church and the guerrilla movement and the military. In El Salvador's Other Victims: The War on the Displaced, the Lawyers Committee for International Human Rights and Americas Watch report an incident (see attachment) in which relief workers with the La Resurrección Lutheran Church were abducted by the National Police and accused of aiding the guerrillas. Both Americas Watch and the Christian Urgent Action Network for Emergency Support (CUANES) report extensive human rights abuses perpetrated against religious workers and persons affiliated with religious organizations in El Salvador by the Salvadorian Army. [Americas Watch, The Civilian Toll 1986-1987, (New York: Americas Watch, 1987), pp. 171-3, and Christian Urgent Network for Emergency Support, CUANES Update, March/April 1988, pp. 3-5.] According to these reports, abuses include the deportation and harassment of foreign clergy involved in the resettlement of refugees, detention of clergy and disruption of religious processions. Individuals active in Christian communities and progressive programmes sponsored by the Catholic Church have been detained and some have disappeared.

In December 1988, a powerful bomb exploded in the Lutheran Church in San Salvador. Afterwards, leaders of the Church received threats because of their alleged support of tahe guerrillas. [United Nations, Final Report to the Commission on Human Rights 1988/65, (Geneva: United Nations, Economic and Social Council, 2 February 1989), p.12.] A Canadian church worker, working with returned refugees at a Lutheran Church mission outside San Salvador, was injured in an explosion in January 1989. He feels that there is no doubt that the Salvadorian military was responsible for the explosion. [Charlotte Montgomery, "Wounded Canadian Foresees More Brutality: Any Prospective Findings by El Salvador Would be a Joke, Church Worker Says,: The Globe and Mail [Toronto], 21 March 1989, p.A12.]

2) Please find attached a copy of The Civilian Toll, (Washington: Americas Watch, August 1987), pp. 108-111, and two previous responses on the subject dated 16 May and 19 June 1989. These documents provide information on military recruitment in El Salvador, and indicate that the law has not changed in the past three years. The documents also show that El Salvador has no provisions for conscientious objection to military service, and objectors are treated as deserters. Forced recruitment is practised, reportedly most frequently among lower-income men of draft age (18-30 years) or younger, although avoidance of military service can be bought. Also attached is an article which appeared in The New York Times on 21 April 1989 describing the recruitment practices of the Salvadorean Armed Forces.

3. The FMLN began an offensive in September 1988 which continued through the election victory of the ARENA party in March 1989 and continues the present time. A news report (attached) from 11 April 1989 mentions FMLN activities in a "relatively new area of guerrilla fighting ... El Tigre mountain in Usultan". A report from 8 June 1989 (attached) discusses fighting in Tierra Blanca, Usulutan. Another article from Against the Current mentions FMLN attacks in all fourteen provinces just before the election of 19 March. Available sources indicate that guerrilla activity has been quite heavy in Usulutan in 1989.