Mar
Human Rights
Organizations concerned about Father Miguel in Arcatao
Several organizations signed and released the following statement expressing concern about the wellbeing of father “Miguelito” as he is known in the area of Arcatao:
We have always been told that “Christ died for the truth”, also for telling the truth Saint Romero of America and Blessed Rutilio Grande died more than four decades ago, along with religious men and women who opposed the unjust structures prevailing before and during the war in the country. We cannot now allow Father Miguelito, as we affectionately know the Jesuit Miguel Ángel Vásquez Hernández, to run the risk of becoming one more martyr for speaking the truth, after having delivered his brave homily in which he denounced last Sunday, March 7th of this year, what he has described as “the dirty maneuver of those who find in corruption and vote buying the way to reach power.”
In the midst of an environment as tense as the one that prevails today, with total power concentrated in a single person and a base that “blindly” follows him, we are concerned that someone will attack those who dare to put their finger in the sore of the questionable official performance in various aspects of national life. Father Miguelito just did that and, because of that, we fear for his integrity.
Despite the danger of speaking out clearly and directly, he assures that he has documented numerous cases of vote buying in the municipalities of Arcatao and Nueva Trinidad, Chalatenango. The person responsible for this dirty conspiracy has attacked him. Likewise, he affirms that a Salvadoran migrant residing in the United States and a Nuevas Ideas’ elected councilor threatened a community member and sent him a message through her “that priest should take off his coat and leave”.
Father Miguelito also attests that the mayor nominated by said party was “elected” through fraud of which he has proof. These are the basis of the accusations that the Jesuit priest has made public, exposing himself to any type of aggression. He also states that members of the Army installed in the territory, “following orders from above” and due to the militarization of the border, selectively denied passage to the Salvadoran population living in Honduras who wanted to exercise their right to vote.
The probability of a fatality occurring in this political environment does not end only with Father Miguelito. There are also risks for the people and communities that, in those municipalities, have been identified as opponents of the government for having expressed their disagreement with its management, for questioning illegalities prior to last Sunday, February 28, for denouncing what happened that day or because they have shown their preference for a political party different than the official one.
For all the above, those of us who sign this statement with concern urge Father Vásquez Hernández to report these actions to the Attorney General’s Office so that it may proceed accordingly. It is important and strategic at the present time to continue setting precedents in the fight against impunity, through citizen empowerment and institutional functioning.
Likewise, we call on the country’s social organizations and independent national media, as well as international entities and intergovernmental human rights organizations, to express their affective and effective solidarity with both Father MIguelito and his congregation of Arcatao and Nueva Trinidad. This must be translated into social and political vigilance of what is happening in those communities, in supportive and fraternal accompaniment, and in urgent action to prevent irreparable and regrettable acts within this framework.
In making this statement, we cannot ignore our deep concern over the murder of Concepción Varela, who was a candidate for municipal mayor of Nueva Trinidad for the National Conciliation Party (PCN). He was considered missing for three days, before the elections. We demand an exhaustive investigation from the competent authorities, through which the motives for this serious event are clarified and those responsible are punished.
Finally, we call for sanity and responsibility on the part of the authorities. If there is a commitment to maintaining peace and respecting human rights, it is not admissible that once again the freedoms of the population and their dignity are put at risk.
San Salvador, Wednesday March 10, 2021.
