COMMITTEE IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF EL SALVADOR [CISPES] RECEIVES HONORS FROM FMLN IN CENTRAL AMERICA; CISPES MEMBERS ARE GIVEN MEDALS IN CEREMONY IN CAPITAL

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In Los Angeles: 323-852-0721

In El Salvador: 011-503-7738-8130

Marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front [FMLN] in El Salvador, the party awarded medals to CISPES, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador during ceremonies in the capital on Sunday.

The FMLN, the guerilla force turned left

opposition political party in El Salvador, cited the 25 years of solidarity of CISPES and their key role in the progressive victories achieved in Central America.

Contact: Burke Stansbury, 011 503 7738 8130

CISPES, celebrating its own 25th year as a leading US solidarity organization, declared open, public solidarity with the FMLN in 1980.

CISPES is regularly reviled in the Salvadoran right

wing press, and several members have been denied entry into El Salvador or deported from the country in the past few years by government authorities. The FBI

under Ronald Reagan subjected CISPES to the most

extensive domestic counter-terrorism investigation of

the 1980's. But what has earned the group the hatred

of rightists, US and Salvadoran, has also won it a

place of honor at the FMLN's Anniversary Celebration.

"CISPES began in 1980 - the same year as the founding of the FMLN, the murder of Archbishop Romero and the four US Church women," according to CISPES Executive Director, Burke Stansbury who is in El Salvador to receive the award. "While the Reagan and Bush administrations gave over $6 billion to their

murderers, we led the movement to cut military aid.

Since the war ended in 1992, Clinton and Bush Jr. have pushed an economic package on El Salvador that has created more poverty and only benefited US

corporations. We led the fight in the US that almost

defeated CAFTA. The FMLN is honoring us for standing with them against our government for the past 25 years", Stansbury added.

Cherrene Horazuk, former CISPES Executive Director,

who also attended the ceremonies explained: "To

CISPES, solidarity means that the poor and working

people in the US and El Salvador have common

interests, and we need to unite politically". She

pointed to the campaign against CAFTA as an example of that unity.

The events in El Salvador come on the heels of the

tragedy of Hurricane Stan, which has left scores dead

and tens of thousands homeless. The FMLN has

denounced the government response and made a call for international aid. The party has decided to go ahead with the anniversary events as scheduled - with

representatives from all over world arriving over the

weekend - while continuing to focus on relief for

flood victims.

Don White, active in CISPES since 1980, will also be

honored individually by the FMLN. He pointed to the

current flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Stan.

"The Salvadoran government's response has been as

criminally inadequate as Bush's was to Katrina. The

horrible extent of such tragedies is a result of

government policies as much as the hurricane itself."

Interviews with CISPES members in El Salvador for the

FMLN Anniversary are available by calling the above

number.

Burke Stansbury--New York--Executive Director

Cherrene Horazuk--St Paul, MN--Executive Director

1995-2003