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CISPES ACTION
ALERT
September 20,
2007
US
Embassy Declares Salvadoran Union?s Anti-Privatization Work
?Dangerous? to U.S.
Public
**Take
Action to demand that the U.S. government stop
denying visas to opposition
voices!**
On Thursday 20, the
U.S. Embassy in El
Salvador denied Salvadoran union leader Maria
de los Angeles Pleitez Carcamo a visa
to come on a speaking tour of the U.S. Pleitez is
scheduled to participate in CISPES?s ?We Are Not Terrorists,
Organizing is Our Right!? tour from Oct 16-31. During the tour
Pleitez will talk about her union?s work to stop the privatization
of the public health care system and the increasing repression that
social movement and union leaders are suffering from the Salvadoran
government.
On the morning of
September 20, Pleitez went to the U.S. Consulate in San Salvador
and presented all of her documents, including proof of work, family
ties, and over a dozen letters of invitation from Congressional
Representatives and other community groups. In the visa
interview, the U.S. consular
representative questioned Pleitez about her ties to CISPES and her
union work. The official rejection letter cited lack of
?economic and social ties? to El Salvador, but the interviewing
officer made it clear that the rejection was a political decision
when he concluded the interview, saying ?this is very delicate situation?you cannot
travel because we need to protect U.S. security.?
Pleitez believes she
was denied the visa because the U.S. government does not want people
in the United
States to know about repression against the
social movement and union leaders in El
Salvador. Pleitez is a
national leader in the Salvadoran General Hospitals Union
(SIGEESAL), and SIGEESAL has recently been targeted for its work to
stop privatization. On September 4, eight SIGEESAL members
were illegally arrested for participating in a demonstration against
the privatization of the national health care system. A number
of other organizations have also been attacked for their activism
recently. In July, 14 people were arrested in Suchitoto for
participating in a peaceful protest against the privatization of
water. Those protesters are being charged with ?terrorist
acts? and face up to 60 years of prison. The SIGEESAL
activists are being charged with public disorder and could also face
years in prison.
The U.S. Embassy in El
Salvador is contributing to the repression of the social movement
and union organizing by denying this visa and not allowing Ms.
Pleitez to tell their stories in the United States As
long as the U.S. government is supporting this repression in El
Salvador it is critical that communities in the U.S. be allowed to
meet with people like Pleitez to share experiences and build common
strategies. The only ?danger? we face is allowing the
government to keep us uninformed! Take action to demand that the
U.S. Consulate grant Ms. Pleitez a visa
immediately.
TAKE
ACTION!
1.
Write
to the Consul General of the US Embassy in El
Salvador to demand that Pleitez
immediately be granted a visa.
Write to Carl Cockburn, Consul
General -Fax: 011(503)2278-5522, or e-mail to congensansal@xxxxxxxxx
(see
below for sample fax)
2.
Report
back on your discussion or send a copy of your message and any reply
to the CISPES National Office: cispes@xxxxxxxxxx.
Sample
Fax/Email:
*
Organizations and Unions, please send letter on institutional
letterhead.
To: Carl S. Cockburn,
Consul General
US Embassy,
El
Salvador
011-503-2278-5522
September 20,
2007
Dear Mr. Carl S.
Cockburn,
I am writing to
express my concern about your office?s decision to deny Ms. Maria de
los
Angeles Pleitez Carcamo her visa on September
20. Ms. Pleitez has been invited to tour the
United States
this fall, and she has gone through all the appropriate steps to
secure a visa to enter the U.S. She appeared
at the Embassy with the necessary documentation, including written
invitations from U.S. Congressional Representatives, unions, and
other organizations, as well as proof of her multiple years of
employment in El
Salvador.
All of this evidence
is more than enough to prove Ms. Pleitez?s ties to El Salvador, and
therefore I question the official letter of denial stating that she
has not proven ties to El Salvador (under section 214(b) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act.) CISPES, the organization
inviting Ms. Pleitez for the tour, has been organizing events like
these for over 27 years and has never had anyone overstay their
visa.
In fact, the
statements of the Consul General ? that Ms. Pleitez can not travel
to the U.S. ?for the security of
the country? ? make the political dimensions of the decision
obvious. In her role as a union leader Ms. Pleitez and her
fellow union members have been targets of recent police repression
and arrests due to their resistance to government privatization
plans, and the U.S. government has
apparently decided to further silence those who express opposition
to government policy.
It is shameful that
the U.S.
government, through the Consul General?s office, is denying people
in the U.S. the
right to learn directly from Salvadorans about the issues facing
worker people in Latin
America. I insist that Ms. Pleitez be issued
a visa immediately so that she can arrive in the U.S. in time for the
October tour.
Thank you for your
prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
[name and
organization/affiliation]
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