Ex-commander speaks on plight of El Salvador

Monday, February 8, 1999

Ex-commander speaks on plight of El Salvador

PRESENTATION: Organizers seek to draw attention to unstable
country, unite Salvadoran population

By Karla Y. Pleitez

Daily Bruin Contributor

The ex-commander of a predominant military group in El Salvador
spoke about the political conditions in his country at UCLA on
Thursday evening.

Mario Cuella, a third-year sociology student from El Salvador,
organized the event hoping to unite the UCLA Salvadoran population.
He said that he wanted to give his peers the resources to aid them
in getting in touch with their country’s roots.

"There’s no Salvadoran education or statistics (available to the
public)," Cuella said. "I just hope lectures like this can help
bring our community together."

Cuella, with the help of Raymond Rocco, a UCLA professor of
Latin American politics, organized a talk with Dagoberto
Guitierrez, a former commander of the Salvadoran civil war, to
speak about the conditions there.

It has been seven years since a 12-year civil war ended. The two
factions involved in the war were the Ejercito, the government; and
the Farabundo Marti National Liberacion (FMLN), a political group
that fights for the rights of the poor.

El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, but it
has the highest population density. It has a history of civil war
and U.S. intervention in its domestic affairs.

Organizers of the event said that the presentation was
fundamental in providing education to a campus that often lacks
information on Latin American.

"A Salvadoran community exists in Los Angeles, but it is very
difficult to find situations or events where we can come together
and talk about our roots," said David Arriaza, a worker at the UCLA
admissions office. Rocco agreed that more information needs to be
put out on the Latino population for the Los Angeles community.

"Los Angeles us the largest Latin American populated city in the
U.S., but the university has little representation on the subject
despite the struggle since the ’60s,"he said.

"It is true that more has been done than in the past, but it
seems that the education and further development of the Latino
community is not a high priority for the university," he said.

Guitierrez, the ex-commander of the FMLN party, said the
Salvadoran government was stripping its people of their basic human
rights. He and others said it is necessary to fight for
justice.

Guitierrez talked to a group of 20 about a war that destroyed El
Salvador and the "peace" that only exists in the media.

"Our country does not have peace," Guitierrez said. "El Salvador
does not have a democratic government, and the poverty of our
people is huge despite the fact that the Salvadoran government
controls the bank in Central America."

Salvadorans who attended said presentations like these are
essential because it is rare to get information on what’s going on
in their own country and the Salvadoran population of
California.

"It is important that we come together and inform one another of
the resources available to keep in touch with our heritage,
language and culture so that we do not feel isolated in this
foreign land," Arriaza said.

Students, faculty and non-UCLA affiliates who attended said that
this talk helped them learn about regions of the world that are
often neglected by the media.

"Washington intervened in a war without fully knowing all the
facts," said Shawheen Hazrati, who attended the presentation.

"If Washington had not intervened, the war would not have had
the funds to last 12 years. We need to become more aware so we can
stop our government from creating injustices like this," he
said.

Guitierrez concluded his talk by emphasizing that higher
education is essential to having a wider perspective on politics.
He said that it is in universities that individuals come an
understanding of what rights they will defend in life.

"Salvadoran students in the U.S. are an extension of la patria,"
Guitierrez said.

"It is important that they never forget their people and defend
their culture and language because by doing so they are defending
their souls," he added.CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin

Salvadoran ex-commander Dagoberto Guitierrez spoke of the lack
of media coverage on Latin American issues.

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