jym@mica.berkeley.edu (Jym Dyer) (03/16/91)
[From ACTIV-L] > From: JASKE@bat.bates.edu > Subject: Emergency Situation in El Salvador EMERGENCY SITUATION IN EL SALVADOR!!! On Monday March 11 Salvadorean Telecommunications and Treasury Ministry workers went on strike. They are represented by the two following unions (respectively) ASTEL and AGHEMA. As of today, Tuesday March 12, all the work places have been occupied by Treasury Police, well known as the the brutal political police of El Salvador. A most urgent situation is taking place in La Delera where 75 police have surrounded a work site which has 25-30 striking workers inside. At the moment this is all the information available. More concrete information will be posted as it arrives. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Call or telex the following numbers demanding: (1) The demilitarization of the workplace (2) Respect for the right of workers to strike US Ambassador Walker: 011-503-267100 (voice) 011-503-20657 (telex) National Police: 011-503-714422 (voice) 011-503-20459 (telex) THANKS!!
Dennis G. Rears <drears@pica.army.mil> (03/19/91)
Jim Dywer writes: > EMERGENCY SITUATION IN EL SALVADOR!!! > On Monday March 11 Salvadorean Telecommunications and Treasury > Ministry workers went on strike. They are represented by the two > following unions (respectively) ASTEL and AGHEMA. > As of today, Tuesday March 12, all the work places have been occupied > by Treasury Police, well known as the the brutal political police of Well known by whom? > El Salvador. > WHAT YOU CAN DO: > Call or telex the following numbers demanding: > (1) The demilitarization of the workplace > (2) Respect for the right of workers to strike > > followed by a list of numbers Why should we? What business is it of ours (U.S.A)? I presume the Salvadorean Telecommunications and Treasury Ministry workers are government employees. Does the Salvadorean law give government workers the right to strike? American government workers areen't allowed to strike. If not they are breaking the law and should be treated as such. Telephone service is a necessity and if the workers are striking they potentialy could cause harm to the national security. I am not advocating physical or illegal harm to the strikers, but give us some more information. Have the police actually done anything? Is the strike legal? What are the issues? Blindly calling for actions without full knowledge of the situation is unconscionable. It is so typical of Americans to rush in and "save" people while only superficially knowing why there are doing it in the first place. Dennis [Moderator's Note: When I ran the original message Monday morning, I considered adding a disclaimer saying I was presenting it for the telecom news involved; i.e. possible disruption of service, etc; but decided to let it pass as submitted. This forum is of course not a good one for discussion of US intervention in the affairs of other nations, so maybe we should let the matter die gracefully. Thanks. PAT]