Photos from the 6th Restorative Justice Tribunal, Santa Marta, El Salvador
Celebrated March 26-28, 2015, in Santa Marta, Cabañas, the 6th International Tribunal for Restorative Justice in El Salvador brought together survivors of human rights violations committed during the country’s civil war to share their stories and call for justice. Read the Resolution of the Tribunal and experience the atmosphere of the event in this photo essay created for the UW Center for Human Rights as part of their Unfinished Sentences Initiative, and Keny Sibrian of IDHUCA. Translation by Ursula Mosqueira of Unfinished Sentences.
This essay can also be found on the Unfinished Sentences website.
Since 2009, survivors of human rights violations committed before and during El Salvador’s civil war have gathered each year to share their stories and demand justice for the crimes committed against them and their loved ones. This year, the Tribunal was celebrated in the community of Santa Marta in the department of Cabañas, target of a series of brutal scorched earth operations by the military of El Salvador during the 1980s.
Community members view photos containing messages of solidarity and support sent by Washington State residents. Washington played an important role in the sanctuary and sister parish movement of the 1980s as show of solidarity for Salvadorans and opposition to the US-funded war. Small, though significant, strides toward justice have recently reinvigorated international support.
Clare Morrison, a University of Washington undergraduate studying Law, Societies, and Justice, reads messages of solidarity and support from Washington State residents with Santa Marta youth outside of the Tribunal.
Psychologists Alejandro Durán and Sara Velásquez work to assist residents with registration as they listen to testimonies of human rights violations committed during the armed conflict from 1980-1992.
Liliana Rivas, an attorney working with the Institute of Human Rights at the Central American University in San Salvador (IDHUCA), and Mercedes Alfaro from the victim’s committee of Tecoluca, San Vicente, embrace each other in a greeting at the Tribunal’s inception. Since 1985, IDHUCA has worked in the promotion, protection, and defense of human rights in El Salvador; in the absence of judicial action by the state, IDHUCA initiated the International Tribunal for Restorative Justice in 2009.
Carlos Bonilla, a longtime resident, survivor, and leader of the Santa Marta community, reads the headline of local paper “Abriendo Brecha,” declaring how the right-wing Arena party lost more than 5,000 votes in Cabañas in El Salvador’s recent election. Sánchez Céren, the FMLN candidate, narrowly won the March runoff election with just under 6,400 votes.
Bishop Luis Quintanilla commences the Tribunal with a special mass emphasizing the importance of fighting impunity. He stands in front of one of two murals in the community center depicting town life and the massacres inflicted upon Salvadorans at the hands of the military. Quintanilla mentioned recent threats he received, apparently in retaliation for his outspoken opposition to metals mining in Cabañas.
Tribunal Secretary Elí Callejas stands in front of the audience alongside the panel of judges as a special prayer honors victims and commences the ceremony. Photo by Keny Sibrián.
University of Washington undergraduate Clare Morrison and graduate student Ursula Mosqueira attend the tribunal as part of their research in historical memory and human rights. Students at the University of Washington Center for Human Rights conduct research to support the casework being advanced by partners at the Central American University’s Institute of Human Rights (IDHUCA).
Staff from the Institute of Human Rights at the Central American University (IDHUCA), listen as victims of human rights violations give testimony. The International Tribunal provides the space for many victims to share their personal stories of human rights violations to a public audience for the first time.
Francisco Antonio Rivas of COPPES, the Committee of Ex-Political Prisoners of El Salvador, gives testimony about his experience as a torture survivor. COPPES was formed by political prisoners while still behind bars as a way to organize in defense of their rights. It is estimated that thousands were subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, and imprisonment without trial during the armed conflict.
Maria Guadalupe Alfaro gives testimony to lawyer Karla Salas. Santa Marta residents suffered brutality from the Salvadoran military’s “scorched earth” tactics. Under the guise of counterinsurgency warfare, the military and its paramilitary supporters slaughtered thousands of civilians, also destroying their homes, crops, and livestock.
José María Tomás y Tío, president of the Tribunal. Tomás y Tío serves as a magistrate in Valencia, Spain, and presides over the Fundación por la Justicia. He has led the Restorative Justice Tribunal since its inception. This year the panel contained seven representatives from Brazil, Spain, the United States, and El Salvador.
After giving his testimony, Francisco Antonio Rivas stands with the members of the Tribunal panel for a closing photograph. The group includes Mirla Carvajal, Director of the well-known Salvadoran human rights organization Asociación Pro-Búsqueda, second from left.
Óscar Garza of COPPES, the Committee of Ex-Political Prisoners of El Salvador, addresses the audience during an open discussion at the Tribunal. Many members of victims’ organizations from around the country travelled to Santa Marta to attend the proceedings in support of those coming forward to testify for the first time. Photo by Keny Sibrián.
Santa Marta residents listen to testimony by the survivor of the Massacre of Santa Cruz at the International Tribunal. Massacre of Santa Cruz involved a multi-day military sweep in the state of Cabañas in which the army and air forces razed villages and killed fleeing civilians.
Hand-written messages of support from Washington State residents hang from the back wall at the Tribunal, carrying statements such as, “In Solidarity with the survivors…No more impunity!” and, “You have the right to know what happened to your loved ones.”
Santa Marta residents weather the high temperatures and the crowd to attend the International Tribunal.
Santa Marta residents listen to testimonies at the standing room-only proceedings of the Tribunal.
Santa Marta residents watch the Tribunal proceedings.
Following her sister’s testimony, Ana Masín hugs a Santa Marta resident while carrying a photo of Febe Velásquez, a victim of the 1989 FENASTRAS bombing in San Salvador. Similar expressions of relief and gratitude were common at the conclusion of the testimony-giving process.
A Santa Marta resident listens to the closing resolution from the International Restorative Justice Tribunal, which delivered symbolic verdicts in response to each testimony, as well as recommendations calling on national and international authorities to ensure justice and reparations for grave human rights abuses.
Tribunal attendees line up for coffee and cookies during one of the Tribunal’s intermissions. Santa Marta residents organized to provide shelter and three meals a day, plus snacks, for close to three hundred attendees. Many of the town’s residents woke up at 4am to begin cooking for the communal 7:30am breakfast.
Andreu Oliva, S.J., Rector of the University of Central America, addresses the audience during the Tribunal. Among other things, he pledged the university’s ongoing support for the Tribunal as a key example of community-driven justice processes.
Regina Gámez Rivas holds a rainstick in a “dinámica,” or group activity, held by IDHUCA psychologists after the Tribunal closure. Gamez Rivas gave testimony on the execution of her father by the Honduran military while her family lived in Honduran refugee camps. She is also one of the founders of the “Las Dignas,” a Salvadoran political feminist organization.
Tribunal participants and rush toward the center of the circle in a “dinámica,” or group activity, held by IDHUCA psychologists during the Tribunal closure to provide a more lighthearted counterbalance to the weight of event testimonies. Photo by Keny Sibrián.
Flags for the FMLN from the recent election fly above Santa Marta’s central town square as teenage residents walk home after the Tribunal’s closure.
“For the dignification of the fallen victims of the armed conflict.” Community members hung multiple banners around the central town plaza emphasizing the importance of honoring truth and historical memory.
Santa Marta community leaders organized a series of nightly cultural events that included traditional dance, drama, and musical performance, including a memorable hip hop performance by local teen José Moisés Ayala Ayala. Most of the performances incorporated storytelling of wartime atrocities and survival, highlighting the importance of the local arts in preserving historical memory.
Santa Marta residents and students from the “October 31, 1987” educational complex participate in the candlelight vigil at the Tribunal’s closure.
Santa Marta residents attend the candlelit procession and vigil, honoring the relatives and victims of those who gave testimony. Attendees were encouraged to step forward to offer final words of remembrance for lost loved ones.