Current status of the Asociación General de Estudiantes Salvadoreños (AGEUS) [SLV18548.E]

Information on the current status of the Asociación General de Estudiantes Salvadoreños (AGEUS) among the sources currently available to the DIRB is scarce.

In October 1992 leaders of student gangs in the Salvadoran capital began talks to end the rising incidence of violent street fights between students of both public and private schools (IPS 8 Oct. 1992). Under the supervision of young members of the former rebel group Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and AGEUS, representatives of each gang met at the University of El Salvador to seek ways to stop the bloody street brawls and redefine the role of the gangs (ibid.). An AGEUS leader said the truce was not the solution to the problem but "the start of discussions to find solutions." He added that breaking up the gangs would not solve the situation, but encouraging students to engage in more constructive activities would (ibid.).

Gang leaders agreed to create a commission with three representatives from each school, and continue negotiations with the help of the FMLN and AGEUS (ibid.).

In mid-1993 coordinated law enforcement operations between the army and police forces began. The president of El Salvador described the armed forces' participation as a dissuasive presence aimed at reducing crime and giving more confidence to the National Police and PNC (El Rescate 19-26 July 1993). The United Nations Observer Mission, ONUSAL, conveyed "some apprehensions" to the Cristiani administration about the patrols' compatibility with the Military Doctrine, which restricts the armed forces role to the defence of national sovereignty (ibid.). The General Association of Salvadoran University Students (AGEUS) filed a suit with the Supreme Court on July 19 challenging the constitutionality of the deployments (ibid.).

On 20 October 1994 AGEUS denounced the detention of FMLN leader Joaquin Villalobos, stating among other things that the judicial system had once again shown inconsistency in the administration of justice (El Rescate 20 Oct. 1994). AGEUS added that the detention of Villalobos showed that the people brought before the courts are not the guilty parties, just those who are courageous enough to denounce crimes (ibid.).

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References


El Rescate Human Rights Department, San Salvador. 20 October 1994. "Cronología del Proceso Contra Joaquín Villalobos." (WEB)

_____. 19-26 July 1993. Report From El Salvador. (WEB)

Inter Press Service (IPS). 8 October 1992. "Student Gangs Hold Talks to End Street Violence." (WEB)

Additional Sources Consulted

Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. Bi-monthly.

Central America Report [Guatemala City]. Weekly.

Central America Update [Toronto]. Monthly.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Weekly.

Latin American Weekly Report [London]. Weekly.

Latin American Regional Reports: Central America & the Caribbean [London]. Monthly.

News from Americas Watch [New York]. Monthly.

The Europa World Year Book. Yearly.

Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly.

Encyclopedia of the Third World. 1987.

Amnesty International Report. Yearly.

Keesing's Record of World Events. Yearly.

Current History [Philadelphia]. Monthly.

Political Handbook of the World. Yearly.

Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook. 1988-present. Yearly.

World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties. 1987. 2nd ed.

Political Parties of the World. 1988. 3rd ed.

Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.

Newspapers and periodicals pertaining to the appropriate region.

On-line searches of news articles.
Note on oral sources:
Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information currently available." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable.

Note:

This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.