Program
Archbishop Oscar Romero
Seeking Justice for the Assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero
Program of Events
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 18, 2004
USC & SANA Educational Forum 4:00-6:00pm
Matt Eisenbrandt & Almudena Bernabeu (CJA) & Joseph Palacios, PhD (The Center for Religion & Civic Culture)
USC University Religious Center
Fish Bowl Chapel
835 W. 34th St
Los Angeles, CA 90089
(Parking in Structure D, Gate 4 off Jefferson)
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2004
Immanuel Presbyterian Church
3300 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Hosted by La Clinica Mons. Romero Forum 6:00-8:00pm
Eduardo Gonzalez (Clinica Romero), Almudena Bernabeu & Matt Eisenbrandt (CJA)SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2004
All Saints Church
132 N Euclid Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101
Forum at All Saints Church - 10:15am
Almudena Bernabeu & Matt Eisenbrandt (CJA) & Nico van Aelstyn (Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, LLP.)
Followed by Lunch at Noon
Pupusas & other Salvadoran delicacies
The Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA), based in San Francisco, works to deter torture and other severe human rights abuses around the world by helping survivors hold their persecutors accountable. CJA is the leading center in the United States that tracks down human rights abusers in the U.S. and brings civil suits against them. CJA also provides information and training to U.S. and other government agencies to help them pursue and prosecute human rights abusers within their borders. Amnesty International and others estimate that hundreds of human rights abusers now live in the United States, and dozens more visit every year.
Matthew Eisenbrandt, CJA’s Litigation Director, and Almudena Bernabeu, CJA’s International Attorney, led the investigation of the Romero assassination and served as co-counsel at trial.
Nico van Aelstyn, a partner with the law firm of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP, served as the lead trial counsel on a pro-bono basis.
For more information please contact Sonia Estival at (415) 544-0444 x303 or sestival@cja.org
Seeking Justice for the Assassination of Archbishop Romero and Other Crimes Against Humanity
For the first time in 25 years, an individual has been held accountable for the assassination of Archbishop Romero. Under a little-known U.S. law that permits civil suits against persons who have committed human rights violations in other countries if they live in or visit the United States, a federal judge, on September 3rd, found Alvaro Rafael Saravia, a former Salvadoran air force captain, liable for his key role in organizing the killing. The judge ruled that the crime constituted a crime against humanity, ordered Saravia to pay $10 million in damages, and made a factual finding that death squad leader Roberto D’Aubuisson was the “mastermind”.
Maria Julia Hernandez, Director of Tutela Legal, the Legal Aid Office of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, and a trial witness: “The fact that a foreign court has exercised justice in a proper manner, by ruling on those responsible for the assassination of Monsignor Romero, obliges the judicial system of our country to answer other cases. … It is time to stop believing the false notion that bringing justice is opening old wounds. These wounds were never healed. True justice is what builds peace. The legislators should repeal the amnesty law, so that justice can be done.” Co-Latino, 9.07.04
Fernando Saenz Lacalle, Archbishop of San Salvador: The judge’s finding “could help with the process of Romero's beatification, a possibility studied by the Vatican since 1994.” Reuters, Sept. 7, 2004
Dr. Francisco Acosta, a trial witness whose brother’s life was saved by Archbishop Romero and who founded the Archbishop Romero University in El Salvador: “For us, Oscar Romero was like Martin Luther King for the United States, or Gandhi for India. I knew that the opportunity to tell the truth in a legal court of the most powerful country in the world would help to provide a sense of closure for all of Salvadoran society. At last, steps have been taken to reverse impunity for human rights violators.
Robert White, U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador 1980-81, and a trial witness: “It is of great importance to hold those responsible for the killing of Archbishop Romero accountable in a court of law in the U.S. This serves both as an example of what a free, democratic society can achieve by way of justice, and also as atonement because, in many ways, we encouraged this violence and certainly did very little to stop it.” Testimony at trial, August 25, 2004.