Catholic bishops in El Salvador on Tuesday demanded that wounded
veterans and ex-guerrillas leave a cathedral they have occupied
since December 20 in a demonstration over pensions.
"We demand the immediate evacuation of the San Salvador cathedral and
we ask that the occupying of places of worship not be repeated," the
Episcopal Conference of El Salvador (CEDES) said in a statement.
"There are other more appropriate means and places to press for one's rights," it added.
The former soldiers and guerrillas who fought in the country's 1980-1992 civil war have called on the government to raise their pensions and increase benefits for the parents of fallen comrades.
The bishops said they were "moved" by the poverty in which many of
the surviving parents live and called on the government to negotiate
with the ex-combatants to reach a "fair deal."
El Salvador's president apologized nearly a year ago for the rampant
human rights violations committed by government forces during their
12-year war with leftist guerrillas, including massacres, executions and
disappearances.
Some 75,000 people died and more than 7,000 went missing during the
conflict.
The United Nations estimated losses of 1.6 billion dollars to
the tiny Central American country.
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