Civil society organizations proposed in the Assembly a new draft law to facilitate the work of CICIES.
President Nayib Bukele fears losing control of CICIES, which is why the new draft of the “Special Law to Facilitate the Mandate of the International Commission against Impunity in El Salvador” was rejected, ARENA and FMLN deputies said this morning. .
“It goes beyond the framework it had, we must remember who it was: Luis Almagro (Secretary General of the Organization of American States OAS), who made the bread in favor of Bukele, that CICIES as it was raised by them (the government ) were an attack weapon for the opposition, not for them “, said the deputy head of the FMLN faction, Jorge Schafik Hándal.
Bukele published his rejection of the regulation after a press conference held by several civil society organizations that raised the project in February 2021 in front of the Legislative Assembly.
SEE: CICIES calls on government to step up fight against corruption
However, the president reacted on his Twitter account that nothing of what the current legislature is doing will be valid when the new Assembly takes office on May 1st.
“Just looking at those NGO logos behind this ‘proposal’ and seeing the ‘media’ publishing it, I’m sure it would be the worst thing we could do. Also, do not insist, nothing that the outgoing Assembly approves will ever come into force, “Bukele said.
Some of the organizations promoting the new law to facilitate the work of CICIES are the DTJ Foundation, Fepade and Cristosal, among others.
José Marinero, the representative of the DTJ Foundation, asked President Bukele that instead of questioning the organizations that drafted the proposal, he should fulfill what he had promised in his presidential campaign.
SEE: CICIES filed three complaints with the Prosecutor’s Office for alleged corruption in public administration
“We reiterate our call for maturity and consistency with the promises it has made in the past and to set aside the logos of organizations that are uncomfortable for it, and we hope it can see the content of the proposal,” Marinero told a news conference on Wednesday.
According to Hándal, Bukele’s fear is due to the fact that there are more than 83 reports of corruption cases in the Prosecutor’s Office for the management of state funds by government institutions used for the pandemic.
“Approximately 83 cases of resources allocated during the pandemic, crooked business between cabinet members or their relatives to bring medicines and other necessary services were revealed, some of which were taken to the Prosecutor’s Office, who did not know if he did anything with them or not “, Hándal explained.
Bukele’s rejection of a new corruption investigation comes at a time when special envoy for the North American triangle, Ricardo Zúñiga, is coming to El Salvador on Wednesday to meet with Attorney General Raúl Melara at the headquarters. CICIES.
For the deputy head of the ARENA faction, Julio Fabián, Bukele’s statements no longer surprise them. According to him, he is used to making comments without knowing better how the proposals are written.
For Fabián, if the initiative seeks to improve and facilitate the work of CICIES, it must be approved by the Assembly.
“CICIES should not be attached to the Executive, but to the Prosecutor’s Office, in order to strengthen the investigation and the scientific part and, if it is to promote that support under the conditions imposed by the Constitution, for the governing body to be the Prosecutor’s Office. that the reforms can be implemented as soon as possible, as long as the rights are not violated “, said Fabián.
The initiative presented by the civil organizations was presented to the Assembly and aims, among other things, to provide institutional and financial independence to the current CICIES.
The proposal takes over the Framework Cooperation Agreement signed by the government and the OAS General Secretariat on November 26, 2019. In addition, it calls for a reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure to allow CICIES to participate as a plaintiff in criminal proceedings that are being developed in the country.
It also seeks CICIES to support the Prosecutor’s Office in the investigation and promotion of criminal prosecution. According to the moving parties, the role of CICIES is currently very limited, as the agreement is enforceable and in order to broaden its scope it must be supported by a legislative decree.
Another aspect that is detailed in the proposal of social organizations is to give CICIES the power to lodge complaints, notifications to the Prosecutor’s Office and to be a complainant, together with mechanisms for transparency and citizen participation.