NEWS RELEASE San Salvador, El Salvador

Dec. 11, 1997

VIGIL FOR FATHER JAMES "GUADALUPE" CARNEY

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DEMONSTRATION AT U.S. EMBASSY IN SAN SALVADOR THIS FRIDAY, DEC. 12, 9-11 A.M.

VIGIL AND FAST FOR FATHER CARNEY, DISAPPEARED IN HONDURAS IN 1983, MOVES TO SAN SALVADOR

FASTERS IN 44th DAY (Includes: Patrick Carney- MN, Matthew Eisen and Fr. Joseph Mulligan- El Salvador)

For more information, contact EPICA in Washington, DC, at: (202) 332 0292 or Matthew Eisen in San Salvador at 226-0829.

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This Friday, Dec. 12, at 9 a.m. Matthew Eisen and Father Joseph Mulligan, SJ, will present a letter to the U.S. ambassador in San Salvador, to be forwarded to President Bill Clinton. In the letter they call upon President Clinton to respond more adequately to the Honduran government's official request for documents concerning Father James "Guadalupe" Carney, who disappeared in Honduras in 1983.

Documents thus far declassified "constitute an insult to Fr. Carney's relatives and the Honduran government," the two said, "since they are over 50% blacked out by CIA and U.S. Army censors."

The letter will be delivered to the U.S. embassy in San Salvador at 9 a.m. on Dec. 12, and from 9 to 11 a.m. a demonstration will be held in front of the embassy, with members of Co-madres, CODEFAM and other organizations participating in order to show their international solidarity with the cause of Father Carney.

The blacked out documents will be displayed on large posters, along with banners asking "Where are Father Carney's remains?"

Eisen and Mulligan are in San Salvador to continue their liquids only fast, now in its 44th day, and vigil for Fr. James "Guadalupe" Carney.

After 39 days in front of the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa, they came to San Salvador on Dec. 6 in order to be in solidarity with the martyrs of the UCA killed in 1989 and the 4 North American churchwomen killed in 1980.

They stated:

"The testimony of life and death of the martyrs of the UCA, and the long struggle to identify those responsible and to bring out the truth, has inspired us to intensify the struggle for the truth in the case of Father James (Guadalupe) Carney, who disappeared in Honduras in 1983.

"Some Honduran ex-soldiers have said that he was captured, tortured, and killed by the Honduran military. They, like many of the soldiers who ordered and participated in the killing of the UCA martyrs, had received training from the U.S. Army at the School of the Americas and in other places.

"It is also quite possible that some U.S. agents were involved in the killing of Father Carney.

"Today we enter the 44th day of a fast which we began in front of the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa after being thrown out of the embassy by U.S. Marines.

"We demand from the U.S. government a serious response to the Honduran governments request for documents about Father Carney and other disappeared persons. So far the U.S. government has only ridiculed the Honduran government, presenting documents which are more than 50% blacked out.

"We demand that the U.S. Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and Representatives and Senators look at the original (unexpurgated) documents to see whether there is evidence of criminal activity on the part of U.S. or Honduran citizens.

"Furthermore, we demand that the U.S. government offer the Honduran government whatever technical assistance may be necessary to find the remains of Father Carney."

Eisen and Mulligan also honor the memory of the four North American church women brutally slain in El Salvador on Dec. 2, 1980: "The testimony of Ita, Jean, Dorothy, and Mauraùtheir lives of service to the poor and oppressed and their courage in facing the risks to their lives, culminating in their martyrdomùhas inspired and strengthened us and millions of others throughout the world who have been touched by their love, faith, and hope.

"They are with us in this struggle for truth and justice in the case of Father James "Guadalupe" Carney, another U.S. citizen who identified with and struggled with the people of Central America and gave his life for the poor and for justice."

Mulligan and Eisen have visited the museum of the martyrs at the UCA, where Fr. Carney is represented by some of his priestly belongings.

"President Clinton recently declared human rights to be the 'pillar of U.S. foreign policy,'" they noted. "If that is true, he must demand that the CIA and U.S. Army comply fully with his order for declassification of documents concerning human-rights violations in Honduras."

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CRISPAZ, Apartado Postal 2944

Centro de Gobierno,

San Salvador, El Salvador, Centro America

Tel/fax (503) 226-0829

pazsal@netcomsa.com

EPICA

1470 Irving St., NW

Washington, DC 20010

Tel: 202/332-0292

Fax: 202/332-1184

Email: epica@igc.apc.org

Web: www.igc.apc.org/epica