More than 20 years after the end of its civil war, the country is ready to confront and redress its bloody past.
Until now, an amnesty has shielded from prosecution those suspected of
atrocities. But the discovery of a secret directory of death squad
targets has given campaigners hope that the guilty can at last be held
accountable.
Between 1980 and 1992, around 75,000 Salvadorians were killed.
Paramilitary death squads murdered roughly 8,000 civilians and torture
and disappearances were rampant. And yet, the human rights community has
doubted that anyone will be held to account.
While that feeling may finally be changing, one significant stumbling block remains: El Salvador's amnesty law.
In 1992, the Salvadoran military and leftist guerillas signed a peace
accord. A year later, the country's legislative assembly passed an
amnesty law shielding perpetrators from prosecution for their role in
wartime atrocities. That law is still on the books, and continues to
upset victims like Rosa Rivera, whose immediate family was killed by
Salvadoran military and security forces.
El Salvador: Quest for Justice - People & Power - Al Jazeera English
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