Twenty NGOs called on the OAS to investigate the situation in El Salvador and Bukele severely criticized them

The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, pointed out on Friday against numerous NGOs – or civil society organizations – which asked the Organization of American States (OAS) to investigate the situation in the country after the dismissal of five members of the Court Supreme and Attorney General. “It’s good that they are receiving foreign funding because they will not receive a penny from the Salvadoran people. Everyone invests in their priorities, ”wrote the president on his Twitter account.

In addition, the president wrote: “NGOs are changing their names, now they are called CSOs (civil society organizations)”. And clarified: “* The NGO name was already very discredited.”

The President’s reaction responds to the request processed Thursday by a twenty civil society organizations so that a special mission of the The OAS is assessing the situation in the country “in situ”, after the disputed dismissal of five Supreme Court judges and the Attorney General.

The Legislative Assembly decided on May 1, after its installation, to dismiss five magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) and the Attorney General Raúl Melara, an action which was condemned and strongly criticized by the community. international.

The organizations are asking that the mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) be the same as that which analyzed the political situation in El Salvador before the legislative and municipal elections last February.

The organizations insist that this special mission, headed by the former executive secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) Santiago Cantón, continue “in order toupdate its diagnosis of the political situation in the country taking into account the events of May 1 and their effects “.

If necessary, they specify, “An assessment is made” in situ “of the current politico-institutional situation” and “meetings with different sectors of Salvadorian society are assured”.

According to an OAS statement, the agenda of the last special mission “included meetings with various institutional, political and civil society representatives, covering the broadest political and social spectrum of Salvador”.

The agenda was drawn up between February 14-18, and virtually February 24-25, and was published in a report containing various recommendations in the areas of human rights, press freedom and institutions.

The NGOs also reiterated the petition to the OAS for the convocation of its Permanent Council to “restore constitutional order” in El Salvador, after the dismissal of the magistrates.

The organizations again called on the OAS “to activate the procedure provided for in Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.”

This article stipulates that: “In the event that, in a Member State, there is an alteration of the constitutional order which seriously affects its democratic order, Any Member State or the Secretary General may request the immediate convening of the Permanent Council. take a collective assessment of the situation and adopt the decisions it deems appropriate ”.

“Depending on the situation, the Permanent Council may order that the necessary diplomatic measures be taken, including good offices, to promote the normalization of democratic institutions,” he added.

El Salvador entered a political crisis since the ruling party took the reins of the Assembly for the period 2021-2024 and initially voted for the dismissal of the magistrates and the prosecutor, with whom President Nayib Bukele had clashes in over the past year.

With information from EFE

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