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El Salvador Celebrates Its First Murder-Free Day For Three Years

Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 16/04/2012 15:43 Updated: 16/04/2012 15:43

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El Salvador
Gang violence has been rife on El Salvador's streets

El Salvador had its first murder-free day for three years on Saturday marking an important milestone in the country's battle against gang violence raging on its streets.

El Salvador's President, Mauricio Funes, credited his new security measures for the country's first murder free day since his election to office.

Under Funes, El Salvador's army has grown by almost 60%, in a gang crackdown which saw military forces patrolling the streets as well as a former army general appointed as head of police in January.

The Central American country has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, according to the United Nations. Over the last three years around 12 people have been killed each day in El Salvador and there were up to 18 murders a day at the beginning of 2012.

A truce between two warring drug gangs that was reportedly brokered by the Catholic church has also been seen as an important step in reducing the number of murders.

Funes denied being part of the peace agreement between El Salvador's major drug cartels, Mara Salvatrucha and Mara 18 but admitted to allowing 30 gang leaders out of prison to give order and direction to the warring factions after the truce.

However while crime is down in El Salvador, murders in the neighbouring country of Hondorus has risen to an all time high.

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mlmuffies
2 Fans
10:57 AM on 04/17/2012
Every day is murder in England, it's lost
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gazamartin
1 Fans
09:04 AM on 04/17/2012
What a fantastic day that must have been!!!!!!!
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Joolsthewolf
0 Fans
07:23 AM on 04/17/2012
How do they know that no murders where committed on that saturday? The bodies may not have been found yet its a big country.
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Joe Joe P
38 Fans
06:53 AM on 04/17/2012
Chowbaby pipped me at the post. Yes Britain is not far behind. Oh some reporter said this era is like the seventies and I listed somethings to show that the seventies were nothing like today i.e. long term employment and good pensions. This is another of them, there were hardly any murders back then.
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PGU
22 Fans
09:00 AM on 04/17/2012
Our murder rate, per head of population, is about a fiftieth that of El Salvador. Since they have only a tenth of our population , that means even the unadjusted total number is about a fifth of theirs.
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Joe Joe P
38 Fans
09:28 AM on 04/17/2012
And???? Its still a hell of a lot worse than the seventies!
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Chowbaby
40 Fans
12:02 AM on 04/17/2012
Well done El Salvador - it's a start. Lets hope that Great Britain will soon be able to say the same.
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PGU
22 Fans
08:22 AM on 04/17/2012
GB has a sufficiently low murder rate for a day without murder to occur from time to time from statistical variation - and we also have a larger population than El Salvador
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Southern law girl
Researching my viewpoint....
161 Fans
07:01 PM on 04/16/2012
I am absolutely delighted to be making the first comment on this article. Congratulations to the Government of El Salvador! The measures taken by the Government of El Salvador sends out a clear message, not only to the criminals who commit the crime, but also to the International Community at large, that this Country is not prepared to tolerate such behaviour from their citizens, and they are developing in a very big way. During my studies of street children in Central and South America, El Salvador didn't do too well at all, in fact street children had very little hope. Only a few MNGO's aided, along with other NGO's, but there was very little will on the part of Government to do anything about it. So this has to be very good news indeed that the measures put in place by Government are beginning to work.
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Awura Adjoa
6 Fans
10:25 PM on 04/16/2012
Dear Southern,

This one day embargo sounds more like a fluke, than the result of a sustained effort by the government to reduce homicide. How can you credit the government with the accolade of having reduced anything, because the president says so? It is just one day after all, if it had been several days, not even concurrently then maybe I could give them that credit. They have a long way to go before they can prove that their so-called measures have had any tangible effect on that sort of crime. In fact the rate of homicide in the city/town is so bad that the officials should be ashamed of themselves, it shows a long record of poor law enforcement than anything else.

The government in El Salvador haven't proved anything and they need not open any bottles of champagne.
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Southern law girl
Researching my viewpoint....
161 Fans
11:01 PM on 04/16/2012
Hello there Awura Adjoa

I undersand and appreciate your comments 100%. But having experienced many years in the field of human rights, one thing I have learned, that international human rights law moves ever so slowly, like three steps forward but two back, it is just the nature of the beast so to speak; so baby steps. From my perspective some progress is better than none, and/or an appreciation of the importance is a start in the right direction. I truly appreciate what you say, and it is exactly the same as I said when I studied for my law masters degree in this area. The thing is, the final decisions are a matter for Governments Worldwide, after all that is how the United Nations is made up, Governments Worldwide, so in the end it is for those Governments to decide. The Governments are lobbied continually by the NGO's, MNGO's and special rapportuers, and national human rights committees. Sometimes it is difficult to guage how much progress takes place because of difficulties on the ground, and whether the statistics gathered are correct.

Part II to follow -
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Southern law girl
Researching my viewpoint....
161 Fans
11:02 PM on 04/16/2012
Part II

Sorry if that sounds negative, but that is the very nature of international human rights legislation, but the good thing is there are instruments and mechanisms in place, but better there are some than none! It is up to all of us worldwide to lobby and campaign for faster progress, it could never be fast enough for me, I think all the problems people suffer worldwide should have been resolved yesterday! :-)) You have Fan No. 2!

Best wishes to you and yours!
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