AMERICA/EL SALVADOR-Church's appeal to stop violence: killed 77 students killed and 114 murders committed on public transport

San Salvador (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic Church in El Salvador asks to join the security situation due to the insecurity the country is living and facing and considers very serious the fact that authorities and leaders of institutions directly related to the issue of security cannot come to an understanding among themselves to resolve the serious problem. Having clearly stated that, in no case, the death of a human being can only be left to regret, and asking for justice in the circumstances in which the events occurred, Msgr. José Luis Escobar Alas, Archbishop of San Salvador , has launched an appeal to the country's security forces and other institutions involved in some way with the problem of security, to unite the efforts and policies to fight crime.
According to information gathered by Fides, the Archbishop believes that the problem of violence is perhaps more urgent than the economic problem, since all the others derive from this. "You cannot live in a situation where we live and continue as if nothing were happening, it is time to stop this situation", said Msgr. Escobar, referring to the high levels of insecurity reached in the country.
Up to today in 2011 there have been 77 students killed and 114 murders committed on public transport. In early July, public safety officials issued a report on its activities in the past year, judging it "satisfactory": an improvement has been achieved in the fight against crime, with a decrease in murders compared to last year. In the field of security, the killings have been reduced by at least 400 units between June 2010 and May 2011, compared to those which occurred in the same months of the years 2009-2010. (EC) (Agenzia Fides 12/07/2011)