. . . but Justice Grinds Too Slowly

Peace may be rapidly approaching in El Salvador, but justice is moving too slowly. The Cristiani government must not delude itself into thinking it can delay bringing the murderers of six Jesuit priests to justice until the United States loses interest. Unless the current investigation into the killings comes to a prompt, conclusive and convincing end, Congress should cut off the $1.5 million in U.S. aid that country gets each day.

The priests, all of whom were on the faculty of the respected and influential University of Central America, were dragged from their quarters and shot to death during heavy fighting last November. Two bystanders, the clerics’ cook and her 15-year-old daughter, also were killed because they witnessed the massacre.

Despite initial government claims that the atrocity had been carried out by Marxist rebels, suspicion quickly focused on the Salvadoran military. The murderers were dressed in uniforms and carried standard Salvadoran army-issue rifles. The area around the university was firmly controlled by government troops the night of the killings, and a general curfew was in force.

After much delay, charges finally were filed against five enlisted men and four officers, including Col. Guillermo A. Benavides Moreno, who commanded the country’s military academy at the time of the massacre. Since then, according to a report by Times correspondent Kenneth Freed, the investigation into the case against the soldiers has slowed to a judicial crawl. Even the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador has become frustrated.

American diplomats are angry not only with the pace of inquiry but also with the official solicitude being shown Benavides. The colonel reportedly receives daily visits from brother officers, who are said to assure him that he will not be punished. Those familiar with Salvadoran politics aren’t surprised, as Benavides is a ranking member of the military academy graduating class whose members currently control the armed forces’ high command. No Salvadoran officer ever has been convicted of a human-rights abuse. To this day, for example, the men suspected of involvement in the infamous 1980 assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero remain free.

No such miscarriage of justice is acceptable now. One benefit of communism’s global retreat is that rightist thugs like those who lurk within the Salvadoran military and Cristiani’s Arena party no longer command automatic U.S. support as the lesser of two evils. The Jesuits killed last November were not only leading intellectuals; they were powerful voices for moderation and peace in El Salvador. If the Cristiani government fails to call the murderers to account, it will forfeit all claim on U.S. support.