Salvador Army Blocks Purge by Cristiani

El Salvador’s powerful military has blocked a purge of officers accused of human rights abuses or corruption, forcing President Alfredo Cristiani to violate a key part of the peace accord that ended the nation’s 12-year civil war.

A general order issued by the Ministry of Defense on Thursday failed to include the dismissal or transfer of 110 officers, meaning that Cristiani’s government will fail to meet a U.N.-imposed deadline for carrying out the purge.

The failure was widely viewed as a demonstration that despite the end of war, the military retains veto power over civilian decisions that affect the armed forces.

In an attempt to avoid a rift in the peace process, Cristiani met with the rebels and sought to stretch out the timetable for implementing the purge, informed sources said. However, the ex-guerrillas’ negotiators were divided on whether to accept a postponement. After a heated debate on their side of the table, the talks broke off.

A spokeswoman for the former rebels said they will seek a unified position before seeing Cristiani anew on Monday.

A peace agreement brokered by the United Nations formally ended the war between the U.S.-backed government and the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) on Dec. 15. Under it, Cristiani was due to remove 76 officers from their posts and move another 34 out of command positions. Cristiani’s formal commitment to the United Nations to carry out the agreement led the FMLN to demobilize its 8,000 combatants and destroy its weapons.