El Salvador generally only makes global headlines for soaring homicide rates but it did so for something else on 13 July: the decision by the constitutional chamber of the supreme court to annul the 1993 amnesty law, which some see as denying El Salvador the truth and reconciliation which might have gone some way towards preventing the high levels of violence that presently afflict the nation. This assessment is far from universally accepted, however, with President Salvador Sánchez Cerén, himself a veteran guerrilla commander, criticising the ruling as destabilising and the main right-wing opposition, Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (Arena), raising concerns. Without the support of El Salvador’s two main political parties, public prosecutors might think twice about pursuing cases of human rights violations committed during the civil war (1980-1992).End of preview - This article contains approximately 1120 words.
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