El Salvador Unites Behind Martyr Romero, 35 Years On

El Salvador Unites Behind Martyr Romero, 35 Years On
World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: March 22, 2015 09:07 IST

San Salvador: Archbishop Oscar Romero was a symbol of the divisions that split El Salvador during its civil war, but 35 years after his assassination, his imminent beatification has united former foes.

Romero, an outspoken critic of social injustice, was gunned down while celebrating mass on March 24, 1980, at the outset of the conflict, a day after exhorting soldiers to stop killing civilians.

His murder propelled the country deeper into a brutal war that raged until 1992, when the right-wing government signed a peace deal with the leftist guerrillas of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN).

No one has ever been convicted of the crime, but a UN-sponsored truth commission concluded it was carried out by a right-wing death squad under the orders of Roberto D'Aubuisson, a former army officer who died the year the war ended.

More:
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/el-salvador-unites-behind-martyr-romero-35-years-on-748590