Newsbriefs

ANN ARBOR- American Church worker Jennifer Jean Casolo believes the only way to stop the disappearances, torture and murder in El Salvador and bring about a peaceful. negotiated settlement there is to squeeze the Salvadoran military's pocket book. Casolo, who spoke September 12 at a news conference at Guild House, said that this squeeze can be achieved through a cut-off of U.S. aid and a boycott of Salvadoran coffee. Coffee accounts for approximately one-third of El Salvador's foreign exchange and is the mainstay of the economy.

Casolo, who gained international notoriety when she was arrested for allegedly hiding weapons for the FMLN in her backyard, has been on a speaking tour of the country since her arrest and deportation from El Salvador. During her 18-day detention Casolo said sister inmates clapped and laughed when they heard over the radio that Americans were boycotting Salvadoran coffee.

State Representative Perry Bullard, City Councilperson Anne Marie Coleman and Father Arthur McGovern voiced their despair about human rights abuses by the Salvadoran government and endorsed the boycott of Folgers which is the largest importer of Salvadoran coffee in this country. Organizers, such as the Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC) recognize that a number of other companies use Salvadoran coffee beans. However the boycott's focus is on Folgers alone in the expectation that when that company stops buying Salvadoran beans, other companies will follow suit.

Since the beginning of the boycott last November, 50 local stores have stopped serving or stocking Folgers, said moderator John Jourdan of LASC.