OPINIONS & EDITORIAL

Monday, May 27,  2002 Online Edition 19

Inside journalism 

Freedom has encountered many a situation in our country. Historically, the loss of liberty and reason has brought on chaos. In Honduras, the biggest defender of freedom has always been the press.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the printed press was the protagonist that reported national events. It's role was to inform without losing life during one of the many revolutions of this time.

During the 1940s and 1950s, the Honduran press became more active, more social, more participatory and more denunciatory, but in the midst of a regime of terror. From the early 1960's on, after reporting took on a more belligerent role, many reporters have been forced to change their place of residence and even flee the country for their own safety.

Total freedom of press does not exist, here we find everything is relative, but the intention is there and the way is known. This fact is more exciting than possible. The concept of complete truth in unreachable, but the dream of every reporter. The journalist, many a time, does not know where to begin, at home or at work. Every time a reporter writes, he or she cannot separate from his or her own story and intellectuality.

But writing for others is very glamorous, many a time we write what we don't want others to do or what we want to do. Does this mean we are preaching to others? Or are we simply modern educators? You choose, but this philology is not an easy task.

We do not to pretend to make martyrs of journalists, it is however a virtuous profession and to fall for the truth is a privilege. You could say, we die for the rights of others. We defend and protest for our rights now, thus avoiding having to cry on our children's graves.
The Honduran state pretended to ignore journalism for a long time and it wasn't until the 1970s during the government of General Juan Alberto Melgar Castro, that the a Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Information was created and headed by Colonel and Lawyer, Efrain Lizandro Gonzalez Munoz.

Colonel Gonzalez was a key player in achieving peace on a nationwide level. An intellectual equilibrium was conserved during the antagonistic cold years of the 1980s. During that time, many an intellectual flowered and have continued serving our country, among these: Patricia Murillo de Bueno, Julio Cesar Marin, Oscar Alvarez Vaca, Eugenio Castro Claramont (RIP), Juan Ramon Duran, Rafael Zavala, Julio Armando Pavon, Reinaldo Amador, Mirían Mercado and others.

The threat to freedom of press has taken many a form. Independent reporters find it hard to distance themselves from their sponsors. Isolation and being singled out by the state has also caused many to lose their freedom.

But finally the state, together with outstanding members of the national press, through the Central Information Office, has been able to find the necessary equilibrium and not fall into war, as in the case of neighboring nations.

Writing has a magical quality that lies halfway between what is idealized and what is real, what people want, what minority groups want and what is real. A journalist can feel many emotions concerning the same issue. I still remember my mother, a journalist, when she covered the Honduras-El Salvador war, writing articles with tears in her eyes, and I am still trying to uncover her message.



Letter from Honduras: Rape in the countryside

By NIGEL POTTER

They seemed amazingly normal, almost cheerful if a bit subdued. Nothing like a wash and a change of clothes to be able to face the world and here was I half-expecting them to be hysterical or dumb-silent with tear-streaked faces. You would never have known that these three lassies, (15, 14 and 13 years old) had been waylaid the day before at one o'clock in the afternoon on a country road on their way home from school by four hooded men and dragged off to a remote spot and raped, half strangled and threatened with death. The high school staff was shocked, outraged and had come to the house of two of the girls who were sisters to offer support. The most obviously distressed was the father of the two sisters who strode up and down, speaking incessantly, hovering between tears and rage. 

I had been asked to go along to treat both the girls and distressed parents medically, (which I did at the end of the meeting - homoeopathically). We sat down outside the house on rocks, wooden home made benches and plastic chairs. The high school director was superb. She said how sorry she and the rest of the staff were at what had happened and that we were all here to offer support and comfort. 

She was sympathetic and practical at the same time: don't hurry back to school, take your time but don't let the bastards get you down, don't give them that satisfaction, go on going on and we'll help in any and every way we can. Another teacher jumped in saying more or less the same thing but proving at the same time it's not what you say but how you say it that maybe matters more: life is full of problems, everyone has their difficulties but you can't just go moping around, you just have to grin and bear it and get on with your life (how many times has she been raped? I wondered) And then an elderly woman tottered in on a stick and said that God never sent us more than we could bear (well, thank you God). And so on: support, consolation, advice: don't go on a killing spree, no revenge, it will just lead to further problems, stay within the law - but since this is mostly non-existent and not respected anyway perhaps this was not very helpful. 

A younger sister brought us a sugary, watery coffee and a bun and then we went on our way - followed by the distressed father and the two sister's elder brother who insisted on showing us where they had been kidnapped and dragged-off to. We plunged off the road, down a steep incline until it was difficult to go any further. But the men had forced the lassies much further on, through wild undergrowth down into an abyss to river and raped them. I could hardly stand it, feeling the fear, panic and terror that must have consumed these girls as they were pushed, shoved and dragged down the slope with a pretty good idea of what was coming and the likelihood of being murdered afterwards. 

And here's the irony: these conscience-less bastards had a kind of conscience. They were hooded and one of the girls was blindfolded. Why? Because they were out to rape, torture, and torment but not to kill. Dead lassies tell no tales. It would have been so easy (so practical) to have killed them. Instead of the outrage and scandal of three raped girls they would have just "disappeared." The spot where they were taken was so remote and wild; it could have been months or more before their bodies had been discovered, even if left intact enough by the vultures and coyotes. But they were allowed to live to tell the tale arriving at their houses after scrambling back up, filthy, bleeding, crying, clothes in shreds.

On our way back, I saw a swastika scratched into a rock by the side of the road. I was both shocked and astonished. It is most unlikely that whoever scratched it into the stone has ever heard of Hitler or World War II and if they have heard of Germany, probably think it is a town in the United States. Yet here was this symbol of unspeakable evil in a place of unspeakable beauty, ridges, cliffs covered in pine and oak and the sun beginning to glow orange and sink behind blue mountains on the horizon.

A couple of days later I went back to see my patients. I was warned this might be unwise. A brother-in-law offered to accompany me and somebody insisted I took a gun, which I accepted but, at the last moment, left behind. 

The revolver increased my fear rather than diminished it. Well, I though, if they are really out to kill me, the gun might be useful but, on the other hand, there may not be much I can do about it anyway if they jump or ambush me. And if they are out to just threaten, menace or rob me, going for my gun could as easily spark off the very reaction I least wanted to see. So, scared as hell, off I went with my penknife in my pocket. In the event nothing happened. 
I saw my patients who said they felt better, were even apparently quite cheerful and very appreciative. But, of course, they are by no means, over their ordeal yet. One has cold sores around her mouth; another woke up crying this morning and all are glued to their mummies like two-year-olds. But, as their teachers say, this isn't the end of everything. It could just be the beginning, like pregnancy or HIV infection (which is rampant here).

Then one night one little boy told another little boy who told his mum he had seen two hooded men lurking around the dark path to my house. Now are they really pissed off because I have been ministering to three raped little girls and want some pay-back, or do they have wild misconceptions that because I am a foreigner and obviously not a poverty-stricken peasant, that I am loaded with money and, furthermore, walk around with it? Or is it just coincidence, that they were hanging around where they were because they a score to settle with a neighbour? Whatever, it's not a happy time.

SWAN ISLAND DEVELOPMENT

Dear HTW:

With reference to several articles published by the local Honduran newspapers concerning a web page and the declarations of Kevin Morrill, President of Swan Island Development, LLC concerning the development of the Honduran Swan Islands, I would like to make the following comments:
There are already two corporations, Swan Island Development Corporation S.A. and Swan Development Corporation S.A., formed and registered in Honduras and vying for the right to develop this valuable Honduran property since the early 1990s. Our companies held numerous meetings with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Environment during the administrations of President Callejas and President Reina, as well as with several other institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce presenting a three phase program to them including our intention with the airport project and yacht club and also an agreement to build a small military base for the navy personnel that are housed on the island.
Mr. Morrill's statements are misleading as well as lacking in fact. I have spent much time on this island and have walked virtually every inch of it. There is no way that the islands will support 5000 residents, plus tourists in an environmentally sound manner. Our program is a sound project although not as elaborate as the recent proposals.

Mr. Morrill should be aware that Honduran shareholders form part of both corporations and that bank accounts exist under these corporate names in Honduras.
For further verification of this information, interested parties should contact our attorneys at the law offices of Nicolas Cruz Torres.

Jack Walker
President
Swan Island Development Corporation, S.A.
Swan Development Corporation, S.A.
Via Internet

Monday, May 20,  2002 Online Edition 18

Bring Hondurans together in the U.S.

By MARCO CACERES

WASHINGTON -- Probably the top 10 most incredible spectacles I have ever witnessed took place on September 1, 2001. On that day, Honduras' national soccer team defeated the US national team 3-2 at Robert F. Kennedy stadium in Washington, DC. 

The game was a thrill because Honduras beat the US in an away game and because it kept Honduras alive (temporarily anyway) in the qualifier round for the World Cup '02 in Japan/South Korea. But the greatest thing that day was just sitting with my father in a stadium packed with 54,282 fans, about 70% of which were Hondurans. 

Everywhere you looked, there was blue. Honduran flags swaying in the wind dominated the upper stands. And everywhere you turned, there was Spanish being spoken. The estimate of 70% is a conservative one. It could have easily been much more. 

Most of the Hondurans had come on chartered buses from New York and Miami. Of course, there must have been a large number of Hondurans from the local Washington, Southern Maryland, and Northern Virginia areas.

In a number of articles in the Washington Post and Honduran newspapers, US players and coaches were quoted as saying they were at a disadvantage because it felt like they were playing in Honduras, not the U.S. Honduran players and coaches were quoted as saying that it felt as though they were playing in Tegucigalpa or San Pedro Sula, and thus they were energized and confident.

During other qualifier matches last year, whenever I would go to the Patriot Center arena at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, to see the games via closed circuit TV, I was always amazed to see the number of Catrachos. The Patriot Center seats around 10,000 people. For the matches, the center was always 50-70% full. And the bulk of those were Hondurans. The blue flags were everywhere.

The point of all this is to reinforce the fact that there are a heckuva lot of Hondurans in the US now, perhaps significantly more than the reported estimate of 600,000. If large portions of this community are willing to travel and spend money to come together for events such as soccer matches, then we need to use this precedent to bring together Hondurans in the US for other reasons as well. 

It is tough to surpass soccer as a reason, I know. But it is do-able. We just need to make a concerted effort, be creative, be honest, and be direct. We have to clearly explain the benefits and methods of working as one community in the US. And most important of all, we have to always be humble and civil in communicating with each other. Otherwise, we Hondurans in the US will remain isolated, weak, and constantly complaining about events that we feel we cannot control.

Response to Ralph Nelson
From a "Grumpy Old Man"

Dear HTW:

Your deponent is unable to locate a causative linkage between either "grumpiness" or great age in the matter of reliable statistical interpretation. Indeed, the long years this writer has devoted to developing, interpreting and writing about 'materia economica' might, to a more discerning eye, be seen as valuable qualification in the subject field.

Suffice it to say that within the limitation of a thousand words or so, there is simply not sufficient latitude for the inclusion of all of the ancillary citations, marginal comments and footnotes that are de-rigueur in more scholarly venues. However, the offering of selected data to support a given case, while accommodating to the implicit space limitation, does not constitute "a twisting of facts and outright false information", as Mr. Nelson charges.

For a single, unarguable, example of the reliability of my data, I cite the matter of U. S. unemployment, as reported by the United States Department of Labor, and briefly included in the subject editorial - and to which Mr. Nelson takes diametric exception:

**U. S. Department of Labor quotations:
Unemployment statistics - 
September,2001- 4.9% October, 2001 - 5.4% 
"the biggest one-month rise in 21 years, and the highest unemployment rate since 1996."
March, 2002 - 5.7%
April, 2002 - 6.0%
This repetition of the data is for clarification, not argumentation. These numbers are unassailable. They represent the reality of U. S. unemployment.

I could go on, but shall not. Allow me to say that editorial conclusions are always subject to differing interpretations by those of a different mind-set. Carefully gleaned statistics as cited by a careful journalist are not debatable. The numbers speak for themselves.

And I am a careful journalist.

Lorenzo Dee Belveal
Via Internet

Lower sales tax

Dear HTW:

Several recent comments made in HTW concerning the proposed tax increases by President Maduro are incorrect: "Import tax on vehicles is also necessary, as it is aimed at providing the general public the possibility of acquiring cheaper, newer cars." Without competition from the used car market, new car dealers (who hold a monopoly on their brands) could begin to charge even higher prices than they currently do. Also, the current import tariffs for cars is in the 55% range, so it could be said that the best way to lower new auto prices is to lower import tariffs to the same level as other CA countries.

Also, the following statement is absurd: "Public transportation owners should be obligated by law to possess insurance covering accidents, hospital care and damages to third parties." How does the addition of insurance costs and higher licensing fees aid the public at large? Someone has to pay for the added costs, and that someone will be bus passenger. Either the author does not understand the national economy or has never had the need to ride a bus.

The best stimulant for the Honduran economy would be to lower taxes from the incredible 12% rate and to work on legitimizing many gray markets that flourish by not paying taxes. Then every Honduran business and citizen could carry their weight.

Said a different way, if taxes are low, the reward is small for not paying your taxes and the risks are greater. That's why it's hard to collect taxes at the current 12% rate, it's worth the risks of being caught.

Craig Pardue
Via Internet

Brian Tatarka and Casa Alianza

Dear HTW:

Please don't tell me about Mr. Harris' salary. If you don't want to send him money then don't. I don't know the man and know very little about the organization, however, I do know that you couldn't pay me a million dollars to do his job. It is dangerous and his rewards are to be ridiculed and abased at every turn. I too, would put my children and family in a safe place. They are his first and primary responsibility.

I have worked in third world countries since 1981 and you have to live differently to be safe.

If you don't like the salary he receives, then don't donate to the organization. If you want to go on a campaign to change things then get involved in the organization and attempt to make the changes.

The organization is "not for profit" because the laws in USA allow it to be so. That means that the organization doesn't make a profit, it doesn't mean that employees don't get paid. If you want to change that, then talk to your senators and get involved in the political process. You live in a country where your voice is not silenced and you will not be killed for expressing your opinions.

I work for NO salary and NO compensation, but I would be the last to ridicule the man for making a nice salary. He and his family are exposed to TB, worms, amebas, kidnappers, bad roads, unsafe and drunken drivers, poor hospitals and health care, bad blood supply in case of an emergency, alcohol and drug abusers, mad police, mad politicians and a host of other innumerable risks they he could mostly avoid by living in the USA or England or another 1st world country.

I vote to raise his salary to meet the risk, but then I don't give to his organization so I really have no vote, do I?

Teresa Searcy
Via Internet


DOES GRIJALBA KNOW TOO MUCH? 

Dear HTW:

The imminent and inexplicable deportation of Col. (ret.) Juan Evangelista Lopez Grijalba to Honduras is being greeted with mixed emotions in legal circles and ought to raise serious misgivings about the motives behind this unexpected expulsion. Col. Grijalba, an alumnus of the U.S. Army School of the Americas, was a co-founder and active participant of Battalion 3-16. 

Funded and trained by the CIA, Battalion 3-16 was a death squad specializing in the illegal arrest, detention, torture and assassination of hundreds of people, including union organizers, teachers, young clerics, lawyers, human rights monitors and journalists. He is an alumnus of the U.S. Army School of the Americas. (The SOA was perfunctorily "closed" last year and immediately reopened and re-christened the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. The School's structure, methods and objectives have not changed).

Why is Col. Grijalba suddenly being deported after spending years in Florida unmolested? Will he be tried in Honduras and punished for his crimes, or will he merely be put to pasture, like many of his former colleagues, and allowed to live out his life in relative ease and comfort? Is he being extradited or expediently sidelined because he knows too much? 

W. E. Gutman 
Via Internet

RECOGNITION TO HTW

Dear HTW:

I am a Honduran of Cuban descendent with a Ph.D. in environmental and recreation economics from Cornell University working in Costa Rica for SFS/CEDS and affiliate program of Boston University in Costa Rica. The purpose of this e-mail is to thank you for the opportunity that Honduras This Week provides to those like me to keep permanently in contact with Honduras. Keep up the good work. Maybe one day in one of my trips home I will stop by to meet the group that makes HTW possible.

Saludos desde Costa Rica.

Juan Antonio Aguirre.G.Ph.D.
Via INTERNET

Petroleum in sight, the slump 

The Ministry of Agriculture hosts the Petroleum Technical Unit, which replaced the former Mines and Hydrocarbons Office through decree no. 292-98 emitted on December 23, 1998. Congress's intention, it would appear, was to create chaos of the guaranteed rights provided by the defunct department. With this strategy, all formalities that managed valuable resource s disappeared. Three years and a half later, we are back in the stone ages.

Since 1957, Honduras has registered the perforation of three oil wells, all of them located in the La Mosquitia zone. Both JAPEX and TEXACO participated in these investigations.

However, the companies involved never divulged the outcomes of these explorations. In other words, we became a world reserve; but with our luck, the day before petroleum is drilled in Honduras, vehicles around the world will be ready to use hydrogen or water as fuel.

Today, the duty of the Petroleum Technical Unit is exclusively to manage the prices of imported petroleum. Its involvement with gems, non-metallic and metallic products, petroleum and its by-products is over; only emptiness and many unanswered questions remain. 

Despite the above, Honduras has four active mines: San Andres, Mochito, Macuelizo and San Martin. Moreover, there are three station exploitations: Corpus, Clavo Rico and Baldoquin. All this is just a sample. During colonial times, more than 100 mines were exploited. That is how we define here the importance and richness of Honduras.

Due to lack of research and promotion, other relevant areas such as the exploitation of gems is unknown in the country. The only research tool we count on at this point is a geological map and a metal deposit map. Again, these are out of print and outdated.

After analyzing its possibilities, Nicaragua found the answer and granted investors some very interesting options including: a) use of oil produced; b) profit repatriation; c) import tax exemption during the export phase and the first four years of the development phase; and d) fiscal and monetary stability; The tax exemption part is more than stimulating, as well as the operational freedom granted.

Anyway, all concessions provided by Nicaragua to these firms affect Honduran interests somehow, given its proximity and the interconnection of the richness in the sub-soil.

Today, petroleum is considered a political weapon. President Bush said that the United States depends on unstable countries in regards to petroleum imports. National petroleum consumption comes from Venezuela. How about having President Hugo Chavez as an enemy? 

Petroleum and external debt go hand in hand. Most petroleum dependant countries have dedicated much effort into exploiting and promoting natural gas and carbon consumption to alleviate petroleum bills.

In our country, however, these matters seem forgotten. Some think the Honduran sea has already been registered to foreign interests. Others say OPEC has taken control of Honduran resources. What we do know for sure is that Nicaragua has a permanent interest in owning the 15 parallel, and now we all know why. 

Monday, May 13,  2002 Online Edition 17

Organizing the Honduran Community in the US

By Marco Caceres

WASHINGTON -The day after the Bush Administration approved extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for undocumented Hondurans in the US, I spoke with a number of individuals who expressed to me their deep sense of relief that they had received what amounts to a reprieve from deportation. All of them had been calmly living under the assumption that the US would surely renew TPS. But during the past few weeks, they had started to become anxious because they knew that a decision that could drastically change their lives would soon be handed down.

The sad thing is that few of these individuals had done anything to try and influence, in some small way, the TPS extension decision. It's as if they either had complete confidence in the generosity of President Bush or they were resigned to the belief that there's nothing they could do about their situation anyway, so why bother.

One of the most important challenges facing Honduras is finding a way to ensure that the roughly 105,000 Hondurans covered under TPS remain in the US and continue to send money back to their families in Honduras. Annual remittances from the Honduran community in the US are estimated at between $600 million and $700 million, making this Honduras' primary source of capital.

The problem is that Honduras doesn't have huge amounts of political leverage in Washington. 

It is a small, poor country that relies on the good graces of the US. Thus, Honduran leaders can submit humble requests to the Bush Administration and congressional representatives, but it can never be assured of a favorable response.

Honduras needs more tools for influencing public policy in the US, so that it can improve its odds of getting what it wants when it comes to issues such as immigration and trade. I think the time has come to realize that, potentially, one of the most powerful tools we have is the growing Honduran presence in the US. 

What is lacking is the formulation of a strategy for educating, organizing, and mobilizing this community.

There are easily more than 500,000 people in the US who are Honduran, Honduran-American, or "friends of Honduras". This represents a tremendous resource for Honduras, not only in terms of the funds it can generate, but because of its access to information, contacts, and ability to make its views quickly known to governmental representatives at the local, state, and federal levels.

Just imagine the impact hundreds of thousands of letters, phone calls, faxes, and e-mails can have if they are coordinated within a specific period of time, particularly if the communications are well-informed and well-expressed. Here in Washington, there are two major ways to sway decisions on legislation and policy. You either contribute lots of money to a campaign or cause. Or you flood the halls of the White House and Congress with mail.

Somehow, Hondurans in the US have to unite and get to work on the matters that affect them and their native country. The communities in New York, Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Houston, Baton Rouge, Washington, D.C., and other cities must create a non-partisan association that will monitor events, legislation, and issues. This association must educate and inform its people. And it must be capable of efficiently mobilizing them.
Let me suggest that the first step in this mobilization process should be to thank the Bush Administration for its decision on TPS extension. This can be a very simple letter consisting of a couple of sentences... "On May 1, 2002, the US Government approved extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for undocumented Hondurans residing in the United States. I want to thank you for this decision." Address your letters to the individuals listed at the end of this article. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at hondo@post.com.

Note that TPS extension is for 12 months. It stands to reason that we will eventually run out of extensions. There is a good case to be made for now moving past TPS and looking to see how to obtain an amnesty by having Hondurans included in the Nicaraguan and Cuban American Relief Act (NACARA).

This will be tougher endeavor than TPS. However, it is the inevitable next step.

The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States of America The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20501
The Honorable Richard Cheney Vice President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20501
The Honorable John Ashcroft Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530
The Honorable James Zieglar Commissioner Immigration and Naturalization Service 425 Eye Street, NW Washington, DC 20536
Ambassador John Maisto Special Assistant to the President Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs National Security Council Old Executive Building Washington, DC 20502

 Petroleum in sight

It was pleasant to see in La Prensa daily, in its April 27 edition, Nicaragua's decision to start exporting petroleum. This is no surprise to us. For quite a long time, we have been aware of exploration work in the areas where the black gold might lay.

Since 1930, petroleum exploration in Nicaraguan has been rather intense, so much so that by 1995, 34 wells had been drilled in both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. These concessions were granted by the Nicaraguan Institute of Energy (INE), whose authorities were clever enough to update its old laws and convert them into sources of employment and new businesses, in accordance with modern times.

This convenient exploitation package guarantees the investment and use of the non-renewable resource. There is no doubt that such a move is useful to Central America, however, as Nicaragua is the country involved, we feel driven to think of the implications.

There are several companies involved in the drilling; Exxon, Superior Oil, Oceanic Exploration Co., Geco-Prakla, Chevron, Shell, Union, Mobil, Western CA-Ribbean Petroleum Co., PEICIP and Western Geophisi-CAL. Most of these companies have just been drilling, but others are well known for their related researches. 

In Central America, Guatemala possesses three wells that supply 30 percent of the national consumption, a factor that allows prices and quality to remain at an optimum level. El Salvador has not reported any serious explorations, while Costa Rica has presented some good possibilities.

With technical Soviet assistance, Nicaragua drilled nearly 109,582 mts., and although positive results came up after 3,223 mts., the detected amounts were not sufficient for exploitation purposes. However, the work must go on.

There are relatively a few land-drilled wells, like Punta Gorda and Twara. Argonauta, San Cayetano, San Rafael 1, California 1, Triton, Corvina, Rivas and El Ostonial 1 belong to the Pacific sea, but most of the wells are found at the Atlantic sea. Such is the case of Centeno 1, Perlas 1, Nica 1, Rama 1, Escondido 1, Atlantico 1, Prinza Polk 1, Yoro Cay 1, Zelaya 1, Nasa Cay 1, Touche 1, Martinez Reef, Iriangen 1, Tuapi 1, Misquito 2, Ledacura 1, Huani 1, Misquito 1, Ledacura 1 and a mysterious well, known as Coco Marina 1. We think it might have been drilled in Honduran territory by mistake, or maybe it was a Honduran concession. This point is unclear.

In the Nicaraguan department of Zelaya, adjacent to the Honduran Mosquitia, no inland oil deposits have been registered so far. It is worth mentioning that at least five wells that were drilled in the Atlantic Ocean, right next to Honduras, showed the presence of both "good" petroleum as well as gas and other sub-products.

In Honduras, however, the perspective is always different. The issue of petroleum has been handled in a way that makes any acceptable future look even more distant. If we add the jurisdictional manipulation that has been taking place for years, any good chances regarding this product seem far off.

The country's resources must be constantly investigated and registered in order to promote them and attract new partners. There are already enough petroleum wars, we must be prepared to defend ourselves when scarcity arises. 

Monday, May 7,  2002 Online Edition 16

Public responsibility and constitutionally conferred legal immunity

By LORENZO DEE BELVEAL
Special to Honduras This Week

The ongoing mini-debate concerning legal immunity for elective politicians deserves to be expanded to involve the full voter consciousness of La Republica. Outfitting "public servants" with constitutional protection that entitles - nay, invites! - them to ignore the statutory penalties that will place lesser mortals in jail, is too attractive an enticement to criminal wrongdoing to be longer tolerated as a mere "perk" for dubious political service.

Understanding the origins of this shameful practice requires a modest foray into United States legislative history.

In the interests of encouraging the most frank and candid kind of floor debates in the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives, those bodies passed an Act that declares "speech on the floors of either chamber to be privileged and immune" from any charges of libel, defamation, perjury or common tort. What this enactment accomplished was to render a senator or congressman immune to lawsuits growing out of any of his/her speech contents - provided said speech was delivered within the confines of the U. S. Senate or the House of Representatives. That is all it did!

History is replete with instances of U. S. legislators being sued, expelled, disbarred, jailed and otherwise held accountable to both civil and criminal laws for legal infractions involving sexual peccadilloes, fraud, misappropriation of public funds, perjury and abuse of political power in the course of either their private or official activities. The argument can be justifiably made that U. S. public officials are held to an even stricter code of accountability than rank and file citizens - and this is the way it should be, since public officials have undertaken a public trust. They are obligated to behave in an exemplary fashion! They should be role-models for a well-ordered society. 

But while Honduras lawmakers chose to follow the U. S. example, they decided to ignore the carefully crafted limitation on the "immunity blanket" they fashioned for their own advantage and benefit. Instead of merely exempting "political speech" from legal challenge, Honduran officialdom made its members legally "untouchable". Any elected Honduras Official or Diputado (plus a long list of appointive functionaries) are rendered safe from any kind of legal charge or challenge, by no less an immunity shield than a Constitutional Codicil that declares them so! Their immunities include everything from mere fraud to bloody murder; and from default on child-support payments, to perjury and acceptance of bribes. Indeed, an "immunized" Honduras politician is utterly beyond the reach of any kind of law, either civil or criminal! 

It is doubtful that a private citizen will ever meet a more potentially dangerous criminal than one dressed in a three-piece suit, and protected by a Constitutionally guaranteed immunity order. Yet, this is the disgraceful inheritance of decades of criminally motivated political rule by a succession of Honduras "strong men" and their venal co-conspirators, who have long seen "public service" as an inviting avenue to partisan advantage, illicit enrichment - and with constitutionally-conferred safety from even the first hint of legal retribution.

At long last, a glimmer of institutional pride appears to have surfaced, and that urges at least some of the official beneficiaries of this "criminal licensing" to seriously consider opting out from under its sullying influence, and into the refreshing respectability of law-abiding citizens, as well as being government principals. How far this wavelet of official reformation will be allowed to proceed remains an open - and riveting - question.
It has long been said that "the salary of an official Honduras position is a modest enticement, compared to the value of "legal immunity" to a politician who knows how to steal." It's hard to argue with the clear logic of that case. Without doubt, legal immunity has made many more political millionaires than has devoted, selfless, public service. And continues to do so! How long will this shameful performance continue?
That issue is now in the balance.

In terms of international confidence, there are two enactments in the corpus of Honduras law that continue to render the Republica a proper butt of both tacit and spoken disdain. First and foremost is the political "immunity blanket", as discussed above. Second is the "Publicity Gag-Law" that mandates draconian punishments for journalists, publishers and broadcasters who have the courage and temerity to overtly connect political figures with their abuses of office and crimes against the populace. Within the convoluted language of the gag-law enactment, publicly identifying a political "crook" is tantamount to a crime bordering on treason against the nation! How absurd! How diabolical! How ridiculous!!
It is hard to imagine a more patriotic labor than one that catches a corrupt politician with his arm in the national "cookie jar". Thieves should be in jail. Especially political thieves!

The newly incumbent Maduro administration seems to be showing an interest in recapturing some measurement of international respectability. Certainly this is a most laudable, if terribly difficult trick to pull off. History itself offers the most compelling arguments against such a reformation ever taking place. Old habits die very hard. This is particularly true of old political habits. Still, the effort itself is commendable.

Assuming Don Ricardo and his political entourage are serious about their indicated preferences for the unaccustomed political "straight and narrow" way back to international self-respect and acceptance, there is no better - or more efficacious - place for them to start than with striking the Constitutional "immunity-blanket" and the Publicity "gag-law" out of the nation's pre-eminent structural document. Nothing could possibly be seen as more unequivocal of a solid intent to "do better" in the future than in the past. If Honduras expects to be taken seriously, it must act seriously. It has much to overcome on its long-delayed march to sovereign responsibility.

The hemispheric neighbors - especially - are looking for signals that can be trusted. They should not be disappointed again; This, not for their benefit, but for the sake of Honduras.
A witches brew of bad leadership, bad luck and bad weather has dropped Honduras into a seemingly bottomless cauldron of national catastrophe, stifling debt, wall-to-wall poverty and behavioral disgrace. Honduras will never escape from this quagmire without years and years of devoted foreign assistance. The crucial foreign participation will never materialize without the magnet of confidence and institutional trust to attract and justify it.

The ball is in the Honduras court. The Maduro administration has an opportunity to change the course of long and dismal national history. The time for talking is past. This is the time for political courage and national sagacity.

Question: Can the incumbent administration measure up to this daunting challenge?



Letter from Honduras: May 1st, International Day of the Worker

It always amazes me how many variations there on a theme. Every culture has its own way of doing the simplest things. I used to try and imitate the Moroccan walk, a kind of long paced plod, no doubt influenced by the wearing of long robes. I marveled at how Moroccans took their wallets out of their pockets and counted out the money, so different from my own British way. And here in Honduras I now make a pot of coffee in the local manner but retain my "British way" of building and lighting a wood fire. This extends to killing turkeys. I prefer to kill any animal I eat at least 24 hours before I do so, leaving it to hang overnight. I can't say I go along with the aristocratic custom of hanging pheasant for so long that it is practically dropping off the bone, but leaving it for a night or two seems a good way of tenderizing the meat and still eating it fresh. So I was a little put-out when I arrived home late the night before May Day to see the turkey we planned to eat the following day still strutting about. "Didn't you kill the turkey then?" I said to my wife who knows how I feel about hanging meat.

"I thought you were going to kill it," she replied, "and I didn't expect you to be back so late. Anyway there is still time." It was dark, and I was tired and hungry and the last thing I wanted to was kill, pluck and clean a turkey and I said so. "I'll do it then," said my wife reaching for a machete with one hand the turkey with the other, ready to hack its head off. But the thought of her doing it instead of me held as little appeal. "Let's get up early and do it tomorrow, " I suggested. Ho Ho and who's getting Honduran in his old age then?

So next morning I grabbed the turkey and applied Honduran tenderizer to it by pouring a couple of shots of powerful alcohol down its throat. I had a couple myself and when we were both feeling nice'n' relaxed I smashed its skull with a club and stretched its neck between a broom handle pinned to the ground by my feet in a good old Scottish way with no need of machetes and a bloody beheading.

And sure enough the meat was very tender when a few hours later a tribe of small children and their mothers and grannies (not many fathers around - truly a macho but matriarchal society) and I got stuck in. Fidel Castro was on the radio with his Mayday message from Radio Havana. It was a bit like the Queen's Christmas speech: no one paid much attention, it was background, but it was somehow quite reassuring to hear it all the same. We have heard it all before but it's still good to listen to it. Moreover Castro doesn't rant and rave as he denounces the gringos but enunciates every word clearly making him a pleasure to listen to for someone whose first language isn't Spanish. Such clarity reminds one again of Her Majesty even if the message is rather different.

Just as we were clearing away the dishes, a lorry rolled up in clouds of dust with some bags of cement I had ordered the day before. "Day of the Worker" or not, some workers were obviously still working, so we invited them to share our meal. The conversation followed familiar lines: Much surprise at the fact that I wasn't North American. "Oh, the U.K. is not in the U.S.?" "No." "Must be a part of the Soviet Union then?" "Er no, somewhere in between" "Ah, somewhere in between" "Yes. Actually it's not the Soviet Union anymore. That disappeared some years ago." "No Soviet Union?" "No, it's called Russia now." "Russia? Which State is that in then?"

And so and a good time was had by all. The lorry drove off in another storm of dust which hung in the air with the haze of smoke that is everywhere from forest fires blazing and smoldering away hereabouts on all sides. They are endemic at this time of year reducing visibility considerably (to the extent of sometimes closing all the airports in the country). It is the end of the dry season: Easter Week and May Day mean thousands of cigarette ends are chucked away, empty beer bottles are strewn everywhere and campesinos are purposely burning off the undergrowth on their land in preparation for sowing this month when rains come and when the moon is right. No one makes much effort to put the fires out. Large tracts of land look like no-mans land and we must all be smoking the equivalent of two packs a day. Still it was a good May 1st. The turkey was delicious, the children didn't fight much, spending most of the time, fishing for tadpoles and climbing trees to pick small, unripe mangos, considered a great delicacy with a bit of salt and hot chile sauce. And if not many men could be seen during the day, they could be heard during the night shooting off their guns and shouting whoopee. I can't say that is a custom I much approve of. Anyway, I'm bloody careful where I go when I stumble out of my bed and go outside for a late May-night pee. 

Nigel J. Potter is a U.K. expatriate living in San Jose, Marcala, La Paz.

Taxes and the pox 

We find no humor in government announcements to instate a series of indirect taxes, funds needed to satisfy government financial obligations and presidential campaign promises.

This government's obligation is rather to improve on previous administrations, and thus assure another national party victory. To our understanding, the proposed tax plan is peripheral. Vital taxes that could increase income, for example, ship banners would be more significant source as well as generate foreign exchange. However we are not here to tell the government how to raise money. 

Rather, there are other more important issues to be mentioned. For example: Public transportation owners should be obligated by law to possess insurance covering accidents, hospital care and damages to third parties. Import tax on vehicles is also necessary, as it is aimed at providing the general public the possibility of acquiring cheaper, newer cars. Let's remember that importing used cars implies high maintenance costs. In other words, savings are minimal given the high price of spare parts; and the unmeasured cost of pollution.

What is even more questionable is the purpose these tax funds will be used for. If they are to be used to please the teachers' demands, we are really getting off on the wrong foot. So far, the government has been emphasizing the need for improved tax collection, yet no one is quite sure the destination of these monies.

We are not here to become an obstacle, we just want to take part in forming the future of this poor country. Unfortunately, too many hands and a lot demagogy are getting in the way of reforms.

It's not that we don't believe or mistrust President Ricardo Maduro, but we are uncertain about the behavior of some of his collaborators. Not exactly idealists, they certainly know what corruption is all about.

The "safe future" needs support to raise this society up to its ideal and to higher competitive levels. However, the price of this support seems higher every day. The citizens' safety campaign was not as successful as expected, although this is not just Maduro's campaign, but all of ours. Therefore, the victory of criminals over Maduro, is a defeat for all of us too.

President Maduro should distance himself from his courtesan assistants and set up an efficient work team that is willing to fight for the country's progress 24 hours a day.
It is not only an art but also a duty to keep the country's institutional life close to Honduras' family and God, as this is the best support the government can have. 

Adapting and applying Maduro's work plans will take more than one adjustment, it all depends on what kind of outreach he pretends to achieve. One sure thing is that in order to throw new taxes at the Honduran people, the government must also give them a formula that will improve their domestic economy. The load gets heavier daily.

The tax matter is an old pox, hard to eradicate. First the State is adjusted and then the private sector, no law is fair for all. 

STATS SHOW OTHERWISE

Dear HTW:

The recent Op-Ed by Lorenzo Dee Belveal seemed to have been based on a twisting of facts and outright false information. A review of the facts reveals that the United States is certainly not suffering due to immigration. Facts have never been known to persuade grumpy old men, but for the rest of society, they are quite compelling.

Recent unemployment statistics in the US have been the lowest in 30 years. Even during a worldwide recession, the rate of unemployment in the US is relatively low compared with historical unemployment rates. State welfare usage has been declining considerably over the past decade the cause of which is a subject of debate. The US Census Bureau recently released a report stating that the poverty rate in the US was the lowest in 20 years. Mr. Belveal himself conceded the fact that wages for unskilled workers has increased considerably. The statement that "workmen (and women)" are unable to find "gainful employment" and are "reduced to depending on social programs, charitable inputs, etc." is a reckless disregard for empirical evidence.

The US economy has grown considerably since the industrial revolution. The per capita gross domestic product was higher in 2000 than it was in any prior year and is among the highest in the world. During the past decade the real per capital gross domestic product increased at a rate of 2% per year.

A recent study conducted by the Urban Institute found that immigrants constitute a net fiscal windfall to the public sector of some $20 billion a year. Because immigrants tend to come to the United States during their working years -between the ages of 18 and 35 - they make very large net contributions to the two largest income transfer programs: Social Security and Medicare. This evidence suggests that immigrants are not draining US tax dollars either.

Another misstatement is that ""lots more unskilled, uneducated, ill-adapted immigrants no longer constitutes (sic) a benefit." Unskilled labor still fills important roles in many industries. Chicken processors are offering a $100 a head finder's fee for recruiting new employees, and one is under investigation for allegedly recruiting illegal immigrants in its desperate attempt to fill its demand for unskilled labor. The "under-trained 'lift-and-carry' types" are generally not "a debilitating handicap on the dynamic economic body," but rather an essential element.

In a totalitarian society, unskilled laborers might "have to be educated, trained, conditioned and outfitted to take their places in productive functions. However, in the US, Adam Smith's invisible hand has guided unskilled laborers to productive functions, and history has shown us that free societies prosper considerably more than totalitarian for the overall benefit of both society and the unskilled workers themselves.

Ralph Nelson
Via Internet


LISA LOPES' PREVIOUS CAR ACCIDENT IN HONDURAS

Dear HTW:

The death singer of Lisa Lopes in Honduras on April 25, 2002, has generated huge amounts of publicity worldwide. This is understandable, as Lopes was a member of one of the top female vocal groups of all time, "TLC". But I have to tell you that what I will remember most about this tragic story has less to do with the car accident, which took Lopes' life at the young age of 30 and more to do with the car accident that claimed the life of 10-year old Bayron Isaul Fuentes Lopez on April 6, 2002. 

I read that the boy was killed on the highway to El Progreso. Lopes was apparently a passenger in the automobile that hit Bayron Isaul. For various reasons, the accident involving Bayron Isaul was not reported to the police, and so there is not an official record of it. I find it strange and sad that, were it not for the death of the infinitely more famous Lopes less than three weeks later, few people would have known about the death of a fifth grader from La Lima. My condolences go out to the parents of Bayron Isaul. They have lost their son.

Marco Caceres
Washington, DC
Vía Internet