| Hondurans march together against corruption
Anette Emanuelsson
Honduras This Week
No party colors were allowed at the anticorruption demonstration that the organizers defined as a march under the Honduran flag. This Saturday February 10th, thousands of Hondurans marched through Tegucigalpa to show their commitment to the fight against corruption. Before the march, the organizing National Anticorruption Council (CNA) hoped for between 12,000 and 15,000 participants. More than 150 organizations participated, representing the Catholic and Evangelical churches, businessmen, peasants, students, indigenous groups and many others. At a press conference a couple of days before the march, CNA made it clear that it didn't appreciate the invitations made in the name of political parties since this should be a march free from party colors and political rhetoric. "The march won't be held under any symbol that isn't the Honduran flag and the white handkerchief that is mentioned in the invitation", Sergio Membreño, Executive Director of the CNA said.
In an interview earlier that week, Membreño labeled Honduran party culture as the main obstacle in the fight against corruption. "Corruption is closely related to a system of political favoritism, bi-partisan favoritism, and the way in which the operators of justice are named," he said.
In connection with the march, a plan of action to be signed by all participating organizations was proposed. The signatories will overlook the reform process in the judicial branch, demand that complete transparency surround the state budget, call for transparent voting in Congress and also make sure that the recently passed transparency law is fully implemented. But according to Membreño, none of the points will have any long-term result if they aren't accompanied by strengthened values. "There is a shortage of values in Honduras and it makes me sad to admit it, especially in front of the international community, but if we don't acknowledge this, it will be very difficult to find a solution," he said. An important part of the solution is educating Hondurans, especially children, in values - in school but also in other places like church.
According to Jorge Machado, Executive Director of the Evangelical Confraternity of Honduras and a member of CNA, corruption is traditionally not touched upon in church sermons as the ministers tend to preach only spiritual messages. But the evangelical movement's new integral vision of man has opened up for everyday life in church rooms. Not only the spirit needs to be saved, also the soul and the body are seen as important factors for people's well-being. "Although corruption has been seen as a political subject, we are trying to introduce it in the churches. During February several churches have been preaching on that theme. Problems of the country are also problems of the church," Machado said.
The march was named March for Integrity and against Corruption, and Machado believes that integrity is the most important value in the fight against corruption. "If there is more integrity, there will be less corruption," he said, pointing out that in classical Greek, integrity and corruption is the positive and negative form of the same word. Machado defines integrity as the coherence between what a person says and what he does, which is why he believes that especially Christians have a great obligation. "It has been said that 80 or 90 percent of the Honduran population is Christian. If that was true, and we were true to the Christian principles that forbid robbing, treating other people bad and not doing what we must do, Honduras would be a different country."
Machado wants people to see that corruption is not only about public officials stealing from the state. Always arriving half an hour late for work, not using your talents for the good of others, being lazy or trying to avoid paying taxes is all part of his definition of corruption. He takes Japan and the Nordic countries as examples of countries where citizens live according to their principles. "If you do that, the country develops."
According to Transparency International's 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index, Honduras ranks as the 35th most corrupt country among 163 countries surveyed worldwide and the third most corrupt country in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a score of 2.5 on a scale of ten where ten indicates no corruption. CNA has estimated that corruption costs Honduras US$ 530 million every year. "All that money being diverted results in Honduras having less health care and less education than we could have," Machado said.
The Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIT) is another participant in the anti-corruption march. The CCIT is often called upon by the government to overlook large purchases in, for example, the Ministries of Health and Education as well as the police. "Most of the acts of corruption can be found in the establishment of public bids, limiting participation by setting up requirements that only one company meets," said Mario Bustillo, Executive Director of the CCIT. He thinks that the government has made substantial savings thanks to more transparent bids. "We had 12 million lempiras to buy 20 vehicles and we bought 33."
According to Bustillo, removing bureaucracy also removes corruption, since every obstacle and hindrance is an incentive for corruption. "In order to develop their economic activity, many businessmen have to resort to these acts. There have been cases where businesses have gone bankrupt because of not fulfilling the demands."
Bustillo also emphasizes the importance of a good implementation of justice. "Here people are used to not following traffic regulations but when they go to the U.S. they do follow them because the authorities exercise their weight."
But in the end, also Bustillo traces the fight against corruption back to education in values. "It may sound a little bit utopist or rhetorical but th at is where we have to start so that the new generations see that corruption is damaging the country."
How free is the Honduran free press?
Alvaro Morales Molina and Alex Jones
Honduras This Week
Alex Jones/Honduras This Week
The Honduran newspapers' dependence on government advertisement can limit their independence. The free press is constrained by an intangible "presence" of censorship, claims nationally renowned journalist Sandra Maribel Sanchez. "The major Honduran media companies are so dependant on private and government investment that they are not offering the objective criticism that they should be." Is it now up to the smaller, independent news broadcasters to tell the people of Honduras the truth about what goes on at the top?
Sanchez explains how "a large part of the income for these media companies is from either government advertisement or private businesses investment." These bodies are essentially buying control of the press. A particular television channel may feel bullied into not criticizing a government, for example, "because a significant segment of their income is from selling advertising space to that government." Alternatively a media source may be pressured into being biased for or against something, due to how it affects the profits of those funding it. As such, "a mutual protection between powerful businessmen" has left many big businesses safe from public criticism. "Journalists control themselves accordingly" says Sanchez, "thinking, even if I do do the interview, my boss won't publish it."
Claudia Mendoza is also vocal on the issue, and wrote last week in the Honduran online magazine revistazo.com that "local politicians, when they are not the owners of media communications, do not hesitate to harass and throw punches at journalists, above all, the more vulnerable ones." She goes on to say that "the violence and pressures against the press are maintained at a particularly alarming level" and pointed to numerous cases. In one case, she claims that in April of last year "the entrepreneur Amid Cardenas, previously congressman of the Liberal Party and now owner of the television channel 49, inappropriately fired the reporter and presenter of the investigative program 'Denuncias 49', Wendy Guerra." In the end he "admitted to have given in to pressures from his political friends, and readmitted her on the 3rd of May."
The sort of pressures that led to Wendy Guerra being temporarily fired have also been used against Sanchez. She recalls numerous instances where past Presidents have personally pressured her to quiet down. After the National Party was elected into government with Maduro as President, Sanchez interviewed Rafael Pineda Ponce, the losing candidate for the Liberal Party. Over Radio America, she published his criticism of Carlos Flores, the previous Liberal leader and President. She claims that Flores then "requested a meeting with herself and the owner of Radio America, Miguel Andonie." During this meeting "Flores was very angry and wanted a public apology." To this Sanchez replied that she "couldn't apologize for something someone else had said."
In order to get a good, secure job, Sanchez claims, many journalists have yielded to the requests of powerful politicians.
Elan Reyes Pineda, the President of El Colegio de Periodistas, when asked about the liberty of the press responded "well…I think Honduras enjoys a free press, but there have been things that have limited it." He claimed that the "biggest issue that limits the free press is government advertising." He states clearly that he is "not against government publicity, but we need more transparency." "Though well managed publicity exists, sometimes conditions are set on media companies in the form of 'if we buy our advertising from you, your journalists cannot be overly critical of us.'" Though this does not always happen, and Pineda "cannot speak specifically", he claims that it has "limited" some of the major media outlets and resulted in "decreased objectivity."
Sanchez is also keen to stress the influence of big business on the media. She draws our attention to a hypothetical major businessman in Honduras, who may have business in medical supplies, and may also own a major newspaper. "Potentially, if that newspaper is overly critical of the government, the ministry for health could elect not buy his drugs" Sanchez suggests, "as such the businessman's newspaper may favor the government, in order to further his other enterprises." It also works the other way around. Imagine a newly elected government decided not to buy their drugs from his company. "His major newspaper then, potentially, may decide to criticize this government, punishing it with widely broadcast negative publicity".
However, Pineda does not feel that private investment has had the same stunting effect as some government investment. He points out that "it is private investment that has developed the media." Without "the money and technology" given by these companies and entrepreneurs "the Honduran press wouldn't be anything nearly as big as it is today." He admitted that "there are dangers" regarding conflicts of interest, but that "there are also morals and ethics inside these people" and that these can keep the press objective, saying that "when a media outlet is not objective, this is a problem of morality."
Both Sanchez and Pineda offer different solutions to the problem. Pineda argues that all professional journalists should be "members of El Colegio de Periodistas." El Colegio de Periodistas "have a moral code, which all members must abide to." Ensuring that journalists followed this code "would help to ensure, throughout the media, a respect for the people and for objectivity…but currently only about 50% of professional journalists are members."
"We have a project", says Pineda, "called the moralization of communication in Honduras." "We want to work with the backing of the National Anticorruption Council (CNA), and group together with all the major people and organizations that can affect the media. For example media owners, churches, and entrepreneurs, because only with them can we solve the morality issue in Honduras' media." He also points to a survey he wants to carry out and then publish, questioning people on which media outlets they trust to be the most objective.
Sanchez, on the other hand, who is not a member of El Colegio de Periodistas, proposes that the solution is in independent media companies. She highlights that "they could get their business through good information and advertising private businesses", emphasizing that, unlike government advertising, competition between businesses to be advertised is good enough that company advertisement would not relieve these medias of their independence.
"Although FM is full in most cities, there is great potential on the internet" said Sanchez, citing www.revistazo.com. Just recently revistazo.com, as well as releasing information about the censorship of the press, released information about the murder of Dionisio Díaz García, nicknamed 'The Lawyer of the Poor', naming two security companies: Delta Security Services and Servicio y Seguridad Técnica de Honduras (SETECH) in the process. Sanchez claimed that "the big media companies used revistazo.com as a source for the case - illustrating the potential that small, independent companies can have on the internet."
Open arms to Tegucigalpa's malnourished children
Sasha Arms
Honduras This Week
Louise Wallace/Honduras This Week
At the Brazos Abiertos nutrition recovery centre, malnourished children are given a nutritionally balanced diet. According to the latest World Bank statistics, one in three children in Honduras is chronically malnourished. Furthermore, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua account for 96% of the chronically malnourished children in Central America. Prompted by the shocking statistics, Becky de Santos, wife of Vice President Elvin Santos, set up 'Fundacion Brazos Abiertos' - the 'Open Arms Foundation', with the bold objectives of making Tegucigalpa's malnourished children better and teaching communities about good nutrition.
In May 2005, members of the 'Society of Tegucigalpa' attended a regular group meeting and discussed the distressing prevalence of malnutrition in Honduras' children. World Bank research showed that the main cause of malnutrition in Central America is not actually a lack of food, but a combination of factors including poor maternal health, inappropriate infant care and feeding practices, and lack of access to safe water and sanitation. Realising that they could do something about it, Becky de Santos proposed the formation of a 'Nutrition Recovery Centre' in Tegucigalpa, as a starting point to help malnourished children to recuperate. Eighteen months later in October 2006, after securing support from the government, funding from various sources including Diunsa, Banco Ficosa and the Taiwanese Embassy, and a property to house the centre donated by Tegucigalpan businessman, Danilo Diaz, Fundacion Brazos Abiertos was ready.
Secretary of the foundation, Gabriela de Sacasa, explains how Brazos Abiertos is designed to be an extension of hospitals and medical centres across the wider Tegucigalpan region: "We are affiliated with hospitals so that when doctors identify malnourished children, they have the option to refer them on to the Brazos Abiertos nutrition recovery centre. Once the children have been assessed by a doctor, they can identify whether or not they are malnourished and therefore if Brazos Abiertos can help them."
Taking children aged between 6 months and 6 years old, Brazos Abiertos has so far helped 19 children by taking them into the recovery centre and giving them a nutritionally balanced diet. However, treating malnourished children is much more complex than just giving them nutritious meals. "When we receive children at the centre, the signs of malnutrition are stark in their development. Three year old children are so small they look like one year olds - most can't talk or walk," surmises Dr Mara Gisela Vigil, one of Brazos Abiertos' three doctors. "So the children have a lot of emotional recovery to get through, as well as eating the right foods," she goes on to say. The typical duration that a child needs to stay at the Brazos Abiertos recovery centre is between 6 and 8 weeks, after which they are returned to their families. Importantly, parents conjointly attend classes, so they learn about nutrition and how to ensure their children stay healthy. The centre also provides ongoing support to the families they help, in the form of medicines and advice.
Brazos Abiertos is starting to make a dent in the malnutrition problem in Honduras, but the next important step is to increase awareness among medical professionals in the city. The nutrition recovery centre has the capacity to accommodate 25 children, but at the moment there are only 9 children there. It is fundamental to make more hospitals and medical centres aware of the existence of Brazos Abiertos, as well as raising awareness in local communities. To do this, Becky de Santos and a team of volunteers from the foundation visit communities at least once a week to talk about their work.
This week they visited 'Centro de Salud Cesar', a health centre in the mountain village, San Juan del Rancho in Tegucigalpa's outskirts, and invited 'Honduras This Week' to come.
Sitting among a group of mothers and children, Becky de Santos explains what Brazos Abiertos can do for their children. She reassures mothers that the centre does not take their children away from them, but treats them medically in order to make them healthy again. One mother, Maria Gregoria, makes an emotional speech to the room. Her 17-month old son, Fernando, is currently receiving treatment at the centre: "Fernando was so ill when he went to the centre, but now I can see him getting so much better and I don't worry anymore. Brazos Abiertos has done so much for my family; I don't know what I would have done without them." During the session, Dr Vigil weighs and assesses the children for signs of malnutrition, while other volunteers write out menu cards for families who need help designing nutritionally balanced meals.
Although Brazos Abiertos is just getting off the ground, children are importantly starting to recover from malnutrition and associated problems, while education about nutrition is increasing in some of Tegucigalpa's most vulnerable communities. The foundation plans to open more recovery centres to increase the number of people they can affect, as well as community centres in some of the more isolated areas, so that ongoing nutritional support is more readily available. Naturally, it is also important that the foundation continues to receive funding. "We are all volunteers here. We are lucky that the government provides doctors and nurses for us, but we still have to pay for the nannies and cooks in the centre. So of course we need to ensure that Brazos Abiertos continues to receive financial support," Secretary Gabriela de Sacasa ascertains.
Securing funding together with publicising their work to more medical professionals is a weighty priority for Brazos Abiertos over the coming months. Indeed, if the foundation fills the capacity of its current nutrition recovery centre, it could treat up to 225 children over the next 12 months.
Legal action to overtake fuel
terminals presented
Alvaro Morales Molina
Honduras This Week
Rosa America Miranda, Procuradora General de la Republica (Legal Representative of the State), appeared this Wednesday in court to request that the Honduran oil company, DIPPSA, give up the use of its fuel terminals to the government. For this service DIPPSA will be paid a price according to what the government deem just. In DIPPSA's original contract there is a clause stating that, in the case of a national emergency, the government can demand the use of the fuel terminals. After defining fuel and its derivatives as items of first and basic need, the government are now taking legal action on this.
¨I have come on behalf of the people of Honduras, and specifically with the interests of the poor¨ expressed the governmental officer as she presented the document to be read by the Judge. She was surrounded by numerous journalists and accompanied by her group of legal advisors, headed by Efrain Moncada Silva, a prestigious lawyer and Interior ex Secretary of State. Juliette Handal and Priest Rafael Alvarado were also with her, as Honour Witnesses of Fuel Bid Process.
After this initial procedure the judge has 24 hours to communicate the legal suit to Henry Arevalo, President of DIPPSA, who then has the chance to contest the suit. If he does not draw any contentions the government will have no objection to make use of the tanks.
President Zelaya's officials have consistently offered USD$0.03 per gallon received, stored and delivered. However Arevalo claimed this to be an unjust price and rejected the offer, asking for US$0.0627 instead.
Arevalo and the Honduran President Manuel Zelaya had three meetings trying to reach an agreement, but it was not possible. The government alleges that under the original establishment contract for the oil company Petrotela, they can oblige Petrotela to hand over the management and use of the fuel terminals in a national emergency. After the Presidential Sanction, made on 12 January and published on 20 January this year, the petroleum derivates were declared officially to be a basic need item.
Juliette Handal, President of Honourable Witnesses Commission, expressed at the moment of the presentation of the lawsuit, that with the clear and specific clause regarding national emergencies there is not much to ale gate from Arevalo's side, and the only choice he has is to accept.
According to the Procuradora Miranda, the case must be considered of high urgency and national interest, so the procedure should be swift and quick and that there should be no possibility for a nullity.
The winner of the fuel bid, the North American Conoco Phillips, has reached an agreement with the government that they should have control of the terminals by February 23rd. If not they will abandon the bid.
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Accident in Olancho kills three North Americans
Three volunteers from the Atlanta, Georgia area on a week-long mission trip in Olancho with the NGO Honduras Outreach were killed Tuesday the 6th when their truck rolled over. The accident occurred near the isolated aldea of Malpaís in the municipality of San Esteban, Olancho. At least a dozen more were wounded and flown to hospitals by US Army helicopters. Honduras Outreach has been sending volunteers to work in communities for the last 18 years and this is the first accident according to Jerry Eickhoff, president of the board of directors. Last year the non-profit, based in Decatur, Georgia, sent 1,100 people to Honduras on weeklong missionary trips. The victims were 45 year old Perry Goad, 58 year old Ric Mason and Martha Fuller. The group operates from Rancho Paraíso in the Agalta Valley. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and El Heraldo
Nicaragua and Honduras in row over aircrafts
President Manuel Zelaya responded to allegations made by Daniel Ortega on Tuesday that Honduras is in possession of a fleet of eleven military aircraft. 'The Honduran army is small and only aims are to protect the forests, assist the police and defend the borders', Zelaya reassured the Nicaraguan president. Ortega claims that the aircraft could 'reach Managua and bomb the city in twenty five minutes'. Yet the Honduran government denies this fact, insisting that it has no intention to disturb the balance of power in Central America. Though the ambassador of the US in Managua confirms that Honduras has used US funds in the past year for the purchase of eight aircraft, it is alleged that these are small, with the capacity to carry only one or two people. El Heraldo
Two thousand university students expelled due to low grades
The study period in Honduras commenced on Monday with the news that 80 000 students will be attend the university this year. Yet this academic term has also begun with the expulsion of 2,318 students who failed to get grades higher than 20%. An additional 11,869 students, with grades between 21 and 40% are expected to increase their efforts, in order to be allowed to continue their university studies. El Heraldo
Abolished registration fees still being charged
Thirty five parents have appeared before the Office for the Protection of the Consumer in protest against the irregularity and corruption involved in school matriculation. The parents, from Divino Paraiso, report charges of 200 lempiras for the registration of their children, even though the government last year abolished the registration fees. The Office for the Protection of the Consumer has issued an executive statement ordering educational institutions not to charge for school registration. The corruption is under investigation. El Heraldo
Fifth hospital director to resign in one year
Dr Julio Burdeth, director of the Hospital Escuela, has retired, allegedly due to pressure from Dr Marco Antonio Rosa, medical adviser to President Manuel Zelaya. Dr Rosa rejects these claims, insisting that his intervention on behalf of his brother in law Roberto Lacayo placed no imposition on the hospital director. Dr Burdeth's retirement will be the fifth from this post in less than a year. El Heraldo
Gang conference attended by Central American police
Police representatives from Honduras, El Salvador, México, Belize and Guatemala joined a three day conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday with the aim to promote cooperation and develop strategy in the fight against gang violence in Central America and the US. The conference, which has also involved members of the FBI, Anti Drugs Agency and the US Department of Immigration, will pay particular attention to issues of immigration and the sharing of criminal records, addressing concerns about the deportation of known gang members. 'Gang violence has international consequences and must therefore be confronted on an international scale' Antonio Villaraigosa, mayor of Los Angeles, said. El Heraldo
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