NATIONAL

Monday, April 27, 1998 Online Edition 103

Flores seeks support for illegal aliens at Summit of the Americas

Processes of economic integration in the American continent are moving forward

By BLANCA MORENO

After traveling to the Dominican Republic to sign the Free Trade agreement between that country and Honduras, President Flores continued on to Chile last weekend to meet with the leaders of the American continent at the Summit of the Americas.

The Summit of the Americas, promoted by the United States, offered the 34 American heads of state the opportunity to express their desires for a free trade zone that covers North, Central and South America by the year 2005.

The principal theme of the summit was education, including technological education and intensive efforts toward literacy. Other topics discussed include democracy, justice, human rights, eradication of poverty and discrimination, and economic integration and free trade.

In addition to discussing the Free Trade Treaty, the presidents of Central America also expressed their support of a solution to the plight of Hondurans living illegally in the United States. In a signed document the presidents confirmed the unstable situation in Honduras during the Cold War and requested that Hondurans receive the same preferential treatment as other Central American citizens who migrated in the 1980s, who have been given political asylum status in the United States.

President Flores met informally with President Clinton to discuss key issues of U.S. sanctions of Honduran products and the situation of Honduran illegal aliens. Flores said that he is optimistic that these issues will soon be resolved favorably. Flores also promised to act drastically to reduce the violation of copyright law in Honduras.

Flores took advantage of the summit to meet with Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo to discuss the free trade agreement between Mexico and Honduras, which is scheduled to be signed within two months.

The idea of a free trade agreement between Chile and Central America was also discussed.

"The liberty of the markets will soon be a characteristic of the entire world, and in the Summit of the Americas concrete decisions were made," said Flores on his return to Tegucigalpa. "Honduras must be up to speed with the other countries to be part of this historic rhythm toward free trade."

Cache of high-powered weapons found near
Valle de Angeles
A local farmer walking through the woods on Sunday, April 19, near the small community of El Sauce noted with curiosity some nylon bags at the bottom of a small crevice in the mountainside. His curiosity soon turned to shock when he realized that the bags held a hidden cache of high calibre military weapons.

Local police authorities were notified and special teams trained in the handling of explosives were called to the scene. Later that morning officials had determined that the cache contained three Soviet-made grenade launchers with infrared sights, 14 RPG-7 grenades, 1,780 50mm anti-air cartridges, and more than 1,250 cartridges of unknown calibre, along with military fatigues and weapons cases.

The find has caused surprise among police and military authorities, who are unable to explain the origin of these munitions. Armed forces officials are rechecking their inventory of lost and stolen weapons, but say that the armed forces has never had RPG-7 grenades.

Police also doubt that the weapons belong to local delinquents, because they are of too high a calibre to be useful in assaults. The weapons, produced in the 1970s and 1980s, appear as though they have never been used.

Police estimate that the weapons were abandoned approximately three days ago. Residents of the area say that they have not seen any unusual activity, but that traffic is fairly heavy on the road, and even at night passing vehicles do not draw attention.

This find is reminiscent to many of weapons caches left behind by guerilla and Contra soldiers during the Cold War fighting in this region.

Teguz visited by Global March Against Child Labor
The Latin American Global March Against Child Labor arrived in Tegucigalpa Wednesday afternoon after three days in Nicaragua. Some 20 public and private organizations are officially supporting and participating in the event. A march beginning in Central Park and ending in front of the National Congress with participation from various local schools and educational institutions was scheduled for Thursday, as well as a meeting with the Ministry of Education and first lady Mary Flores. Press conferences and meetings with the private sector were planned for Friday.

Today the marchers are headed to Choluteca where many children work illegally to support their families. Around 3 p.m. after visiting this agricultural area in the southern region of Honduras, the group will continue on to El Salvador.

Other Global March Against Child Labor groups are currently in Asia, Africa, and Europe. All will converge in Geneva, Switzerland on May 30 to participate in an international convention for the elimination of exploitative forms of child labor to be presented by the International Labor Organization. More details of the march in Honduras are scheduled for next week's edition.

Honduran executed at Arizona prison

Despite the last minute pleas of Pope John Paul II and President Flores for clemency, Florence, Arizona state prison authorities on Wednesday (April 21) carried out the execution of José Roberto Villafuerte by means of lethal injection, the daily La Tribuna reported. Villafuerte, who died slightly after 1 a.m. Honduran time, had been convicted of murdering 47-year-old Amalia Schoville 15 years ago in Phoenix, Arizona.

When asked whether he felt remorse about killing his lover in an interview broadcast by the Abriendo Brecha news program, Villafuerte stated, "No, because I didn't kill anyone. What happened is that my friends passed the buck to me, since I'm not from here [the U.S.] and I don't speak English....as a result, here I am." However, La Tribuna reported that according to files of the now defunct Department of National Investigation (DNI), Villafuerte was the prime suspect in two murders and one rape case.

As a precautionary measure, the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa was closed to the public Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the local press reported that Dennis Humberto Zelaya (Texas) and Aludin Chirinos (Florida) are among four more Hondurans on death row in the United States.

Changes in police command

In a major shakeup of the police force, police chief Julio Cesar Chavez and chief of staff Col. Manuel Antonio Urbina resigned from their posts after a recent audit revealed irregularities in the administration of Lps. 25 million in emergency funds, the daily La Tribuna reported Tuesday (April 21).

Chavez is succeeded by Col. Manuel Alvaro Flores Ponce, who was sworn in as the new police chief at a ceremony held Tuesday at Casamata -- the police headquarters. Andres Wilfredo Urtecho Jeamborde succeeds Urbina.

Hernan Padilla Corrales, who is heading the commission that is overseeing the transfer of the police from military to civilian hands, denied that either of the men had been forced to resign. The resignations, he said, were just part of the transformation process the police is undergoing. Official sources said more high-level changes are expected soon.

Land mine victims to sue U.S.

More than 30 Hondurans who have been maimed by land mines along the Honduran-Nicaraguan border have filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the United States government, according to attorney Alberto Mejia Banegas in a La Tribuna report.

Mejía and 12 other lawyers filed the class action lawsuit Wednesday (April 22) at the courthouse in Danli, El Paraiso in the name of the victims, their families and other border residents who were forced to abandon their homes and lands due to the constant skirmishes between the Nicaraguan resistance (Contras) based in Honduras and the Sandinista army in the 1980s. During the conflict, the Contras planted hundreds of mines along the border, especially in the area around Trojes.

Also named in the lawsuit are former presidents Roberto Suazo Cordova and Jose Simon Azcona Hoyo, who allowed the U.S.-backed Contras to operate in Honduras.

Hurricane Hunter visits SPS

As part of its Central American tour, members of the U.S. National Hurricane Center on Thursday (April 16) arrived at San Pedro Sula's Ramon Villeda Morales Airport to discuss various aspects of the upcoming hurricane season with local meteorologists and government officials, the daily El Heraldo reported.

The group arrived aboard a U.S. Air Force Hercules WC-130, nicknamed the Hurricane Hunter. The United States currently has 10 of these planes, worth an estimated $55, to monitor hurricanes.

Monday, April 20, 1998 Online Edition 102

For piracy...
U.S. initiates retaliation: Watermelon,  cucumber, cigars must pay import duties

TEGUCIGALPA -- The United States has suspended the General System of Preferences treaty and Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) benefits with Honduras and is now charging import duties on three Honduran products: watermelon, cucumbers, and cigars. Cucumbers that enter the United States before April 20 will pay 4.6 cents (dollar) per kilogram. Once the suspension of the treaties takes effect they will pay 6.1 cents. Watermelon exporters will pay a 14.5 percent duty.

Small cigars that are sold at 15 cents will pay three cents per kilogram plus 7.6 percent. Those that sell for 16-23 cents must pay 92 cents per kilogram plus 2 percent.

These suspensions of trade preferences, which have been applied as a punishment for the continued violations of authors' rights by several Honduran television stations, could have great repercussions on the fragile Honduran economy.

According to U.S. officials the preferences are being suspended because some of the actions of Honduras are irrational and harmful to U.S. trade.

Honduras has called the measure unjust and unfortunate, saying that they have initiated proceedings against television "pirates" but that the judicial proceedings must follow Honduran laws. President Flores said the government cannot violate the right to defense that the accused have under the law.

These sanctions, paired with recent deportations of Hondurans living illegally in the United Sates have prompted strong reactions from the Honduran public, many of whom are urging leaders not to "turn the other cheek," or let Honduras continue to be the United State's prostitute in Central America.

President Flores has acted with dignity, agreeing to elaborate a new law for the prosecution of violators of author's rights, and to demand reciprocity from the United States.

If the conflict continues, banana, coffee, wood, cantaloupe and shrimp will be the next products to suffer import duties.

Lost civilization found in Honduran jungle

TEGUCIGALPA -- A legendary civilization hidden in the depths of the Honduran rain forest has been discovered by a small group of explorers. Members of SEPH (Spanish acronym for Society for the Exploration and Preservation of Honduras) have visited ancient ceremonial sites, before known only to a handful of archaeologists and local Indians. Their two pilot expeditions have verified the existence of an advanced civilization that developed there in the jungle.

The several sites already visited by this group are thought to be part of Ciudad Blanca, a legendary city purported to exist within the confines of the Miskitia region in eastern Honduras. Although thought of as a myth by most residents of Honduras, organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund and the Smithsonian Institute recognize the importance of this "missing" site in pre-Columbian civilization.

According to legend, the White City was once the center of a flourishing civilization that dominated the region for hundreds of years and was a major meeting place for cultures from both North America and South America. SEPH is forming an upcoming expedition to further explore and film first hand the evidence found in previous visits to the area.

The goal of this film is to inform the public of the fragile nature of the area, and will feature an expose on the proposed Rio Patuca Damn Project. Progress of the expedition can be followed via SEPH's web site at <http://www.roatanet/ciudadblanca>

The number of deaths over the holiday week was 20 percent less than those registered during last year's holiday. The reduction in deaths has been credited to the combined efforts of the National Commission for the Prevention of Accidents (CONAPRA) and the agents of the Public Security Force.

CONAPRA presented statistics on Monday, which indicated that there were 80 violent deaths, 24 drownings and 21 deaths resulting from traffic accidents, for a total of 125 deaths, down from the 151 that occurred last year.

Increased police presence at popular Semana Santa locations was visible in the statistics, which indicate an increase in the number of persons arrested and the number of weapons confiscated. Over 400 arrests were made this year, up from 237 last year.

The Food Control Division of the Ministry of Health closed 21 businesses, including supermarkets and public swimming pools, for selling food in conditions that were not consistent with health regulations. The Ministry of Health also distributed nearly 5,000 packets of Litrosol and 21,000 condoms. Victor Maradiaga, head of the Food Control Division, told La Tribuna that no cases of cholera or food poisoning were reported.

Liquor sales were prohibited Thursday and Friday of the Holy Week in most parts of Honduras, as opposed to Wednesday through Friday in previous years, and many establishments had their liquor license revoked for selling alcoholic beverages on these two days.

Some of the North Coast festivities were dampened by rainfall on Friday and Saturday, but many vacationers were not discouraged and continued the celebration under cloudy skies.

In what could be described as a fairy-tale wedding in the style of the Grimms Brothers, Salvador Moncada of Honduras -- one of the poorest nations in the Americas -- wedded Princess Maria Esmeralda of Belgium in a private ceremony near London, England on April 5, the daily La Tribuna reported.

Moncada, a physician and scientist, currently works for the Department of Pharmacology at the University of London. He now holds British citizenship. Princess Maria Esmeralda, a journalist, is the youngest child of the late King Leopold III and the brother of Baudouin.

Unless he receives a last minute reprieve, four days from now San Pedro Sula native Jose Roberto Villafuerte could become the first Honduran national to be executed in the United States. According to the daily La Tribuna, Villafuerte was arrested in February 1983 and convicted of murdering his companion Amalia Fuentes Schoville, a U.S. citizen. The 46-year-old convict, currently being held at the Arizona State Prison in Florence, Arizona, is scheduled to go to the gas chamber at Wednesday morning (April 22).

Honduran consul Vivian Panting, who is heading efforts in the United States to prevent the execution, said in a La Tribuna report that U.S. authorities violated the Vienna Convention when they failed to notify the nearest Honduran consulate or embassy of Villafuerte's arrest.

In a similar case, however, this argument did not stop the state of Virginia from executing Paraguayan citizen Angel Francisco Breard on Tuesday (April 14), whose lawyers also claimed that the convention was broken when authorities failed to notify the Paraguayan embassy of his arrest.

Five heavily armed gunmen on April 7 forced their way into the BANCOMER branch bank in San Pedro Sula's Barrio Santa Anita, disarmed security personnel, and stole an undisclosed amount of money -- all in less than four minutes, the daily El Heraldo reported.

Witnesses stated that the robbers had a clean appearance, were well-dressed, and didn't appear to be delinquents. The police and agents of the Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) did not arrive at the scene until 30 minutes later. The robbery was only the second this year.

One inmate was killed April 7 during an attempted breakout at the El Porvenir Farm Prison near La Ceiba. According to the daily La Tribuna, around 6 a.m. hundreds of inmates began throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at guards just as prison officials were preparing to take a prisoner to the Trujillo courthouse. Fearing that the inmates would knock down the main entrance through their sheer weight, police fired shots at the iron gate, one of which hit and killed Jose Omar Ulloa.

In February, 140 inmates broke out of the prison but most were recaptured shortly afterward. The prison houses approximately 400 inmates.

Monday, April 6, 1998 Online Edition 100

U.S. retaliates against continued acts of 'piracy':

Hondurans call the action unjust and unfortunate

TEGUCIGALPA -- The government of Honduras and the Honduran Council for Private Enterprise (COHEP) are calling the United State's suspension of Honduras' preferential trade status unjust and unfortunate.

The retaliation by the United States is in response to continued violations by several Honduran television stations of intellectual property rights. For these continued violations the United States has suspended the benefits offered to Honduras under the Generalized System of Preferences (SGP) and the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). This will result in losses for businesses exporting bananas, sugar, coffee, cantaloupes, and wood. Some analysts speculate that these losses, which will begin to affect Honduras within the next few months, could reach $5 million.

President Flores called a press conference this week and announced that a mixed commission of business leaders and government representatives will travel to the United States to seek a solution to this problem. The group will meet with authorities from the U.S. Department of Commerce and members of Congress.

"We are trying to get these benefits replaced in the short term, and eradicate piracy in Honduras," said Antonio Tavel Otero, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Tegucigalpa (CCIT). "At the same time we will be brought to justice, even though the United States has acted in an irrational manner..."

Central Bank President Emin Barjum said the sanctions must be seen as a national problem, and the accused parties must have a right to defense. "This government has acted with diligence and speed. We cannot rush into this because of an international action. The United States respects the law, and it is not possible that they do not understand the judicial system in Honduras."

Moreover, he added, "In some countries in these violations are mortal sins...but it surprises me that they are choosing to demonstrate their power against a small, weak country."

President Flores sent a letter to the United States rejecting the unilateral decision to suspend benefits. In this note he explained that the Honduran government has to follow legally established steps, and guarantee due process and a defense for the accused. He added that the U.S. Commerce Department has not been sufficiently clear in what it expects from Honduras, and that their actions seem to indicate that they want government to ignore the laws and rights of the accused.

Honduras agreed in 1983 to respect author's rights, in exchange for receiving benefits form the SGP and CBI. In 1993, the National Congress passed legislation on the protection of intellectual property, and the 1996 Criminal Code establishes prison sentences and fines for violators of these laws.

Honduran television stations have continued, however, to broadcast pirated signals without paying royalties. In May 1997, the United States announced that if corrective measures were not taken within four months, trade benefits would be suspended.

TEGUCIGALPA -- For the first time in Honduran history, the police announced a strike to pressure the government for an increase in salary to Lps. 2,500 per month, equivalent to $200.

One hundred and twenty officers of the nation's 4,000 lawmen participated in the short-lived strike that was canceled when the government promised to negotiate a salary increase within the next two months.

Members of the police force, who currently earn Lps. 1,000 (approximately $80), are also demanding better treatment from their superiors. Officers refused to accept their March paychecks which included a Lps. 400 pay raise, significantly less than what they are demanding.

According to several striking lawmen, there is a consensus that Lps. 400 is not enough due to the high cost of living. Moreover, they said they had also been promised that the pay raise would be retroactive back to January, but received nothing.

"They are playing with us; first they said we would be paid Lps. 2,500 and it would be retroactive to include January, February and March, and now they say they are only giving us a Lps. 400 raise and it is effective beginning March," said one of the officers participating in the protest.

Policemen complain that they often have to work 24 hours consecutively without a break and receive a salary that does not dignify risking their lives.

The top brass of the police force, however, receive up to Lps. 10,000 monthly, even though they do not have to work in the streets confronting dangerous criminals.

The Public Security Force (FSP) is currently under the control of a special commission that is overseeing its transfer from military to civilian control. Officers complained that the commission is slow in paying salaries.

In response to the crisis, President Flores has asked Finance Minister Gabriela Nunez to try to find room in the budget for an additional Lps. 35 million in funding for the police force.

Claiming that miniskirts perturb the minds of men, the Supreme Court of Justice has instated a dress code for female employees at the court's offices in Miraflores, the daily La Prensa reported Tuesday (March 31).

According to a circular, beginning Wednesday women must "come to work dressed adequately, since miniskirts, jean skirts, and pants will no longer be permitted." In addition, men are required to wear ties.

Justice Hernan Silva Baltedano defended the new dress code, stating that some miniskirts are "so provocative that when young women sit down and cross their legs, one can see everything. I don't believe that is appropriate for a lady."

Unscrupulous persons continue to sell Resistol to street children who sniff the toxic glue to forget or curb their hunger, according to Casa Alianza in a La Prensa report Tuesday (March 31). Casa Alianza claims that the glue can be purchased at Campo Motagua, on the banks of the Choluteca river, below the National Stadium, at most city markets, in the Colonia Kennedy residential district, and in several marginal districts.

The glue is combined with thinner and sold in baby food bottles for Lps.6 to Lps. 8, or sold pure form for Lps. 10 to Lps. 12. Casa Alianza said the glue is coming from San Pedro Sula, but the distributor has still not been identified. The Resistol brand is produced by H.B. Fuller Co. of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Casa Alianza studies have revealed that most of Tegucigalpa's street children, which number between 1,200 and 1,500, have drug addiction problems, the most common being glue-sniffing.

A new vaccine against cholera will soon be tested in Gracias a Dios department, thanks to a donation of 5,000 doses by the Swiss pharmaceutical firm that developed it, said Health Minister Marco Antonio Rosa in a La Tribuna report Wednesday (April 1).

The vaccine, which will be sold under the trademark Orochol Berna, is a powder that is mixed with water and administered orally. It needs 10 days to take effect and provides protection against cholera for 6 months. However, the vaccine cannot be administered to children under the age of 2.

The recent outbreak of cholera in La Mosquitia has so far claimed the lives of 13 persons (more than 30 according to unofficial sources). Of the 283 cases reported to date, 124 were under 15.

Residents of the Cerro Grande and the Rio Hondo districts in Tegucigalpa face the threat of radiation poisoning from a cobalt bomb buried at the municipal crematory, according to Filiberto Rodriguez of the National University's Physics Department.

Rodriguez said in a La Tribuna report Wednesday (April 1) that the cobalt bomb was buried in the city dump 25 years ago and could contaminate groundwater in the surrounding districts, which are heavily populated, if its outer casing corrode.

Rodriguez recommended that groundwater be tested for radiation and that the cobalt bomb be located, dug up and removed to a safer area.