By ALEJANDRA FLORES BERMUDEZ

Special to Honduras This Week

Look up. Officials in Honduras hope our ever-present sun will one day be a major power source for the country. According to Gerardo Zepeda Bermudez, Minister with the Honduran Council of Science and Technology (COHCIT), Honduras is the perfect place for a massive solar-energy project.

"All of Honduras has the natural conditions for year-round energy," says Zepeda, referring to its long hours of sunlight and high temperatures.

And the project has already begun. In July, Honduras became the first country in Latin America to have a solar-powered village. It was built in San Ramon, a community about 39 km north of Choluteca, buried deep into a mountainous jungle.

It would have been close to impossible and very costly to install conventional sources of energy in this tiny town. Now this remote village works with solar energy in its school, its cultural center, its health center, church and street lights. The local school was also provided with 10 computers, all run by solar power. The project has helped to organize the community and has given them more "power" to face and transform their lives.

"Choluteca is one of the hottest regions in Honduras," says Zepeda, explaining why San Ramon was chosen for the first site. "It was also one of the worst hit regions of Honduras by [Hurricane] Mitch. Thirdly, we were looking for a remote and poor village which would not have the hope of getting energy by natural means."

It's results like those in San Ramon that Zepeda would like to see across the country. Although it takes a slightly larger initial investment than most power sources, the cost afterward is limited to maintenance and occasional battery and panel replacements. Solar power is completely environmentally friendly and tax-free for residents.

Ideally, Zepeda sees some spin-off benefits from the widespread use of this technology as well.

"If we can implement the plan of massively doing more solar energy in Honduras, we have talked to some producers about installing some plants here. If not to produce everything, at least to have some assembly of the parts to begin with to create more industry and more labor in our country."

Though the initial steps are meant to provide power to rural areas, Zepeda sees solar energy being introduced to cities through factories and other industry. Eventually, the entire country could look to the sun for energy.

"Of course, in this first stage where we're trying to encourage it is in remote and rural villages plus some special applications like industry and water heaters in big cities. But eventually, yes, we could have the whole country run on solar energy."

The project in San Ramon, sponsored by both COHCIT, UNESCO and the municipality of Choluteca, has thus far been successful. They have proven both the feasibility and efficiency of solar power in remote areas.

COHCIT is currently applying for more money from the Organization of American States, the World Bank, various U.N. agencies and UNESCO to expand this technology.

"It is worthwhile, now that we are entering the new millennium, to have this technology in our country. If it exists, why don't we use it to enhance our productive life and improve the quality of life for all the population."

By JORGE FLORES MCCLELLAN

TEGUCIGALPA -- Echoing the sentiments of millions of war victims around the world and those who have helped them or tried to do so, the Red Cross has renewed efforts to instill the concept of International Humanitarian Law which regulates the least humane of all activities. This, in essence, is the idea that there are basic rights in war. It differs from human rights in that they apply exclusively to a combat situation.

With this and other activities in August, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is celebrating worldwide the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention, the most important meeting to set limitations to war and make it more humane.

The Honduran Red Cross organized a seminar for the media to increase public awareness about the International Humanitarian Law. It was presented by Norma Archila, National Communication Coordinator in Honduras; Jaime Arroyo, press liaison in Guatemala; Meneca de Mencia, director of the Honduran Red Cross; and Brynhildur Olafsdottir, Federation Information delegate in Honduras.

Central America experienced more than a decade of civil wars in three of its countries, which spilled over their borders into Honduras and other nations. During this time, many atrocities were committed by both sides, whoever they were. Arbitrary judgements regarding the rights of prisoners and suspects were the rule. In the future, the Red Cross expects this will be the exception, not only in this region but in all the world.

To this effect, the Federation is trying to change the way the world thinks about wars, starting with the people in the media who can begin cultural change long before the eruption of any conflict. The efforts are directed so that war crimes are never again committed and international conventions are respected.

"The nucleus of the law is the human being," said Arroyo. "We must communicate in times of peace that during a war, not everyone is a military target. People must be protected and arms should be limited."

Humanitarian International Law is part of public international law. It establishes norms regarding the rights and duties of the warring parties and the protection of combat victims regardless of the conflict's cause. It is meant to protect civilians, medical or religious personnel and combatants who have stopped fighting because they are wounded, sick, have surrendered or have been captured. The basic principles state that the right of the warring parties to inflict damage are not unlimited, that the utilization of war means should not be excessive in relation to the military advantage, and that inflicting unnecessary personal suffering or destroying property when it is not part of the war effort is prohibited.

Efforts are also being directed to curb other side effects of war. For example, the production of land mines is prohibited as accorded by the signataries of the Ottawa Convention, where the biggest absentee was the United States. There are 60,000 mines in Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica and it costs US$1,500 to dispose of each one.

The Honduran Red Cross and the International Federation are also preparing worldwide activities to observe the first anniversary of Hurricane Mitch. Last Saturday, Aug. 21, the Red Cross presented the schools it has built or repaired in Honduras.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Reports that Congress may soon ratify reformed Constitutional Article 107, which would allow foreign investors to own and develop coastal areas along the Atlantic Coast -- where the Garifuna ethnic minority lives -- have provoked a series of controversies, opposition and warnings.

As soon as Congress' intentions where known, groups opposing the revised Article 107 claimed that national sovereignty would be violated because a "states within the state" would be formed.

The Garifuna people sounded their "war drums" in front of the Congressional building and met with authorities to work out an agreement. Aside from all the guarantees that secondary laws would provide them, Garifuna leaders are seeking to establish a Garifuna state in Honduran territory.

In exchange for accepting the reforms, the Garifunas stated that they want Congress to pass a law calling for the immediate demarcation and legalization of Garifuna lands. They added that Honduras is a signatory of ILO Treaty No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal People which seeks to protect the ancestral lands and cultural identity of native peoples.

Congressional President Rafael Pineda Ponce, who is also a presidential hopeful for the Liberal Party, stated that the political fallout resulting from ratification of revised Article 107 is unimportant, since it is imperative for the development of tourism.

Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Juan Arnaldo Hernandez stated that the reforms do not contravene national sovereignty as the Garifunas claim.

He said the Garifunas do not have documents to their lands, because when they have been given land titles, they then sold them to big land owners.

Article 107 states that "The land of the Republic, municipal, communal and private property situated on the border zones with neighboring states and on the shores of both oceans for 40 kilometers inland, and the islands, cays, reefs, cliffs and sand banks may only be acquired and possessed by Hondurans by birth or corporations comprised of only Honduran stockholders and by State institutions, punishable by annulment of the respective title or contract.

"The acquisition of urban property within the limits indicated above will be subject to special legislation. Property registrars are prohibited from inscribing documents contrary to these dispositions."

Constitutional reforms must be approved by two separate sessions of Congress. The reforms were first approved in October 1998.

According to a new report prepared by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), 162 of every 1,000 capital city girls between the ages of 15 and 19 become pregnant, the daily El Heraldo reported Sunday (Aug. 22). The national average is 129 per 1,000. The report added that 80 percent of the girls who became pregnant had no previous knowledge of contraceptives.

Through dance events, Vivian Pellas has been able to collect 
funds for burned children.

By BLANCA MORENO

That is the impression I got when I heard her talk with optimism about her great project of a Burn Hospital for Central America in Managua, Nicaragua. Sitting there with a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe, behind and seemingly protecting her, nobody could say that she had suffered the ordeal of burns and 62 fractures in her face and body.

Vivian and her husband Carlos Pellas are two of just nine survivors of the worst accident in Central American aviation history where 139 people died amid the horror of fire and smoke.

She has wasted no time in searching for explanations or lamenting. She believes that the same light that led her out of that fiery inferno is the same light that leads her on with the Burnt Children's Association.

Her indefatigable work to repeat her miracle in the little ones that have been burned, seeking help even from her sickbed, and even dancing again for the noble cause, was acknowledged with the "Servitor Pacis" Award from the Sendero de Paz Foundation that is presided by Archbishop Renato Martino, head of the Permanent Observation Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and the Nuncio in New York.

"This prize gives support to the project of turning tears into smiles, which is the Hospital for the Burned in Central America," she says with joy reflected in her eyes.

Her love knows no boundaries because her life does not either. She was born in Habana, Cuba with the name of Vivian Fernandez Garcia. Her parents were Jose Fernandez de la Torre and Lidia Garcia, both, descendants of Spanish migrants. At seven years of age, Vivian left the country with her parents due to discord with the new communist regime and headed for Nicaragua. In 1976 she married Carlos Pellas Chamorro, with whom she has three children: Carlos Francisco, Vivian Vanessa and Eduardo Francisco. In 1986, like thousands of Nicaraguans, they were forced to leave the country and went to Miami.

In 1991, two years after the accident, she and her husband took from California to Nicaragua a group from Interplast, the largest Plastic Surgeons volunteer organization in the world. They formed the Association for Burnt Children of Nicaragua, rebuilt the Burn Unit of Nicaragua and built the Burn Unit of the Fernando Velez Paiz Hospital in Managua that, together with the "Jornadas Medicas," have given special service to more than 50,000 children and 8,000 adults.

Dona Vivian, as everybody calls her, runs the National Unity and Plastic Surgery for Burn Victims project and is a member of the organization "Physicians for Peace" and Human Relief Organization of Virginia in the United States. She organized the "Sea Legs" Program that provides prosthetics for amputees.

In 1992, she started to dance in the lyrical genre and promoted a show for national and international artists to collect funds for the association.

Her power to convene is such that in 1998 she organized a 15-hour tele-marathon for the victims of Hurricane Mitch, during which she collected medicine, food and a million dollars that were given to the Red Cross.

What follows is a recent conversation with Vivian Pellas.

HTW: October 21, 1989...

VIVIAN: "Never, never had I thought that I could be burned. I always have liked to help others but I believe that the feeling was dormant because one grows up with many inhibitions and prejudices which stunt personal development. When I had the accident, I found out that there are more important things in life and that inhibitions should just go to hell. We [her husband and her] were going to Miami. Since my mother lives in Tegucigalpa and it was there that we would switch planes, I expected to see her because she said she had some earrings for me as a gift. But I never got there...

In the passenger list, the Pellas were identified as a Spanish couple. Nobody knew it was us but my mother.

What I tell you comes twenty percent from me and eighty percent from my husband. I believe that I died and came back to life...

The plane was flying perfectly. Outside it was cloudy and you couldn't see anything. We were sitting perfectly calm in the sixth row when suddenly, the plane started to jump monstrously. I remember I closed my eyes and felt: what a sad way to die. When I came to, according to my husband, the plane came to a halt and he saw a hole through which he saw tall grass. Once outside, he remembers me and comes back in to look for me but he couldn't find me . Suddenly, he recognized me by my blouse under the fuselage, but my face is disfigured, full of cuts. His shirt is on fire and he yells to me, 'Vivian! Viviannnn!,' and I listen like if he was far away. But I hear him in my subconscious and it was enough to come back to life.

I tried three times to get up. I feel that on the third time I gave it all of my life, that I pulled on the roots and I felt that life was coming up through me, from my feet up, and when it reached my eyes, I managed to open them and see my husband burning. He says he jumped on me and that I was still strapped in. When he tried to take my seatbelt off, he noticed he was missing two fingers from his hand. He told me: "Jump! At least one of us should get out for our children." All this was in seconds. He goes out, but I don't know how I am standing because I see at my feet something like a bright window with light shining up. My eyes closed and I went into something like a dark tunnel and I bounced out of the plane as if I had been pushed. At a moment like that, the mind is going at a million miles.

Then, I came back to and saw my feet again, in shreds, my toenails to the floor, the skin burned. I remembered my children back home and started running through a corn field and it was just in time. At that moment a huge explosion occurred. Even though my husband did not fall, it blew me through the air and I fell, I do not know on what, and I hit hard because when I tried to get up, my clavicle bones had broken through my skin. I looked back and saw some movement in the middle of the fire and smoke and thought it was my husband so I pushed the bone back into my body and returned.

My husband says -- I do not remember -- that I fell several times and he picked me back up. There on that mountain, [Las Mesitas], there was [on the road very near the crash site], an old beat up truck. My husband saw the two pilots that were there [who survived the crash] and then the owner of the car came and my husband told him to please take us to the hospital. Suddenly I saw how some people came out with rags on their heads and it looked to me like some horror movie. When I sat in the car, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw my teeth to one side. My husband looked at me desperately and said that this was for nine months in the hospital, but since I felt that I was going to die, I told him that no, this was just for three hours. I was praying because I knew I was leaving my small children, who were three, seven and nine.

The driver would stop in the street and would ask where the hospital was and when the people saw us, they would stare in horror. When I got out of the car, the doctors also cringed. At the moment I didn't understand why. Now I know that I was in pieces. My father [who lives in Tegucigalpa] looked for a doctor in El Carmen Hospital and Dr. Cesar Henriquez, a plastic surgeon. Immediately, they closed a wound in my face and treated my husband's hands. We found out that a stewardess had just died there. The next day we were taken to the United States."

"But I repeated this event in May of 1992 at the Ruben Dario Theater in Managua. Now we have eight shows a year which keep us together. The last show we did was called "Love unites us." With these performances we show the kids that through dance one can help others. In Nicaragua, 8,000 people are burned (every year) and 70 percent are children. Only a fourth of them are treated in hospitals. The rest are crippled for life and worst of all, they are unable to be a part of society. Part of our job is to integrate this people back into society because, how many of them sit in a corner or inside their house for years because of shame? It is not only of healing the burns but of bringing them back to life."

HTW: When was the idea of treating the burned conceived?

VIVIAN: "My father says that when I was in the hospital, I was delirious and kept saying 'I am going to make a burn unit.' He almost could not understand me because my mouth was deformed.

Why for children? Because the pain I felt, the pain of burns, is terrible. I had to wear a mask for two and a half years. Look, this is me [showing a photograph of her face and head bandaged while her daughter embraces her].

I recovered because I have been in good hands, but not everyone has the same luck. Ever since I was in the U.S., and by remote control, I talked to the people of Interplast. By the end of 1991, I was back in Nicaragua and then I started to do the Asociacion Pro-Quemados' paperwork. By 1993 it received its legal status and since then, everything has gone smoother and I have received the support from the private sector.

At the hospital where they attended the burned, there really was no burn unit. The rooms where they kept the children had windows to the streets and often, they died by contamination.

Then, we built the burn unit that has operating rooms to attend pediatric reconstructive surgery operations. We also go throughout the country with the national and international medical brigades like Human Relief Organization, Doctors for Peace from Virginia and Interplast from California, and doctors from Switzerland and Italy.

HTW: The Central American Hospital?

VIVIAN: The association has three events a year to collect funds. Now, the dream is to build the hospital for the burned of Central America. It really was conceived years ago as a project of 30 beds and managed the American way. That would be the crown of our efforts, a legacy so the works goes on.

It would be managed by the Association for Burnt Children. They are going to receive bids to get the best option for the highest standards. There can be no errors so the costs do not go up. We understand that the hardest part is maintenance, but we are thinking up a formula to involve the private sector, international organizations and governments.

They have a manzana [0.7 hectare] of land, donated by Carlos Pellas of the Pellas Group, which is a strong supporter like other private enterprises. We are thinking of Central America because we are poor countries and we have the same needs. So, any organization that has the money, the option of making a difference, I invite them to get interested in this project that can be a solution for Central America. We have in our account $250,000 and I would like to tell all well-wishing people that we need help to finish the work. There are some institutions that have the money but they do not want to give because they have doubts that it will be used for the cause. But I guarantee it and tell them to look for us. The guarantee is Vivian Pellas, a woman from a family that has much money but also a great desire to help others and to be an example of recovery, who takes care of the funds as if they were her own children, with an excellent group of people.

Before, it was difficult for people to help. Maybe it was because we had come out of a war, the earthquake and much destruction, but now I see that people help out more and that makes me very happy.

HTW: We saw you in the T.V. show "Sabado Gigante" (which is seen by tens of millions of people in all of the Americas every Saturday), after you received the "Servitor Pacis" Award in New York.

VIVIAN: For me, the Church is wise. This award was given to me at a moment when we were to get involved in this project of about two million dollars and after we have received false promises. I needed moral support and they have given it to me.

There, in New York, the seat of the United Nations as a back drop, on June 17, Vivian Pellas said that she wanted those who have the money and power to know that the greatest satisfaction in life comes from helping others, not from the accumulation of riches and power.

I have much hope in the people of Honduras. My parents, who live in Tegucigalpa, and some friends have told me many things about the first lady, Mary Flakes de Flores, who is a woman that helps the most needy. I would like to contact her so she can give us support in this crusade to tend to the little ones that have been burned from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica.

Well, from anywhere, because suffering, like solidarity, has no borders.

HTW: There are people that talk about Vivian as St. Vivian.

VIVIAN: I thank them. They talk like that because of the help and as a way of thanking me, but I am a person like anyone else. I just wish we help each other. Like Monsignor Martino said when he gave me the award, "to help the poorest of the poor." If someone poor is dying, nobody pays attention to them and they feel desolated.

HTW: The meaning to Vivian Pellas ... of God

VIVIAN: The center and the end of my life. I once told Him in my prayers: If you ever send me something, do it so I can teach and be of service for everybody else.

HTW: ... of Carlos Pellas.

VIVIAN: My husband, a person who has been with me in the hardest times. He is a sensible man, a visionary. He sees in these works not an expenditure but an investment.

HTW: ... of Vivian, Carlos and Eduardo.

VIVIAN: My children are my whole life. They have supported me during my recuperation.

HTW: ... of Nicaragua.

VIVIAN: I was born in Cuba but this is where I was raised, this is my country.

HTW: ... of Honduras.

A fugitive from justice since his escape from the National Penitentiary in November 1998, Bustillo was reputedly involved in the kidnapping and murder of businessman Ricardo Maduro Andrew -- the son of National Party presidential hopeful Ricardo Maduro, and the kidnappings of Roxana Diaz, Abraham Ennabe, Ramses Hawit and Roger Mauricio Valladares.

Adonay is the fourth Bustillo Padilla brother to meet a violent death. In August 1998, Nahun was killed while attempting to steal a vehicle, while Misael and Abel died in a gunbattle with policemen in May 1997.

Another brother, David, was arrested Aug. 5 of this year for his alleged involvement in the robbery of the Atlantida branch bank in Trujillo.

Members of the National Soccer Team, which won the Silver Medal in the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, leave the Tegucigalpa Airport last Tuesday where they were met by hundreds of ecstatic fans. Their victorious tour through the capital ended with a personal congratulations from President Flores. (Photo by Michael Coleman.)

By MICHAEL COLEMAN

It's never just a game in Honduras.

After finishing the Pan American Games with the country's first silver medal in history, the Honduran soccer team was something to celebrate -- if only for a while.

The hastily assembled team surpassed all expectations sailing through pool play and the semi-finals beating the United States, Uruguay, Cuba, Jamaica and Canada. Mexico halted the blue and white's five-game winning streak in the finals 3-1 in a emotion-packed game.

"This is something to feel proud of," said student, Beatriz Chirinos. "Because it's the first time we've won something like that. People will know about Honduras."

And hopefully not just as a good soccer playing nation. It is international recognition that is important for some Hondurans who think their country has been associated with its problems, not its accomplishments for too long.

"People feel the name of Honduras is associated with negative things," said Jorge Navarro, a bank employee who studied in the United States. "In the eighties it was the Contras, the nineties it was Mitch. There are some occasions when Honduras is looked at as a success so our people feel really proud."

Doubtless the game gave Hondurans a sense of pride but for some the celebration is already over and it is time to look at real issues.

"For a moment, the people of Honduras were very happy," said Hector Martinez, a translator and teacher in Tegucigalpa. "But when we do well in soccer the government takes advantage of that."

Many, like Martinez, wondered if the four lempira hike in gas prices on game day was a coincidence.

"Hondurans tend to forget everything when the soccer team wins," he said. "If a lot of people got over it maybe this country would think about more important things."

"People swallowed that (the gas hike)," added Navarro. "It's another trancazo."

Presidential hopefuls also took advantage of this nationalistic fever pumping up their campaigns. The Ricardo Maduro contingent made the connection obvious passing out bumper stickers in front of the Estadio Nacional on Saturday. Jaime Rosenthal held a rally nearby on Sunday.

The Pan American Games in Winnipeg was a historical event, something to be proud of but many Hondurans are asking, now what?

TEGUCIGALPA -- "The view of the marina promises to be especially spectacular during heavy storms. Because Freedom will ride on top of the waves, residents will be able to look down at the troughs dozens of feet below."

This excerpt from the Popular Mechanics brochure of the City at Sea gives an idea of the technical aspects, the immensity of the ship and the confidence the engineers have in its sea-worthiness. The ship is proposed as a floating city for around 40,000 residents, 30,000 day visitors, 20,000 employees and 15,000 hotel guests that would circumnavigate the planet continuously, following the sun and the good weather.

The "Freedom Ship" would be the world's largest vessel, the first floating micro-country with 17,000 residences, 3,000 commercial units, an international airport, a train service, ferries to the nearest ports, a marina, hotels and time-share condominiums, duty-free shops and indoor parks, among many other amenities.

The boat is designed to float first and then to look pretty due to its design challenges that will be based on systems used and proven during World War II. The top, flight deck will be 25 stories above sea level, running slightly less than a mile long and two football fields wide.

In a visit to Honduras This Week's offices, the project managers explained the technical and legal processes for its construction, the enterprise's status and their interest in building it in our country.

They have visited many nations around the world to find the most suitable place to construct it, including Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Malaysia and the Bahamas. The requisites include a protected bay, a deep port, about 400 hectares of land for storing material, proximity to the state of Florida and inexpensive labor costs. According to them, Honduras meets these requirements in Puerto Castilla in the Bay of Trujillo, one of the deepest, if not the deepest port in Central America.

Roberto Mossi, the Honduran representative, says that about half of the US$8.5 billion needed to build the ship have been committed by shareholders and buyers of ship space, confident that once the ship is afloat, others will rush in to finish it.

He says that the go-ahead to provide 20,000 jobs to Hondurans for the next two years or so could be given within the next two months. All that is needed is the approval of all the government ministers, including Minister of Tourism Norman Garcia, who must base his decision on an environmental impact study for the proposed area.

Mossi says he is confident this will not pose any problem because the assembly of the pre-fabricated parts will require very few chemicals and produce little by-products. Approximately 75 percent of the work will be done on the water.

The other ministers would find only advantages to its building in Trujillo and have responded positively to this sci-fi-like project.

Norman Nixon, project creator and manager, Peter Banas, security director and Robert Gooch, marketing director say the project is followed closely by the international community including the National Geographic Society and the Discovery Channel, which wish to document every step of the building of the "Freedom" City at Sea.

According to a marketing study in the United States, there is a market for three or four more Cities at Sea.

"The reason why Honduras was chosen was that it has the best Atlantic coast in the region," Mossi adds. "It is absolutely feasible and we hope everyone has the vision to give it support."

During Christopher Columbus' fourth voyage to the New World, the first Mass celebrated on the American continent was near Puerto Castilla. All more befitting to the probable birthplace of the first ocean-going city in history.

TEGUCIGALPA -- More than martial music and the unusual deployment of police on July 30, civilian power over the military institution was finally consolidated when, for the first time ever, a president appointed through the appropriate legal procedures the chief of joint chief of the Armed Forces.

Prior to President Flores, a Honduran president had never dared to remove the highest-ranking military official and appoint the candidate of his choice. Under the old system, the military sent a list of three candidates for the post of Armed Forces chief to the National Congress which then automatically voted for the first name on the list. Following recent reforms to the military, the president now appoints the chief of joint staff from among the "junta de comandantes" or council of commandants.

Problems in the military started with rumors that the officials of the 12th graduating class planned to rebel against the Commander of the Army, Col. Rodolfo Interiano Portillo, because they felt he did not fulfill the requirements and that he was leaving them aside while he was promoted.

In addition, the last chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Mario Hung Pacheco, left Col. Eugenio Romero Euceda as chief of staff, who now prefers to be "on hold" -- ie. paid retirement (currently, there are about 100 colonels in this state) -- instead of accepting the post of vice minister of defense, because he considers that to be degrading.

But all this was left behind after President Flores in a decisive action, called in all of his confidants and aides and then fired the vice minister of Defense, the inspector general and then, the chief of the joint staff. Following legal procedures, Col. Daniel Lopez Carballo of the 12th graduation class, a close advisor to the president, was then appointed inspector general for 10 minutes so that he could become part of the joint staff, a requirement before he could be appointed chief of joint staff.

A relevant point is that while all of this was happening, Col. Interiano, was in an army base "making contacts" and in the end, did not find any support among his fellow officers. Three days later, Interiano was degraded and went on to become the director for the Escuela de Comando y Estado Mayor.

The changes have many internal implications and some are against them because the little power the military had has now been taken away. The businesses the men in uniform own might come crashing down and be audited because now the head of the Estado Mayor, who is also the chairman of the board of the Military Pension Institute (IPM), is not imposed by the military.

Internationally, this brings Honduras into the group of nations that have achieved this indispensable requisite of modern politics which implies the redefinition of the size and functioning of the armed forces as servants of democracy and not as a privileged institution.

Hopefully, the times in which country lived in fear of coups and where the military did as it pleased have been left behind. The military music played July 30 only served to announce to the officers that those times will never return because the president is no longer a figurehead but the commander in chief of the armed forces.

In one of the largest hikes ever approved by the government, gasoline prices shot up nearly Lps. 4 per gallon in the capital city. Effective Saturday, premium gasoline now costs Lps. 29.96 per gallon, up Lps. 3.91, and regular Lps. 24.76, up Lps. 3.88. Diesel fuel also jumped from Lps. 16.24 to Lps. 18.74 per gallon. The prices of kerosene and LPG remained unchanged.

Officials of the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights have found human remains reputedly belonging to Cold War victims on the grounds of the former El Aguacate Military Base, the daily El Heraldo reported last Friday (August 6). The military base is approximately 30 kilometers northeast of Catacamas in Olancho department.

Based on the accounts of area residents, it is believed that the remains may belong to Dr. Jose Maria Reyes Mata, Edwin Bayardo Sanchez, Roger Gonzalez and Francisco Guzman Avila, among others.

In related news, human rights activist Antonio Zelaya Reyes told El Heraldo that there is also a clandestine graveyard near Dulce Nombre de Culmi containing the remains of "many fellow countrymen who disappeared during the previous decade."

Thanks to the quick thinking of a security guard, the attempted robbery of an armored car belonging to the PROVAL security firm was thwarted last Monday (August 9).

According to the daily La Tribuna, the robbers overpowered PROVAL security guards as they were getting out of an armored car to deliver Lps. 100,000 cash to the Occidente branch bank on Morazan Boulevard. However, the driver saw the robbers and immediately drove off, preventing them from taking the money.

The attempted heist comes just three days after a group of robbers failed to open a security box containing Lps. 2 million in an armored vehicle belonging to Atlantida Bank that they had stolen. Law enforcement authorities believe both robberies were committed by the same band of delinquents.

Scores of important police files and judicial records were destroyed by a mysterious fire last Wednesday (August 11) in the Attorney General's Offices located in Barrio La Granja, Comayaguela, the daily La Tribuna reported.

Casa Alianza and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) will present a new case against Honduras this month before the Inter American Commission on Human Rights for the lack of advances in the murder of three street youth and an adult presumably by officials of the Honduran security forces in September 1995.

The murdered street youth were Marco Antonio Servellon Garcia (15); Rony Alexis Betancourt Hernandez (17); and Diomedes Obed Garcia (19). Also murdered was Orlando Alverez Rios (32) who seemingly had no connection to the three friends.

At approximately 9 a.m. on Sept. 15, 1995, several official vehicles belonging to the Public Security Forces (FUSEP) – the militarized national police -- participated in a round-up of street youth and "suspicious" persons close to the National Stadium in Tegucigalpa. More than 120 people were illegally detained without arrest warrants and taken to the 7th police precinct, including the three street youth and one adult later murdered. Their names were registered in the police book of detentions, with the exception of Obed Garcia, who was seen in the 7th precinct by other detainees. Other detainees at the time have testified that the three street youth received death threats from FUSEP officials when they were detained the night of Sept. 15 and 16.

Other witnesses also claim that 15-year-old Marco Antonio was tortured by officials while in police custody. He was reportedly taken from his cell three times and his feet were tied together. He was then kicked in the stomach and the back and was hit with a chain.

Despite being looked for by family members, then Police Judge Roxanna Sierra Ramirez would not give information about the youth. Normally each detainee signs his own release, but in the case of the four murder victims, their release was signed by Police Judge Sierra.

Late in the night of Sept. 16, 1995, all four murder victims were taken from the 7th police precinct cells by FUSEP officials. Their bodies were found the next morning, Sept. 17, all having been shot through the head and then distributed throughout the city. The case has become known as that of the "Four Cardinal Points."

The body of 15-year-old Marco Antonio was found in the "El Lolo" area of Tegucigalpa with four bullet holes in the back of his head. Marks on his wrists showed he had been handcuffed. Teenager Rony's body was thrown in the Nueva Suyapa area of the city -- he had been shot twice in the head and stabbed four times in the chest. Orlando Alvarez' body was found with two bullets in his head in the community of Las Maras, 41 kms from the capital. Diomedes' body was riddled with eight bullets, plus he had been tortured with three major knife wounds in the back of the neck and the right shoulder.

Investigations and witness descriptions later confirmed that all four victims had been murdered between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Sept. 17. All had been shot with the same murder weapon.

After an efficient investigation by the Public Ministry, and after having interviewed many witnesses, a request for an arrest warrant for four military FUSEP officers, Lt. Marco Tulio Regalado Hernandez; Lt. Alberto Jose Alfaro Martinez; Lt. Hugo Antonio Vivas; Lt. Jose Antonio Martinez Arrazola and former Police Judge Roxanna Sierra Ramirez was presented.

On Aug. 6, 1996, the First Judge of Criminal Letters informed that the request was refused stating that the witnesses "were common delinquents." The fact that some of the witnesses had been illegally detained but never formally accused and much less convicted, does not -- according to the law -- make them delinquents.

The decision was appealed by the Public Prosecutor, but on Aug. 20, 1996 the Appeals Court upheld the lower courts ruling. For the past three years the case has remained dormant.

"Casa Alianza has presented its concerns to the Honduran authorities over the past four years, including to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Honduran Institute for the Family and Children (INHFA). We have also been working closely with the investigative authorities who, like ourselves, are once again frustrated by the lack of objectivity of the judicial branch", stated Bruce Harris, Regional Director of Latin American programs of Casa Alianza, a charity that provides for rehabilitation of street children in Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Nicaragua.

"After having expressed our concerns to this government, and after having no concrete response, there is no option left other than presenting the case to the Inter American Commission on Human Rights, or to leave the case in a state of impunity -- which is out of the question", Harris concluded.

Casa Alianza supports the current concerns of the Special Human Rights Prosecutor that the recent spate of extra judicial executions in Honduras points to the involvement of "social cleansing."

"This is another reason to investigate this 1995 massacre of three street youth and an adult which, according to all the evidence collected, points to the seeming involvement of four officers in the State security forces, with cover-up from a police judge. Unless we take a stand against official impunity, the killings will continue", added Harris.

La Tribuna and Honduras This Week reporter Blanca Moreno interviews Ambassador Creagan

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- More than 30 years ago, a young professor joined the U.S. Foreign Service inspired by the words, "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

With these words of President John F. Kennedy in mind and heart, James Francis Creagan, arrived in Honduras not only to represent his country but also to work hard for the people of this nation. His presence was a great comfort, especially during and after Hurricane Mitch when he even risked going to jail for ordering U.S. helicopters to rescue flood victims without the approval of his superiors.

Creagan, 58, has retired from the foreign service and left Honduras to take up his new post as rector of John Cabot University in Italy. His replacement will be Frank Almaguer, a Cuban-American who was Peace Corps country director in Honduras in the 1970s.

Before leaving, Creagan talked about his experiences in Honduras at the Ambassador's residence in Tegucigalpa.

MORENO: What did you like best about Honduras?

CREAGAN: When it was possible, to hike in La Tigra National Park and to chat with people about everything. I went everywhere. In Santa Rosa de Copan I smoked fresh-rolled cigars. In Palacios, the Mosquitia, I navigated in canoe and was asked to save the sea turtle. I love conch soup, shrimp and beans. The beans here have a special flavor, although Mexican and Texan beans are very nutritious. I love horseback riding and I did it in Copan, on the beaches and mountains. But I guess that sharing the joys and sorrows of Hondurans, children, old folks, men and women, was what I liked the most.

MORENO: And the people knew you were the U.S. ambassador?

CREAGAN: When we went to Texiguat, I remember that President likes to joke, and he said to everyone: 'Here we have Mr. Bush who was president of the United States and you all know [First Lady] Mary, who is Ambassador Creagan's wife. The ambassador didn't come because he was afraid and he stayed in Tegucigalpa.' Then the people started saying: 'Hey, no! That is the ambassador!'

As a scholar, I wanted to see the reality of the place and the people of Honduras are more open than in other places. In some countries, people are a bit close-minded but here, they are ready and willing to exchange impressions. After Mitch, I saw a lot of volunteering. I was impressed to see how university students helped out when they had to build a shelter instantaneously. Then, I saw in the towns how people got organized and were grateful for medicines. I think that with Mitch, people showed their willingness to volunteer and their strong character.

MORENO: Were you ever treated badly, because here there is much resentment about the deportations and about not getting visas?

CREAGAN: I tried to explain to the press that the deportations are not massive. And I said it repeatedly, but it is hard and they always said the same thing to me. After Mitch, we had the opportunity and the need to declare a Temporary Protected Status and that helped the people a lot now that they can work. I have noticed that now, in 1999, people are getting more remittances from the United States. I had some trouble with people regarding visas, but I am used to it now.

MORENO: What shocked you the most about Hurricane Mitch?

CREAGAN: The destruction. So many people had to take refuge, even on rooftops. A woman gave birth and it took us two or three days to rescue her. It was terrible seeing the landslides and everything, but at the same time, I was impressed by the solidarity.

I remember when we overflew the North Coast and Guanaja November 1 that we could see was the control tower [of the San Pedro Sula airport] and everything was water, water. That is when I said Honduras had become an archipelago.

The people of the United States also showed their solidarity. A National Guard sergeant, in his free time, went to build a house for a campesino in El Progreso and became friends with the man and his family. The man, who is a carpenter, helped them and they became such good friends that nobody could understand how two people so totally different, who do not speak the same language, could understand each other so well.

MORENO: It was said during those first days after the disaster that the Mexicans got here faster and that there was a kind of "jealousy" on the part of the United States.

CREAGAN: The Mexicans worked well here in Tegucigalpa while we went everywhere. During the first five days, we were in many places without press, photographers, reporters or anything. Some reporters wanted to come along, but our thoughts were that we had to get food and medicine [to the victims] and there was no space. I was with President Flores on Tuesday and I offered help because the hurricane was on the coast. After that, everything came crashing down and I had to work with Washington to convey the magnitude of the disaster so they could respond. General [Charles] Wilhelm, commander of the Southern Command, and I decided to send out the helicopters, without any approved money, even though that is illegal, and we both could have gone to jail for taking that decision, but we knew Washington would respond and it did.

MORENO: How many towns did you visit after Mitch?

CREAGAN: First, all of the Caribbean. Where we couldn't land in small planes, we used helicopters. We were in La Ceiba, when the sun first came up, then to Trujillo and San Pedro Sula. Afterward, we found out that the south had also been affected and we went to Morolica, Marcovia, Pespire and Choluteca. Later, we went to Olancho.

MORENO: You know Honduras better than the United States?

CREAGAN: It's interesting, because I don't know the west, Washington State, Montana and others, but in Honduras I even went to the islands and other remote places. Now that I will be a Honduran citizen, I will return...

MORENO: The most important thing that happened to you in Honduras?

CREAGAN: The arrival of President Bill Clinton was important because it was the first time a U.S. president came to Tegucigalpa. He got the picture and was very attentive to what President Flores said. When he got back to Washington, he sought cooperation and support for Central America through legislation and laws which benefitted [the region] and help with the external debt. Also, former President Bush was here when there was still a state of emergency and he talked to important people and after that people wanted to contribute. So many important people came, like Tipper Gore, the first lady, senators, religious people... When I was in Italy, other presidents came to see the Pope, but it was very important that Clinton came at that moment.

MORENO: Which U.S. president has impressed you the most?

CREAGAN: Besides Clinton, who is now my boss, Lyndon Johnson with Kennedy. Actually, I joined [the foreign service] because of him, when he called out for the youth to do something for our country. I wanted to join the Alliance for Progress to help Latin America. As a scholar, I wrote about Mexico, Guatemala, etc. Then I joined into the diplomatic corps. Johnson impressed me with his personal power and capability. When he entered a place he radiated power with his height and led the U.S. very well. He struggled for the rights of blacks in the south and made several changes. Bush is a special man.

MORENO: The future of Creagan?

CREAGAN: Before entering the foreign service thirty-three years ago, I was a teacher. I want to teach international law. I asked what I needed to become president of Notre Dame University in the United States and they told me, look for funds, so...

I want to organize a Peace Institute because in Rome, at the John Cabot University, they have an American and European system. If a president comes along who wants to make me ambassador again, I would return...

MORENO: What do you have to say about Michelle Francois?

CREAGAN: He must be brought to justice and let the Court decide if he is innocent or guilty. It is a danger because both the U.S. and Honduras are fighting drug trafficking.

Another U.S. citizen was arrested last Friday (July 31) on charges of prostituting underage girls, the daily La Tribuna reported. The detainee was identified as Robert A. Hayslip, a 69-year-old resident of San Pedro Sula.

During the search of the residence Hayslip rented in the Jardines del Valle district, the police found pornographic photographs, marijuana, and three firearms. The police also confiscated two vehicles in Hayslip's possession that reportedly had altered serial numbers and may have been stolen.

Law enforcement officials have not yet determined whether Hayslip is connected to an international sexual tourism ring that operated out of Tony Montana's Club. During a police raid last April on the club, four Americans were arrested and two -- Charles Kasper and Anthony Robert Bucellato -- face charges of pimping minors.

Following weeks of negotiations, labor and business leaders last Wednesday (July 28) finally agreed on a 25 percent hike in the minimum wage for this year and another 8 percent for the year 2000.

The biggest winners were employees of financial and insurance establishments with less than 15 workers, who will receive a 52 percent increase. However, workers in the farm, forest and fishing industries will only receive a 15 percent hike this year.

The average daily wage of Lps. 36.11 will increase to Lps. 45.20 in 1999 and to Lps. 47.92 in 2000.

Five heavily armed gunmen dressed in suits held up the BANPRO branch bank in downtown Tegucigalpa last Wednesday (July 28), the daily La Tribuna reported. The robbery was the second in the downtown area in less than a week.

Frank Almaguer, the new U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, arrived in Tegucigalpa last Wednesday (August 4), the daily La Tribuna reported. The veteran diplomat, who served as Peace Corps country director in Honduras from 1976 to 1979, succeeds James F. Creagan.