OPINIONS & EDITORIAL

Monday, April 19, 1999 Online Edition 153

Alexander Obando Reyes, a 17-year-old boy, was shot at 10 p.m. last Saturday, April 10, and later died. It is said that he was a child of the streets. Perhaps, he was a small-time thief as well. He was a boy alienated from his family who largely ignored him. He left his home, and never returned to it. His sole preoccupation in life was to survive. He became involved in an intense dispute with a police officer, who wound up shooting him several times.

Honduras This Week has received numerous messages from all over the world by mail and over the Internet, and it is impossible for us to ignore these communications.

It is a huge tragedy that the streets of Tegucigalpa are full of young people like Alexander who are cut adrift, without any support system, except the desperate comraderie of the streets. They are the victims of various forms of physical and mental violence. They have accustomed themselves to the hard and often vicious life of the streets, and are resistent to efforts of groups like Casa Alianza to assist them in escaping that life.

These people are basically left to themselves. As long as they do not steal or commit acts of violence, the attitude is that they are nobodies business. There is no consistent effort on the part of the society to intervene forcefully on their behalf. This indifference can be increasingly seen to pose a threat to the entire country because many of these individuals are full of anger and resentment, feelings that they can be expected to direct against society sooner if not later.

Many soft-hearted people give money to the street children, but this is not really a good idea, for it helps to encourage the notion that one can live on the streets. Instead, people who wish to be involved should support organizations who are trying to cope with the problem.

On a larger scale, however, Honduras like other societies needs to give intensive training to the police to enable them to better cope with street children. And, the government with full involvement from all sectors of society, must commit itself to a tough, efficient, yet compassionate project in which young people are taken off the streets and given training that will enable them to take advantage of such opportunities as are afforded by this society. Nothing less than a dramatic and far-reaching initiative can prevent a tragic escalation of a problem that ultimately can hold all of society hostage.

"Juan" speaks out. Interview yields fresh evidence, new accusations.

(Last of two parts)

TEGUCIGALPA -- It's been two years since Candido Amador was murdered. For two years, indigenous and Black communities have demanded that his killers be apprehended and tried. The Maya-Chorti, whom Candido Amador represented, have also appealed to President Flores to heed "our urgent call for justice and to help us in our struggle to regain our ancestral lands -- two of the causes for which Candido Amador sacrificed his life."

"Juan," a Chorti whose revelations in this paper have inflamed passions and reanimated the debate, wants more. He insists that, in addition to the killers, "the intellectual authors of this heinous crime be unmasked and denounced." The following interview, conducted in February at a safe house in the capital, and augmented by notes entrusted to this writer, offers new insights and unsettling details surrounding Candido's last days and the intrigue-laden events that followed.

WEG: Were there harbingers of Candido's impending demise?

Juan: Candido -- Sandy -- had publicly committed to two goals: restitution of ancestral lands, and reaffirmation of Maya-Chorti identity. Echoing our people's deepest longings, this pledge was also consciously calculated to unnerve Copan and Ocotepeque cattle ranchers and landowners who had agitated, often violently, against us. Vague warnings were soon followed by open threats, spurious testimonies by paid 'witnesses,' and arbitrary arrests. Crafted to intimidate and polarize the Chorti, these desperate tactics caused consternation but did not, as intended, create a rift among us. Foiled, eager to spill fresh blood, the 'lobos' [the wolves] contrived to crown 500 years of ethnocide, exploitation and dehumanization with yet another sacrifice.

On April 8, 1997 Candido attended a meeting -- his last official function -- with the National Agrarian Institute (INA) at which Chorti aspirations were voiced and strategies deemed indispensable for our survival were outlined. Siding with ranchers and landowners, INA reacted arrogantly and a modus vivendi could not be reached. INA further asserted that 'not a single acre is available in Chorti territory as all lands are privately owned.' In parting, an INA official told Candido that 'every action results in an opposite reaction.' We thought nothing of this otherwise cryptic remark until April 12, when we heard that Candido had died. We quickly concluded that the official was not a prophet but a co-conspirator.

WEG: Did Candido personally express fear for his life?

Juan: A couple of months before he died, Candido was invited to attend a workshop moderated by Eduardo Villanueva, Special Prosecutor for Indigenous Affairs, at the El Jarral estate. Purpose of the workshop, which attracted lawyers and officials from Copan Ruinas, was to socialize and 'raise an awareness of indigenous rights and legitimate concerns.' Candido fearlessly and forcefully prosecuted the Chorti position. There was little doubt in Candido's mind that landowners now had both an unambiguous view of him and a pretext to eliminate him. The April 8 meeting with INA validated his fears. The rest is history.

WEG: What happened next?

Juan: On the morning of April 13, a young girl who had gone to Rafael Gonzales' house to sell bread caught glimpse in a hallway mirror of a bloody hand resting on the floor. She also noticed a woman frantically scrubbing blood spots with water and lime. The girl was thrown out and warned to keep her mouth shut.

Wasting no time, intent on muddying the tracks, landowners turned to the press and the press obliged, running a barrage of defamatory disinformation against Candido and the Chorti. Coddled by the landed elite, the police predictably sided with their benefactors. A perfunctory investigation in San Marcos de Ocotepeque yielded a 'suspect', a harmless vagrant who was arrested, charged with Candido's murder then quietly released. In their zeal to round up more suspects, the police, egged on by landowners, also captured two common crooks popularly known as Tun Tun and Tin Tin. The pair, who had worked at millionaire farmer Ernesto Castejó's Finca el Cisne, first admitted to the crime then recanted, claiming the landowners had offered them hush money. They were jailed briefly and booted out of town for lack of evidence.

WEG: How did your people react?

Juan: A few days after Sandy's death, a delegation from Ocotepeque came to Copan Ruinas, led by the Maya-Chorti senior advisor, a Lenca leader and members of CONICHH [the umbrella organization for

Honduras' indigenous clans]. Traveling in a red car, at about five in the afternoon, the party proceeded past the spot where Candido's lifeless body had been found on the night of April 12, then stopped to look. They were met by a police patrol led by Lt. Lopez. The policemen were busy scouring the ground for clues. Observing the policemen was a small group of Chorti headed by Jose Ernesto Suchite, then junior counselor.

Without warning, the occupants of the red car were pounced upon, accused of acting 'suspiciously' and arrested. The Chorti senior advisor protested, charging the police -- who did not have a warrant -- with illegal and arbitrary detention. Nonplused, Lt. Lopez sent his driver to the station to fetch the rest of his men. An exasperated Lt. Lopez then summoned the justice of the peace. The judge complied without delay. Everyone knew that the justice's authority was limited, that he was a servile confederate of the police. He proceeded to interrogate the group, demanding proof of their nationality.

The Lenca chieftain, who had left his credentials at the hotel, was escorted by police and the justice to his lodgings. Embarrassment turned to disquiet when the justice realized that several members of the Chorti delegation, many of them part of the national leadership, were also representatives of Integuaban, the joint government-indigenous affairs commission. The judge hastened to exculpate himself and shift blame elsewhere. Speechless, Lt. Lopez and his men left the scene. This abject retreat by Copan's police left no doubt that they had been directed to intimidate outsiders and frustrate any attempt by our people to get to the truth.

Days later a young boy from the Ostuman community, whom police and landowners suspected of having overheard incriminating details about Candido's murder, was arrested and interrogated for 72 hours. The boy vehemently denied knowing anything. He was grudgingly released, warned to keep his mouth shut and counseled to 'value his freedom.'

As the 'investigation' proceeded, the authorities, in search of suspects, turned their attention on the CONICHH leadership. Joining forces, the Copan and Ocotepeque police worked hard but in vain to find any evidence of an ideological breach between members of the organization -- let alone a compelling motive to assassinate one of their own.

WEG: Is there any doubt that the people you named earlier (See Who Killed Candido Amador, HTW, 3 October 1998) were directly or indirectly involved in Candido's murder?

Juan: Less than ever -- though it is impossible to tell perpetrator from co-conspirator at this time. Consider the ensuing events. We later learned that an unnamed 'material witness' had been interrogated by police and judges in Copan Ruinas and La Entrada. Inexplicably, news of this inquest was withheld from the press. Lt. Lopez was promptly transferred out of the area and the justice of the peace was relieved of his duties. Suddenly, enigmatically, the "leads" grew cold and the investigation ground to a halt.

WEG: What about the blood and tissue evidence found by Special Prosecutor Villanueva at Rafael Gonzales' house?

Juan: Villanueva continues to sidestep the issue, claiming that

he is [still] awaiting the results of the FBI forensic exam. So are we, with diminishing patience. We are baffled that, by his own admission, Villanueva only gathered evidence found near the entrance, the same evidence stumbled upon by the young girl who had come to sell bread. We are also troubled by the government's indifference toward the evidence -- circumstantial and hard -- now at their disposal.

WEG: Where do we go from here?

Juan: Candido's assassins must be unmasked, brought to trial and punished. This would be the first time in history that Honduran justice sided with the nation's ethnic minorities. Such a victory would help expiate the darkest pages of history and vindicate thousands of innocent victims of institutionalized brutality and repression.

*

A tall order in a nation where politics drives justice, where might speaks loudest, where generations of peaceful native and forcibly transplanted Black minorities are being denied their past, stripped of a future. Said a former judge, now a human rights consultant, on condition of anonymity: "Neither Villanueva nor ombudsman Leo Valladares has the moral fiber or the wherewithal to act independently and decisively against a tangled and dissolute government. They're like flotsam on the open sea of Honduran politics and will drift wherever the current takes them."

It is not too late for the Government of Honduras to do the right thing. Solving Candido's murder is a fitting first step on a long road to self-rehabilitation.

I liked your article about how public figures enjoy such respect from the social elites and diplomatic circles, while they are accused of illicit wealth and fraudulent actions against the people of Honduras.

I have always asked myself, how is it possible that people like this are constantly mentioned and admired in social magazines and newspaper columns, when their dishonesty is in question?

It seems to me that corruption has become the "in" thing in Honduras -- "everyone does it, so what?", "if I don't do it, others will", etc. There's so many ways to rationalize behavior just so we can accommodate others and even ourselves into relationships that can bring us some social recognition, business opportunities, or political power.

As a Honduran myself, I am ashamed of the low, low moral values our society has achieved over the last few years.

It all started in the Callejas administration, [which] epitomized the notion that "to steal from the people is OK" and "we can get away with it" -- becoming the "trendy" thing to do in government.

That trend became so open that everybody wanted to be part of it -- by becoming president themselves, or government officials, or 'diputados', etc. Competition erupted over who could steal more, and so the display of their wealth in public.

Honduran society and diplomatic circles should give the right example and not idolize scoundrels, at least in public. It is socially insensitive and perpetuates shamelessness.

We should all remember that corruption and government thieves are in great part responsible for the increase in poverty, and therefore, the increase in crime rates in the streets -- a reality that is catching up with our society, even with the so-called social "elites."

Keep up your good work.

N.I. Trochez - Henke
via Internet

Ron Mader's letter (HTW 3/20) about the IHT struck a familiar chord. Through the IHT is no more, from its ashes was reborn an even stranger bird, a cross between a vulture and a dodo -- the Honduran Ministry of Tourism. The majesty of this new moniker should fool no one. It's the same old, inept, apathetic, slothful and politically self-serving organization it was in its previous incarnation.

The odious treatment to which Ron Mader was subjected is not surprising. Consider this: Not long ago, appalled by the horrific spelling and grammatical errors (not to mention the historical and geographical aberrations) found in Honduras's English-language tourist literature, I offered -- GRATIS -- to review all the texts and make the necessary corrections. I'm still waiting for an answer, though I'm not holding my breath. I've since learned that, when baffled or intellectually challenged, Central American bureaucrats change the subject. More often than not, they respond with silence. Kafka would be proud.

In 1995, then a resident of Costa Rica, I made a similar offer to the Instituto Costaricense de Turismo (ICT), whose mangled English texts also contained mind-blowing errors, i.e., "... Costa Rica is situates (sic) between Panama to the north (sic) and Nicaragua on its sourthern (sic) boarder (sic)...." The high-ranking ICT executive to whom I had appealed looked at me as if I were some kind of nut, yawned, shrugged his shoulders and said, "Thanks, but we're not interested."

Ridgefield, CT

Monday, April 12, 1999 Online Edition 152

Candido Amador (1958-1997):
unavenged but not forgotten

The good news: still at large, his killers have left their calling card; the bad news: as hard evidence mounts, the government looks the other way.

Candido Amador Recinos

(First of two parts)

TEGUCIGALPA -- On April 12, 1997, as night draped the village of Copan Ruinas in a mantle of darkness, Candido Amador Recinos, a charismatic champion of Indian rights and a rising star in the Maya-Chorti leadership, was brutally, senselessly murdered. Unsolved and unpunished, his assassination has plunged autochthonous and Black communities alike under a pall of fear and suspicion.

In galvanizing Honduras' minorities, the crime -- the 25th slaying of an indigenous leader in the past five years -- has also put an end to decades of silence, irresolution and self-restraint. Candido's death has re-awakened tribal pride, buoyed ethnic unity and fed a tide of revulsion and impatience at Honduras' Byzantine justice system.

Frequent and increasingly large demonstrations in the capital have added both substance and poignancy to their collective plight. They have also helped expose the nation's sluggish civil and human rights apparatus. In the case of Candido Amador, these peaceful but vocal rallies have also underscored the outrage that government inaction and absurd rationalizations have inspired.

Few, if any, believe that Candido's death (as infomercials planted in various dailies soon after the killing and paid for by landowners in the Copan and Ocotepeque regions imply) was "engineered to fabricate an indigenous martyr," or was the culmination "of intra-ethnic disputes," or the result of "personal problems."

"Next, they'll tell us that Candido died of self-inflicted stab and bullet wounds, and that, for dramatic effect, he also scalped himself!" quipped a Garifuna demonstrator at last January's human rights rally. Instead, as maturing evidence suggests, most Hondurans have quietly concluded that Candido Amador was eliminated by landowners and cattle ranchers who felt threatened by his activism and his mandate that ancestral lands be returned to their rightful owners.

"Since colonial times," says "Juan," a perceptive and eloquent Maya-Chorti informer who has provided this writer with invaluable leads and insights (See HTW 3 October 1998, February 6 and 20, 1999) "foreigners have contrived various strategies to usurp our national patrimony, plunder our resources and deprive us of our hereditary rights. Not only did they snatch and parcel out among themselves the ill-gotten booty -- gold, arable lands, wells, water rights and large stretches of pristine riparian and coastal areas -- they also assumed political and economic supremacy, a self-granted status that has empowered them to steal and exploit regions traditionally inhabited by our people."

Flagrant examples of encroachment cited by "Juan" include construction of the El Tigre and Patuca River hydroelectric stations. "We are not against progress, but we condemn attempts to achieve it without the knowledge and participation of affected indigenous communities. We also oppose any activity that infringes upon or degrades our natural environment, corrupts our culture, abridges our ancestral traditions and vitiates our very identity."

Contrary to assertions made in this paper recently, the Chorti have only grudgingly endured the "passive role" imposed on them by tourism. According to "Juan," Candido characterized tourism as "a mercenary commerce controlled by the State and local landed gentry, and 'sewn up' by foreign developers assured of a 'non-intrusive' government and afforded significant political and economic leverage."

Candido is also quoted as having asked: "What, [tourists] will trudge up the mountain and gawk at the 'quaint Indians' and take pictures of our grass huts and womenfolk and children, and commiserate with our elders, perhaps buy a few trinkets? Or they will marvel, for an hour or two, at the tattered vestiges of the 'mighty Maya' before retiring to air-conditioned hotels -- none of which we own -- and dine in eateries none of us can afford to patronize? We've never seen a centavo from the fees collected at the Archeological Park or a fraction of the tourist dollars spent in local establishments..."

Candido was also openly critical of the cattle ranchers and farmers in Ocotepeque, whom he described as "a small but all-powerful elite single-mindedly engaged in protecting their private interests without regard to the legitimate needs and concerns of our people."

It was in 1995 that the Chorti, spurred by an energetic but relatively unknown visionary named Candido Amador, began to organize and formulate clear objectives, two of which infuriated the local power structure: one, the restitution of land from which they had been displaced or which they had been coerced to sell; the other, the regeneration of their ethnic selfhood through political empowerment.

Chief herald of other historic, if unpopular, demands articulated by a now fortified Chorti council of elders -- of which he was a member -- Candido, a symbol of ethnic pride revived, knew that his idealism and fiery rhetoric could cost him his life. He unhesitatingly accepted the risks and publicly declared that he was ready to shed his blood for his people.

Chorti activism, Candido predicted, would meet with intimidations, threats, illegal detentions, evictions, arson, calumny, fraudulent lawsuits, even assassinations, all designed to quell dissent and dismember his people.

His predictions came true.

NEXT WEEK: "Juan" speaks out. Recapitulating known events, he covers new ground and uncovers fresh evidence of foul play.

Vacationers return to huge tasks and challenges

Because of Semana Santa all our vacationers (the number diminished this year because of Hurricane Mitch) have returned to their homes and their jobs. Despite warnings about unfavorable and risky conditions on the highway, Hondurans were undaunted and traveled to the usual destinations.

Tourism has been in a deep slump all over the country since Mitch, and touristic operators have spent a lot of time sitting on their hands, but the Semana Santa crowds lifted spirits considerably as the visitors fanned out around the country.

Today, tourism is one of the most promising industries in the country, and it participates in the over-all hope of the Honduran people, which is being nourished by the good works and plans of the government along with international support for numerous projects that are established for the rebuilding of the country, a task whose dimensions are beyond calculation.

The situation is beginning to stabilize itself, and though we know it will take time, we are in the process and the critical work is being undertaken.

We trust and hope that after relaxing vacations the Hondurans are ready to pick up the reins, and re-dedicate themselves to the challenge ahead, working harder and more effectively.

Dear Editor:
It never crossed my mind that as I and a friend walked the beach of Tela I was about to become another victim of robbery in Honduras. Having lived here for over a year and a half I had always paid close attention to the people around me so as to never put myself in the position to be mugged or robbed. I dropped my guard one time and it happened.

As we walked the beach I saw these four thugs coming my way and as they drew closer I knew I was going to be mugged or robbed or worse. You sometimes have that feeling. One drew his knife and the other his chrome plated 38. They said, "Give us your money Gringo."

Of course I did, why would I argue with a gun or a knife. They took the money and walked away in no hurry because they knew they were safe. No police, no guards and not one person to come to our protection. End of Story.

No, not quite. We found the police and as we expected the interest level was kind of, Ho Hum, another Gringo got ripped off. Word of advice: Don't put your self in the position to be mugged, robbed or whatever. Use good common sense when in public.

Lane Tarleton
San Pedro Sula

Dear Editor:
I've been reading your [on-line] magazine for quite some time. As a Honduran who honestly doesn't understand what she's reading in Spanish, it is great to have a news magazine like yours.

Last week, I read something about the congressmen wanting higher pay, that really p***** me off. How can they be asking for higher pay when Honduras is in such ruins? At least they have food on the table and shelter. They are only thinking about themselves. There are people who live out in the streets and eat out of garbage cans.

I wish they would realize that there are people in great need, and if I was in Honduras I would definitely be helping out as much as I could.

On another note, I live in Siguatepeque and I never read about it in any Honduran newspapers, so if you could report on it, that be really nice.

April Cubbison
cybil@cdsinternet.com

Dear Editor:
I am writing regarding the article titled "Don't spit, spitting spreads disease", published in the March 27 edition of Honduras This Week.

As a native-born Honduran, I take exception to the disparaging, demeaning tone of the article. I am appalled at Mr. Christensen disdainful words, and I quote, "The Ministry of Health would have to mix it with other inducements, like for example electric shock. Something subtle like that."

I find his comments unprofessional, tasteless, hinting at prejudice and unworthy of being put into print in a newspaper such as yours. It is patently obvious that Mr. Christensen holds Hondurans and other people of Latin descent in contempt.

My question then is obvious: if that is how he feels, why is he living here in Honduras where he would then have to be exposed to "Latin males of a certain class and orientation" who spit randomly and joyfully?

I will be the first to admit that spitting is a deplorable habit and Mr. Christensen is certainly right in condemning it, but, his choice of words leaves a lot to be desired. I believe that he should issue a public apology to all of your readers of Latin descent such as myself who were deeply offended by his crass comments and tongue-in-cheek humor.

Maybe Mr. Christensen did not set out deliberately to offend Hondurans but the fact remains that his article was certainly offensive and in the future, he should think before taking pen in hand to have a few laughs at the expense of the citizens of the country he has chosen to live in. Uneducated and uncultured as some Hondurans may be, I think very few would be as deliberately offensive as I found Mr. Christensen's article to be.

I have been a loyal reader of your newspaper and I must admit that I am disappointed that you would allow this type of article to be published. Newspaper reporters should be held to certain standards and above all should not denigrate anybody in such a manner as this article did. I hope Mr. Christensen will not further disappoint me by attempting to justify the unjustifiable.

Maria Cristina Barry
Tela

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Mr. Erling Duus asked to respond to Ms. Barry's letter: I am certainly glad to know that Ms. Barry also finds spitting deplorable. But it is apparently one of those things that must not be mentioned, which is why nothing is ever done to change it. If Ms. Barry is indeed a loyal reader of the newspaper, she will know that there are things I very much like about Honduras, and things I very much dislike. One of the things I dislike is the propensity to take great offense whenever unpleasant truths are mentioned.