NATIONAL

El PICACHO -- After nearly nine months of construction, the Resurrected Christ statue was inaugurated in a ceremony near the United Nations park several kilometers north of Tegucigalpa.

The inauguration and blessing of the 2,500 ton Christ of El Picacho was attended by several thousand people, including diplomats, civil and military officials and devout Christians. Over 200 police officials were on duty at the ceremony to insure the security of the guests, including President Reina and President-elect Flores.

The statue, which stands nearly 100 feet high (including its base), is located at the scenic overlook of El Picacho, a residential zone located on one of the high peaks surrounding the capital city.

The statue was designed by Mario Zamora Alcantara, an award winning Honduran artist who resides in Mexico. Construction began in May 1997 and the total cost was over Lps. 8 million.

The Christ of El Picacho is lit in a manner similar to the Christ of El Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with direct lighting to the front and sides as well as six additional lights to provide more intensity.

Archbishop of Tegucigalpa Oscar Andrés Rodríguez, President Reina, and first lady Bessie Reina cut the ribbon officially inaugurating the statue. Photo by Eric Schwimmer

The effort to construct the Christ of El Picacho united the Anglican, Orthodox, and Catholic churches of Honduras. Archbishop of Tegucigalpa Monsignor Oscar Andres Rodriguez, the principal organizer of the project, said, "Christ is capable of consolidating peace among the Honduran people."

The bishop of the Anglican church, Leo Frade; and the bishop of the Orthodox Church, Pablo Mussa, together for the first time in a public appearance, promoted the common image of Christ as an opportunity to seek unity among Honduran churches.

President Reina expressed his elation at the inauguration of the statue, which will look down on the citizens of Tegucigalpa and watch over them. "Everyone has contributed what they could; it is the effort of everyone, brought together with each grain of sand from the poor, gravel from the rich, the cement of Christian love and the iron of faith," he said.

IDB president and CA presidents meet at the inauguration of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration

TEGUCIGALPA -- Inter-American Development Bank President Enrique Iglesias last weekend promised to make $350 million in loans available to the new administration over the next four years.

In a meeting with President-elect Carlos Flores, Iglesias said financial backing will be negotiated within the priorities set by the new government, which include concessional loans with low interest rates.

Iglesias said he was satisfied with Honduras' economic growth, drop in the rate of inflation and the buildup of foreign currency reserves. He also discussed various ideas with Flores, especially in the area of social welfare. An IDB mission will be arriving in February to meet with authorities and define the list of projects for which IDB assistance is to be sought.

The meeting took place during Iglesias' visit for the inauguration Tuesday (Jan. 20) of the new $20 million building to house the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. The CABEI has been based in Tegucigalpa since its foundation in 1960.

The event also provided an opportunity for the signing of IDB loan agreements for $190 million with CABEI and Nicaragua.

The loan authorized to the CABEI is for 20 years with a variable interest rate and is directed toward the Multi-Sector Program of Institutional Support for the private sector. CABEI is the financial arm of the proposed Central American union and was designed to attract foreign resources for investment in the region.

The inauguration of the modern building, which cost $20 million and is completely computerized, was attended by President Armando Calderon Sol of EL Salvador, President Arnoldo Aleman of Nicaragua, President Jose Maria Figueres of Costa Rica, President Alvaro Arzu of Guatemala, President Reina, and President-elect Flores. The event included the unveiling of a statue of Francisco Morazan, one of Central America's patriots and a adamant supporter of Central American unity.

Dick Morris, a former campaign aid of U.S. President Bill Clinton, alleged in an editorial published Jan. 14 in The Hill that President-elect Carlos Flores "has taken power as a result of simple, direct theft of an election."

Flores, the Liberal Party candidate, easily beat runner-up Nora de Melgar Castro of the National Party in last November's general elections that were described by most observers as one of the most uneventful and exemplary elections ever held in Honduras.

Morris, who served as an advisor to Melgar, accused Flores of employing "tawdry tactics" and fraud in order to win the elections, such as using his influence as Congressional President to "pass a new law that said you can vote even if you don't have identification" so that "ballot boxes were stuffed with phony votes for Flores."

The National Port Authority (ENP) is currently investigating the collision of three large container ships in Puerto Cortes last Thursday (Jan. 15) that caused serious damage to a multi-million dollar crane and other port infrastructure.

According to the daily La Prensa, the engines of the Chiquita Las Americas, which had docked around 5:30 p.m., started up again, propelling the ship forward into the Sea Land Honduras, which in turn was pushed into the Seaboard Sun. No injuries were reported, however, the unloading ramp of the Sea Land Honduras was severely damaged as well as eight pickup trucks in its cargo.

ENP authorities have ordered the Chiquita Las Americas -- which was to be loaded with a shipment of bananas of the Tela Railroad Company -- to remain in the harbor until damage has been assessed and the exact causes of the accident determined.

Meteorologists were back on the job last Thursday (Jan. 15) after government negotiators agreed to their demands, ending a three-day strike, the daily La Prensa reported. According to the agreement, meteorologists will receive the salary hike originally promised for January with their February paychecks.

Members of the Pro-Life Committee of Honduras held a demonstration in front of a capital city hotel last week to protest the visit of Nafis Sadik, director of the U.N. Population Fund, the daily La Prensa reported Friday (Jan. 16). Martha Lorena de Casco, who headed the protest, stated that Pro-Life declared Sadik persona non grata for supporting birth control programs around the world, including Honduras, and because she wants to make abortion a women's right.

In new statements to the press regarding the murder of a university coed, Silvia Yaneth Zuniga stated in a La Tribuna report Saturday (Jan. 17) that Yadira Miguel Mejia Pagoaga was confused and desperate as a result of her pregnancy and considered having an abortion. The body of Mejia, who disappeared Nov. 26, was found in the septic tank in the residence of Lucila Zuniga, Silvia Zuniga's stepmother and the victim's godmother, on Jan. 2 after the police received an anonymous tip.

Silvia Zuniga also called their maid, Sandra Aparicio, a liar, saying that her brother Ramon Zuniga never had a relationship with the victim. Marcelo Chimirri, she said, was Mejia's boyfriend and the father of the child she was allegedly expecting. The Coroner's office could not establish whether the victim was pregnant due to the body's advanced state of decay, although a laboratory test made by Mejia before her death indicated that she was pregnant.

Aparicio and Lucila Zuniga have been detained for their alleged participation in the murder.

Honduras and El Salvador on Monday (Jan. 19) signed an accord in which they agree to map their border within a year, the daily La Tribuna reported. The accord comes more than 5 years after the International Court of Justice awarded Honduras nearly 70 percent of 420 square kilometers of contested border land.

President Reina of Honduras and President Calderon Sol of El Salvador also signed a second agreement in which the two countries promise to respect the rights of border residents and resolve any problems through good faith, reason and law.

ROATAN -- Five U.S. Senators, including Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) met with President Carlos Reina, President-elect Carlos Flores, and President Calderon Sol of El Salvador last week in the Bay Islands. The U.S. delegation also included John Breaux (D-LA), Frank Murkowski (R-AK), Mike DeWine (R-OH), and Pat Roberts (R-KS).

The Senators are currently on a tour of Central America and Mexico to discuss topics of common interest, including drug trafficking, organized crime, democracy, and economic growth.

In addition, the meetings between Central American leaders and the senate delegation are addressing the U.S. military presence in Panama, and the peace process in Guatemala.

President Reina said there were also discussions of Honduras' role in international commerce and treaties, as well as talks about the apparel industry here.

The U.S. Senators also brought up a complaint over the handling of the Gustave Valle murder case. Valle, a U.S. citizen, has been imprisoned in Honduras for nearly five years without being brought to trial. Reina claimed that the Honduran courts would decide the case within two or three months. "The Honduran courts will have the last word, as we demand equal treatment for Hondurans."

Of primary concern for the Honduran delegation was the treatment of Honduran illegal aliens in the United States. On the topic of immigration and deportations, Reina said, "There are good possibilities that there will be a delay in the deportations. The position of the five Senators is that all of Central America receive equal treatment and that there are no massive deportations."

Senator Lott said, "We feel as if we have participated in an historic meeting of these three countries [Honduras, El Salvador and the United States], we have touched on many points of interest which we will use in the future. We are here because we are very interested in the relationship between the United States and Central America, and believe we can work together toward economic growth and respect for human rights."

Referring to the protests by Honduran immigrants in Miami, Lott maintained that the Senate will work out a policy to deal with the immigration problem as well as the problem of drug trafficking.

The meeting was also attended by President Calderón Sol of El Salvador, and his visit to Honduran territory provided an opportunity to discuss the signing of a protocol for marking the boundaries between El Salvador and Honduras.

Reina said, " We will be taking advantage of the occasion of the opening of the Central American Bank of Economic Integration to sign protocol for the implementation of the ruling handed down by the International Court of Justice (in September 1992)."

Indians hold protest in front of U.S. Embassy
Nearly 100 Indians on Monday (Jan. 12) held a demonstration in front of the U.S. Embassy to protest the U.S.-Honduran military exercises taking place in western Honduras, the daily La Prensa reported.

Gerardo Yanez, president of the Civic Committee of Popular and Indigenous Organizations (COPIN), said the Indians consider the activity a counterinsurgency exercise, claiming that the United States and Honduras fear "a second Chiapas."

In a letter sent to U.S. Ambassador James Creagan, COPIN stated that "the military presence of your country (will) cause enormous psychological damage to people who are accustomed to seeing only the green of nature in our mountains and fields."

However, Embassy spokesperson Marti Estell said in a La Prensa report that the U.S. military is not in Intibuca to conduct military maneuvers but to provide humanitarian aid. The six-month exercise, which will be officially inaugurated later this month, will cost an estimated US$9 million.

On Jan. 2, the U.S. military set up its main quarters at Jesus de Otoro and smaller operational camps at Sabanillas, Dolores and San Marcos de la Sierra, all in Intibuca department. Thousands of U.S. servicemembers will participate in the training exercise, called New Horizons, which will build schools, clinics, wells and provide road maintenance and repair. Health services will also be provided by three medical brigades.

Police investigate new leads in coed murder case
The police investigation into the murder of university student Yadira Mejia continued this week with a second search of the residence where her body was found. Reported missing Nov. 26, the coed was found Jan. 2 in the septic tank of her godmother's home after the police received a tip.

Mejia's godmother, Lucila Zuniga and the housekeeper, Sandra Aparicio remain in custody as principal suspects, while Mario Rene Alvarez, Aparicio's boyfriend, has been released due to lack of evidence.

Aparicio, who originally stated to reporters that she and Lucila Zuniga had killed the girl together, recently offered a different version of the killing in which Aparicio was obligated to deliver the first blow, and then was locked in her room.

Aparicio now says that she cannot say exactly who killed Mejia, because when she left the scene the girl was still alive.

Aparicio and Zuniga were brought before the judge together Tuesday for a five hour confrontation. Judge Armando Corea told El Heraldo that even though no new elements were revealed in the questioning, "all parts of the trial are important. These interviews will have to be analyzed." The suspects made no comments to reporters while leaving the judges chambers.

Monday afternoon, Silvia Yaneth Zuniga Matamoros, step-daughter of Lucila Zuniga and roommate of Mejia, came forth for the first time to speak to the press. Silvia Zuniga confirmed reports that Mejia was pregnant at the time of her death, adding that Mejia had told her that the father was Marcelo Chimirri Castro.

Zuniga told El Heraldo, "Yadira told me that when she spoke to Marcelo about the pregnancy, he said that he didn't want scandals or children."

Zuniga also confirmed that she had accompanied Mejia when she went to the courts to seek advice on the situation. She said, "It surprises me that Marcelo is now saying that they were not romantically involved. He came to the house once or twice a month to see her, and Yadira wanted to introduce him to her mother as her boyfriend."

Chimirri continues to deny that he and Mejia were more than just friends. Samples of DNA found in the Mejia's body will be sent to the United States to be analyzed there in hopes of determining the paternity of the baby she was carrying.

The possibility of an inheritance left to Yadira Mejia by her father has been considered by some as a possible motive. Family members, however, disagree.

"Her father did leave an inheritance to his children, but it will be divided between 14 children, seven legal and seven alleged," said Norma Castillo, mother of one of the children, in a La Prensa interview. The inheritance includes a prosperous fish farm, as well as land and cattle.

Investigators have also been searching for any possible connection between Mejia's death and the death of her father, Miguel Mejia. Miguel Mejia, a prominent farmer and rancher, was murdered in August 1997 near his home in Manto, department of Olancho.

Family members believe that Miguel Mejia could have been killed by cattle rustlers against whom he had testified in trials. Journalists have also uncovered rumors that Mejia may have been murdered over a land dispute with a prominent Tegucigalpa business person.

Police are looking into any connection between the cattle rustlers and Aparicio, who is originally from Manto, Olancho.

At least 19 American citizens wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are residing in Central America, according to information the U.S. law enforcement agency handed over to the Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) and the San Pedro Sula municipal police last week.

The daily El Nuevo Dia reported Jan. 8 that the fugitives, which include four women, are wanted for murder, drugs and racketeering. Several of the fugitives are believed to be working in maquilas on the North Coast of Honduras. A reward of US$ 1 million is being offered for information leading to the arrest of one of the fugitives.

Roberto Ochoa Cordova, a prominent militant of the National Party and soccer official, died of an ulcer last Saturday (Jan. 10) in Tegucigalpa, the daily La Tribuna reported. He was.....

Involved in sports since the early 70s, Ochoa played a key role in Honduras' qualification for the 1982 World Cup. He served as a director on the National Soccer Federation of Honduras (FENAFUTH) on numerous occasions, and also held the post of vice-president of Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF).

On the political scene, Ochoa held the posts of president of the National Election Tribunal (TNE) and the National Registry of People (RNP).

The National Meteorologists Association of Honduras (ANAMETH) went on strike Monday (Jan. 12), affecting air traffic at Toncontin, La Mesa, Goloson and Roatan international airports, the daily La Prensa reported. The striking meteorologists are demanding that the government fulfill a promised salary hike that was supposed to have taken affect this month.

According to strikers, the average monthly salary of a meteorologist is Lps. 1,800 (US$150) even though many have up to 30 years experience and received specialized training in the United States, Mexico and the Middle East.

Hondurans purchased more than 73 million beers, 1.5 million bottles of rum and 1.5 million bottles of aguardiente (a locally produced, corn-based hard liquor) during the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays, according to Dagoberto Espinoza Murra, director of the Honduran Institute for the Prevention and Treatment of Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Drug Addiction (IHADFA), in an El Heraldo report.

He added that over the past five years annual beer production has increased from 120 million to 220 million bottles. Yearly production of rum and aguardiente is approximately 4 million bottles each, he said. After Christmas and New Year's Day, the largest amount of alcohol sales occurs during Holy Week (Easter).

U.S. actor Dennis Quaid last Wednesday (Jan. 7) inaugurated the Ruth Paz Medical Clinic in San Pedro Sula, the daily La Prensa reported. Quaid, who starred in the films Enemy Mine and Dragon Heart, provided most of the funds for the clinic's construction while the International Hospital for Children has provided resources for hiring medical personnel.

The visit was Quaid's fourth to Honduras. During his first visit two years ago, the Hollywood star helped a little girl abandoned at the Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital receive surgery in the United States for a life-threatening birth defect. A doctor accompanying Quaid told reporters that the girl has recovered satisfactorily from the operation and is currently in a foster home in Louisiana where she continues to receive medical attention and therapy.

Relatives of passengers travelling aboard the ferry Regal Voyager this week expressed concern that the vessel had still not arrived at Puerto Cortes more than five days after departing from Puerto Isabel, Texas, the daily La Prensa reported Saturday (Jan. 10). The vessel set sail last Sunday (Jan. 4) but reportedly experienced mechanical problems in Mexican waters and was forced to drop anchor near Cozumel island.

La Prensa reported that this is the fourth time the vessel has had engine problems since ferry service between the United States and Honduras began last year. Representatives of the company in Honduras are Gutierrez & Cargo.

By WENDY GRIFFIN

TEGUCIGALPA -- Ten years ago the Tawahkas of Honduras analyzed their situation and decided that their ethnic group, like the Pech, the Tolupans, the Miskitos, and the Garifunas, needed an ethnic federation to represent them at the national and international levels. Concerned that MASTA, the Miskito ethnic federation, was attempting to be the voice of all the different peoples in the Mosquitia, the Tawahkas founded the Federation of Tawahka Indians of Honduras (FITH) in September 1987.

The early years of FITH's existence were devoted almost entirely to establishing a land base for the Tawahkas. Since the Tawahkas had never been conquered during the colonial period, but rather became part of Honduras as the result of a peace treaty between the Honduran government and the Miskito Indians in 1845, the Tawahkas had no colonial era land titles.

Before obtaining land titles, the Tawahkas have had to conduct campaigns to ensure all Tawahkas had identity cards. Since the main Tawahka villages were two weeks voyage by canoe from the municipality of Brus Laguna where ID cards were issued, many Tawahkas had never been registered. In Honduras, many births are never recorded. The National Registry of Persons did not even want to register Hondurans in their first six months of life -- too many of them die, causing too much paperwork.

Determining how land titles could be given and how much land the Tawahkas needed has been a struggle. The Tawahkas used to extend from the mouth of the Patuca River to the Guallambre River in El Paraiso department. Today there are only 950 Tawahkas in six villages on the Olancho/Gracias a Dios border. Approval for the creation of the Tawahka Asangni Biosphere has been almost impossible.

In August 1997, the Agrarian Reform Institute (INA) gave to the Honduran Forestry Development Corporation (COHDEFOR) a property deed for the entire proposed Tawahka Reserve (243,126 hectares), which gives them some protection as inalienable state-owned forest lands. In November 1997, the Honduran government also gave the FITH four property titles for the communities' agricultural lands.

COHDEFOR and FITH are currently negotiating an agreement to allow the Tawahkas to manage the biosphere and forests, just as other environmental non-governmental organizations. Edgardo Benitez, the executive director of the Tawahka organization "Asociacion Asang Launa" (Mountain of Life), feels that these represent major breakthroughs in the area of Tawahka land titles.

At this moment, Tawahka lands are included in a mapping and zoning project financed by the German development agency GTZ. Mappers are also recording the positions of neighboring Ladino communities to determine the location of the current agricultural frontier. This advance of Ladino slash-and-burn farmers and cattle ranchers is considered the major threat to the Tawahka culture and their physical safety.

Previously the Tawahkas were part of CONPAH, the Confederation of Autochthonous Peoples of Honduras. After two years, they felt that CONPAH was dominated by the larger ethnic groups such as the Garifunas (250,000), Miskitos (40,000) and Tolupans (19,000), and that CONPAH was unable or unwilling to address the issues of Honduras' smallest ethnic groups.

To be their own voice and to control funds destined for their projects, the Tawahkas withdrew from CONPAH in December 1993 and founded "Fundacion Raices" as their own environmental NGO. It was not possible to get legal recognition with that name as the Ministry changed its criteria for establishing foundations. The Tawahkas then changed its name to "Asociacion Asang Launa," and in June 1997 they finally received "personeria juridica," a legal recognition that allows them to accept and to administer donations.

For this year, they hope to implement a project for the sustainable development of the Tawahka Biosphere. The Tawahka Association will be co-executor of the project with MOPAWI, DED (German Service of Technical-Social Cooperation) and ICADE (Institute for the Cooperation of Development).

It is a part of the Project of Forest and Society (PSF), funded by GTZ through COHDEFOR. The Tawahka project will work along several lines -- training and environmental education, agroforestry including cacao, biodiversity, tourism and infrastructure, and social work with people in Ladino communities in the Tawahka Reserve Buffer Zone (Zona de Amortiguamiento).

In the years since the Tawahkas founded FITH, they have slowly become part of international networks of Indians working on conservation and biodiversity issues. Since 1995, they have formed part of the World Alliance of Indigenous Peoples in Tropical Forests based in London. They are also part of the International Network of Indigenous Biodiversity, sponsored by Cultural Survival-Canada. Jose Dixon of Kraosirpe represented the Tawahkas at the November meeting of this network in Spain.

The Tawahkas can be contacted at "Asociacion Asang Launa," A.P. 4245, Tegucigalpa. Messages can be left at MOPAWI (Tel. 37-7210) or through the office of Tawahka bilingual education (Lorenzo Tinglblas, Tel. 38-3279). The Tawahkas' current priorities, now that they have a secure land base, are oriented toward improving their income through programs associated with handicrafts, cacao cultivation and developing other aspects of Tawahka agriculture. In addition, FITH has identified health projects as a priority for 1998. Foreigners and Hondurans are invited to become members of the "Asociacion Asang Launa.

A university student, missing since Nov. 25, was found murdered Friday afternoon in the home of her godmother where the girl had resided for the last year. The bludgeoned body was found in a septic tank located under the patio.

Police first arrived at the home of Lucila Zuniga, godmother of Yadira Miguel Mejia Pagoaga, to question her after receiving an anonymous phone call from a man reporting the existence of a body in the house. After questioning Zuniga, police proceeded to search the home, eventually finding the badly decomposed body of the 19-year old student in the septic tank. Lucila Zuniga as well as her son Ramon Zuniga, were both at home at the time of the search and were taken into custody. On being arrested, Ramon Zuniga said to an El Heraldo reporter, "I have nothing to do with this; I don't even live here."

At the time of her disappearance, Mejia was living in the house which belongs to her godmother, and was allegedly last seen by the housekeeper who claimed that Mejia had left late in the afternoon to go to dinner with two male friends. The next day Lucila Zuniga reported her goddaughter missing.

According to a report in El Periodico, as Sandra Maritza Aparicio -- the maid -- was taken into custody for questioning Sunday afternoon, she told reporters, "I killed her along with Lucila, with two iron tubes." Aparicio also claims to have been given a "white powder to inhale," which made her sleep after the murder. In statements made to court officials, Aparicio claimed that Mejia and Ramon Zuniga were involved in a romantic relationship, and that the girl was pregnant.

In a La Tribuna report of court hearings, Aparicio told the judge that Lucila Zuniga was also jealous of a relationship between Mejia and a local business consultant, Marcelo Chimirri Castro.

Defense attorneys for Lucila Zuniga are attacking the validity of the housekeeper's statements, saying that her version of the murder has many contradictions. Defense attorney Marco Tulio Trejo told La Tribuna that Aparicio had once been accused of robbery, and suggested that the housekeeper and her boyfriend, Mario Rene Alvarez, murdered Mejia after being caught stealing from the Zuniga home. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Alvarez.

Castro, for his part, denies having had a romantic relationship with Mejia, saying in an El Periodico interview that he a Mejia were just friends and had only had a few casual dates. In the continuing investigation, journalists have uncovered yet another twist; a lawsuit pending against Castro, filed by his wife. She is suing him for marrying her when he was already married. Court records show that Castro, who is Italian-Honduran, but was born in Argentina, has married three times under different nationalities without obtaining divorces.

Employees of the Family Court of Tegucigalpa have come forward to testify that Mejia had come to the court five days before her death to request assistance. Ivan Reiniery Dominguez and Xiomara Zuniga, two court clerks, claim that the girl came to the courthouse because she was three months pregnant and the father of the child was denying his responsibility. Both employees said Mejia did not give the name of the father, but said that he was someone who could easily leave the country.

In an effort to find a possible motive for the killing, police searched the house Monday with drug-sniffing dogs, but found no indication of narcotics on the premises.

This is the second incident in six months in which female University students have been murdered and the majority of the suspects are close friends. In July, Vicenzzina Trimarchi Galindo was raped and murdered, allegedly by a friend of the family.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- "Hondurans who reside illegally in the United States have the same rights as the rest of the Central Americans in the same situation, and should receive the same status." These were the words of President-elect Carlos Flores during a surprise meeting with three Honduran illegal aliens who are taking part in a hunger strike in Miami.

In December, Carlos Flores met with Marco Tulio Padilla, Alan Oliva, and Pablo Sosa, saying, "It is a great satisfaction for us to come here and extend our solidarity to these countrymen. We are concerned about the state [of health] of these protestors, but they are in a fight, and this is their way to express their protest and demand the rights they deserve."

Flores also spoke of Honduras' dedication to democracy during the difficult times in Central America. "Honduras was a fundamental bastion during the fight for democracy in the region." According to statements made by Flores, the violence and division in the region seriously affected Honduras.

For this reason Flores feels that the Hondurans who migrated in the 1980s have the same rights as other Central American citizens to special status for political refugees. Flores added, "We have spoken to some U.S. congressmen, and will continue to communicate with other U.S. authorities through the State Department to let them know that the status of our countrymen, who came to the United States to seek protection in difficult times, is our first priority. We ask that they have the same status that has been given to the other Central Americans."

Flores, as well as outgoing President Carlos Roberto Reina, also discussed the topic of the Honduran Immigrants during a visit by six U.S. Senators to Roatan, The Bay Islands. President Reina has received sharp criticism for his handling of the problems faced by the illegal immigrants in the United States. Many observers feel that the fast action of other Central American presidents, Armando Calderon Sol of El Salvador, Arnoldo Aleman of Nicaragua, and Alvaro Arzu of Guatemala, contributed to their citizens receiving a preferential immigration status.

The Central Bank of Honduras has issued a new 500 lempira banknote that will begin circulating on Wednesday (Jan. 14), the daily El Heraldo reported Tuesday (Jan. 6). The banknote, printed by the English firm Thomas de la Rue, features 19th century writer and politician Ramon Rosa on the obverse and, behind his bust, the facade of the Paraninfo Universitario located in downtown Tegucigalpa. On the reverse is a view of the mining village of San Juancito. Although they will go into circulation this month, the new note -- the largest denomination ever issued by the Central Bank -- is dated Nov. 16, 1995.

A total of 134 deaths were reported over the holiday season between Christmas and New Year's Day, down from 179 in 1996, according to police spokesman Wilmer Suazo in a daily La Prensa report Jan. 2. Suazo said 113 deaths involved firearms, knives or other weapons, 11 were from traffic accidents, and 10 were due to other causes. In 1996, 179 persons died over the holidays.

Overall, 3,493 people died in 1997 and of this total 2,520 met violet deaths, the daily La Tribuna reported. The police reported 501 traffic deaths, down more than a hundred from the previous year. Also, the number of traffic accidents was 1,437, the second consecutive year that this figure has dropped.

Nearly 300 policemen failed to show up for work after the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays, the daily La Tribuna reported Tuesday (Jan. 6). Police colonel Manuel Antonio Urbina blamed the massive desertions on low salaries and the lack of incentives.

Two Honduran street children were shot and wounded by an unknown assailant at approximately 4 a.m. on Dec. 25 on Avenida Morelos in front of Casa Alizana, the daily La Tribuna reported Wednesday (Jan. 7). According to the report, a man got out of a vehicle, walked toward the youths, and began firing. Sandra Gonzalez received a bullet wound to the upper thigh and Olman Francisco Oliva a bullet wound to the shoulder. Fanny Cerrato, who accompanied Gonzalez and Oliva, was also shot at but not wounded.

Cerrato and Gonzalez are currently receiving refuge at the Casa Alianza shelter.

Financial problems at city hall the last couple months is the principal cause for the mounds of trash and debris in many parts of the capital, the daily El Heraldo reported. According to official sources, a work contract between sanitation employees and the municipal government expired on Dec. 31 and Mayor Fernando Calderon, with less than a month left in office, decided not to renew it. To make matters worse, only 20 of the city's 47 garbage trucks are in working order due to the lack of funds to repair them.

Mayor-elect Cesar Castellanos on Monday (Jan. 5) announced that he intends to privatize garbage collection services once he is in office.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- When President-elect Carlos Flores takes office Jan. 27, he will not be using the same offices his previous two predecessors have used, but will be relocating to the building currently used by the Foreign Ministry.

The remodeling of the new offices is already underway and is being supervised by architects Fernando Martínez and Luciano Duron. The new Presidential headquarters will be located on the second floor of Edificio José Cecillo del Valle, which was constructed with a loan from the Taiwanese government.

The Foreign Ministry has occupied the building since its inauguration in 1990.

This will be the second time the presidential offices have been moved. In 1992, President Callejas moved the Casa Presidencial from its downtown location, next to the Central Bank, to a complex of government buildings in the Miraflores district. This building will now be used to house the offices of the new Children and Family Institute, which was created recently to replace the National Council for Social Welfare.

The Foreign Ministry's offices will reportedly be moved to the building occupied by the National Children's Foundation (PANI) on Avenida Los Próceres.

TEGUCIGALPA -- Exactly 30 days after the electoral primaries, the National Elections Tribune (TNE) announced the official results, declaring Carlos Roberto Flores as president with 1,039,567 votes in his favor, 196,413 votes more than runner-up National Party candidate Nora de Melgar.

In the period between Nov. 29 and Dec. 29, more than 60 appeals were presented by various candidates for review of documentation and vote recounts.

According to TNE figures, of the 2,886,229 persons that were registered to vote, only 1,995,633 went to the polls -- a 24.41 percent abstentionism rate. This election year was the first time that separate ballots were used for president, congressional deputies, and municipal government positions.

TNE reported that there was a total of 1,972,646 people who voted for presidential candidates, while only 1,898,393 placed their vote for congressional deputies. The 24.41 percent of abstentionism was equivalent to 704,496 votes for the presidential candidates.

Arturo Alvarez from the Christian Democratic Party (D.C.) received 24,717 votes; Nora de Melgar of the National Party won 843,154; Matias Funes representing the Democratic Unification Party collected 23,745; and Olban Valladares of the Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), who was the only candidate who was making a second consecutive bid for the office, received 41,463 votes.

In the race for congressional deputies, the Liberal Party also won an important majority, 151,060 votes over the National Party. Receiving 940,575 votes, the Liberal Party will have 67 of the 128 congressional deputy positions, four less than the number of representatives it had in the last Congress. The National Party will have 55 deputies. Three seats go to PINU; two to Christian Democrats, and one to the new Democratic Unification Party (UD).

Nine of the 20 seats for the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) went to the Liberals while the Nationalists received eight. The PINU, D.C., and Democratic Unification parties each won one seat.

In the results of the mayor's races, the Liberal Party won 180 districts; the National Party took 112, and the Democratic Unification Party will have one. For municipal councils, Liberals received 892; Nationals won 858; 35 positions went to the D.C. Party; and the Democratic Unification and PINU parties both took 21 seats.

TRUJILLO -- The first report of Hondurans working on foreign sailing ships dates back to the 1700s, when British ships hired Miskitos as turtle hunters. However, it was after 1905, when the United Fruit Company managed to dominate almost all the shipping on the Nicaraguan and Honduran Atlantic coasts, that many Hondurans became sailors. Thousands were eventually employed by the Empresa Hondurena de Vapores (The Honduran Steamship Company), previously the shipping firm of the United Fruit Company, whose brand name is Chiquita.

Most Honduran sailors today are Bay Islanders and Garifunas. Dorn Ebanks, a Bay Islander, said a generation ago it was common for children to grow up and hardly ever see their fathers who were at sea most of the time.

Sebastian Marin, a Garifuna from Trujillo, pointed out that the Trujillo Railroad Company employed 60,000 people so that almost all the Garifunas in that area had worked for them. Trujillo Railroad Company and the Tela Railroad Company were the land divisions of United Fruit in Honduras.

The reasons for becoming a sailor were often economic. The Bay Islanders lived selling coconuts at 3 cents a piece. Everyone was poor. They made their own sugar, salt, soap, and belts. There was little money to buy clothes so women wore flour sack dresses or patchwork skirts. There was no tourism in the islands at that time. During the first 10 years that Roatan airport was open, only two planes arrived.

On the Honduran mainland it was little better. Government jobs paid Lps. 1 a day, according to Marin. He had a good job that paid Lps. 90 a month, but after he got married and had children he could not build a house with that salary, he said. Marin then worked for the Honduran Steamship Company, earning $1.15 a day or $0.25 an hour, but he also had hundreds of hours of overtime each month.

Other Hondurans became sailors during the administration of President Tiburcio Carias of the National Party. Most Garifunas belonged to the Liberal Party. Garifunas who ran into problems with Carias' cronies, such as Comandante Zanabria in Trujillo or Lieutenant Echeverria in Iriona, often had to leave the country, becoming sailors or exiles, said Claudio Mejia Morales of Iriona.

Many Jamaicans residents in Honduras were forced to leave Honduras under Carias. In the Trujillo area, soldiers rounded them up on boats by force, leaving Rio Negro deserted. Bay Islanders also had problems with Carias, and many ended up in jail, in exile, or on ships, according to Mr. Allen of Coxen Hole. The Steamship Company helped them to get permission so that their families could go and live in the United States, which is one of the reasons there are so many Garifunas legally living there today.

Marin, like many other Hondurans who worked on banana boats, served in the Second World War. The U.S. government commandeered the ships of the Great While Fleet of the United Fruit Company and the ships of the Standard Fruit Company to serve as cargo ships during the war. Marin said he served as a pantryman on a transport ship between Wilmington, CA and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He added that his brother was in the Canal Zone from 1940-1945 and his father was the chief of the Trujillo Naval Yard when the U.S. Navy ran a base there from 1943-1945.

Allen said he served in the U.S. Navy as a cook during the Vietnam War. After more than 40 years of seeing Asia, Africa and Europe, he has finally come home to Coxen Hole. He says this is because he is like the turtle. No matter where you put the turtle in the world, it will try to find its home.

Very different situations face retired sailors when they come back to Honduras. Some lucky ones, like Allen, have a pension. However, most do not. Marin worked for the Honduran Steamship Company for 36 years and was represented by the National Maritime Union of America (AFL-CIO), but he does not receive social security or a pension.

He said people who retired in the United States got a pension, but by returning to Honduras he got nothing. The company was supposed to send the money for the retirees to the Sindicato de Marineros (Sailor's Union) in Puerto Cortes, to which the sailors must pay dues every month. However, they have not received any payments yet.

Other former sailors like Justo Nunez of Trujillo came back with plans to be farmers. But the wandering livestock of Ladino farmers have eaten many of his crops. For every 10 coconuts he plants, he said, the Ladinos steal five. Ladinos often do not realize that every coconut tree is planted and has an owner. Marin said that recently some Ladinos burned his coconut grove to plant grass, leaving him 25 trees out of the 4,000 he had planted.

Some sailors who were injured on the job have been able to win personal injury cases. Others like James Thomas still suffer the pain of a work-related injury without receiving any compensation. Like many sailors, Thomas is not eligible for retirement because he changed companies several times, a common practice among Honduran sailors.

Only a few sailors have saved for their retirement or to start a small business. Hotel Allen on Roatan and Restaurante Caballero in Santa Fe are examples of small businesses started by former sailors.

The social situation has changed a lot here in the 40 years since these men were gone. Respect for old people used to be the pillar of the Garifuna community. Now, young children throw rocks at Marin's house. Older people like Marin and Nunez do not leave their homes during the holidays, feeling it is unsafe.

Allen said he has seem similar changes there. He suggests that Honduras should return to President Carias's methods of controlling crime. "Shoot them, and there would be no problem with drugs," he said. Times have changed a lot, he added, that the people forced by Carias to leave would want to reintroduce his policies.

SAN PEDRO SULA -- The summer months should have been used for training by 16-year-old Oriel Siu. Instead of training for the Central American games, however, this young volleyball star was making plans to move to Los Angeles, CA. Now she is playing volleyball on a high school team instead of going for the gold with the Honduran national team. She decided to go for a better educational opportunity and passed up a possible moment of glory.

Siu is unusual in that she put education first. The decision was very difficult to make, especially when comparing an unknown school in Los Angeles to a good bilingual school in San Pedro Sula. West High is one of the best high schools in L.A. county, and it is also much bigger than Academia Americana, her previous school. After three months of classes in L.A., Siu is certain that she made the right decision.

She says that school is really different in L.A. It is so big. It is easy to get lost there, but the opportunities are endless. West High offers a large selection of classes and extra-curricular activities. Besides, it will be easier to get into a good college by graduating from a U.S. high school than a foreign high school.

Everything is really different. Honduras does not have the competitiveness, peer pressure or problems found at West High. Siu says she understands why teenage suicide is so high in the U.S. "Everything is so competitive, including seeing who can drink the most beer before class or who can get the highest grades." One of the first things she noticed was a lack of moral standards. Students parade around in the tiniest of outfits, while getting stoned in the bathroom is a major between class activity.

In Honduras, high school students wear uniforms, so people do not compete in a daily fashion show. In L.A., clothes or the lack of them can greatly increase a person's popularity. Peer pressure is something that Siu doesn't understand. "If you want to do something, why do you have to wait to see if everyone else is doing it first?" she asks.

Educational opportunities are much greater in the United States. Siu says, "I can't say we have better teachers in L.A. than in Honduras, because we don't." What West High does have is modern laboratories, visual aides and things to involve the student in the learning process. She adds, "Teaching is much more than just teachers, it is giving the right environment and the right tools."

Many Honduran teachers expect the students to memorize pages and pages of useless material that they never understand. Learning is understanding the process and not just blindly memorizing facts. Siu complained, "In Honduras, learning science is nothing but memorizing and I don't recall actually learning anything except what my dad explained to me." She is pleased that she no longer has to write her assignments 25 times as a punishment for giving a wrong answer.

She thought behavior at school in Honduras was bad, but it was tame compared to the abuse the teachers have to face in L.A.

Siu says she is glad that she has the opportunity to study in the United States. There are so many clubs and organizations and extra-curricular activities that she doesn't have time to feel lonely. She likes many things about her new school, but doesn't feel that it is a part of her. It is difficult to feel that you are part of a team when everything is on such a large scale.

A policemen received a knife wound to the head during disturbances at the Puerto Cortes prison facilities last Saturday (Dec. 27). According to the daily La Tribuna, agent Jose Geovanny Rodas was stabbed in the head after breaking up a fight between two inmates. While Rodas was rushed to the hospital, a group of inmates took advantage of the situation and began rioting, burning pieces of wood and throwing bottles and cans onto the street outside the prison. It took the police three hours to subdue the rioting inmates. No further injuries were reported.

On Sunday, prison authorities transferred 12 dangerous convicts to the San Pedro Sula prison facilities to prevent further disturbances, which -- according to Melvin Omar Bronfield of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights -- were caused in part by tightened security that has brought drug trafficking to a halt inside the prison. Capt. Abencio Flores, in charge of prison security, added that there is currently a power struggle among drug trafficking inmates in the Puerto Cortes prison.

The International Supply Company (ISC), a maquila industry located in the San Miguel Industrial Park in Choloma, Cortes, was completely destroyed by fire last Saturday (Dec. 27), the daily La Tribuna reported. Losses are estimated at more than Lps. 20 million. The company, which is owned by Korean nationals, employed 451 persons.

On Friday, fire destroyed four businesses in Comayagua's commercial zone. Due to the size of the blaze, authorities were forced to request assistance from fire fighting units located at the Soto Cano Air Base just outside the city. The fire was reportedly caused by a firecracker that exploded in a food store.

Forty-one fireworks stands in Choluteca's new Cabanas market burned to the ground last Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 23), causing an estimated Lps. 1.5 million in losses. The Choluteca Fire Department blamed the fire on a short-circuit, stating in a La Tribuna report that a power line supplying the vendors with electricity overheated, producing sparks that ignited firecrackers in one of the stalls. In a matter of seconds the fire spread to other stalls and later to a neighboring bar where vendors had stored some of the fireworks not destroyed in the initial fire. It took fire fighters more than two hours to control the blaze.

At about the same time, a fire destroyed 48 fireworks stands in Siguatepeque. According to La Tribuna, fire fighting units did not arrive until 45 minutes after the fire had begun. To make matters worse, the units did not have water and were forced to get it at the river. The fire was reportedly started by a firecracker thrown near one of the stalls. No deaths or injuries were reported in either of the fires.

Approximately one third of all the alcoholic beverages produced in Honduras during the year are consumed during the Christmas and New Year holidays, according to Dagoberto Espinoza Mourra -- president of the Honduran Institute for the Prevention and Treatment of Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Drug Addiction (IHADFA) -- in a La Tribuna report. He also said Hondurans also consumed roughly one-third of the nation's production of tobacco products at the end of the year.

Among the many non-profit organizations that are hard at work helping the disadvantaged of Honduras, there is one that stands out in the specific area of assisting minors. The Center for Juvenile and Family Development (CDJF), currently in its tenth year of service, defines itself as a nonconventional model of community participation. The center supports the development of children and their families through productive programs aimed at providing better living conditions and opportunities for children living in marginal conditions.

In order to benefit the children directly, CDJF is trying to encourage psychological and social changes in the individual, the family, and the community. Within this context, the center encourages the elimination of detrimental attitudes and practices, such as domestic violence, that present an obstacle to the well-being of children.

The beneficiaries are considered as direct actors in the program. They take part in the detection of problems as well as in the definition of activities which need to be developed.

The center focuses on three main areas of work: assistance for children, health and nutrition, and production services.

The "Ninos en Avance" program provides informal schooling to children in the Tegucigalpa and Choluteca areas who suffer from mental, physical, and/or social problems and as a result are outside of the normal school system. Most of the pupils work in the open markets or as traveling street vendors before and after their classes.

CDJF also provides legal, social, psychological, and medical assistance to children and families who are economically deprived. This particular program is based on the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the rights of children and seeks a solution to the children's problems in the context of the Convention.

In promotion of health and nutrition, communal milk centers in the department of Choluteca offer daily complementary rations to children under six years old and to pregnant women and mothers. Additionally, "Salud y Vida" clinics provide health assistance and access to basic medication. Meanwhile, the community population is encouraged to promote a sanitary environment and monitor the development of children in the area. promote a sanitary environment.

Women living in rural areas are offered midwife's training and health promotion classes held in their own communities. There is also the "Escuela de Enfermeras Auxiliares" (Auxiliary Nursing School) in the city of La Lima that trains semi-qualified personnel in various aspects of health care in which a clear need exists.

The Family Garden Patch, part of the Production Services program, offers training and promotion of cultivation activities aimed at stimulating production in the Choluteca area and protecting children and their families from malnutrition. In addition, the Valle de Sula College supplies technical based education in the areas of Hotel Management and Tourism, as well as Industrial Mechanics and Equipment Maintenance in the area of textiles.

The Center for Juvenile and Family Development is based upon the principles of community development and has a participatory methodology. Carlos Schwarzbauer, Coordinator of International Matter's at CDJF, says, "Meeting together during the course of the development of a project provides opportunities for the people concerned to identify their own needs and encourages them to participate in planning solutions, in implementing their own programs, and in monitoring their progress." He added, "Most important of all it allows them to become self-sufficient in terms of technical, financial, and institutional support."

The Center for Juvenile and Family Development has a variety of specific programs for which funds are appropriated. For more information on these programs, how donation funds are spent, and volunteer opportunities write Centro de Desarrollo Juvenil y de Familia at Barrio Los Dolores, Calle La Fuente #1439, Tegucigalpa or call tel:(504) 38-5453, fax:(504) 37-6356 or e-mail: cdjf@sdnhon.org.hn