By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Honduran entrepreneurs have begun pressuring the Flores administration to impose economic sanctions on imports from Nicaragua in retaliation for the 35 percent import tariff levied on Honduran products by Managua.

In December 1999, the Nicaraguan government slapped the tariff on all Honduran imports to that country after the Honduran National Congress ratified a maritime treaty with Colombia. The administration of President Arnoldo Aleman disputes the treaty, which recognizes Colombian claims to large tracts of Caribbean waters also claimed by Nicaragua.

Up to now the Honduran government has opposed any retaliatory economic measures because it could harm the ongoing Central American integration process. However, Foreign Minister Roberto Flores Bermudez this week announced that Honduras may apply "reciprocal measures" against Nicaragua, which has not budged from its position.

Several government authorities met this week to study options to correct the effects this tariff is having on the economy. They said their main objective is to normalize the Central American integration process and thus, trade relations.

"We are studying different scenarios, and in any case, Honduras will comply with the law to have a proportional and legally valid reaction," Flores Bermudez said. "As a government authority, I recognize the fact that we have been real patient, but we have reached the limit and it is necessary to take action... There is no other choice but to explore our options."

Managua has refused to discuss the issue of the tariff increase in the Central American Parliament, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Trade Ministers Council and at a presidential level.

Thirty-nine Honduran businesses have been affected directly by the tariff, which has caused the dismissal of employees and the closing of plants.

Flores Bermudez explained that relatively speaking, Honduras and Nicaragua export about the same amount of products worldwide. As the markets are about the same in proportion, he added, it is illogical to change that percentage when instead the two countries should be working together.

Meanwhile, Nicaragua began presenting its case against Honduras at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands on March 21.

Nicaragua's presentation at the World Court will take approximately 12 months, after which Honduras will begin its own. According to Flores Bermudez, the whole process could take up to five years to resolve.

By ROSA DEL CARMEN AGUILAR

Special to Honduras This Week

Thousands of Honduran children in the departments of Choluteca and Valle have a new nutritional alternative as of March, thanks to the donation of 16 metric tons of fortified granola, presented in chocolate and strawberry bars. The granola bars were contributed by World Vision Honduras, through World Vision Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Haemoglobin tests and the nutrition of children have been monitored in selected areas over 10 months to assess the impact of granola as a complementary food, said Melissa Lazo, World Vision Honduras Health coordinator.

The distribution will be made in non-formal pre-school centers (CEPENF) and public schools for those children in extreme vulnerability. The distribution of complementary food, such as granola, is one of the rehabilitation components that is provided free of charge for the most needy children, said Luis Flores, national food security coordinator.

The nutritional content of fortified granola includes proteins, carbohydrates, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin B3, folic acid, sodium, potassium, dietetic fibre, iron, vitamin E, calcium, copper, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, riboflavin, thiamine and zinc.

The children benefiting from this program are aged 0 to 5 years. They will also receive constant medical care to monitor their health condition as a whole.

Current nutritional information indicates that 38.5 percent of Honduran children between 12 and 71 months of age have low height for their age, 24.5 percent have low weight for their age and 10.5 percent have low weight for their height.

Studies from organizations such as UNICEF have revealed that in all probability the deterioration of the nutritional state is tied to changes in breastfeeding patterns, inadequate supplementary foods and illnesses such as respiratory infections and diarrhea.

WV Honduras is not intending to substitute the main food of the children, but to improve their nutritional state through this complementary snack. This has also been done with the dry ration for adults within the food-for-work program that distributes corn, beans, oil and flour.

Compiled by Maria Fiallos

The Spanish non-governmental organization Life and Liberty is currently planning the construction of a shelter for homeless and abused children in either Tela, Atlantida or El Calan, near Villanueva, Cortes.

According to Javier Perez, president of the evangelical NGO, the shelter will initially house approximately 200 children that they plan to get off the streets of San Pedro Sula. "We will treat these children as if they were our own, covering all their basic necessities as well as providing for their education," he said.

Life and Liberty already runs a similar program in San Pedro Sula, the director added, and the public is welcome to visit their facilities in the Colonia Universidad, 21 y 22 Calles of San Pedro Sula. - El Tiempo

Gladys Caballero, director of the National Counsel for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking, announced last week that in accordance with agreements between Honduras and the United States, the latter will transfer 80 percent of the money obtained from the sale of five boats decommissioned for transporting drugs.

Caballero stated that when the boats are auctioned and Honduras receives its portion of the funds, they will be used to buy equipment to fight drug trafficking in the country. She said Honduras has already received Lps. 1.9 million from the sale of one boat, which will be used to buy equipment for a computer communications network. - El Tiempo

The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CODEH) has accused Security Minister Elizabeth Chiuz Sierra of abuse of authority and failing to fulfill her obligations. This accusation was presented to the Attorney General's Office in conjunction with charges against 18 members of citizen security committees that are allegedly connected with the death of 14 persons on the North Coast. They are also accused of attempting to murder four more people and of seriously injuring another.

Pavon said the minister is being charged for her role in creating these "death squads" that are acting illegally, consequently she has acted illegally and that her primary obligation is law enforcement, at which she has failed. -- El Tiempo

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Edward James Olmos visited Honduras last week to observe reconstruction work in the areas of the country affected by Hurricane Mitch.

While in Tegucigalpa, Olmos visited several still unrepaired sites as well as macro-shelters where hurricane victims are living. He expressed concern about the emotional damages caused to families that were displaced by the Hurricane.  El Heraldo

Government officials on Tuesday inaugurated the first session of the Honduran Land Fund pilot project, which seeks to improve land distribution in Honduras. Gustavo Alfaro, minister to the president, said the main objective of creating the fund is to improve land tenancy in Honduras as well as the quality of life of rural people. According to the National Sustainable Development Program, 205,000 of the nation's 330,000 farmers, or 62 percent, are poor. Also, 58 percent are landless.

Alfaro said that although initiatives for creating the fund began as early as 1983, it was not continued. Since then, added the Minister, several steps were taken but none of them were developed and the last initiative made was the Law to Stimulate Production, Competition and Support of Human Development that spent Lps. 17 million to buy land. However, these efforts have been insufficient. The present proposal aims at financing land acquisition and the formation of sustainable, independent agricultural businesses.  La Tribuna

More than a 100 people were detained and 15 injured -- including 5 policemen -- during the eviction of 235 families from a macro-shelter site in Cofradia, Cortes.

According to authorities, the eviction was carried out when the inhabitants refused to leave the shelter after being notified several times it would be closed due to the fact that many people residing there were not victims of Hurricane Mitch and that it had become a shelter for gang members.

A yagual house still awaits rebuilding. Materials for traditional houses of yagual and manaca have become scarce and expensive. (Photo by Wendy Griffin.)

By WENDY GRIFFIN

When I first heard of Hurricane Mitch, it was 12 km off the North Coast, in front of Honduras' largest Garifuna community, Limon (population 8,000). Since then, I have been concerned about how the Garifunas there were progressing in the reconstruction, but had been hesitant to visit as the road to this and other communities was reported as almost impassable during the rainy season that ended last month.

During Mitch, Limon faced three days of high winds and rains. Many of the houses in the village are still built of yagual wood with cohune palm roofs (manaca). One house near the beach was lifted off of its foundations and dumped, roofless on the beach. Another yagual house was twisted by the high winds.

Whole families with children are still waiting to rebuild their houses. (Photo by Wendy Griffin.)

Some houses lost their roofs and, 16 months after Mitch, no agency has come to help with the rebuilding and repairs, not even Garifuna organizations like the Ethnic Community Development Organization (ODECO), the Honduran Black Fraternal Organization (OFRANEH) and the Association of Black Women, the mayor said. The Garifuna Emergency Committee is investigating the possibility of locating funds to assist this community.

During Mitch in November 1998 and again during Tropical Storm Katrina in October 1999, Limon flooded as it is on a plain next to the Limon River. Tractors had to open a space in the beach dunes to let the water out. Now during times of rough weather, the sea water comes into this part of Limon.

A break in the wall of sand dunes had to be opened to permit flood waters from Tropical Storm Katrina to drain into the sea. (Photo by Wendy Griffin.)

Reconstruction has been made harder by the situation of vegetation. Limon has lost much of its reserve lands from which the community would have taken firewood, manaca and other natural building materials, like a vine called mibi. Manaca is scarce and mibi almost nonexistent. Women have to pay between Lps. 2,000 and Lps. 3,000 for someone to put up a manaca roof. Several people mentioned not having repaired their kitchens yet, because of the high cost. A woman with eight children was living with neighbors in a two-room house after she lost her house.

Yagual is a tree that grows in the shade. Limon has been logged out and much of the yagual wood was lost when the land was cleared for African palm trees. Now yagual costs Lps. 8 to Lps. 10 the two-foot board. Making a yagual house with a manaca roof now costs more than a cement house with a zinc roof, though for some people both are out of reach economically.

The people of Limon support themselves through a mixture of agriculture, cattle ranching, fishing and waiting for money from Garifuna relatives in the United States. Cattle ranching here was less affected than around Santa Rosa de Aguan, which lost more than 3,000 head of cattle.

Many women have already lost access to agricultural land in Limon itself, which is part of the reason the land struggle is so strong in neighboring Vallecito. The Comite de Emergencia Garifuna has distributed vegetable seeds and is identifying the needs for banana, coconut, manioc and other root crops to reestablish agriculture. However, women were having problems finding land to plant. Among the Garifunas, women do most of the farming.

For tourists, the road to Limon has been graded and so is in the good shape. Buses are running and the hotel is open. Local restaurants are now having an easier time as electricity has come to Limon. It was connected only one month before Mitch, but it took six months to get it reestablished as the electric posts around Bonito Oriental splintered like match sticks. Previously, tourists came to Limon to catch a fast motor boat to go to the Mosquitia, but this service has been discontinued.

For additional information on reconstruction here, contact Comite de Emergencia Garifuna, P.O.Box 67, Trujillo, Colon, Honduras; fax (504) 434-4200; e-mail: <s_shande@yahoo.com>.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- For some people, it is valued at $1,300 million while others believe it is worth even more. Whatever the price, the Honduran Telecommunications Company (HONDUTEL) is now in the final stage of capitalization with the sale of 51 percent of the company following this week's approval of the ground rules for the bidding process.

On Tuesday, President Flores called a meeting of his cabinet who gave the green light for the company's privatization, setting June 29 as the deadline for bidding.

Participants in the bidding process will pay a $20,000 fee that will give them, among other things, the right to review financial information about HONDUTEL and to make as many visits as necessary to examine firsthand the telephone company's physical assets throughout the country, said Finance Minister Gabriela Núñez. She added that the cabinet will meet again soon to evaluate HONDUTEL's assets.

The ministers also made it clear that the entire process will be transparent and that the buyer will not be able to sell or transfer its shares to any other company because the concession approved by the National Congress prohibits it. This provision was included to prevent the winning bidder from turning around and selling the shares to a higher bidder, which has occurred in several other countries.

The government will announce the minimum opening bid so that companies participating in the privatization process will not submit low bids and thus face disqualification.

By ROSA DEL CARMEN AGUILAR

The 4,800 inhabitants of the communities of San Matias, Corral Falso, Robledal, Agua Caliente, Santa Rosa, Casa Quemada, El Jobo, Los Hoyos, San Marcos, Las Tunas, El Pacon, Sabanetas and Cururuji, of the department of El Paraiso, will be supplied with potable water this upcoming April from the dam that World Vision Honduras (WVH) is building on the Los Pirineos stream.

The dam is provided with three outlets and a prefilter of sand and gravel that will guarantee the cleanliness of the vital liquid. It is also being built in a space free of contamination from cattle and protected by a perimeter fence to prevent the entrance of people who could make inappropriate use of the reserve water, said Gabriel Chavez, national coordinator of World Vision's Honduras Water Programs.

Chavez said the dam walls will have a width of 70 centimeters in order to offer greater resistance to strong water currents during the rainy season, as opposed to the 30-centimeter walls that former dams had but were devastated in prior years. Additionally, pipes from the three outlets will also be repaired, substituting traditional PVC for HG in their respective diameters of four, three and two inches.

The project was financed by the WV Honduras rehabilitation project with the support of World Vision United States.

The communities are also actively participating in the construction of the dam, contributing labor and a symbolic money reserve for the purchase of future materials, said Francisco Antonio Ramos, who is from San Matias.

During the present year, a potable water system will also be built for the Los Nuevos Colorados neighborhood, which World Vision built in Choluteca at the end of 1999, providing houses for 140 families who were victims of Hurricane Mitch.

Chavez said two wells, which will have a flow of 15 gallons per minute, have already been drilled at this locale.

The 430 inhabitants of the community of El Guayabo, Valle, will also be given their own potable water system, which will have a flow of 50 gallons per minute.

The families benefiting from 25 houses that WV is also building in the Tierra Nueva (New Earth) neighborhood of Texiguat, department of El Paraiso, will have a potable water system connected to an already existing system in the surroundings.

The 420 inhabitants of 70 houses that WV will build this year in Jocon, Yoro will also have potable water service in their own houses.

Other potable water projects will be carried out in Los Querques and La Barranca, communities located in the department of Choluteca. To confront the current dry season, the Honduran government is attempting to increase public awareness on the need to conserve water so that it will not have to intensify water rationing.

In a promising example of inter-university cooperation, the newest local university, CEDAC (Centro de Diseno, Arquitectura y Construccion), and the California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, have finished a strategic urban plan for the development of the Amarateca valley. Their preliminary work, in the form of an integrated land use plan, development and hazard mitigations standards, was delivered to the mayor of Tegucigalpa this week.

This combination of academic and practical work fills a noticeable gap in the post Hurricane Mitch reconstruction efforts. To date, those most involved -- municipal government, NGOs, donor agencies and affected families -- have not been provided assistance with proper social organization, nor with appropriate technical advice in the location and planning of housing projects. Additionally, dynamic investors in Amarateca, lack guidelines to plan their maquila plants, services, industry and road projects.

The valley, previously a catch-all for uses such as military barracks, a penitentiary and polluting industries fleeing the resentful neighbors, was slowly turning into Tegucigalpa's new industrial park, reaching no more than 1,500 permanent residents. Hurricane Mitch, and the ensuing land demand for sheltering the Mitch victims, have now turned it into an area of explosive residential growth and a potential disaster area. More than 6,000 homes are being located in the valley under the administration of some eight NGOs. All of these well-meaning works are being done without an integrated or natural hazards mitigation plan.

International organizations such as the International Red Cross and IOM, world wide experts on migration, have contributed funds, expertise and coordination all over the country, particularly in Tegucigalpa and Amarateca. Preliminary estimates made by planners indicate that without special incentives, a minimum of 100,000 people will settle in Amarateca before the year 2010. If the land use were optimized and the infrastructure were built soon, 300,000 inhabitants would want to locate there.

Due to the valley's proximity to Tegucigalpa and the existing maquilas that offer jobs, the rush for urbanization is generating speculation, title alterations, and skyrocketing prices. Furthermore, some large housing projects, already under construction, have yet to secure an appropriate water supply. The issue of sewage and garbage disposal have not even been discussed, let alone resolved. Similarly, design standards for roads, schools and other community facilities, are non-existent.

CEDAC and Cal Poly have been collaborating, using their strengths as technically specialized academic institutions dealing in architecture, urban planning, settlements and building. Their association expands CEDAC's recent growth in the university landscape in Honduras. Top rated academically, CEDAC is a private initiative started three years ago. It currently has 110 students enrolled and is about to graduate its first crop of state-of-the-art professionals with the skills and commitment needed for the national building process.

Case against COHDEFOR manager dismissed

Due to lack of merit, the case against Antonio Ortez Turcios, the manager of the Honduran Forestry Development Corporation (COHDEFOR) was dismissed last week. The prosecutor's office, which in 1998 and 1999 accused Ortez of abuse of authority and falsifying documents in the form of commercial logging licenses, can still take the case to the Supreme Court. - El Heraldo

WFP to alleviate food shortage in Mosquitia

The World Food Program (WFP) Representative for the Mosquitia, Francisco Salinas, this week stated that 123 metric tons of emergency food supplies will be distributed among 18 communities or approximately 10,000 people in the area.

After conferring with representatives of MOPAWI, a non-governmental agency that operates in the zone, and WFP program officials working there, Salinas said he was able to confirm reports of severe food shortages in these communities. At a cost of approximately Lps. 1.7 million that will cover the cost of food and transportation, the WFP will initiate the first phase of the emergency program that will last approximately one month.

Food donations will be distributed in coordination with the local municipalities and churches, MOPAWI, and the Tawahka development organization, ASANG LAUNA, to provide basic foodstuffs such as beans, corn and soy mix, canned fish, rice and cooking oil.  El Heraldo

Gilberto Sanchez Chandia, special prosecutor for the office of ethnic affairs, has initiated criminal proceedings against top law enforcement figures for their responsibility in a violent clash between indigenous demonstrators and police last Oct. 12. While several policemen sustained minor injuries from rocks thrown by protestors, several protestors were seriously wounded by police gunfire.

Sanchez said that after a long investigation in collaboration with the government, the director and assistant director of the Preventive Police Force, Manuel Alvaro Flores and Andres Wilfredo Urtecho Jeamborde, respectively; the commander and deputy commander of the Metropolitan Police, Luis Beltran Arias Ramos and Gustavo Adolfo Bustillo Salgado, respectively, are being held responsible for the acts of violence by their subordinates.

According to Sanchez, the same police officials designed the "1999 Hispanic Plan" which states that anti-riot police forces should not be armed. The police officers that did the actual shooting, Oscar Armando Amaya and Oscar Garay, are being charged with inflicting serious and minor injuries.  La Tribuna

The director of the Social Security Institution, Hena Ligia Torres, has declared a six-month emergency in the hospital due to an 80 percent shortage of supplies. During this period, the hospital will be able to buy medicine and other supplies without going through the normal bidding channels.

According to Torres, removing the ceiling on beneficiary withholding payments (Lps. 21 monthly maximum) is vital in order to improve hospital standards and decrease the Lps. 340 million budget deficit for the year 2000. However, this measure would have to be approved by Congress before it could go into effect.  El Heraldo

According to Mirna Marin, a representative of the Secretary of Natural Resources and Environment (SERNA), Honduras currently produces 5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year that contribute to global warming, as well as affecting weather patterns in the country. Marin said that varying temperatures in Honduras has made the country vulnerable to droughts and flooding that cause crop losses and consequently diminished harvest yields.

She recommended that the National Electric Company (ENEE) expand its services in rural areas to avoid the use of forest resources for fuel, which is severely effecting water supply. She also said that poor air quality and rising temperatures have also contributed to an increase in human ailments, such as respiratory, cardiovascular, viral and bacterial diseases.  El Heraldo

Mario Reina Idiaquez, prominent Liberal Party member and the brother of former President Carlos Roberto Reina, died recently at the age of 82. Prominent political figures and business leaders, including President Carlos Flores and businessman Miguel Facusse, attended the wake to honor Reina's contribution in Honduran politics. -- La Prensa

Hector Orlando Aguilar Galo, a retired member of the special police task force "Cobras," was arrested last week for his alleged involvement in the March 14 armed robbery of BANCREHSER in Choluteca.

Several eyewitnesses identified Aguilar Galo as one of three men who held up the bank earlier this month, taking approximately Lps. 300,000 lempiras in cash.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- After a brief respite, a strike once again threatens to undermine economic progress and create an unstable climate for investment and tourism. This week, the Beverage Industry Workers Union (STIBYS) led by its president, veteran union leader Carlos H. Reyes, announced it will fight the Cerveceria Hondurena's plans to hire 850 workers without taking the union into account. STIBYS says the brewery is also ignoring their demands for better salaries.

The Ministry of Labor is currently mediating the dispute to avert a strike. However, the problem continues because both parties claim they are in the right. Ministry officials have delivered to STIBYS the Cerveceria's response to their list of demands, and to the Cerveceria, STIBYS' strike notification, which the workers are keeping on hold.

Reyes refuted brewery management, which claims the workers are making good wages. He then accused the media of not defending the working class out of fear that the Cerveceria will take away their advertising contracts.

It is rumored that the brewery is planning to substitute the alleged "troublemakers."

Members of a high level commission of the Ministry of Government and Justice have also met separately with brewery officials and union leaders to avert the strike. However, both sides are intransigent and continue to maintain their positions.

Meanwhile, some sectors are attempting to add fuel to the fire by telling people they should refrain from buying beer or sodas.

By W. E. GUTMAN

Once again peace was shattered in the otherwise laid-back village of Copan Ruinas with the assassination on Sunday evening (March 12), of three Maya-Chorti leaders as they dined at the El Zaguán Restaurant.

By WENDY GRIFFIN

When Transparency International listed Honduras as the most corrupt country in Latin America last year, displacing Paraguay from this spot, some people charged that part of this corruption was in the private sector. One editorialist noted corruption here begins with, "Do you want a receipt or not?"

By not using receipts or signing in hotel guests, stores and hotels can underreport revenues and pay less tax. At one American-owned restaurant, the proprietor wanted to implement a receipt system on the recommendation of his accountant. The clients objected, saying they did not want to pay extra even though the restaurant charged the same with or without receipts.

One reason this owner wanted to implement a receipt system was that during Holy Week his cook had been caught telling agents of the DEI (revenue department) that he would offer them a special price if they paid him directly instead of the cashier.

In the United States, a cash register receipt total is what is entered officially in the book as total sales. At one supermarket, the owner adds up the sales on a calculator, you pay, then she rings up 10 centavos in sales. You cannot buy even a banana for 10 centavos. But what the grocery store pays sales tax on is the total of the cash register receipts.

Watch this in buses. Some bus companies manage to collect some of the money at the office for which you get the full ticket. On the road, you might get no ticket. Or you might get part of a ticket with a number on it that is different from where it was torn. In real estate, sales prices of houses are put substantially lower on contracts to avoid sales and property taxes.

When another American restaurant owner here reported all his soft drink, liquor and cigarette sales for the monthly sales tax, the other restaurant owners called him a "papo" (fool). "Why don't you not pay the tax and if they ask you about it, pay them the bribe?" they asked. He said as a foreigner he figured the bribe would be higher than the tax.

An accountant in Trujillo said he recommended that his clients pay the National Professional Training Institute (INFOP) payroll tax, but most did not bother. Can you imagine the trouble a business would have in the United States if they refused to pay the unemployment insurance tax? "Why should we pay?" they respond. "They [government officials] are only going to steal it."

In Honduras, there are even reports of an employer who had his employees falsely accused of a crime and thrown in jail, so he would not have to pay them severance pay (prestaciones).

Corruption in the private sector has many faces. Selling products that have not paid their import duty is a hot topic in the Spanish-language press. Importing finished clothing as raw material to avoid paying duty and then permit their exportation to the United States under Honduras' textile quota and the tax breaks of the Caribbean Basin Initiative have also been reported.

Receipts are the key to corruption in international projects. An auditor will look at a bookkeeping entry, see there is a receipt and everything is considered all right. Hotels, restaurants, gas stations, hardware stores and contractors are the most notorious for selling receipts.

If the hotels bill was Lps. 3,000 for a seminar, the project official might ask for a receipt for Lps. 12,000, perhaps offering Lps. 2,000 to the hotel owner. (This does not affect the hotel owner's tax, as only the top receipt says Lps. 12,000. The bottom one left in the receipt book might say Lps. 200.) If the hardware store materials to build a school cost Lps. 100,000, the government official asks for a receipt for Lps. 130,000.

The official in charge of the project can agree with a contractor that they will not do a project at all. They just sign the paperwork that they did it and split the money. If the auditor sees paperwork for 8 km of roads, even if only 1 km was built, the books will look right. There have been accusations of these types of problems in the Spanish press in relation to public works contracts that are not completed.

Another way to get extra funds is to declare extra employees on your payroll and cash their checks. In Honduras, the are known as "empleados fantasmas" (ghost employees). Declaring that you pay them more than you actually gave them is another technique. Saying that more people attended a meeting than actually did also permits unscrupulous people to collect per diem payments for non-attendees.

These kinds of overpayments also exist in private construction. A Honduran contractor reputedly made millions on a hotel project in the Bay Islands through such padding. The Canadian architect, however, just made his salary. People called the architect papo. "You could have made your fortune like so and so," they told him. Contractors also accept advances and then never did the work, reports a Trujillo resident.

Not only tax laws are violated. One cattle rancher explained that the reason people just took the land by force and held it at gun point is that the price of milk was so low, they would not make any money if they actually had to pay for the land. Real estate companies sometimes sell land not belonging to the seller. In most cases, nothing happens to either the real estate company or the person who is not the actual owner of the property.

Theft extends to more than land. Selling Hurricane Mitch donations in private stores, such as bags and bags of pure white sugar instead of the Honduran vanilla colored sugar. Rich Hondurans have also been known to order products, receive them, and then refuse to pay for them.

Environmental laws are also routinely violated, including the dumping of toxic wastes in Tegucigalpa's rivers, cutting down trees and mangroves without permits (or with permits in areas where logging is prohibited) and building without permits, environmental impact statements or even a municipal business permit. Gas stations are built in zones where they are prohibited by law, and when this is denounced, the municipal authorities' response is the equivalent of, "So what" as they issue the municipal permit, said a Bay Islands resident.

In the United States, there is theft, tax evasion and violations of environmental laws. But once a person is caught, the judicial system exacts heavy penalties, and in the case of criminal fraud, possible jail time. In most cases, nothing happens in Honduras.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) states on its website cites as one of its prime achievements is that people feel the justice system is more fair now. Since the Attorney General's Office against Corruption has only won one case, and that was recently overturned on appeals, most people would say that for corruption, at least, this is simply not so.

Convicted American pedophile Daniel Gary Rounds (38) has been released from prison in Honduras after serving just three and half years of a 6-year sentence. Rounds was jailed in August 1996 after being found guilty of sexually abusing two 12-year-old street boys in the northern port town of La Ceiba. Rounds' original sentence had been for 10 years, but was reduced on appeal in October 1999.

Casa Alianza/Covenant House Latin America, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and rehabilitation of street children in Mexico and Central America, has expressed its concern over the release of Rounds, who is still registered as a special needs teacher in the Philadelphia (PA) school district.

The childcare organization has informed the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of Rounds' release. It is now possible for U.S. authorities to prosecute the pedophile under U.S. Federal Statutes that makes it a crime for any U.S. citizen to travel abroad with the intent of sexually abusing minors. Rounds could face up to 10 years in jail in the United States if convicted.

Rounds, from Pennsylvania, kept an extensive and highly detailed diary that helped lead to his conviction in Honduras. He bragged about the lurid sexual exploitations he had undertaken with little boys -- from barely 7 years old -- in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. He claimed the "best place for getting children for sex" was in Costa Rica.

Rounds has been banned from visiting La Ceiba, and must present himself monthly to the judicial authorities. He has a legal impediment from leaving Honduras, but his sentence calls for him to be deported once having served the balance of his suspended sentence.

"Casa Alianza is very concerned that this man is a danger to Honduran children, and we are very disappointed that the authorities have released him early," commented Bruce Harris, the Regional Director for Casa Alianza.

"He should be deported immediately to the U.S. and prosecuted there. I hope too that he will be struck from the Philadelphia school district's register."

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Seeking to improve air service, Congress this week enacted the Open Skies Law that will allow airlines from all over the world to operate in the country. The legislation is in response to constant complaints from air travelers about poor service provided by airlines currently operating in the country.

Approved Wednesday, the law states that the skies are open to all air carriers as established by the 1944 Chicago Convention, and that the only restrictions are those involving safety aspects.

Now, any airline will be able to apply for an operating permit at a national or international level from the National Office of Civil Aeronautics.

The new law is part of sweeping reforms that include the privatization of the nation's four international airports, which will now be administered by Inter Airport, a U.S. company with Honduran partners.

Ministry of Health to exterminate market rats

The U.S. government has donated more than $500,000 toward a social assistance project for the benefit of Honduran citizens deported from the United States. The project's program is divided in two phases and will last approximately nine months.

The first phase includes covering basic necessities of the deportees, such as food, shelter, clothing, documentation, counselling, family contacts, rehabilitation centers and transportation. The second phase will generate favorable conditions for the deportees' social readaptation by providing educational funding and assistance in obtaining employment.  La Tribuna

Bailey bridge collapsed like a broken erector set. The culprit: gross overloading. (Photo by W.E. Gutman.)

By W. E. GUTMAN

TEGUCIGALPA -- Over 100 people risked certain death as the Bailey-type bridge trembled, shivered, groaned, sagged and collapsed into the semi-dry riverbed like a broken erector set. Linking the capital with its sister city, Comayaguela, the temporary metal structure was built by the U.S. military to replace the Juan Ramon Molina bridge that was washed away in the wake of Hurricane Mitch's torrential rains and devastating floods. Service began last March.

The Honduran Ministry of Public Works blames excess weight well beyond design parameters and unsupervised access for the near-fatal disaster that claimed 19 wounded. There were no fatalities.

Two buses filled with passengers, two trucks, a taxi, a pick-up truck and a jeep with a combined weight exceeding by 20 tons the 40-ton weight limit, are blamed for the catastrophic structural metal fatigue that precipitated the collapse of the ACROW bridge.

According to Police Sgt. Rafael Jimenez, "the bridge was swaying like a hammock. People were crawling out of their vehicles, screaming. If the bridge had collapsed minutes later, there would have been many victims, many dead."

Headed for Juticalpa, Olancho, the two buses carried 98 passengers, all from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, among them eight U.S. and Central American missionaries. The wounded were transported to the Escuela Hospital where they were reported in satisfactory condition. President Carlos Roberto Flores visited the wounded at the hospital.

Passengers describing the moments preceding the precipitous plunge say that they "hung on to each other and clung on for dear life." All thought they were going to die.

The daily El Heraldo commented astutely -- a fact observed by this reporter on site -- that the four concrete-embedded anchors supporting the bridge on each side of the span were buried less than half a meter deep in friable and unstable earth.

Marti Estell de Ramos, Press Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, has expressed her government's profound regret for the tragic accident, an event precipitated, she stressed, by a gross overloading of the span.

Japanese Ambassador Masateru Ito announced the construction next September of a permanent span, one of eight Japan has pledged to build across the country. The new structure is expected to take about 10 months to complete.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- In the fourth round of talks mediated by the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C., Honduras and Nicaragua last Tuesday signed an agreement to reduce tensions arising from a maritime dispute, which includes joint patrols and the presence of international observers to prevent new incidents between the two countries.

Signing the agreement were Foreign Minister Roberto Flores Bermudez for Honduras, Foreign Minister Eduardo Montealegre for Nicaragua, and Special Envoy Luigi Einuadi for the OAS.

Both nations agreed to reduce military forces as the first step toward keeping the peace in the region while the dispute is resolved by the International Court of Justice at The Hague, the Netherlands. The dispute arose last November when the Honduran Congress approved a maritime treaty with Colombia that recognized Colombian claims to large areas of Caribbean waters that were also claimed by Nicaragua.

It must also be noted that Nicaragua currently has a border dispute with Costa Rica over navigation rights on the San Juan River.

"With this agreement, the recent border incidents have been overcome and other bilateral problems have been resolved," said Honduran Foreign Minister Bermudez.

During this round of talks, the ministers established the necessary mechanisms to complete the measures of trust and security agreed upon in February.

"Notwithstanding the complexity of the issue and the undeniable differences, both countries have showed respect for the other's point of view and the willingness to seek peaceful solutions to their problems," he added.

The memorandum is the third agreed upon by the ministers in three months and the first to establish detailed mechanisms to reduce tensions. The last meeting was held in San Salvador at the headquarters of the Central American Integration System (SICA).

During this time, the two countries have been trying to keep the peace while the World Court is examining the case.

"We have shown that by delivering the conflict to The Hague, diplomatic solutions can be found that are peaceful and modern," said Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Montealegre.

Three U.S. citizens were recently condemned to lengthy prison sentences for promoting the prostitution of minors, profiting from the prostitution of others and covering up a crime.

Judge Nicolas Barahona, the First Criminal Judge of Letters of San Pedro Sula, sentenced U.S. citizens Anthony Robert Bucellato (43), Charles Edward Kasper (63) and Russell Scott Williams (34), to nine years and nine months; six years and six months; and four years, respectively, for the crimes. Bucellato was also fined Lps. 112,500 (US$7,760) and Kasper Lps. 75,000 (US$ 5,175). Another American, Terry Clymire -- a former Honduras This Week contributor, was absolved.

In April 1999, on the basis of information provided by Casa Alianza, the Latin American branch of New York-based Covenant House, the Honduran Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Casa Alianza's Legal Aid Office staff investigated the Tony Montana Night Club that operated in San Pedro Sula, the nation's second largest city. Casa Alianza documented on hidden cameras the participation of underage girls as "exotic dancers," who were also offered to be sexually abused. In private rooms, the girls danced naked for less than US$ 5 per song. Above the night club was a hotel where the girls were taken to be sexually abused.

In a late night raid on the illegal brothel on April 17, 1999, the four Americans were arrested and several firearms seized. Bucellato, from Portland, Oregon, acted as the club's administrator; Charles Kasper, from Tampa, Florida was the owner; Terry Clymire, from California, and Russell Scott Williams, from Vermont, stated they were "just clients;" however, it was later proven that Williams was the hotel's administrator. Also detained in the raid were 17 "dancers," including at least five minors from 14 years old, and 10 waiters.

U.S. extra territorial laws passed in 1996 could lead to the Americans being tried in U.S. Federal Courts and jailed for up to 10 years and a US$ 250,000 fine. Bucellato has a criminal record in his home city of Portland, Oregon. Before living in San Pedro Sula, he lived in Roatan, Honduras where it was also stated that he sexually exploited young girls and, when he moved, he left many debts. Kasper has been jailed in Tampa, Florida in the past for the theft of vehicles.

"The investigation and prosecution of these three Americans is part of Casa Alianza's ongoing efforts to protect Central America's children from sexual abuse and sex tourists," commented Bruce Harris, the Executive Director for Latin American Programs for Casa Alianza, based in Costa Rica. "We will continue to cooperate with both the national and international authorities to trap any and all foreigners or nationals who abuse Central America's children to make money without caring about the emotional and physical damage they cause."

Casa Alianza has won convictions against American, Swiss, German, Chilean, Australian, Guatemalan, Honduran, Mexican and Costa Rican nationals who have sexually exploited street children in Mexico and Central America. The child protection agency has more than 500 criminal cases pending in Central American courts against authorities and individuals who have violated the human rights of the region's children.

Casa Alianza also has five cases against the State of Guatemala and four cases against the State of Honduras in the Inter American Commission for Human Rights for violations of children's rights by the State. In a historic move, Casa Alianza also won a ruling against the State of Guatemala by the Inter American Court on Human Rights, in Costa Rica, where Guatemala was condemned for the murder of five street children by the National Police in 1990.

Tegucigalpa Mayor Vilma Reyes de Castellanos stated Monday that under no circumstances will street peddlers who previously sold their wares on the Peatonal or pedestrian mall that runs through downtown Tegucigalpa be allowed to return.

Castellanos said various sites for relocation have been offered to and rejected by the vendors, who insist on staying on the mall.

With no settlement in sight, Castellanos stated that if the vendors continue protesting and violating the municipal ordinance, she will take legal actions. -- El Tiempo

A recent health survey conducted by the U.N. Population Fund revealed that nearly 17 percent of married men in Honduras had extramarital affairs within the last year and they were also the group that least used condoms.

According to the study, since many of the women use contraceptives, and because the affairs usually involve former wives, regular girlfriends or domestic employees with whom the men are in close, their reasoning is that "with well-known women it is not necessary to use condoms."

Apparently, the men are more concerned about the risk of pregnancy than the spread of infectious diseases and their conduct contributes to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS in Honduras, which topped 17,000 cases last year. -- El Tiempo

A Congressional commission on Monday announced in Ceiba that an agreement has been signed between the Honduran government and Hydro-West (Hydro-Honduras) for the construction of hydroelectric dam on the Cangrejal River. The new dam, which will have a generating capacity of 50 Mw, is expected to cost US$80 million. - El Tiempo

Eight business in San Pedro Sula were fined between Lps. 500 and Lps. 3000 for selling alcoholic beverages during the "dry law" that was in effect last weekend. Due to the maritime conflict between Honduras and Nicaragua, the law was imposed to avoid any incidents during the World Cup qualification match between the two countries held in San Pedro Sula last Saturday. Honduras won the match 3-0.

Aside from the fines, municipal police seized 83 boxes of beers, 11 boxes and 28 pints of aguardiente that owners are now trying to get back. - La Prensa

Dennis Humberto Corea, a Honduran sentenced to death for the murder of a U.S. woman, might get a lighter sentence if the "habeas corpus" recourse his lawyer submitted to the courts is accepted.

Corea alleges his innocence, and his lawyer states that the case needs to be revised to determine how the victim's death occurred, since in the cause of death was first stated as choking, and then later changed to strangulation. The lawyer stated, "A revision of the case could lead to a lesser sentence." - La Tribuna

By MARIA FIALLOS

TEGUCIGALPA – Nationalist Congressman Roberto Ramon Castillo on Tuesday (Feb. 28) submitted to Congress a constitutional reform bill that would prohibit certain public officials from running for president of Honduras during their terms of office.

As he presented the bill, Castillo said, "the proposed reforms will safeguard government resources, and investments made in political campaigns will be used in a fairer, more transparent and honest manner in benefit" of the people who "have expressed concern over the way campaign funds have been used to favor select political groups and candidates.

"Allowing public officials to wield political influence that comes with their jobs to obtain the nomination for a position in which the candidate is chosen by popular vote violates the Constitutional right guaranteed every Honduran to elect and be elected under equal conditions," Castillo stated.

The reform suggests the exclusion from the presidential race of people holding the following positions: both the president of the Supreme Court and the president of Congress, magistrates and judges, members of the election tribunals, the comptroller and assistant comptroller general, the attorney general, any other staff member of the executive branch employed in the period two years prior to the presidential election, active military personal, any member of the armed forces who retired in the 24 months preceding the elections and government contractors, as well as anyone who owes the government money.

The bill also includes a reform to prevent nepotism, excluding family members of the president, vice presidents, president of the Congress and president of the Supreme Court.

As with all Constitutional reforms, a two-thirds Congressional majority vote is necessary for a bill to become law and go into effect in two consecutive sessions of Congress.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Relations between Nicaragua and Honduras grew tenser this week following allusions by President Arnoldo Aleman of Nicaragua to the 1969 "Soccer War" between Honduras and El Salvador, in which Aleman hinted that history could repeat itself.

Tonight (Saturday, March 4), the Honduran national soccer team squares off against the Nicaragua team in San Pedro Sula in both squads first qualification match for the 2002 World Cup soccer tournament. In 1969, a crucial qualification match between El Salvador and Honduras sparked the so-called "Soccer War" following a long period of tense relations due to a land dispute and the expulsion of Salvadoran citizens from Honduras.

The situation today is uncannily similar to events 31 years ago: a conflict over territory, in this case the controversial maritime demarkation treaty between Honduras and Columbia that Nicaragua claims violates its sovereignty, and last week's detention of illegal Nicaraguan workers at a Honduran factory.

According to political analysts, Aleman is trying to stir things up in order to divert the Nicaraguan people's attention from internal problems and charges of corruption with the pretext of an alleged Honduran aggression.

Aleman continues to reject proposals for dialogue and joint patrols of the two countries' common maritime borders, despite the efforts and intervention of international observers and the Organization of American States and the fact that the World Court at the Hague is hearing the case.

In the Nicaraguan daily "Nuevo Diario," Aleman said the recent skirmishes between patrol boats in the Gulf of Fonseca may be used by Honduras as a pretext to unchain an armed conflict with Nicaragua. He also mentioned the recent deportations of several dozen Nicaraguan nationals that occurred just before the 1969 war.

Aleman rejected the Honduran proposal to conduct joint patrols in the Gulf of Fonseca, saying that there is nothing to do there. Honduras insists that the joint patrols are the safest way to avoid incidents that would give further pretexts for mutual accusations.

In the face of the Nicaragua's provocations, the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Relations issued a communique expressing deep concern over Aleman's statements.

"If the statements are true, they indicate a deviation from current negotiations...under the auspices of the OAS, and a new change in the foreign policy of the Nicaraguan government to resolve the differences in the Caribbean at the International Court of Justice, and instead, take actions that are contrary to international law."

Officials cited the experience with the World Court in the conflict between Honduras and El Salvador, which clearly demonstrated that problems can be resolved in a peaceful and friendly manner.

With respect to tonight's soccer match, the Foreign Ministry reiterated that the government and people of Honduras welcome the Nicaraguans with an open heart.

Meanwhile, President Flores ordered immigration officials to halt further deportations of Nicaraguans and to implement stricter security measures for the soccer match.

"The purpose [of these measures] is to avoid any pretext that could generate more tension than that already created by the Nicaraguan government with the recent incidents in the Gulf of Fonseca," said Foreign Minister Roberto Flores Bermudez.

By SUYAPA CARIAS

TEGUCIGALPA -- Luis Alonso Fonseca, a regional air transportation specialist with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), recently visited the facilities of the Toncontin International Airport in Tegucigalpa as part of a familiarization tour of Central America's major airports.

During his brief visit, Fonseca met with civil aviation and administrative officials at Toncontin to address security and facilitation issues, discuss economic aspects involving the different services currently offered, and to get a first hand look at progress on the old airport's remodeling.

While meeting with Marlen Urtecho, the administrative manager of the Tegucigalpa Airport Corporation (CAT), Fonseca expressed his satisfaction with improvements at the air terminal, where he observed changes that had been needed for a long time and that are now a reality. He praised the efforts of a private non-profit organization such as CAT in improving Honduran aviation.

The ICAO representative also announced that the next world conference will be held in June. At the meeting, he said, the organization's 185 members will have the opportunity to check out current policies and manuals in order to update them and to exchange useful information.

With respect to the privatization of Honduras' four international airports next March 9, Fonseca said ICAO has supported its Latin American members through the sponsorship of informative and training seminars on the issue.

The Worker's Union of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History (SITRAIHAH) went on a nation-wide strike Monday, demanding higher wages and the dismissal of the IHAH Director Olga Joya.

The Institute's offices in Tegucigalpa and the archaeological park at Copan Ruinas have been closed since then. The union said it is unwillingly to accept the 23 percent pay raise offered, and insists on a 50 percent hike.

Joya claims that the percentage demanded by the workers would force the Institute to abandon several archaeological reconstruction projects currently underway, while the Union countered by saying that Joya is responsible for the loss of stolen archaeological pieces that have not been recovered and accused her of negligence.

According to the Human Rights 1999 report released by the U.S. State Department, Honduras still has many human rights problems to resolve. The document states that military and police forces abuse their power regularly and are rarely tried due to the weak and corrupt judicial system. Child labor, the ruling class's impunity and sometimes a corrupt and politicized press are also contributing factors. -- La Tribuna

As of Wednesday, charges for calls placed to cellular phones will be billed to the telephone that makes the call. Previously, the owner of the cellular phone paid for both incoming and outgoing calls. Normal local calls cost consumers Lps. 0.30, while calls to cell phones average US$ 0.30 or approximately Lps. 4.40. -- La Tribuna

According to the Council of Campesino Organizations (COCOCH), funds assigned to the National Agrarian Institute (INA) will not cover the cost of land titling planned for this year.

Trinidad Membreno, the Secretary of COCOCH, formally requested that the Ministry of Finance increase INA's budget for the land tenency program. Membreno explained that land titles are the most important requisite for obtaining agricultural credits.

"The government needs to keep an eye on this process because if not, campesinos will continue to face the same, unresolved agrarian problem that they have been living with for the last 20 years."

Membreno also urged the Ministry of Agriculture and Cattle Ranching, the National Forestry Agency and municipal governments to present land title projects to INA. -- La Tribuna

Two Nicaraguan navel vessels entered Honduran territory on Feb. 25 and opened fire on a Honduran ship in the Gulf of Fonseca. Since the Honduran ship did not return fire, the Nicaraguan boats simply returned to their own territory. -- La Tribuna