Honduras This Week National May 1999

Human Rights Commissioner assesses strength of democracy in Honduras

By ERLING DUUS CHRISTENSEN

Dr. Leo Valladares, the commissioner of human rights, has become an international figure, a human rights hero. In his own country he is highly controversial, regarded by many as an ineffective show-boater and publicity hound. To some, perhaps many, he is a hero, and undoubtedly for others, he is a villain. I was interested in hearing what he had to say, and trying to take the measure of the man.

I had anticipated that the commissioner would be flamboyant and ideological, perhaps a bit of a rabble-rouser. But he was soft-spoken, somewhat shy, open and responsive. I began by congratulating him on his recent victory over those trying to limit his term and jurisdiction, but he modestly declined, saying it was a victory for the people and for democracy.

But as he explained his version of events, what was remarkable was that he showed no sign of anger, and does not in any manner wish to polarize the issue. "I am not an enemy of the administration," he said in a conciliatory way. Indeed, he believes that the administration genuinely felt that he had over-stepped his jurisdiction, and that President Flores had simply not given much thought to the nature of his mandate.

Concerning the nature of his responsibilities, Dr. Valladares has no doubts. It is very clear, he says, that his office is empowered to investigate and report on all abuses of power taking place within Honduras, and to make sure that people in power are held "accountable," for what they do, or don't do. Because his office came into existence on the heels of systematic human rights abuses throughout the region, there has been a tendency to define the office in a more narrow context than his charter actually entails, or so he believes.

Nevertheless, despite his conciliatory attitude, Dr. Valladares does not doubt that what took place in connection with these events was very important. He feels that the power of his office has been greatly enhanced and that thereby the real power of democracy has been strengthened. The people have found that their voice can be heard, and that it can be a powerful voice that echoes through the halls of power.

He added, "there are many people in your country, who like yourself are strong supporters of our democratic movement." He spoke with the confidence of a man who has felt himself upheld by powerful arms from distant places.

It was at this point, however, that I changed the focus of the discussion. "But, Mr. Commissioner, in the cases of Carlos Luna, Candido Amador, Jeanette Kawas, and many others where indigenous leaders and environmentalists have been murdered by wealthy and powerful people, and are being protected from prosecution, there is the perception that you have been silent and ineffective?"

The commissioner did not change expression, but the entire atmosphere in the room changed. "The forces of power are still much stronger than the forces of democracy. The forces which protect powerful murderers place them beyond the judicial power, and my office is only investigative, not judicial."

At this point, he lowered his voice slightly, and he spoke confidentially. "Remember, not very long ago it would have been impossible for this interview to take place. Throughout the interview he had spoken Spanish, but I asked to repeat this last answer in English. I wanted to be certain that I did not misunderstand him.

So this is the state of democracy in Honduras. The tribune of the people wins a victory over the president of the country, as well as the congress, but murderers continue to be untouchable. I do not doubt that Dr. Valladares was telling me the truth, nor do I question his courage which he has proven in the past, or still less his integrity. But I must ask him "why" and whether or not the forces of democracy might not with more assertive leadership be strong enough to demand and get elementary justice.

Immunity to be regulated

By ELVIRA ESPINAL

Special to Honduras This Week

TEGUCIGALPA -- In light of the countless abuses that diputados have committed in and out of the National Congress, legislators this week passed Constitutional reforms regulating the privilege of immunity enjoyed by congressional deputies and other high-ranking government officials.

For years citizens of all wakes of life have complained about abuses committed by a small number of congressmen who are protected from legal actions by the immunity granted to them by the Constitution, where stipulates that from the day they are elected they will have "personal immunity that protects them from being searched, arrested, accused or judged, even in a state of marshal law, if Congress has not previously declared them liable."

The legislation restricting the immunity privilege must now be passed by the next Congress before it can take effect. It states that immunity cannot be a personal privilege that is used to elude the responsibility of a crime or an obligation of civil nature.

Current legislators considered that Congress as a whole cannot continue to be the target of protests and ridicule due to the actions of just a few members, and that immunity should be a privilege restricted to actions inherent to the responsibilities of deputies, such as legislative proposals and opinions made in the course of their work.

In the past immunity has been used by some legislators to commit abuses against the same people who elected them, like the case of Carlos Orbin Montoya, a former president of the National Congress, who is accused of murdering a peasant. This accusation, which has been denied by Montoya, caused much controversy, especially due to the fact that it was during his term in office that lifelong immunity was granted to all former congressional presidents. As a result, he was never formally accused, despite pressures from human rights organizations. Montoya is currently Honduras' ambassador to Nicaragua.

Another major scandal centered on Carlos Kattan Salem, a former secretary of the Congress, who was accused of mismanaging funds during the Callejas administration.

According to legal experts, the immunity law needs to be strictly regulated and enforced to avoid cases like the one against former President Rafael Callejas, who was alleged to have committed wrongdoing while in office. Because he is currently a diputado, his case has been shelved.

Among the other scandals involving government officials with immunity privileges are the cases of Juvenal Tobias, who driving under the influence of alcohol, ran over a motorcyclist with his car and resisted arrest; Ricardo Pena, who recently created a scandal in a sports facility; and another official who beat up an employee when asked to pay a debt.

People now expect that these types of situations be made known and judged in the courts of law, reaffirming that the law is respected and applied equally in Honduras.

Harza pulls out of Patuca dam project

By WENDY GRIFFIN

Last year was hard on the Indians of the Mosquitia. At year's end they had faced tremendous flooding with extensive housing and crop damage caused by Hurricane Mitch. Even before that they had been struggling to protect their communities against the threat of a huge hydroelectric dam project to be built in Olancho near the confluence of the Cuyamel River with the Patuca. The proposed dam would have flooded out part of the Tawahka Indian homeland and have had consequences for Miskito farming and fishing.

This year Mosquitia residents can breathe a little easier as at least the post-hurricane rice harvest appears to be almost normal. But more importantly, the dam building company Harza Engineering has decided not to invest in the Patuca II dam, citing "lack of popular support" for the project, according to a letter from the person in charge of Public Relations for Private Investment at Harza Engineering.

For several years, the Honduran government has contemplated building more hydroelectric projects in order to meet increased energy demands. These increases have arisen from Honduras' growing maquila (export-oriented assembly and apparel) industry, its rapid entry into the electronic and communications fields, and the chance to sell electricity to other Central American countries.

What surprised many people about the Patuca II project is that the first news most people had about the project was the announcement of the completion of the first part of the feasibility study. It had been determined that the site near the Rio Cuyamel was feasible even though it required flooding 42 km of intact rain forest, all of which was on the legislative track to either become part of the Patuca National Park or the Tawahka Biosphere Reserve "Asagni."

It also required moving Honduras' smallest ethnic group -- the Tawahka Indians, a rain forest dwelling group who total only 950 individuals.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Tornado destroys Olancho community

A tornado battered the small community of Pacayal, Olancho, causing extensive damage to homes and public works, the daily La Tribuna reported Saturday (May 22). However, there were no deaths or injuries.

According to a villager, the storm, accompanied by heavy rains, lasted three hours and was more terrifying than Hurricane Mitch last October.

Pacayal is located in the Agalta Mountain Range in the jurisdiction of Gualaco.

Missing Lenca leader reappears

Missing since May 9, Jose Ofelio Lopez turned up safe and sound last Sunday evening (May 23) in the village of Santa Cruz del Rosario (under the jurisdiction of Yamaranguila), reputedly under the influence of alcohol and drugs, the daily La Tribuna reported.

Lopez's reappearance came just two days after the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations (COPIN) presided by Salvador Zuniga denounced that the Lenca had disappeared after being detained by the police May 9. The police have admitted to arresting Lopez at the Hospital Escuela for disorderly conduct, but say he was released the following day. Authorities are currently investigating the whereabouts of Lopez during the 11 days he was missing.

Meanwhile, a human rights group claims that Lopez was severely beaten by the police the day of his arrest and later drugged at the 1st precinct of the Metropolitan Police in Tegucigalpa before his release.

LCMs to begin delivering relief supplies to Mosquitia

Thousand-mile journey made from Panama without incident

By TED DANGER
Special to Honduras This Week

PERSONAL REPORT

s9-5-24a.jpg (15065 bytes) The LCMs have begun delivering relief assistance to the Mosquitia.

I first heard of the relief organization Corazon a Corazon (Heart to Heart) over the Internet on a listserver called the Hondo one List. I was told they were planning on helping to deliver food to the hard to reach Mitch hit areas of the Mosquitia by military landing craft (LCM) that had been donated by the U.S. Armed Forces in Panama.

One small hurdle in the process would be to bring the vessels north through the sometimes rough seas off of the north-eastern coast of Nicaragua. This sounded like high adventure to me, and a great opportunity to learn more about the Mosquito Coast of Honduras as well as helping others in need. I had heard of some of the work of the founder and driving force of the organization, Dr. Steve Foster, and knew he had been working in the area of Santa Rosa de Aguan, just east of Castilla and Trujillo, since November.

When I contacted Dr. Foster about my interest in joining the team he immediately accepted and offered to pay my room and board as well as travel expenses. I joined up with his long time friend and diesel mechanic Randy Miller in La Ceiba and we flew to Panama. Randy had come down for a week or two in November and had been helping out in the area of the Rio Aguan since. At the time we didn't know if our request for manpower from the Honduran Navy would be approved, but we knew we would get the boats to Honduras somehow.

Dr. Foster is a very personable character with an infectious charming nature. He seems to know a few people, and was able to muster quite a bit of assistance from the folks helping to close the military bases in Panama. A gentleman by the name of Bill Anderson was a great help in approving items for our group that were being dispersed.

LITTLE MIRACLES

Dr. Foster seems to have little miracles happen around him all the time. When we first got the vessels, another military craft in transit had an electronic problem and was forced to dock adjacent to us. The sailors of that ship knew our boats well and gave us several hours of briefing on the details and history of the boats, as well as the things to look out for.

When it came time to inspect the rudder props and zincs, a retired military couple just happened to come by to scuba dive under our dock, the only folks that had stopped by in a week.

Nelson, one of Honduran officers who would accompany us, was able to explain our mission to a diesel fuel purveyor and get our diesel at a mere 69 cents a gallon! We were constantly blessed with good luck.

We worked at getting the vessels ready and loaded with cargo for Honduras that would assure longevity of the project. The U.S. Army really came through for us as did the Honduran Navy, who sent two officers and two enlisted men who were well versed as diesel mechanics. It was very depressing seeing the many beautifully managed U.S. military bases being closed, and the thought that they may soon look like some of the more neglected parts of that country.

We moved the two running boats from Fort Sherman across the Atlantic entrance of the amazing Panama Canal and landed adjacent to the Panama Canal Yacht Club. This location, which also served as a lovers lane for the locals, made the evening duty watch seem almost shameful. Here we arraigned for a crane to place a couple cargo containers on the boats and continued to prepare for the trip.

One night, after hearing from the traveling yachties that the weather window appeared open, we decided to make one more ice run and get our passports stamped exiting Panama. The fact that we didn't have a working compass didn't seem to bother Dr. Foster a bit, "we'll just use a GPS."

TROUBLE BEGINS

Just three hours into our nearly 1,000 mile journey, several of the four engines on each of the two boats were overheating and shutting down. The mechanics all worked in the inferno modeled engine rooms almost constantly for the next two days, and I must say, they all did an incredible job.

We stopped to rest the engines and ourselves in the still waters in the lee of the northern tip of the Colombian island San Andres. Several of our crew went ashore, and after failing to find the immigration officer returned to the boat with ice and junk food. We had named the vessels Corazon One and Corazon Two on the fly, and now I hear they are the Corazon de Honduras and the Corazon de Estados Unidos.

The organization seemed to be conceived as a heartfelt connection between the people of Georgia and Honduras. The boat I was on, Corazon two, after leaving the island for the second half of the voyage, needed no more attention in the engine room and was turning into a pleasure cruise. Keep in mind there were no berths, head or galley. At night, with no moon and clouds covering the stars, it was very difficult to keep the keel-less boats on a straight course. Next time I'll be sure to bring my diving compass.

We made the difficult entry over the bar at Caratasca Lagoon, while one boat was snatched by the stiff eastern afternoon winds and locked on the metal cork in the drifting sands. Traveling in pairs is always a benefit, and we pulled her off without stranding the other vessel. We stopped at the naval post that guards the entrance of the lagoon, and where the crews from both boats were served a fine meal prepared by the soldiers who man this pristine lookout.

We were very fortunate, and throughout the trip the seas seemed very calm. We never got anything bigger than six or eight feet, and most of the way was smooth sailing. We would pass rain just off our port or starboard, but never on us. I would have to say the trip went very smoothly.

We had the more good fortune in Puerto Lempira with the chance meeting of First Lady Mary Flakes Flores, the founder of Fundacion Maria. When Steve asked her if there were containers at Cortes, she asked if Corazon a Corazon could help. The pieces of the puzzle seemed to be falling in place. The next day the head of the United Nation World Food Program stopped by the boats in an effort to work together. This trip made many big strides for the future delivery of needed items in tough to reach areas.

I left my new friends and associates by the beautiful lagoon-side city of Puerto Lempira and flew back to La Ceiba. Now I know the crew are all back at their destination of Castilla. Through a fly by night plan, plenty of determination and the right team, progress has been made.

U.S. to help replant forests of hurricane-damaged Honduras

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. government and the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) have agreed to work together on a pilot project to help replant the forests in Honduras that were devastated by Hurricane Mitch.

At a May 17 ceremony, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Commerce Department and AF&PA that said sustainable growth measures will be used to rebuild the forests in perpetuity and encourage other countries to adopt U.S. standards for linking business to sound environmental practices. The project marks a further step in USAID's ongoing efforts in Honduras, as well as worldwide, to regrow forests.

Commerce Secretary William Daley said after signing the memorandum that the public-private partnership provides "top-notch expertise and aid to help a neighbor recover from a devastating natural disaster." He added that "in the process, we can show that sustainable development is good business."

Daley told AF&PA's Spring Legislative Conference, being held here May 16-18, that the plan "will help get the Honduran economy back on its feet, and its people back to work. It will help restore confidence, because as seedlings go into the ground, and people watch them grow, they will see a future also."

The United States, he said, hopes that the plan demonstrates to landowners and loggers "that by managing their new forests using sustainable practices, they can develop an industry that provides jobs and forest products for generations to come."

The memorandum on Honduras, Daley asserted, is the "latest sign" that the U.S. private sector and the Clinton administration "see eye-to-eye on many things." President Clinton and Vice President Gore "are absolutely committed to helping Central America rebuild in the aftermath" of last year's devastating hurricane, he declared.

Daley said the United States looks forward "to helping the Hondurans bring that country back." The reforesting plan, he explained, is a "message we send to our neighbors throughout our hemisphere that we stand with our neighbors when they have difficult times.

"Neighbors help neighbors, especially when disaster hits," Daley said.

In an interview following Daley's remarks, David Festa, Daley's senior advisor, said the plan is a one-year pilot project in which the United States will provide technical assistance and assessment for sustainable forestry in Honduras.

Festa noted that USAID will provide U.S. government contacts for the Hondurans in implementing the reforesting effort. USAID, he continued, will also work with the government of Honduras and the country's national forestry school to make sure the project "is well integrated and coordinated with existing Honduran programs and goals for their forestry sector."

The Commerce Department, through its Foreign Commercial Service and offices in Washington, will be working to see if the plan can be extended to "other countries and companies," Festa said.

He said hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest were lost from the hurricane that devastated Honduras and other parts of Central America last year. This project, Festa observed, covers about 6,000 hectares, "a small slice of a bigger problem," or to put it in more optimistic terms, "establishing a small beachhead" in bringing back the region's forests.

He indicated that if this plan works out, "and it proves useful and everybody's happy, we will attempt to extend it to other countries."

Festa did not put a dollar amount on how much the effort will cost, but said the commitment from the United States and the forestry industry will come from "staff time in providing experts, contacts, and brain power."

After one year, the pilot program could take any number of forms, Festa suggested. He speculated that "it could do anything -- it could die, it could be renewed in its current form, it could be taken up by industry, or it could be incorporated into a loan program that the World Bank would run."

But the whole idea, he said, "was just to get this thing rolling, get some momentum, get some of our (U.S.) commercial sector guys involved and really create something that is sustainable. USAID really liked the idea that the commercial sector is involved and you're never going to have anything that's truly sustainable unless it makes some kind of business sense."

The Washington-based AF&PA bills itself as the national trade association of the forest, paper, and wood products industry, representing member companies engaged in growing, harvesting, and processing wood and wood fiber, and manufacturing pulp, paper and paperboard products.

Mining conflict leads to destruction of church

s9-5-17c.jpg (38800 bytes)
Gerald Phillips, background right, directs the demolition of 17th century San Andres town. In the process, he injured a man with a bulldozer.

By WENDY GRIFFIN

Near Santa Rosa de Copan is the colonial town of San Andres Minas. Until last year it was possible to visit this quaint town and see its colonial-era church built in the late 1700s.

In recent years, the Honduran government has been interested in reviving the country's once thriving gold and silver mining industry. As foreign companies debate where the place to invest might be, town with names like "Minas de Oro," Las Minas, or San Andres Minas sound very promising.

The Canadian mining company Greenstone Resources did an analysis of the feasibility of reviving the mine at San Andres Minas. They were encouraged by the results, but there was a small glitch. The best place to do open pit mining was exactly where the tiny town of San Andres lay with its colonial era church.

In the colonial era, gold was usually not mined under the church as it was thought the gold belonged to the saint, and the saint could destroy the town if the gold was mined.

s9-5-17b.jpg (38963 bytes)
An elderly lady digs out her belongings after Gerald Phillips
destroyed her home.

Not waiting for the saint to destroy the town, a plan was worked out to move all the inhabitants of San Andres Minas to another site. According to the daily La Prensa, there was an agreement that the colonial era church would be rebuilt at the new site stone by stone.

According to law, it is illegal to destroy a colonial-era structure without the written permission of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History, particularly not a functioning church as was the case here. The local people also believed their water tank, essential for their supply of running water, could be spared.

Then problems arose. The new houses were built close together with little or no yards for children, pigs, dogs, fruit trees, or building an extra room. Several residents felt the new houses were unacceptable and refused to move. They raised the cry of "human rights violations" and took their case to the Honduran press.

When Greenstone began to destroy the old houses, some people tried to protest. This caused the bulldozer operator to refuse to continue. Greenstone manager Gerald Phillips, a resident of Florida, took it upon himself to use the bulldozer to destroy the colonial-era church, and a house of people who refused to move and their water tank. A Honduran who placed himself in front of the water tank to protect it was badly injured. Phillips was charged under Honduran law with attempted murder.

According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, Phillips left Honduras later that day and began working for Crystallex a few days later. His new job is as a manager of San Gregorio mine in northern Uruguay.

This was not Phillips' first incident. When he worked for Westray, he was charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence in connection with an explosion at a coal mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. The criminal charges in this accident that killed 26 miners in 1992 were dropped only last year.

In a country where the ghosts of the Rosario Mining Company and old colonial mines are still heard, this tale is now told like a modern-day ogre story come true.

Farmers face serious credit crunch due to Mitch s9-5-17a.jpg (56278 bytes)

Coffee sold for future delivery and pre-paid labor for the coffee harvest form an important part of the rural credit system.

By WENDY GRIFFIN

Even before Hurricane Mitch, small and medium businesses as well as farmers complained of the reduced availability of commercial credit. Most of these companies produced for the domestic market, which has been faced with rising prices and decreased buying power of the public.

Consequently, business owners, many of whom do not even have high school diplomas, have had the difficult task of trying to balance increased costs due to imported goods like gasoline, spare parts, fertilizers, trucks against lower buying power caused by devaluation.

Honduras has a modern urban banking sector that lends money at rates that amaze Americans -- 38 percent per year is considered reasonable at a bank, while 50 percent is not unusual at a financial lending company.

The Spanish-language press has reported banks had reduced credit availability for new loans or rolling over old debt even before the floods. The banks responded that there was a serious problem of overdue payments from farmers, which made them ineligible for new funds.

SERIOUS REPERCUSSIONS

As farmers prepare to plant in May, there is concern that the lack of new credit will affect farmers' access to seeds, fertilizers and equipment repair at a time when Honduras particularly needs to produce a lot of food for its domestic market.

This credit crunch is also affecting businesses that belong to the Small and Medium Business Association, one of the member associations of COHEP (the Honduran Council of Private Enterprize). As of March 1999, it was reported that 80 percent of the businesses of this association that were open last year were now closed.

Yet there are reports that the credit they had is not being renewed and no new credit is available, although many have rebuilding needs.

It may be that rebuilding by large businesses absorbed what little cash was available in the banking system. Most of the cash in the national banking system is from pension funds, as individual saving rates are low.

One surprising result of research by Honduran economist Alcides Hernandez is that 85 percent of the financing of the maquila industry is being provided by Honduran banks. So instead of bringing a lot of foreign currency to Honduras, as expected, these companies may be absorbing much of what little money is available on the local credit market.

COOPS VULNERABLE

African palm and some banana cooperatives are particularly vulnerable to flood damage, since they are on land officially designated as "inundable" (flood-prone). Both the banana and African palm industry reported multi-million lempira losses after the hurricane. African palm expansion behind the wetlands of the Punta Izopo and Punta Sal national parks may actually have made flooding worse by blocking natural pathways for the water through the wetlands, causing a backwash effect.

While Chiquita can decide to lay off most of its workers for 18 months while new banana trees grow to harvestable size, what can cooperatives that do not have the cash reserves of the Untied Fruit Company do to wait out this 12-18 month cycle? If a number of cooperatives are not to go under over the next year, steps will have to be taken now. The trend has been in Honduras to let the cooperative be sold to large companies such as Standard Fruit and those owned by Miguel Facusse.

In Honduras, almost 60 percent of the people live from farming, but most farmers have no access to formal urban credit system. Instead, they get credit at local stores (pulperias) or from buyers for agro-businesses (coyotes) against the future sale of their crops. The most common products to sell in this way are corn (vender maiz en agua) and coffee (vender cafe en flor).

HIGH EFFECTIVE RATE

This is an extremely disadvantageous way to get credit. While a hundred-weight sack of coffee is worth about Lps. 800 at harvest, the price before harvesting can be as low as Lps. 80. As the loan is never for more than half a year, the effective annual interest rate can be 300, 600 or even 1000 percent.

Last fall many people found themselves unable to make good on their promises to turn in specified amounts of corn or coffee due to crop destruction. When this happens, the people lose part or all of their land planted in mature coffee trees. This adds to the pressure of rural people migrating to the city. Often this represents a loss of land available for domestic food production as it is converted to growing commercial crops or raising cattle for beef export production.

Rural people also borrow money from coffee growers in exchange for promises to work a number of days during the harvest season. This form of credit dates back to colonial times. Right now there is less of this type of credit available due to the reduced coffee harvest last year, the general crunch for money, and the fact that many farmers have had to replace coffee trees after the hurricane. These new trees will not produce coffee for three to five years, depending on the variety.

DISMAL PICTURE

Some rural people supplement their income by panning for gold in the dry season. Obviously, this was not a viable option this year since this industry depends on low river levels. The Patuca, for example, was not very safe for canoes until February and so at least the months of January and February were lost to gold panners.

Faced with this dismal picture of declining job opportunities, lack of funds for rebuilding, and often the loss of land due to inability to repay past debts, it is no wonder that crime has shot up.

Rescue workers like Pete Murray in Monjaras, Choluteca, were told of dreams of immigrating to the United States by men who spoke no English and whose principal skills consisted of planting and cutting sugar cane. When the rescue workers told them it was better to stay in Honduras, the men answered with tears in their eyes, "Usted no entiende, aqui ya no se puede." (You don't understand, it's no longer possible to live here.)

Immigration agents strike, flights canceled

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Dozens of passengers were left stranded at Toncontin International Airport after three international flights were canceled early Monday morning as a consequence of a 48-hour strike staged by immigration employees demanding higher salaries.

Protestors took over the air terminal, blocking the main entrance of the airport. As the afternoon wore on immigration agents at border check points also joined the protest.

Immigration employees allege that while it is not their intention to block land, sea and air terminals, it is the only way they can draw attention to their cause. According to the protestors, the salaries they receive of between Lps. 1,000 and Lps. 1,890.00 ($90 to $120) are not to live on and contribute to corruption.

They also complained that the Director of Immigration, Reyna Margarita Ochoa de Gaikel, demands they wear clean uniforms everyday and that they must also buy them. Ochoa avoided reporter's questions about the veracity of these statements by announcing that the strike is detrimental to the national economy, as well as allowing persons fleeing justice an advantage due to the lack of control at border check points.

The Department of Immigration has 321 employees who are, in fact, underpaid but officials claim that this is not reason enough to go on strike, when it is obvious that the government is currently unable to raise salaries due to the devastating effects of Hurricane Mitch.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Twister in Copan kills one

One person was killed and as many as 25 buildings destroyed last Friday (May 7) when a tornado ripped through the community of La Entrada, Copan.

According to the daily La Tribuna, the funnel cloud first appeared around 4 p.m., touching down in the Las Brisas district where it destroyed 12 homes, most of which were built of adobe bricks, and blew off the zinc roof of the Panoramica public school. The twister then headed to Barrio Suyapa, destroying one home and damaging the roofs of seven others. Other areas affected by the tornado were Roble Gacho, El Dorado and Barrio San Antonio.

The only death occurred at the Francisco Morazan school when one of the building's walls fell down, crushing sixth-grade student Olvin Tabora and injuring his cousin Juan Carlos Guillen.

More airlines to operate in Honduras

Three more commercial airlines may soon begin operations in Honduras, according to Civil Aeronautics Director Luis Rolando Leiva in a La Tribuna report Saturday (May 8).

Leiva said one of the companies is Aero Caribbean of Cuba, which is studying the possibility of establishing a route between La Habana and San Pedro Sula via Belize. A second possible route would be La Habana to San Pedro Sula and then San Pedro Sula to Managua, Nicaragua.

The other two airlines interested in establishing routes to Honduras are Mexicana de Aviacion of Mexico and an unnamed European company that would offer charters between Milan, Italy and Roatan, the Bay Islands.

Fire destroys supermarket, hardware store

The new La Colonia No. 5 Supermarket, located at the entrance to the Kennedy residential district, was partially destroyed by a fire last Friday (May 7), causing damage estimated in the millions of lempiras.

According to the daily La Tribuna, the fire apparently broke out around 7 p.m. in the supermarket's storage area, quickly spreading to the adjacent DIFESA hardware store. Hindered by the lack of hydrants, fire fighters nevertheless were able to control the blaze and prevent it from extending to a gasoline station only a hundred meters away.

Only two days before, a fire gutted the FEMOSA hardware store on San Pedro Sula's Avenida Junior, leaving approximately 200 people temporarily out of work. Losses were estimated in the millions of lempiras.

Medicinal plants to be regulated

The National Congress has passed a motion ordering the Health Ministry to regulate the sale and distribution of all substances used for medical purposes, the daily La Tribuna reported Saturday (May 8).

Congressman Renan Inestroza said the aim of this measure is to regulate the sale of medicinal plants used in traditional home remedies. Currently, there is no government regulation over medicinal plants, which are usually sold by street vendors or, to a lesser extent, in markets and health stores.

Police say more gringos involved in sex tourism

Two more U.S. citizens are currently under investigation by law enforcement authorities for their alleged connection to an international sex tourism ring that was dismantled in San Pedro Sula three weeks ago, the daily El Heraldo reported Monday (May 3).

The American suspects have been identified as James Fred Tobin, who is also accused of murdering a nightclub dancer on Roatan; and Arnold Morris, who is wanted by the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice for felonies committed in Florida.

According to El Heraldo, Morris, an investor in the venture, rented the building adjacent to Bolongo's Restaurant on Roatan to Tony Bucellato, where the latter set up the first Tony Montana's Club featuring underage nude dancers.

However, the club was closed in January 1998 by orders of the new mayor and Bucellato moved to San Pedro Sula where he set up another strip-club and hotel, again reputedly financed by Morris and his former Florida business associate, Charles Kasper.

The second Tony Montana's Night Club operated in the Colonia Aurora suburb of the nation's second largest city until April 18 of this year, when the police, acting on information provided by Casa Alianza, carried out three raids that culminated in the arrest of four American citizens.

Two, Kasper and Bucellato, face charges of prostituting underage girls, corruption of minors and operating without a license. They are currently being held in the National Penitentiary at Tamara. Rusell Scott Williams, the manager of the hotel that operated above the night club, and Terry Clymire, an alleged investor, are charged with misdemeanors and have been released on bail.

Morris, who lives on Roatan, is married to a Honduran and has obtained Honduran citizenship.

El Heraldo reported that Tobin, who is the prime suspect in the brutal murder of his girlfriend, 18-year-old Danira Lizeth Turcios, is a close friend of Bucellato. However, authorities have not specified what his exact role in the sex tourism ring was.

In January, Turcios' mangled body was found on a sand bank at West End, not far from Tobin's residence. The medical examiner's report revealed that Turcios had been cut open and most of her internal organs removed. This, according to authorities, was apparently done by the killer in an attempt to sink the body out at sea.

Residents of West End told authorities that Tobin was an extremely jealous man and was constantly bickering with Turcios, including the night before her body was found. Tobin's whereabouts are unknown.

Violence mars Labor Day celebrations

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- The first of May is traditionally celebrated as international Labor Day in most of the world's countries. This year, however, celebrations by labor groups were marred in Tegucigalpa when a group of workers decided to condemn "corrupt" labor leaders by rioting, an action that resulted in injuries to onlookers and also succeeded in injuring the pride of various labor representatives.

Labor Day commemorates began with a one-kilometer march, but some members of STIBYS, the union of workers in the beverage industry, made their way downtown ahead of fellow marchers.

Traditionally on Labor Day, Central Park is the scene of labor leaders giving speeches denouncing high prices, the government and private enterprise. But this year, the tone was different when the contingent of STIBYS representatives, dressed up in long black capes and red masks, took over the plaza and sentenced corrupt labor leaders to death.

During the confusion, the rioters threw firecrackers, tomatoes, eggs and small plastic bags of water at labor leaders and members of the press.

There are three major labor groups in Honduras: the Central General de Trabajadores (CGT), the Confederacion de Trabajadores de Honduras (CTH) and the Confederacion de Trabajadores de Honduras (CUTH). Last Saturday, however, none of the leaders of these unions where able to make their speeches since the march was over in less than two hours.

The general public and the media both reacted negatively to the acts of vandalism. Labor problems concerning workers rights in Honduras date back to the 50s with the strike of 1954 against the Tela Railroad Company. From these original organizations several leaders emerged who eventually organized the labor movement. Many of them have been criticized for letting themselves be manipulated or bought by the government and private enterprise. This year, however, is the first time they have been publicly denounced.

On a list displayed by the Workers Defense Committee, with slogans reading "Out with corrupt labor leaders" and "Let's break the circle" the following names of the "traitorous" labor leaders were written: Francisco Guerrero, Israel Salinas, Mauro Gonzales, Felicito Avila, Daniel Duron, Rafael Alegria, Hector Hernandez, Marco Tulio Cartagena, Luis Ramirez, Jacinta Ruiz, Ayax Irias, Claudio Villafranca and David Cisneros.

Labor Day celebrations on the North Coast were uneventful.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Gun seized in school

School authorities last Friday (April 30) confiscated a 38-caliber pistol from a student at the Soledad Fernandez Elementary School in San Pedro Sula, the daily La Tribuna reported.

According to the report, the fifth grader apparently took out the firearm while playing with classmates in the school courtyard, as school had been adjourned early that day for a teachers' meeting.

Students immediately notified the principal, who confiscated the weapon and took the boy to her office. However, the boy fled as the principal was calling his parents. Reports that the gun had been fired proved to be false. The gun was then turned over to the police.

Military bank robbed

Five men armed with AK-47 assault rifles and 9 mm pistols on Friday (April 30) held up the Armed Forces Bank (BANFFAA) in the community of Guaymas (near El Progreso) for the second time in a year.

According to the daily La Tribuna, the bank robbers easily overpowered security guards posted inside and outside the bank, taking their weapons and ordering bank employees and clients to lie down on the floor. Two delinquents then gathered an undisclosed amount of cash while three more stood watch outside. The robbers then fled in a twin-cabin pickup truck driven by a sixth accomplice.

A police pursuit ensued but failed to apprehend the robbers, even though the Guaymas police station is located just 50 meters from the bank.

Catholic Church on the air

The Catholic Church of Honduras on Saturday (May 1) is now on the air following the inauguration of its new television station behind the Basilica de Suyapa, west of the capital city, the daily La Tribuna reported.

Channel 48, or the "Canal de la Solidaridad" (Solidarity Channel), will broadcast religious programming from 7 a.m. till midnight. The station has so far cost Lps. 28 million (US$2 million).

Honduran agriculture recovery slower than anticipated

By WENDY GRIFFIN

The first hint of bad news came within the first week of Hurricane Mitch's passing. Some people rescued near El Progreso told community workers that it was already too late for the baby banana trees, but please, could someone move the baby plantain trees out of the water so they would not rot.

It did not happen. Garifunas remained evacuated from their villages for two weeks or longer. In some places in the Mosquitia, it took a month for the waters to recede to normal levels.

In April, people begin to get their lands ready for planting. Yuca or manioc should be planted about 2-3 weeks before the hard rains in late May, because if there roots are not large enough the hard rains could wash them way.

So in March and April, people dug up the old yuca plants to use the stalks for replanting. This is called "cangre" or "madera de yuca." This was the heart stopping moment when people's worst fears came true.

Suzanne Shende, a relief worker in Colon, said Garifuna women would take her up to the hills behind villages like Punta Piedra. They would dig up the yuca root, which is usually 25-40 pounds of pure starch, and instead find a rotten, smelly mass. They cut the stalk of yuca, and it was rotten, too. If yuca remains wet for long periods, it rots. So out of acres of yuca, there was no cangre with which to replant. Other root crops like arrowroot, malanga, and some classes of yams (name) were hard to find even before the hurricane.

The baby banana and plantain trees had also yellowed and died.

Urgently people set out to try to find yuca cuttings and young banana or plantain trees, known as "cepas." One and a half hours of walking into mountain villages away from the coast only turned up one field of undamaged yuca. Then how do you get all of these yuca cuttings back to coastal villages to plant? Each Garifuna family eats several hundred pounds of root crops and plantains or bananas per year.

In the Mosquitia immediately after Mitch, the cry went out that people needed to plant right then because 80 percent to 90 percent of the crops in the fields had been destroyed. So the Indians tried to plant rice in the wet sand and soil that had been thrown up beside the river after the flooding. There were high hopes that this would be topsoil, washed away from the fertile croplands of Olancho and El Paraiso.

Instead, rescue worker Warren Post reported that along the Patuca River in the three months after the Hurricane nothing has grown. There are two theories about this.

One is that the topsoil in the Mosquitia is easily leached. This means that when it is washed by the rain water, the water carries away essential minerals like zinc. Being underwater two to four weeks may have washed away important minerals.

In the Mosquitia, if the topsoil is poor, the soil underneath is worse. This is why plowing is a bad idea in this area. Along parts of the Patuca, such as the agricultural colonies near Nueva Palestina, the river washed away soil right down to the bedrock. If it has dumped this poor quality soil along the banks of the Patuca, this could have serious consequences for Miskito farming. Now it is forecast that at least two years will be needed before agricultural harvests will be normal in the Mosquitia.

The Mosquitia presents a particularly troubling spot for agriculture. According to ethno-botanist Paul House, the native people there have seeds that have been genetically chosen over time to grow in this area.

The Tawahkas and Miskitos had their own seeds, too. But these were stored in sacks over the fireplace in houses that were carried away by the river or remained eight feet under water for weeks. The crops were in the fields along the river bank, now under a thick layer of mud. How can this stock of seeds special to this very wet climate be replenished? Parts of the Mosquitia previously got 240 cm of rain per year.

Sometimes ethnic minorities grow crops that other groups do not. An example is a fruit green on the outside and red on the inside. The Tawahkas called it "tasi" and reported that it was very sweet. The Pech called it "cucuruchu" and said it last grew in Culmi 25 years ago and in El Carbon until around 1992. The Tawahkas lost the last cutting of this plant about 30 years ago. It is possible for cultivated plants or varieties of cultivated plants to become extinct, too.

Garifuna villages are also suffering from the loss of coconuts, as important to their diet as milk is to Europeans. In addition to trees dying of lethal yellowing disease, trees from Colon to Atlantida were stripped of their leaves by Mitch's high winds.

In spite of the warnings that aid was not reaching these people, the practices that contribute to the general hunger continue. Food is shipped, but there is no gasoline to get the food down the river or down the coast by boat. Agencies involved know that people lost livestock, crops, houses and clothes, yet want the local community to pay transportation for food aid. Desperation is growing in parts of the countryside. Those who point at the rising violence in Honduras will not have far to look for the reasons.

Honduran people and democracy triumph

By ERLING DUUS CHRISTENSEN

This was not three days that shook the world. This was not the Revolution. But the confrontation between human rights protestors and police in the square surrounding the congressional building was nevertheless an event.

Occasioned by the vote of the Congress to limit the term and power of Ombudsmen Leo Valladares, and organized by a coalition of groups from around the country generally cooperating as the "movimiento popular," organizers were able to turn out perhaps 600-800 protesters on short notice.

The rally had been called for 3 p.m., but most of those who had come from regions all over the country were in place before then. They found perhaps 60 police protecting the Congress building, armed with shields, billy-clubs, tear-gas, and rifles.

The mood of the crowd was plainly angry and belligerent as speakers using bull-horns and microphones began to rally the crowd. The anger was increasingly directed at the police. After awhile, members of the crowd began to pelt the police with sticks and small blue bags filled with water.

Finally, on one side of the police cordon more overt violence broke out. This reporter did not see what caused it. Suddenly, a half dozen police were swinging their clubs at protesters in an intense altercation that lasted several minutes. Tear-gas was released, which forced the protesters back, but only temporarily. Seemingly angrier and more determined than ever, the protestors soon returned and continued their verbal assault on the government.

Another altercation followed. This time the police were less aggressive with their clubs, but fired several more rounds of tear-gas. This time the protesters re-grouped even more quickly than before.

Hondurans do not easily polarize themselves into a violent mob. The protestors were not interested in serious violence, nor were the police. And yet it came close to that. There was powerful anger and determination amidst the protestors who chanted in unison, "the people united" as well as many other things.

At one point the crowd began singing the national anthem in a manner more spirited than this song usually gets sung. This appeared to quiet and calm the situation, resulting in a decrease in tension. Some people handing out leaflets began offering them to the police who usually accepted, glad, it seemed to be humanized in the midst of carrying out their onerous task.

Later, the word came that the deputies of the congress had voted unanimously to rescind the plan for limiting the term and the power of Valladares. He appeared before the crowd in triumph, and said that "this was a grand triumph for the people of Honduras." He also promised to increase his effort on behalf of human rights and democratic principles.

It can safely be said that this was a day like none other in Honduran history. It was indeed a triumph for the people and for democracy. The landscape will never again look the same. Something has been forever altered. The people, sensing a gathering strength, will go on to more victories. Those who think that nothing can ever change in Honduras are not paying attention.

Flores administration marred by attack on Valladares

By ERLING DUUS CHRISTENSEN

TEGUCIGALPA -- The last week or so has been a disaster in Honduras, and two men, the president of Congress, Pineda Ponce, and the president of the Republic, Carlos Flores, have absorbed the heaviest blows. Meanwhile, Leo Valladares, the human rights commissioner has emerged as a hero.

The exact nature and sequence of these events are still difficult to put together. What we know is that Mr. Valladares recently announced that he had the names of 18 officials at least modestly high-up in the government who have been accused of mis-handling international aid. He refused to give names or otherwise be specific, and said he was turning the information over to the appropriate authorities.

The executive branch of the government knows that its good image and popularity among the people is largely based on the impression that aid money and supplies have been handled with integrity. So when Valladares made his announcement, the government reacted with what may prove to have been a fatal mis-step. Its response was anger, but not anger directed against the 18 accused. Instead it attacked Commissioner Valladares, accusing him of damaging the image of the country abroad.

Only days later 28 legislators voted for hamstringing Valladares, with 26 voting against. Over half of the congressional members were not present. The change in the law proposed to limit the jurisdiction of the office, and shorten the term to from six to four years, thus in effect bringing the term of Valladares to an end.

When the smoke cleared, it was obvious that this could only have happened as a initiative from President Flores, and with the abject cooperation of Pineda Ponce. Flores and Ponce began to feel the heat immediately, and if they were not exactly protesting their innocence, neither were they defending what had been done.

One of the only people who was both honest and mis-guided enough politically was Vera Rubi, the comptroller for the administration, who said in effect that her office was well equipped to defend the country against corruption, and that the human right's office had no business sticking its nose where it had no business. After this outburst, she wisely grew silent.

International response was quick and no doubt stunning to Honduran officials who are used to operating under a heavy cloak of anonymity and secrecy. The Netherlands withdrew its ambassador, and several other embassies made their opinions known. The New York Times, the most influential newspaper in the world, editorialized about "retrogression in Central America." In one moment of massive miscalculation, the Flores administration had undone the image of itself as being progressive, democratic, and reliable.

But the worst damage in the long run to the Flores administration has been domestic. Ever since he became president of Honduras, Flores has been viewed with a mixture of hope and distrust. His popular support, while wide-spread, is also exceedingly thin. He has said the right things and appeared to embody a new approach. But now the deep fissures that exist in his own party are being revealed, and the National Party is feeling more chipper than they have for years. A new image of Flores is emerging, and it is not an attractive one.

An open letter to Leo Valladares released by Victor Sierra Corea, the secretary general of the M-Lider branch of the Liberal party, had some harsh words for the faction that has taken over the party, headed by the president. "Our party has fallen into the hands of a conservative elite, and into the hands of opportunists and businessmen who do not understand or respect human rights...please accept our apologies on behalf of the real "Liberal" Party, and its members who are filled with shame about what has happened."

Matias Funes, the head of the Unification Democratic party, in a statement echoed these sentiments, saying that the Liberal Party during the 1980s was taken over by a coalition of powerful people who were essentially undemocratic. "As a result, the Liberal Party has abandoned many of those ideals it stood for in the past, and has become very conservative, with strong anti-democratic leanings.

"Hondurans," he continued, "are now faced with a very authoritarian government, with a president who seeks to consolidate all power in himself."

It would appear that President Flores needs to come forward quickly and work to salvage his administration. He needs to admit to mistakes, promise openness and accessibility, and vow to pursue corruption and human rights violations wherever they appear. If he does not do this, it now seems likely that his chance for meaningful leadership will quickly disappear under the burden of the revolt that has been touched off, and the negative image which has quickly formed. A small window of opportunity is left to Carlos Flores. He must now not only speak of democracy, he must show that he knows what it is.

National Party holds forum to rethink Honduras

After 17 years of democracy, the intellectual leadership of the National Party recently convened a forum to discuss the situation in the country during these difficult times. The Democratic Renovation Forum, as it was called, had as the central topic "Citizen Participation and Government."

The forum's objective was to analyze in detail the national situation before and after Hurricane Mitch. One hundred and seventy people from diverse circles of Honduran society and diplomatic and international organizations attended.

The conference was divided into four sub-topics: State, Economy, Civilian Society and Political Society; and focused on the long-term prognoses based on the record of the current administration and its new projections, forcefully imposed by the storm that nearly erased all progress in several areas.

The points of view expressed in the forum, according to Carlos Lopez Contreras, foreign minister during the administration of President Jose Azcona, encompass all of Honduran society, which was bared to the world by the hurricane. The government should be able to rule with the complete approval of all the people now and not use rhetoric to qualm social censorship.

It is time, he said, to make the "project of a new country."

It is time for more and better democracy and not vertical governments where there is little dialogue and where society is not defined unanimously by polls."

RE-INVENTING THE STATE

The concept of State, the principles of the constitution, and the response of the government to the demands of Hondurans in the new millennium was the theme of a dissertation presented by Jorge Hernandez Alcerro.

"Re-inventing the State is a task as ambitious as it is necessary," he said. "Fundamentally, a new equilibrium must be found between the government and society. Also, the ways the State executes its functions must change to make them more efficient, transparent and predictable."

Hernandez added that all political leaders must understand that the Honduran State, as time goes by, will be scrutinized more on what it is doing and how it is doing it. Up to now, most of what has been called the modernization of the State has been centered on what must be done.

Excessive centralization is, he said, the greatest hindrance to an effective government. Moreover, a wider participation of the municipalities is needed, along with the transfer of appropriate technology.

In rethinking the State, Hernandez said, order must be established to avoid duplicity of efforts overlapping of activities. Also, the executive branch must relax its excessive, sometimes paralyzing control. Redesigning and streamlining the State requires a new structure of specialized units.

ECONOMIC INCONSISTENCY

Ramon Medina Luna, Minister of Economy during the only National Party administration since the restoration of democracy in 1981, addressed the erratic democratic experiments carried out by the opposing party. He said inconsistency in the application of proven measures and shortsightedness in the creation of policies is due to the unique fact that the presidential term lasts four years and does not take into account the long-term effects or the private sector.

For example, he said, "the government has been contributing to the formation of the gross national product in the range of 50 to 60 percent, with yearly fluctuations during the last decade. These numbers make the government the main motor of the national economy. This is the product of a vision and a progress model that has tended to make the government the main source of momentum for economic development and/or as the only answer to the problems that plague Honduras.

"The weakness of this focus, which manifests itself in high rates of fiscal deficit, is that the government does not have the necessary resources to confront the demands imposed to sustain a growth rate high enough to surpass population growth and to alleviate poverty. The high rate of public expenditure and the requirements of public investment, have forced successive governments to utilize policies such as hiking taxes, utilizing internal credit to finance public expenditure and investment and indebting itself externally."

Medina said before Mitch, "the new government adopted some measures that inspired confidence. To favor investment, the reduction of corporate income tax from 42 percent to 25 percent in a period of two years was planned. Also, taxes on imports were to be decreased to increase production.

On the other hand, he added, the sales tax was hiked from 7 percent to 12 percent to maintain fiscal revenue limits that existed before the reduction of the income tax.

"However, Mitch distorted the perspective by causing damages estimated by CEPAL (Economic Commission for Latin America) to be $38 billion. Due to the repercussions, per capita income is expected to decrease by 50 percent. Fiscal revenues will decrease and the inflation rate is projected to be 18 percent. Now, the external debt represents three times the export value..."

NO INVESTMENT PLAN

It must be said, though, that for the private sector, especially the tourism and mining areas, policies have been adopted that create incentives for investment. However, Medina said, there does not seem to be any existing plan to attract investment, so it is hard to estimate the potential benefit.

Medina said the actions taken by the government could lead to a re-establishment of the growth indexes of past years and hopefully surpass them if the awaited external help is found. "However, it is necessary to envision the development of the country beyond mere recovery. And for this, we must highlight the fact that the goals that are set are temporary. A constitutional time limit for a president or government does not and should not be the frame to create any kind of national policy. A parameter of four years is, in any light, unsatisfactory.

"Consequently, we propose that more ambitious goals have to be designed, ones that are not only of one government. Only in such manner can we avoid the inconsistencies produced in the changing of the guard."

A report is being prepared about each topic and it was decided that due to their complexity, the workshops will remain open to study and dialogue. Seminars will be organized with national and international speakers. All, in the spirit of a "more and better democracy" and a new Honduras.

Two Americans face charges of pimping minors

Two of four American citizens arrested in the April 18 raid of Tony Montana's night club in the Colonia Aurora suburb of San Pedro Sula have been remanded to prison to face charges of prostituting underage girls, the daily La Tribuna reported.

First Criminal Court Judge Jaime Banegas on Friday (April 23) ruled that there were sufficient grounds to initiate legal proceedings against Charles E. Kasper, the club's owner, and Anthony Robert Bucellato, the administrator.

In addition to pimping minors, the two men face charges of corruption of minors and operating a bar without a license.

Kasper, 62, and Bucellato, 47 were initially jailed in the San Pedro Sula Penitentiary but have since been moved to the National Penitentiary at Tamara for security reasons.

Terry George Clymire and Rusell Scott Williams, the other two Americans detained in the raid, are accused of misdemeanors but were allowed to post bail. La Tribuna reported that Williams is the manager of Hotel Colon, which operated about the night club, and Clymire an investor in the operations.

Kasper and Bucellato are both legal residents while Clymire and Williams are living in the country on tourist visas.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Remains found

The remains of two people who were allegedly kidnapped and murdered by the military in the early 1980s have been found near the community of El Madreal, Choluteca, by forensic anthropologists, the daily La Tribuna reported Monday (April 26).

Following two days of excavations, anthropologists William Haglund and Stefan Schmitt uncovered the remains of one person on land owned by Asterio Guillen and those of another in the El Madreal cemetery.

The remains were brought to Tegucigalpa where they will be analyzed to determine the victims' identities. Human rights advocates believe that the one of the remains belongs to Saul Godinez, a high school teacher who disappeared July 22, 1982.

NATO, U.S. condemned

Nearly 200 members of the indigenous organization COPIN on Tuesday (April 27) held a demonstration in front of the U.S. Embassy to protest NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, the daily La Tribuna reported.

Indigenous leaders condemned the attack, stating that the enormous amount of money being spent could be used for development programs in Third World countries. They also accused the United States of using African Americans and Latins as "cannon fodder" in its wars.

Ortez under fire

Antonio Ortez Turcios, manager of the forest administration (AFE-COHDEFOR), has been charged with six counts of falsifying documents and abuse of authority, the daily El Heraldo reported Thursday (April 29).

According to the report, Ortez allegedly gave the firm Marines Expo permission to rear and to export endangered animal species, in violation of international treaties. However, the operation was detected by a scientist of the Pan American Agriculture School who alerted authorities.

In a related event, El Heraldo reported on Monday that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) suspended assistance for COHDEFOR due to the lack of transparency and irregularities in the management of Honduran forests.

More quakes

Earthquakes were reported at three different sites in Honduras on Wednesday (April 29), according to the Geophysics Department of the National University in a La Tribuna report.

The epicenters of the quakes were in the Gulf of Fonseca (3.7 on the Richter scale), near the community of San Juan Pueblo, Atlantida (3.3), and near Gracias, Lempira (3.2).