By Thelma Mejía
TEGUCIGALPA, Jan 30 1996 (IPS)

The Honduran military Tuesday offered a new “open door” dialogue policy to improve their human rights image and their bad reputation for disobeying civilian rule.

The new military leader, General Mario Hung Pacheco said his time in office would be marked by “dialogue and comprehension” in the aim of consolidating democracy and bringing about national reconciliation.

Hung, who revealed that as part of the military restructure for the next three years, he will bring three officers to trial in the case of the abduction of six political opponents in 1982.

Until now, the military leadership had protected the three from prosecution, even though warrants for their arrests were issued three years ago.

“They will always have our support, because this is the least a friend can do for another friend who is in a difficult situation,” said Hung.

However, he did not suggest any effective ways to get the fugitive officers to appear in court, saying that this sort of issue was beyond his professional boundaries.

Analyst Victor Meza of the Honduras Documentation Centre (CEDOH), said this announcement could be the “beginning of a change in traditional military policy.”

“Generally, when there are high-level promotions within the military this type of announcements and changes are made, aiming to redirect the the leadership towards modifications in civil- military relations,” he said.

If Hung does bring the men to justice he would be drastically changing the policy of disobedience and lack of respect for civil power of his predecessor, Luis Alonso Discua.

However, Bertha Oliva, of the Committee of Detained and Disappeared people of Honduras (COFADEH), was sceptical.

Its not bringing law-dodging officers to trial which makes an open door policy, but “putting them in their place, because they are their subordinates and owe them obedience,” she told IPS.

“Every time they announce a change, hopes are raised for dialogue in society. But exhortations don’t change anything. The time has come for the military to make real and not just rhetorical changes,” she added.

COFADEH gave the military leadership three months to prove their word, but Oliva doubted that changes would be seen, as the new leader’s right hand man, Colonel Luis Alfonso Villatoro, is accused of being one of the nations most prolific torturers.

Villatoro, the new army commander in chief was accused of leading the 3-16 death squadrons responsible for the disappearance of 184 people in the eighties.

Oliva said Villatoro carried out the 3-16’s dirty work, “always in secret and avoiding identification in order to commit his abominable crimes.”

So the changes may merely mean continued impunity, she said, as the army has always stressed the need to “forget” the past under a general amnesty.

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