HONDURAS-CRIME: Church and Business Urge Suspension of Rights

By Thelma Mejía Reprint | | Print |

Thelma Mejia

TEGUCIGALPA, Apr 22 1997 (IPS) - Business and Church representatives in the northern Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, the country’s chief industrial centre, have joined human rights activists in calling for the suspension of certain constitutional guarantees to fight rising violence and crime.

Reports by human rights groups and local inhabitants, meanwhile, blame the recent wave of crime on commandos made up of active and retired members of the military and common criminals.

In a communique addressed to President Carlos Roberto Reina, the business community and Bishop Angel Garachana of San Pedro Sula say the “uncontrollable” wave of crime and violence is scaring off investment.

“Invoking precepts from the constitution, we call on the highest authorities, especially President Reina, to apply serious, concrete and effective measures to put an end to the climate of terror,” the communique states.

The business sector warned that if the government failed to respond to its demands, on the occasion of the next kidnapping, productive activity in San Pedro Sula would be shut down for a day of protest.

“There is no time left for excuses or speeches. It is time for action,” warned the president of the local business association, Juan Bendeck.

Over the past year, San Pedro Sula, the industrial heart of Honduras, located 250 kms from Tegucigalpa, has been swept by a wave of murders, kidnappings and armed robberies. More than 10 kidnappings and 500 assaults on banks and assembly plants were reported in the past 10 months, according to police figures.

Human rights groups and local inhabitants denounce so-called “Special Operative Commandos” (COES), allegedly comprised of active and former members of the armed forces as well as common criminals.

Last December, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH) denounced the existence of such groups, which it said were trained by police officers who held high military posts.

CODEH president Ramon Custodio contends that behind the climate of fear is the forthcoming transfer of the police to civilian hands, scheduled for later this year.

The reports say the corridor of crime and violence also encompasses the western departments of Santa Barbara and Copan, rich in agricultural production, coffee and livestock.

Custodio told IPS Tuesday that organised crime, “in which a broad range of sectors participate,” is also active in the area.

Custodio has been calling for the past year for a temporary suspension of constitutional rights in order to curb the rise in crime.

“We are facing a situation of public insecurity that no one wants to see or hear, and the government doesn’t want to act. Something must be done, or we will fall into a climate of ungovernability that would be extremely dangerous for democracy,” he underlined.

On Monday, 200 specially trained police officers were sent to San Pedro Sula. Their arrival, marked by celebrations and floral arrangements, was marred by several bank robberies on Tuesday, to which the police were unable to adequately respond.

The Bishop of the diocese of Copan, Luis Alonso Santos, meanwhile, said the suspension of constitutional guarantees would hurt the country’s foreign image.

“The logical thing would be a purge of the armed forces and the police, because that is supposedly the source of at least some of the violence and delinquency,” said Santos.