RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Limits on Human Rights Commissioner to Be Lifted

By Thelma Mejía Reprint | | Print |

Thelma Mejia

TEGUCIGALPA, Apr 23 1999 (IPS) - The Honduran government announced Friday, in the wake of an international outcry, that the restrictions slapped on the governmental Human Rights Commissioner earlier this week would be lifted.

The decision was taken by parliament late Tuesday, in reprisal for a report in which Human Rights Commisioner Leo Valladares revealed incidents of corrupt management of foreign aid sent to help the survivors of hurricane Mitch.

President Carlos Flores said Friday that parliament would have to rectify its decision – with which he claimed he did not agree – because “there must be no limits on the Human Rights Commissioner.”

Analysts say Flores, who was mentioned by several legislators Thursday as the sponsor of the initiative, was apparently forced to backpedal in the face of the flood of international criticism and heavy pressure from civil society, politicians of all stripes, and business.

The Netherlands announced the suspension of aid for Honduras Thursday, while Spain threatened to follow suit if the restrictions were not struck down.

The decision drew protests form ombudspersons worldwide. On Monday, all of Central America’s people’s defenders will gather in Tegucigalpa to back Honduras’ Human Rights Commissioner and issue a public condemnation.

European Union ambassadors to the nations of Central America and representatives of the Nordic countries will also arrive here Monday to assess the direction democracy is taking in Honduras.

The Minister of the Presidency, Gustavo Alfaro, had submitted the initiative to parliament, according to a source close to the presidency, who told IPS that Flores had not imagined the impact that the move would have, and that he was very concerned about the blow to the country’s prestige.

The reforms were approved by parliament Tuesday after Valladares denounced acts of corruption in the management of the aid sent from abroad to help the survivors of the hurricane, which devastated large parts of Honduras, Nicaragua and to a lesser extent other Central American nations in late October.

The president of parliament Rafael Pineda Ponce said Friday that the functions of the Human Rights Commissioner would be completely restored. He added that the reforms had been agreed with the executive branch.

The Honduran Committee of Families of the Detained-Disappeared (Cofadeh) described Flores as a “democratic dictator” who was leading the country into a civilian dictatorship.

The rights group also denounced the existence of electronic espionage, which it maintained was carried out in complicity with the embassy of another – unspecified – Latin American country.

Cofadeh said it possessed information that the telephones of almost all local press organs were tapped, as well as those of several ministers and of individuals and entities considered “enemies” by the government, such as human rights organisations.

Honduras is thus preparing for another historic chapter in its 17 years of democracy, as parliament plans to overturn the restrictions on the functions of the Human Rights Commissioner next Tuesday.

There is concern, however, that the “rectification” could be merely cosmetic in nature, leaving the limits in place. The Citizen Forum, a coalition of organisations of civil society, warned Friday that the public should remain on alert, and “protest any hint of a setback to democracy.”