Stories written by Thelma Mejía
Thelma Mejía has been working for IPS since 1987, when she started collaborating with the agency on subjects relating to childhood and gender. She took part in the Programa Especial de Cooperación Económica regional project, after which she was promoted to associate correspondent from Honduras. She became a full correspondent in 1994. Mejía has a degree in journalism and a master’s degree in political and social theory from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma, Honduras. She has worked as editor in chief of the daily Tegucigalpa-based El Heraldo and as a consultant on issue of governance, information access, political parties and mass media for the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, the Centro de Competencias y Comunicación of the Friederich Ebert Foundation and various social organisations from Honduras. She is the author of several articles and of a book on journalism and political pressures. For more than five years, she has been a collaborator on the IPS environmental news service Tierramérica.

RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Indians Put Christopher Columbus on Trial

By Thelma Mejía
Indigenous groups in Honduras opened a historic trial against Christopher Columbus Monday, the anniversary of the death of Chief Lempira, an indian leader who was betrayed and killed by the Spanish while negotiating peace and the withdrawal of the conquistadors.

LATAM: Bishops Hold Politicians Accountable for Poverty

By Thelma Mejía
The Executive Committee of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (Celam) meeting in the Honduran capital held politicians responsible Friday for the rise in poverty and the lack of ethics and solidarity in the region.

CULTURE-HONDURAS: Tobacco Linked with Maya Mysticism

By Thelma Mejía
Tobacco was used to conquer love, put spells on people, win battles and make requests to the gods as part of Mayan tradition and today is still used in religious rituals in Honduras.

HONDURAS: ‘Faceless Judges’ Proposed in Narco-Military Scandal

By Thelma Mejía
The proposal by the Honduran government's top anti-drugs official to create "faceless judges" to hear drug trafficking cases received the support of the Supreme Court.

DEVELOPMENT BULLETIN-HONDURAS: Black Communities Up In Arms Over Tourism Project

By Thelma Mejía
The black Garifuna communities along Honduras' Atlantic coast are up in arms over a government plan that would permit foreign investors to purchase land for tourism projects in border and coastal areas.

RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Military Denies Plot to Overthrow Castro

By Thelma Mejía
Human rights activists demanded a serious investigation Wednesday into charges that Honduran military officers participated in an aborted plot to overthrow Cuban President Fidel Castro.

DEVELOPMENT-HONDURAS: Blacks Up in Arms over Tourism Project

By Thelma Mejía
The black Garifuna communities along Honduras' Atlantic coast are up in arms over a government plan that would permit foreign investors to purchase land for tourism projects in border and coastal areas.

HONDURAS: Police Corruption, a Never-Ending Story

By Thelma Mejía
The latest chapter in the seemingly endless police corruption in Honduras was opened by the testimony of a former sergeant, who accused the top brass of ringleading criminal gangs and ordering summary executions.

RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Company Charged in Death of Union Leader

By Thelma Mejía
Banana workers and rights groups in Honduras, are demanding that the government investigate the possibility of a US-based Fruit corporation's participation in the murder of a union leader and his son.

ENVIRONMENT: Deforestation Rampant in Honduras

By Thelma Mejía
Deforestation is ravaging the environment to such an extent that Honduras could end up without any significant wooded areas within the next two decades, according to new study.

RIGHTS: Global March Against Child Labor Reaches Honduras

By Thelma Mejía
Marlen Perez, 7, yawned as she watched demonstrators in the central plaza of the city protesting against the exploitation of child labor. Then she went back to helping her mother sell toys to passers by.

RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Activists Protest Execution in United States

By Thelma Mejía
Hundreds of indigenous and other activists demonstrated in front of the U.S. Embassy in Honduras, protesting the early Wednesday morning execution of a Honduran national in the state of Arizona.

RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Activists Blame Murders on Death Squads

By Thelma Mejía
Human rights groups in Honduras blame 70 murders so far this year, reportedly of common criminals, on security forces.

FOOD-HONDURAS: Change in Diet Overcomes Health Problems

By Thelma Mejía
A "nutritional revolution" that has changed the dietary habits among some 300 indigenous and peasant communities in western Honduras, has improved the health of children, backs of the project say..

CULTURE-HONDURAS: A visit to the Cultural Zone

By Thelma Mejía
One year ago, intellectuals, politicians and social groups began meeting in the capital to debate a wide-ranging list of issues on the culture of Honduras.

RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Military Pushes Again for Amnesty

By Thelma Mejía
A court ruling absolving an army officer from human rights violations has encouraged the military to seek a general amnesty from any involvement in the disappearance of 187 persons in Honduras in 1987.

DEVELOPMENT-HONDURAS: Elections Put Gender Isue on Agenda

By Thelma Mejía
The campaign for Sunday's presidential elections in Honduras has put women's questions on the agenda of the leading candidates, who have demonstrated, however, their scarce knowledge with respect to gender issues.

HONDURAS-INDIGENOUS: ‘Clay Leaders Matter More than Our Problems’

By Thelma Mejía
Two indigenous leaders in Honduras, accused of taking part in knocking down a statue of Christopher Columbus last month, turned themselves in with the aim of proving their innocence.

CULTURE: The Storyteller of Honduras

By Thelma Mejía
Speaking slowly while wearing the traditional straw hat that identifies the 'campesinos' of Honduras, Teofilo Trejo is acknowledged as the most popular storyteller in the country.

HONDURAS: CIA Subpoenaed to Declassify Documents on ‘Disappeared’

By Thelma Mejía
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to declassify information on people who were 'disappeared' for political motives in Honduras during the 1980s.

HONDURAS-DEVELOPMENT: A Good Cigar is More Than a Smoke.

By Thelma Mejía
Honduras is looking to cash in on the upsurge of popularity in smoking cigars - particularly in the United States - with an increase in exports moving it up the sales rankings of Latin American producers.
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