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.

HONDURAS: Catholic Church Withdraws Support From Military

By Thelma Mejía
A surprise turnaround happened in Honduras when the Catholic Church withdrew its traditional support for the human rights violators withing the army, and the army leader promised to behave.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Politicians Pilloried

By Thelma Mejía
Crime and the passivity of politicians pose a threat to security and democracy in Central America, according to the preliminary findings of a U.N. survey.

HUMAN RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Military Impunity Verdict Imminent

By Thelma Mejía
The murky human rights situation in Honduras is unlikely to clear up until the armed forces stop playing with the government, hiding in impunity, and blocking the path of justice, according to Honduran Human Rights Commissioner, Leo Valladares this week.

HUMAN RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Military Impunity Verdict Imminent

By Thelma Mejía
The murky human rights situation in Honduras is unlikely to clear up until the armed forces stop playing with the government, hiding in impunity, and blocking the path of justice, according to Honduran Human Rights Commissioner, Leo Valladares this week.

HONDURAS-HUMAN RIGHTS: Clemency for Military Officers?

By Thelma Mejía
The Honduras government, seeking to counter rumours it has struck a "deal" allowing military officers to escape prosecution for human rights violations and drug trafficking, insists it will not influence judicial proceedings.

HUMAN RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Prison Means Long Stay for Inmates

By Thelma Mejía
Prisoners held in the 24 jails in Honduras face an uncertain length of stay, almost mounting to a life on "death row", because of overcrowding and court delays in trials and sentencing, the Justice Ministry admits.

HUMAN RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Prison Means Long Stay for Inmates

By Thelma Mejía
Prisoners held in the 24 jails in Honduras face an uncertain length of stay, almost mounting to a life on "death row", because of overcrowding and court delays in trials and sentencing, the Justice Ministry admits.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Micro-Enterprises Gear Up for Globalisation

By Thelma Mejía
Micro-enterprises in Central America are gearing up to face the challenges of economic globalisation, with an experimental U.N. programme called "flexible specialisation."

HONDURAS: Church would Support Amnesty for Kidnappers

By Thelma Mejía
The Catholic and Evangelical churches in Honduras appear ready to support the military's plea that an amnesty be granted to those responsible for "disappearances" of political opponents, human rights groups charged last week.

HONDURAS-U.S.: ‘We Never Imagined the Extent of CIA Participation’

By Thelma Mejía
Human rights groups were shocked at recent revelations by a U.S. daily of the extent of the direct interference of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the politically motivated "disappearance" of 184 Hondurans in the 1980s.

HONDURAS: Procession of ex-ministers in the courts for corruption

By Thelma Mejía
Honduran courts have become the scene of a procession of former government ministers accused of abuse of power and administrative irregularities.

HONDURAS-CHILDREN: Poverty Forces 300,000 to Live on the Street

By Thelma Mejía
Worsening poverty in Hondurans has forced the number of street children up from 1,500 to 300,000 in the past four years, according to a report from the Coordination of Private Institutions for the Defence of Children (Coiproden).

MUSIC: A Stradivarius Dream

By Thelma Mejía
For 83-year-old Arnulfo Aguilar and his family it seems like a dream: the violin which for years has hung on a wall in their humble home could be an original Stradivarius - worth as much as two million dollars.
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