cries@cdp.uucp (09/02/89)
/* Written 6:06 pm Aug 30, 1989 by cries in ni:cries.regionews */
/* ---------- "Hond:I/vw Ramon Custodio - CODEH" ---------- */
HONDURAS: "EVERYDAY OUR PEOPLE GET POORER..."
INTERVIEW WITH RAMON CUSTODIO - CODEH
(cries.regionews from Managua August 30, 1989
Dr. Ramon Custodio is the founder and president of CODEH -
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras - and
a prominent defender of citizens' rights in Central America.
Although he and other CODEH members have received numerous
death threats from para-military groups in Honduras, they
haven't backed down from taking a stand against state
sponsored repression and abuse of human rights.
Interview by Edwin Saballos.
>From Pensamiento Propio #62 August 1989.
*****************
**Q. In the context of the recent regional negotiations,
where does the human rights situation in Honduras fit in?
**A. Point three of the Esquipulas II agreements [signed by
the five Central American presidents in August 1987], states
that the countries must pay more attention to human rights.
When President Jose Azcona signed the accord, a state policy
of human rights abuses was being practiced. Honduran
governments have always been excused for these crimes by the
international community. They cover themselves by saying
that the state doesn't have the means to satisfy the rights
that society demands.
**Q. What form does this increase in repression take?
**A. The Honduran Armed Forces have an assigned role in the
policy of low intensity conflict promoted by the US in the
region. Since 1988, society has been increasingly
militarized. There are efforts to reorganize the self-
defense groups, and in February, the Ministry of the
Interior allowed the sub-director of the National Department
of Investigations [DNI], Abraham Mendoza, to take over the
National Penitentiary in Tegucigalpa. Another military
officer took charge of the prison in Ceiba.
They justify these actions by citing the high levels of
corruption and drug-trafficking in the two prisons. For us,
it's a violation of the Constitution because both
institutions are supposed to be under civilian control.
What's more, a decree was issued by the National Congress
authorizing the presence of regular troops in the streets of
the capital and San Pedro Sula.
The top military leaders are starting to defend the doctrine
of national security as a valid theory in the country, and
they aren't concerned about the democratic image of Honduras
anymore. Civilian power has been weakened in the eyes of the
public, and this is accompanied by the resurgence of death
squads.
DNI agents have been murdering supposed criminals since
1987. Each series of crimes almost always ends with the
death of a popular leader or opposition politician. This
happened, for example, with student leader Edgardo Herrera
and with the tobacco union leader from San Pedro Sula,
Salomon Vallecillo. It's a clear message that the death
squads are at work again.
We also have testimonies about threats that were issued by
members of Battalion 316 [a special unit of the Armed Forces
intelligence services that was supposedly disbanded in
September 1988] against other Honduran leaders. And while we
denounce that there will be more victims, the police and
Armed Forces keep saying that we're starting a new campaign
to discredit the military.
**Q. How have the human rights organizations and popular
sectors responded?
**A. Our response was to activate the action networks
through the Commission for the Defense of Human Rights in
Central America (CODEHUCA) and through our own direct
contacts. However, the reaction of the popular sectors has
been lacking.
**Q. Within the duality of powers that exists in Honduras,
which sector of the Armed Forces is the most repressive?
**A. More than a duality of powers, there exists a hegemonic
superposition of military over civilian power. The most
repressive within the military are those who represent
"Alvarism", the current of General Gustavo Alvarez Martinez.
These are officers from the fourth, fifth, and a majority of
the sixth graduating classes [of the military academy] who
supposedly were to be a generation of patriotic soldiers.
The system, however, has corrupted them. That's why we have
an alliance of officers from different generations, united
with the most corrupt, that represents the most repressive
sector.
**Q. What parties plan to campaign around the theme of human
rights in the upcoming elections?
**A. The National Party is the one that's using the human
rights theme in its slogans and has claimed that there won't
be any more political disappearances. But their declarations
are a demagogic exploitation of the theme, since they've
never approached us to ask for information. The Liberal
Party is on the defensive. It is guilty of human rights
abuses but is trying to place the blame on the military.
We've produced an in-depth document about the civilian-
military government's responsibility for these acts. We
insist that the government - including the two political
parties that lead the country - are responsible for these
abuses. Recently, I said that President Azcona was allowing
himself the right to be calm about these human rights
violations. But I also said that his culpability won't end
when he leaves the presidency, but instead his
responsibility will begin when he is brought before the
common courts for the crimes committed. What the president
and the military haven't become aware of is that they have
committed crimes that violate the Constitution of the
republic.
**Q. What effect does drug-money have on the human rights
situation?
**A. It's said that only five military officers are involved
in drug-trafficking, but I don't believe it. Honduras, which
is a transshipment point for international drug-running, has
to have a complete bureaucratic-military infrastructure that
allows free transit of drugs through the country. This
business produces fabulous profits for the traffickers and
those who serve them. It's one of the sources of corruption
in the Armed Forces.
I fear that in the next civilian government, drug-money will
have even more weight in political decisions, especially in
the elite circle of executives around [National Party
presidential candidate] Rafael Leonardo Callejas. They'll
try to get even richer, and in an impoverished country,
they'll have to look for money from wherever they can, and
that source could be drugs. This skeleton is only just
beginning to come out of the closet: it may get worse during
the next administration.
**Q. What are the chances of the Honduran government
discussing the theme of human rights and drug-trafficking in
the context of the Central American summits?
**A. Nicaragua introduced these themes at the last
presidential summit meeting. The other governments have kept
absolutely silent, particularly Honduras, since it isn't
convenient for them to have resolutions made about them. The
president knows that - even though he may not comply with a
commitment of this nature - just the signing of such a
document would be a slap in the face of the military. The
president is very careful not to generate any friction.
**Q. How do you evaluate the governments of Central America
when it comes to human rights?
**A. Based on events, figures, and documents, we can say
that there is a crisis because a state policy of abusing
human rights exists. In descending order, there are human
rights violations in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
In Nicaragua, although there are violations, they are
infrequent and do not form part of a policy promoted by the
state. There are violations in Costa Rica as well, but to a
lesser extent.
The thing that makes Nicaragua's case different is that many
of the violations are committed by the contras. When we
denounce the violations by the contras to regional and
international organizations, they tell us that they can't do
anything because the contras aren't a government and aren't
subject to the norms of international rights.
**Q. How can democracy and human rights be combined
according to the Esquipulas accords?
**A. Point three of the Esquipulas accord clearly defines
what the presidents understand democracy to be: a process in
which human rights are respected and free elections are
held. But any electoral process, however legitimate it may
be, will be discredited if it doesn't favor US strategic
interests. Nicaragua is trying to complete its
democratization process. After the 1984 elections, it wasn't
a matter of pushing for democratization, but of reaffirming
democracy. If we compare the electoral process of Nicaragua
to that of Honduras, Nicaragua comes out ahead. Honduras is
plagued by the voter registration of foreigners. It's
calculated that some 200,000 have been illegally registered.
No one has given the US the authority to decide which
elections are good and which are bad. But a high political
price must be paid for this self-determination.
**Q. What implications does the foreign debt have for human
rights?
**A. The International Monetary Fund is a relentless
collection agency. The problem of every Central American
country is that its right to develop is being blocked. With
20% of our exports going to pay the foreign debt, in effect
we don't have the right to develop. This means that we have
a growing population in extreme poverty in Central America.
Consequently, the problems of unemployment, malnutrition,
and housing are made more acute. We are selling our raw
materials at cheaper prices and buying at more expensive
prices all the time. Every day our people get poorer as a
consequence of an unjust international economic order. This
is a flagrant violation of the economic, social, and
cultural rights of our people.
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us via e-mail. Address cdp!ni!cries)
---
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