This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000854
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA, WHA/PD, WHA/CCA, WHA/PPC, AND WHA/CEN
STATE FOR DRL, DRL/MLA, IO, INR, AND IIP/G/WHA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO PHUM PREL KDEM CU HO CHR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON UNCHR RESOLUTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
IN CUBA, APRIL 7-10, 2004
1. Op-ed by Rafael Delgado in the San Pedro Sula-based
liberal daily "La Prensa" on 4/7 entitled "Foreign policy
and subordination." "President Maduro and his ministers
have said it: our foreign policy hasn't changed, which means
that the current administration has maintained the same
approach of subordination to U.S. policy."
"Our President should confirm his commitment to democracy by
committing all his efforts to fight against corruption,
poverty, and internal insecurity. It's been ridiculous and
disgraceful that the government has given in to external
pressure to condemn other countries for their lack of
respect to human rights."
2. Op-ed by Wilmer Perez Regalado in the San Pedro Sula-
based liberal daily "La Prensa" on 4/8 entitled "The role of
pawn." "We have several adjectives to define the role of
the Honduran government as sponsor of an international
resolution against Cuba: we can call it a servant, a
marionette, or a pawn."
"I'll never support the prosecution, incarceration, and
executions carried out by the Castro regime against its
political opponents. For instance, in 2003, more than a
hundred people, some of them journalists, were jailed just
because they dissented from official policy. However, I
wonder: why was Honduras chosen to condemn Cuba? Are we
morally competent to condemn other countries for human
rights violations?"
3. Op-ed by Carlos Mendez in the Tegucigalpa-based moderate
daily "El Heraldo" on 4/10 entitled "Immorality." "For
quite some time, Honduras carries a heavy debt in terms of
human rights. To point out just a couple examples, during
the 1980s, the Honduran state was responsible for the
disappearance of more than 200 people because of their
ideological beliefs, and during the last four years more
than 2,000 youths have been killed, and the state hasn't
been able to properly investigate most of these killings."
"Except for some social groups that fight for the respect of
human rights, is there anyone else saying anything about
these issues? Has anyone ever asked for a U.N. resolution
to confirm the miserable situation of human rights in
Honduras? Could a country like ours have the moral
authority to demand other countries to respect human
rights?"
"If your answer to any of those questions is yes, then, what
kind of President do we have? And, with all due respect, is
he the President of all Hondurans?"
Palmer