Tag Archives: Congress

Protests in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa

News on December 10, 2011 by Administrator| Comments Off

Human rights organizations, church representatives, store owners, businessmen, lawyers, and others joined journalists in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa to demand justice for the targeted group.

The most recent murder of radio journalist Luz Marina Paz has sparked outrage among citizens across Honduras, who are seeing cold blooded murder being used as a remedy to quiet those who exercise their right to free speech.

Signs were held at the march such as, “Truth is not killed by murdering journalists.” Protesters condemned the crimes and threats against media personnel, and demanded the government put a stop to these attacks.

Congress has attempted to band-aid Honduras’s crime wave by passing two measures, the first one would be implemented temporarily, for a period of six months, and prohibits more than one person on the same motorcycle. The other is a far more stringent assault on the freedom of speech, and allows for officials to wiretap and record conversations of suspected criminals.

President Porifiro Lobo is currently out of the country, but upon his return, must decide if he will sign the bills into law.

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Posted in General Honduras News

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Honduras Celebrates “Week of Solidarity”

News on April 26, 2011 by Administrator| Comments Off

The Presidential Commissioner for Disability Affairs, Javier Salgado, announced Monday, the beginning of the Week of Solidarity, an event made possible by the strong support of President Porfirio Lobo Sosa.

This was announced at an official news conference at the Presidential Palace, attended by the president of the National Federation of Disability Organizations in Honduras (FENOPDIH), Martín Mejía, the representative of the Coordinating Institutions and Associations for the Rehabilitation of Honduras (CIARH), Samuel Zelaya, the legal representative, Fabiola Rosa, and their spokesman, Santos Espinal. “We want you to see us, we are part of the country’s development process, using this space that the government and the press have created,” said Salgado.

This week, extensive activities will be carried out at the national level, in a joint venture between the Government, the CIARH and the National Federation of Parents of Persons with Disabilities in Honduras (FENAPAPEDISH).

“For these celebrations there will be sporting events … and free services, such as free medical exams, among other cultural activities, with the support of the National Congress”, he said.
He recalled that the commemoration dates from 1984, through Decree 56-84, in which each last Friday of April this day will be celebrated to promote inclusion, and to assert the rights of persons with disabilities.

He noted that according to figures from the Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) [World Health Organization], 10 percent of the Honduran population have some form of disability, which means that there are about 700,000 people afflicted.

He said it is estimated that the number of disabled will increase by 120 percent over the next ten years, and the highest percentage will be people aged 65 and older. He added that in Honduras, the degree of severity of disabilities is higher than in other countries, due to the level of poverty these people face.

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Posted in Human Interest

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US Congressman Proud of Honduras Visit

News on December 22, 2010 by Administrator| 1 Comment

U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) on Tuesday defended an unusual trip he made to Honduras with now-Costa Mesa Councilman Jim Righeimer. The trip was discussed in U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks and published in The New York Times.

“I’m a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I was there to make sure that I fully understood all the forces that were in place in Honduras, and also to give legitimacy to the government that had been elected there,” Rohrabacher told the Daily Pilot.

The trip came under fire because it was made in opposition to President Obama’s foreign policy. Generally members of Congress uphold White House foreign policy abroad, even if they disagree.

Rohrabacher’s campaign chairman, Righeimer, who was a city planning commissioner at the time,

said he paid his own way to Honduras and was honored to have been asked to join the congressman.

“A few of us went down and met with and congratulated all the different legislators,” Righeimer said. “We met with the president and all the people that basically kept the government a democracy at a pretty tough time. We wanted them to know that a lot of people in the U.S. supported them. It was a very proud moment to be able to be there and meet these people.”

Continue Daily Pilot news article here.

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Posted in Politics in Honduras

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