Honduras-monseñor Luis Alfonso Santos: "mining Companies Have Been Offering Bribes Hand Over Hand"

HONDURAS

Monseñor Luis Alfonso Santos: "Mining Companies Have Been Offering Bribes Hand Over Hand"

El Heraldo, HONDURAS

8th September 2006

Tegucigalpa: Mining companies have been offering ample payouts in the upcoming elections of the National Congress (NC) in order to maintain the current Mining Laws unchanged, according to the Bishop of the Diocese of Copan, Monseñor Luis Alfonso Santos, yesterday. He brought the controversy to the very legislative offices where mining companies are pressuring lawmakers to not approve reforms to the Mining Law. The presence of the controversial religious leader was enough for the President of the NC, Roberto Micheletti, to order the suspension of the mostly polemical discussions.

Santos stated that "mining companies are behind the interests of some congresspersons to support keeping the laws unchanged, and they want to keep killing off our towns and people with the contamination. We are sure that the transnational companies have offered payoffs. Bribery is the main tactic of the mining companies in a poor, underdeveloped and small country like Honduras, as even the World Bank has stated that when they come there is a rise in governmental corruption, they contaminate the environment, and then they leave, taking everything and leaving nothing for Honduras."

He explained that the mining companies are pushing the government to leave things as they are, continuing the open-pit mining operations which cause contamination and destruction of land and water. The religious leader added that the open-pit mining operations are extremely profitable for the mining companies, which permits the extraction of gold at a low cost through the use of cyanide.

The Bishop's accusations caused Micheletti, the President of the National Congress, to demand proof. "I think that it is irresponsible on his part to make an accusation like this without proof. I don`t think it is true - President Manuel Zelaya Rosales and the National Congress have been acting in a transparent manner in the management of the Mining Law. I demand proof; if we are going to accuse someone or something, we have to have the names and the facts to make the various accusations," said Micheletti.

Bishop Santos also said that the mining companies paid the hotel costs for Deputy Arnoldo Avilez, president of the Commission of Natural Resources and Mining, when he was visiting Santa Rosa de Copán for three days while investigating accusations of environmental contamination that the mining operations are causing in western Honduras.

"What is wrong with this? What does he suspect?" said Micheletti. "They [the companies]made the reservations, and although they paid as well, if the man is honest, he will not let himself be bought for the price of lodging in a hotel," he added. Later Micheletti said that he had consulted with mining company executives to see if, at any time, any congresspersons had received any bribes. He said the companies specifically denied this.

In the middle of the controversy between the Bishop and the politicians of the National Congress, lawyer Pablo Valladares appeared as a third party in the debate. Valladares, an assesor in the Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced that he would ask the Vatican to suspend Bishop Santos "for attempting to undermine the unity of the Catholic church by being at the service of an ideology or human faction."