Xiomara Castro, the new left-wing president of Honduras who came to power with a promise to fight corruption, promulgated a law on Saturday (February 5th) that grants amnesty to civil servants and government officials of her husband, former president Manuel Zelaya, from various crimes. (2006-2009), which ended up being knocked down.
The “law for the reconstruction of the rule of law and so that the facts do not repeat themselves” allowed “a general, broad and unconditional amnesty (…) to civil servants, employees or elected officials during the government administration from January 27, 2006 to June 28, 2009”according to the text published in Official newspaper.
The Minister Delegate for Transparency and the Fight against Corruption, Edmundo Orellana, distanced himself from this initiative, tweeting: “A new impunity pact. »
This measure was approved Thursday by the Parliament chaired by Luis Redondo, a faithful of Mme Castro, while the question of its legality has not yet been decided. A second chamber chaired by Jorge Calix, supported by dissidents from the presidential Free Party and part of the opposition, claims legitimacy. Negotiations are underway, in which Manuel Zelaya, coordinator of Libre, participates.
“A pact of impunity”
Mr. Zelaya was deposed in 2009 by an alliance between civilians and the military who blamed him for his rapprochement with Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela. Some officials of the Zelaya government are being prosecuted for alleged corruption, including one of the deputies close to Mr. Redondo and an ex-minister who fled to Nicaragua.
Anti-corruption activists believe the new law could also benefit people involved in illicit acts. “We cannot allow crimes against the public administration to be amnestied”said Odir Fernandez, a representative of the NGO National Anti-Corruption Council.
The lawyer for the employers’ union, Gustavo Solorzano, denounced ” an abuse “ and “a pact of impunity that we do not share”. He added that this provision should not be valid because of the dispute over the legality of Parliament.