Speech #980177336

Internationally recognized human rights organizations have documented the fact that nearly 40.000 noncombatant civilians have been killed by Government forces since 1979. Hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans have fled the country. seeking refuge from the political violence. Over 18.000 Salvadorans are now living as refugees in camps in Honduras where. with the help of international relief organizations. they have built an infrastructure of schools. gardens. water systems. et cetera. Yet. the possibility of seeking safe haven in Honduras is now in jeopardy. The Honduran Government has announced plans to relocate the refugees to a remote area in the interior of Honduras. I would like to call the attention of my colleagues to the following article from the Miami Herald which describes some of the difficulties this relocation would cause. If the relocation goes forward. thousands of refugees will no longer feel they have access to safe haven in Honduras. It is time for the United States to address the refugee problem in a responsible manner. We must show a new sensitivity to the human costs of our policies in El Salvador and Honduras. And we must acknowledge the dangers that Salvadorans who have sought refuge in the United States will face if our current policy of deportation continues. I urge my colleagues to support the legislation introduced by Congressman MOAKLEY. H.R. 4447. which would suspend the deportation of Salvadoran refugees. and would direct the President to report to Congress on whether the humanitarian and security conditions in El Salvador and other Central American countries are safe enough to warrant the return of these refugees. [From the Miami Herald. Mar. 9. 19841 HONDURAS To MovE REFUGEES AWAY FROM BORDERS (By Juan 0. Tamayo) TEGUCIGALPA. HONDURAS.-Worried about the security of its borders. the Honduran government is planning to relocate 18.700 refugeesalmost all Salvadoransaway from the frontier and into an isolated valley in central Honduras. The United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) grudgingly has endorsed the forced exodus. but asked the government to put in writing its promises of farmland and freedom of movement for the refugees. The proposed relocation underscores the problems faced by the 18.200 Salvadoran refugees in Hondurasa small part of the 500.000 people estimated to have fled the tiny nation since 1979 to escape its violence. While Honduras conservative government is friendly toward the 25.000 refugees who came here from Marxistruled Nicaragua. it suspects many of the Salvadorans of helping the leftist guerrillas in their homeland. The bodies of 12 Salvadoran men and women who had been shot were found last month near the Mesa Grande refugee camp. 40 miles from the Salvadoran border. The Honduran army has said it is investigating the slayings. UNHCRs Tegucigalpa office said the first phase of the refugee resettlement. to begin in June. would relocate 8.737 Salvadorans and 494 Guatemalans now living in three camps within three miles of the border with their home countries. The second stage will relocate 9.500 Salvadorans living in Mesa Grande. said UNHCR deputy chief Alfredo del Rio. He stressed that the second stage would start only if the first was judged to be successful. Del Rio said all the refugees would be resettled near the town of Olanchito. in a fertile but remote and thinly populated valley 140 miles from the Salvadoran border and 111 miles from Guatemala. The three camps to be emptiedColomoncagua and San Antonio near El Salvador and El Tesoro near Guatemalawill be turned into "reception centers." where Honduran officials will process newly arrived refugees. Spokesmen for the Salvadoran refugees. who asked to remain anonymous. charged that the relocation plan was politically motivated and complained it would make it difficult for relatives still in El Salvador to visit them. They alleged that the border area was being cleared because U.S. and Honduran troops planned to intervene militarily in El Salvadors guerrilla war. Both U.S. and Honduran officials denied any such plans.