Honduras News Stories

Independence Celebrations

Honduras' Independence Day is September 15th, and Flag Day is September 1st; therefore, independence celebrations were officially launched in the country early Sunday, August 30th, amid a huge outpouring of joy.

President Roberto Micheletti led a ceremony at which the national flag was raised, and where he renewed his oath of office. The event took place in the presence of members of the Cabinet, Representatives of Congress, the Supreme Court, Mayor, and members of the Armed Forces.

"I, on behalf of the Honduran people, all organizations, all groups, thank God for this opportunity to thank our national army, our police, the civic democratic union and all organizations in Honduras that have a leading role in the struggle for democracy, to maintain peace, to maintain the pride of our nation, to maintain the institutions, which is what is most important to us Hondurans," Micheletti announced.

In the plaza La Merced, in the center of the city, members of Congress raised the flag and sang the national anthem very early in the morning.

In another ceremony, the flag was raised and the the public prosecutors and judicial personnel of the Supreme Court reaffirmed their commitment to love and defend the country. The National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, and the pledge of honor to serve and defend the motherland were all included in the celebration. Attorney General Luis Rubi said that the five stars of the Honduran Flag, which actually represent each of the Central American countries, can also be seen as a paradigm of five core values that make the Republic of Honduras free, sovereign and independent. These five values, he said, are love of God, honesty, solidarity, peace and justice. "For the Hondurans are lovers of peace and doers of justice; we will make Honduras a nation of greatness," he said.

Japan Appreciated in Honduras

Japan's solidarity with the Honduran people is greatly appreciated by Hondurans nationwide. At a time when much funding for social programs is being cut by foreign political agendas, Japan has continued social programs in some of the most troubled areas of Honduras. The recent inauguration of ten projects, led by director Masahiro Takagi, took place in the municipality of Atima, Santa Barbara, Honduras. These projects are valued at more than $436,000.00 - equivalent to roughly 8.2 million lempiras.

Among the projects initiated, five correspond to the construction and expansion of different schools, from basic to secondary level, in towns like Atima, Naranjito, Ilama and San Nicolas. It is noteworthy that three of these schools are part of the school project, 100 Sacks of Rice (Proyecto de Escuelas 100 Sacos de Arroz), which began in 2004 and is continuing to this day.

Two ambulances were also donated to the municipalities of Naranjito and San José de Colinas, in Honduras. These ambulances are hoped to reduce the risk of dangers to mothers and their newborn babies from the surrounding communities.

Additionally, two electrical plants worth $125,000 were given to the municipalities in Atima and Nueva Celilac.

Honduras' Oil Reserves Studied

Honduran Natural Resources and Environment Minister, Valerio Gutierrez, stated that studies on seismic hydrocarbons in the Caribbean, offshore Honduras, is due to be complete by year-end. The work, performed by the Norwegian firm, Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS), aims to help determine the quantity and quality of Honduras' oil and gas reserves.

Petroleum Geo-Services was awarded the contract to conduct the hydrocarbon seismic studies by the Honduras Natural Resources and Environment Department (Serna) in January of this year. PGS will digitize old seismic and well data, and acquire some 10,000km of new seismic in some deeper water areas of the Caribbean Sea. The project was expected to take 12 months to complete.

Gutierrez also announced that a review of consultants' work on hydrocarbons legislation has been completed, and that the next phase of the process has begun. The initiative covers contract terms, company and government shares, amongst other considerations. The seismic and legislative work is being carried out in the lead up to a possible hydrocarbons E&P round.