TFIZ01: HONDURAN FM PEREZ-CADALSO GIVES AMB LETTER

1. (C) Summary. Ambassador met April 7 with Honduran
Minister of Foreign Affairs Guillermo Perez-Cadalso at the
FM's request. Perez-Cadalso gave Ambassador a letter
offering to provide Honduran troops for post-war humanitarian
needs in Iraq, contingent on congressional approval of such a
deployment, which he said should not be a problem. The FM
reiterated that the GOH had given instructions to oppose any
UNGA debate on Iraq and that the Honduran UN PermRep's
instructions were to "follow" AMB Negroponte. Perez-Cadalso
told Ambassador that, thanks to the USG's assistance in
providing Spanish-language texts, the GOH now had all that it
needed to proceed with signing and/or ratifying the five UN
and two OAS counterterrorism conventions/protocols still
outstanding. The FM gave Ambassador a copy of draft remarks
that President Maduro plans to give during the Central
American presidents meeting with the President April 10.
Perez-Cadalso also said that Maduro was hoping to have a
30-minute meeting with the President on the margins of the
Council of the Americas meetings April 28-29 in Washington.
The FM said the GOH hoped there would be a final decision on
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Hondurans prior to the
April 10 meeting. End Summary.



2. (U) Ambassador and PolOff met April 7 with Honduran
Minister of Foreign Affairs Guillermo Perez-Cadalso Arias at
the MFA to discuss Iraq and other key issues. The meeting
was a follow-up to the Ambassador's April 1 meeting with the
FM (ref F) and the Ambassador's March 28 meeting with
Honduran President Ricardo Maduro (ref E).

UN PermRep Instructions are "Follow Negroponte"


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3. (C) FM Perez-Cadalso started the meeting by telling
Ambassador that he had spoken with Honduran UN PermRep Manuel
Acosta Bonilla about Acosta Bonilla's March 26 statement
during the United Nations Security Council open debate on
Iraq. The FM said that Acosta Bonilla told him that he was
trying to speak to the future of post-war Iraq.
Perez-Cadalso said that Acosta Bonilla had attended USUN's
meeting with the members of the Coalition of the Willing and
made his remarks in keeping with what he thought USUN wanted
Coalition members to focus on in their statements. The FM
said that Acosta Bonilla was friends with U.S. PermRep
Negroponte and had been working closely with him in NY.
Perez-Cadalso said that Acosta Bonilla's instructions were to
"follow Negroponte."

Honduras Will Oppose Iraq Debate in UNGA and UNESCO


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4. (C) As previously reported, the MFA has instructed its
missions at the UN and UNESCO to oppose UNGA debate on Iraq
(ref D) as proposed by the Arab League via the Non-Aligned
Movement (ref A), and at the UNESCO Executive Board (ref C)
as proposed by some countries (ref B). The FM reiterated to
the Ambassador that the GOH will vote against any proposed
UNGA debate on Iraq.

FM Presents Letter Offering Post-War Troops


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5. (C) As promised (ref F), the FM gave Ambassador a letter
formally offering Honduran participation in post-war "phase
IV" operations in Iraq, saying that both President Maduro and
Minister of Defense Frederico Breve had approved the offer.
The letter details the GOH offer to participate in the
humanitarian aspects of the reconstruction of Iraq, including
sending troops who specialize in demining and peacekeeping
troops. Ambassador thanked Perez-Cadalso for the support of
the GOH. The letter notes that any foreign deployment of
Honduran troops must be approved by congress according to the
Honduran Constitution. Perez-Cadalso said he did not think
that congressional approval would be a problem. Note: Post
does expect the GOH to seek congressional approval until
after the war is over and the USG had made a more specific
request for Honduran troops. End Note. Post has faxed this
letter to WHA/CEN and CENTCOM. An informal translation of
the letter is in paragraph 12.

Embassy Gives MFA Material on Iraqi War Crimes


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6. (SBU) Ambassador gave the FM a copy of the video on the
1988 massacre of Kurds in Halabja with chemical weapons.
PolOff had previously given MFA DG for Foreign Policy AMB
Mario Fortin written material on Iraqi human rights abuses
and war crimes April 3. The Ambassador emphasized that the
President's "bold move" in Iraq was bringing the liberation
of the people of Iraq. Ambassador noted that he and other
top EmbOffs would be meeting with key figures in the Honduran
media April 8 to discuss the war in Iraq.

FM: GOH Has All it Needs on Counterterrorism Conventions


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7. (SBU) Perez-Cadalso told Ambassador that the GOH now had
all it needed on the counterterrorism conventions/protocols
and thanked the USG for its assistance in providing
Spanish-language texts of the two OAS and five UN CT
conventions/protocols that the GOH has yet to sign and/or
ratify. PolOff noted that he had accompanied the French DCM
April 3 to give a joint G-8 demarche to AMB Fortin on the
importance of signing and/or ratifying these
conventions/protocols (ref G). Both Fortin and the FM noted
the symbolism of the USG and GOF doing a joint demarche. The
FM told Ambassador that the MFA would now begin the
signature/ratification process and was working with Casa
Presidencial to forward for congressional approval the CT
conventions pending with the President's office. Note:
Since the Ambassador's April meeting with the FM (ref F),
Post has provided the MFA with Spanish-language texts of the
two ICAO and two IMO outstanding CT conventions/protocols.
Post thanks the Department, Embassy London, U.S. Mission
Vienna, and the U.S. Mission to ICAO for their assistance in
obtaining these texts. End Note.

FM Gives AMB Draft Text of Maduro's CAFTA Meeting Remarks


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8. (SBU) The FM gave Ambassador a copy of the April 7 version
of President Maduro's draft remarks for the Central American
presidents meeting with the President April 10. The text
appears to be very similar to what WHA/CEN faxed Post
earlier. Post has faxed these draft remarks to WHA/CEN. The
FM said that he and President Maduro are traveling to
Washington April 9.

Maduro Hopes to Meet With the President in Late April


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9. (SBU) Perez-Cadalso said that the GOH was working to set
up a half-hour meeting between President Maduro and the
President on the margins of the April 28-29 Council of the
Americas 33rd Washington Conference at the State Department,
where Maduro is scheduled to be a speaker and the President
is tentatively scheduled to give the keynote address. The FM
said that such a meeting would allow Maduro to raise
bilateral issues that will not be raised in the CAFTA meeting
with the President.

TPS - FM Asks if Decision Will be Made Prior to April 10


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10. (SBU) Perez-Cadalso asked Ambassador if the USG will have
a decision on the GOH's request for an extension of Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) for Hondurans prior to the April 10
meeting between the President and the Central American
presidents. Ambassador said that he would ask Washington.

GOH Becoming More Active Coalition Participant


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11. (C) Comment. Post is pleased that the GOH seems to be
taking a more active role as a member of the Coalition of the
Willing, both with the formal offer of troops for post-war
Iraq, and with the strong instructions to their missions at
the UN and UNESCO to oppose debate on Iraq. This was also
the first time in recent memory that a senior GOH official
raised the issue of the outstanding counterterrorism
conventions/protocols. In the past it has always been USG
officials demarching GOH officials to take action. Post
intends to hold the GOH to its word that it now has all that
it needs as far as Spanish-language texts and will move to
sign and/or ratify the outstanding conventions/protocols.
End Comment.

Text of Letter Offering Troops for Post-War Iraq


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12. (SBU) Begin text of informal translation of FM
Perez-Cadalso letter to Ambassador:

Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.
April 3, 2003

Mr. Ambassador:

I have the honor to address Your Excellency and request your
good offices to convey to your government the disposition of
the Government of Honduras to make the following offer:



1. Once the war against Iraq is over, with the expected
triumph of the coalition forces, Honduras could participate
in the humanitarian efforts tending to the reconstruction of
that country in two specific areas, providing: a) personnel
trained in demining work, and b) personnel trained in
peacekeeping operations.



2. It is understood that, in the event this offer were to be
accepted, the deployment of the mentioned military personnel,
by constitutional mandate, has to be authorized by the
National Congress acting upon a request from the Executive
Power.

I take this opportunity to reiterate to Your Excellency the
assurances of my highest esteem and consideration.

/s/

Guillermo Perez-Cadalso Arias
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Excellent Mr.
Larry Palmer
Ambassador of the United States of America
Tegucigalpa

End text of informal translation of FM Perez-Cadalso letter
to Ambassador.
Palmer