wfn.org | NCCCUSA HEAD TO HONOR HONDURAN PRESIDENT REINA

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: Carol J. Fouke, NCC, 212-870-2252
Internet: carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

58NCC5/24/96                   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

 NEW YORK, May 24 ---- National Council of
Churches General Secretary Joan Brown Campbell
Monday afternoon (May 27) will present Honduran
President Carlos Roberto Reina with an award in
honor of his contributions to human rights.
Ceremonies will be in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

 Winner with 54 percent of the vote as the
Liberal party candidate in general elections,
President Reina took office in January 1994.  His
ascension to the presidency followed 50 years of
political involvement, during which he struggled for
an end to the military dictatorships that held power
from 1963 to 1982.

 "President Reina has struggled for democratic
government, the promotion and respect for human
rights, and the fight against corruption," said the
Rev. Dr. Campbell.  "We want to show him our support
and appreciation for his efforts to correct past
human rights abuses, particularly those perpetrated
by the Honduran military."

 Dr. Campbell noted that the National Council of
Churches has spoken out against abuses and "has been
at odds with our own government's complicity in
human rights abuses in Central America.  We feel it
is important to speak now about something that is
positive."  She will present President Reina with a
plaque and a carved wooden cross made by a Honduran
artist.

 The award is the first in what is to become an
annual award from the National Council of Churches
to religious and secular leaders.

 Accompanying Dr. Campbell will be the Rev. R.
Lawrence (Lonnie) Turnipseed, a United Methodist
minister who will retire at the end of this month as
executive director of the NCC's Church World Service
and Witness Unit, and Bishop Rafael Malpica of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Chicago, who
chairs the NCC/CWSW Committee on Latin America and
the Caribbean (CCLA).  Staff will include the Rev.
Oscar Bolioli, a Methodist who directs the NCC/CWSW
Office on Latin America and the Caribbean, and Mr.
Samuel Lobato, NCC/CWSW Regional Representative for
Central America.

 Hosting the group will be Noemi de Espinoza,
Director of the Christian Commission for Development
in Honduras.  Heads of several Honduran
denominations will be present for the awards
ceremony, and the U.S. ambassador to Honduras has
been invited.

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