• by IPS Correspondents (tegucigalpa)
• Friday, December 16, 1994
• Inter Press Service

TEGUCIGALPA, Dic 16 (IPS) - A former Honduran military officer, considered a key witness in cases of victims who were forcibly disappeared for political and ideological reasons, returned to his country to give testimony to the attorney-general's office.

Under strict security measures, Former Colonel Leonidas Torres was met in Tegucigalpa's Toncontin airport on Thursday.

Upon arriving, the witness expressed his willingness to cooperate with the attorney-general's office in "what I know about the disappeared persons."

Torres' testimony is considered crucial for identifying those responsible for the death of Nelson Mackey, a student murdered 12 years ago at the hands of alleged members of state security forces.

The recent finding of Mackey's remains shook Honduran society as it backed up human rights organisations' claims that during the 1980s some 184 people were forcibly disappeared in Honduras.

Twelve years ago, Torres had accused a senior military officer of being responsible for Mackey's death.

Asked about his previous accusation, the former colonel told the press that "anything I may have said then, I will have to stick to before the attorney-general's office, although it is attempting to implicate me in these cases."

The former military officer, who was allegedly returning from a medical check-up in the United States, arrived to Honduras while an order that intelligence services find Torres, presumably signed by armed forces chief General Luis Alonso Discua, was circulating in the capital.

The letter called for Torres to hold a private meeting with Discua before giving testimony to the attorney-general's office.

The government's decision to investigate the cases of the disappeared victims seems to have the military on edge, as the armed forces have repeatedly advocated a policy of "forgive and forget," arguing that whatever happened was part of state policy within the setting of the Cold War.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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