The Process

La Tribuna

Editorial keynote in the news program Abriendo Brecha–

To all Hondurans, because we are immersed in the miseries of sectarian politics, we let great moments slip by that have change the course of the world and have provoked massive changes in societies which eventually have shaped the framework of the law. Today in Honduras, we are living a time of changes that many don’t even bother to acknowledge even if such is happening right before their eyes because their obstinacy wouldn’t allow it or because they pretend to be blind or nearsighted.

The era of constitutionalism was at its peak eight centuries ago when King John I of England signed the Magna Charta, a document that meant a qualitative leap in the evolution of fundamental rights, when people ceased to be considered subjects in order to become citizens. At that time, the first Magna Carta known as the first modern constitution, gave rise to the legal process where crimes must be proven in strict adherence to the law prior depriving citizens of their freedom. This was a great step for humanity in the history of law because prior the Magna Carta times all the procedures, laws, and judges were subject to the whims of a king and the arbitrariness of power.

History records many cases of constitutional texts that were created, but seen as straitjackets because rulers were blinded by ambition of power or the temptation of not wanting to abide by the law. In Honduras, these are times when everyone is talking about fighting corruption and the government is so readily set to end corruption and impunity.

Hondurans demand that all who have been proven corrupt must be sent to jail immediately, a yearning which should be correctly interpreted due to long years in which we have seen a never ending sequence of corruption that not only refuses to stop, but also advances at a gigantic rate without any possibility of being stopped. Neither the government nor the judicial system shows its will to prosecute any kind of act of corruption, its masterminds or accomplices in order to stop corruption and end this state of impunity. But, we must remind our fellow citizens that as Honduras is a law abiding state, ruled by our Magna Carta known to us as the Constitution of the Republic, all of these acts of corruption must be vented within the framework of the due process. That is to say, that each person who has been legally subpoenaed for acts of corruption, should also be subjected to all legal processes before competent courts of law, so that through the corresponding ruling be proven guilty beyond the shadow of reasonable doubt and within the strict framework of the law.

It is not possible, as the layman might think, to just literally grab any person who has been accused and dispatch them to jail with no due process. That would be possible only in governments of authoritarian rule, such as Cuba, Venezuela, and the former Soviet Union. In Honduras, the accused must be submitted to due process before freedom is revoked, when this does not happen, the authorities have abused their power and become exposed to litigious actions from the accused.

The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States  was made in 1789 in order to defend freedom of expression, freedom of thought, so that citizens would be able to defend themselves against incorrect government actions.

All good Hondurans support the fight against corruption, but this is a race that cannot be won through arbitrary actions, because this would only lead us from a democracy to an authoritarian rule. Abuse of power by our authorities also falls in the realm of corruption, because only the corrupt dare jump the hurdles placed by the law.

Our people must acknowledge this last point, because it is not an issue of accusing somebody of corruption and sending that person to jail, even an allegedly corrupt person has the right to due process under the reign of the law before their freedom can be revoked.

It is good to know the history behind the first magna carta written in England 800 years ago, which is where modern constitutional law comes from. Today, in this current fight against corruption, Hondurans must know that any case of corruption brought under the law, must give the accused the right to a fair and impartial trial, especially avoiding any political agendas, in which the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. And as we have said before, swift application of justice is what we desire.