TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – A group of representatives from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, based in Costa Rica, visited Honduras this week to investigate allegations of police brutality and a press crackdown as the country's political crisis nears two months.

The crisis was triggered when soldiers rousted President Manuel Zelaya at dawn June 28 at gunpoint and sent him on a plane to Costa Rica. The Supreme Court had ordered Zelaya's arrest for defying the court's orders to stop what the court said was his illegal push for constitutional changes.

Amnesty International released a statement, along with photos, on its Web site Wednesday, alleging Honduran police and soldiers have been roughing up protesters who are demanding Zelaya's return to power.

“Mass arbitrary arrests and ill treatment of protesters are a serious and growing concern in Honduras today,” said Esther Major, a Central American researcher at Amnesty International. She said that detentions and beatings at the hands of police are being used “as a deterrent for those contemplating taking to the streets to peacefully show their discontent with the political turmoil the country is experiencing.”

The statement said that Amnesty International interviewed 75 protesters who had been detained at a local police station after a peaceful July 30 protest. It said that many of the detainees still showed bruises allegedly caused by police batons.

But not all protests have been peaceful. A demonstration turned violent last week when a group of protesters burned a bus and looted and set fire to a Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits franchise in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.

See the Aug. 21 print or PDF edition of The Tico Times for more on this story.

The International Labor Organization recently praised an initiative in Costa Rica that pays children to stay in school.

Avancemos, which began under the Oscar Arias administration with the goal of curtailing a mounting dropout rate, has reached over 141,000 kids, offering scholarships between ¢ 15,000 and ¢ 50,000 ($25-$85 per month) for solely showing up for class.

Calling it an effective strategy to reduce poverty and ensure the high quality of the future workforce, a recent report of the ILO said, “This program, designed and implemented prior to the crisis, not only addresses an economic need in an appropriate way, but it's a long term strategy to improve the quality of the workforce.”

The report by ILO, a United Nation's agency, was published as part of a series of studies termed “Observing the Crisis,” meant to disseminate innovative ideas in improving employment and income in the economic downturn.

According to the ILO, the number of young people in the workforce dropped from 11 percent in 2006 to 8.7 percent in 2008. Additionally, the report credited Avancemos, or “Let's Get Ahead,” with contributing to the decline in poverty by 1.7 percentage points (and a 2 percent decline in extreme poverty).

“(The program) is a vision that is part of the social policies of the National Development Plan. President Oscar Arias insisted (on the creation of Avancemos) and has succeeded in increasing enrolment in secondary education between 2006 and 2009,” said José Antonio Li Piñar, chairman of Avancemos' parent program Mixed Institute for Social Aid ( IMAS), in a statement.

See this in-depth article for more on Avancemos.

Shrimpers no longer will be allowed to take certain types of shrimp out of the Golfo de Nicoya, on the north-central Pacific coast.

The Costa Rican Fisheries Institute (INCOPESCA) has published in La Gaceta, the official government newspaper, a new regulation that prohibits the removal of carabali, colorado, teblina and titi shrimp.

Marvin Mora, a biologist with the institute, said the decision came as a move to prevent the over-extraction of the four species. He said that over-fishing these shrimp could affect the food supply of fish living in the golf.

“The principal objective is to avoid the capture of biological resources inside the Golfo de Nicoya that would negatively affect the equilibrium of the area's nutrition,” Mora said in a statement.

INCOPESCA said the new regulation should not affect shrimpers' yields because they are still allowed to fish white, pink and brown shrimp. According to a study by the institute, these three species can yield 1,200 metric tons per year.

A dengue fever outbreak in Guatemala's Caribbean region of Izabal has killed at least 12 people, prompting officials to consider declaring an emergency, the government said Thursday.

Following the visit to the region Wednesday, Vice President Rafael Espada expressed concern about the outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease, saying “in order to take better control it's necessary to declare a public state of disaster in the tropical area.”

The decree would mean applying limits on collective transportation and public gatherings in the region, as well as setting up health quarantines to stop further infection of dengue.

The vice president said extensive prevention work is needed in the region.

“We will study the fumigation program, to ensure that it's being effective in eliminating the mosquitoes carrying dengue. In addition, we want to raise awareness among the population and let them see the importance of avoiding still water,” Espada said. He was referring to the fertile breading ground for mosquitoes – the puddles and water that can collect in empty bottles and other trash along the road.

Dengue, whose symptoms include fever, vomiting and muscle pain, has no cure aside from bed rest. Should the disease develop into hemorrhagic dengue, on the other hand, a strain of the virus that causes bruising and bleeding from the nose, gums and other orifices, the disease is more serious and sometimes fatal.

Izabel health authorities reported 190 cases of dengue fever, 23 of which have developed into the hemorrhagic kind, killing at least a dozen people including a young child.

The Health Ministry has issued a red alert for the region, which releases human relief funds to help fight the disease.

For further information on dengue, visit the World Health Organization's Web site: http://www.who.int/topics/dengue/en/.

Two women have taken the reins the Finance Ministry after Guillermo Zúñiga stepped earlier this month. Jenny Phillips, a lawyer, took Zúñiga's post on Aug. 5, and this week, Loretta Rodríguez filled in for Phillips as her vice minister.

Phillips, a member of the Finance Ministry since 1976, is the first female to assume the post.

Zúniga stepped down to join the campaign of National Liberation Party presidential candidate Laura Chinchilla. According to Costa Rican election rules, those serving in political office cannot work on a campaign unless they step down six months before the election.

In the past 15 years, Phillips has held significant roles in the finance sector. She was the first general director of taxes (1994-1997) and executive director of the National Pensions Administration. She also served as a special defender in the Ombudsman's Office. In May 2006, Phillips returned to the finance ministry to occupy the role of vice minister of revenue.

“I am thankful to have the vote of confidence from President (Oscar) Arias and that I have been given the opportunity to be minister,” Phillips said. “We will continue with the fiscal vision that we have developed in the last three years; there will not be changes in direction. We will maintain our promise to continue charging taxes in the manner we have decided upon, and that takes into consideration public spending.”

On Wednesday, Loretta Rodríguez was appointed vice minister of revenue, taking Phillips's vacated position. Rodríguez, a lawyer, moves to the Finance Ministry from the National Customs Court, where she served as president since 1988. She has held a position in the finance ministry for 27 years.

José Luis Araya will continue his role as vice minister of expenses. Araya has worked in the Finance Ministry for over 20 years. This is the first time in the history of the finance ministry that the top three posts have been held by officials with over 20 years of experience.