[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 119 (Tuesday, September 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1861-E1862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CENTRAL AMERICA: INDEPENDENCE, PEACE AND PROGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 14, 1999

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, on September 15, five of the nations of 
Central America will celebrate their respective independence days. As 
Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I want to congratulate 
the nations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and 
Nicaragua on the occasion of this day and to call to the attention of 
the Members of the House the great progress which the region as a whole 
has made toward peace, stability and democracy.
  The historic signing of the Guatemala Peace Accords two years ago 
ushered in a period in which for the first time in almost forty years, 
the entire central American region has been at peace. Even more 
significant is the fact that democracy has taken firm root as evidenced 
by the fact that every current government in the region has been 
elected in what have been determined to be free and fair elections by 
both domestic and international observers. Recently, the people of El 
Salvador celebrated their continued commitment to strengthening their 
democracy when they went to the polls in their Presidential elections 
and selected Francisco Flores to lead the nation into the new 
millennium. In November, the people of Guatemala will also have the 
chance to demonstrate their commitment to the democratic process when 
they will go to the polls in the first Presidential election since the 
end of the civil war and the signing of the peace accords.
  The economies of these nations which were served a severe setback 
last Fall when Hurricane Mitch devastated the region, seem to be making 
a solid comeback as growth, albeit slow, is being achieved through a 
combination of liberalization, modernization and privatization. The 
peoples of the entire region should be commended for their resiliency 
in the wake of such a total tragedy. Further, it would appear that in 
general, an awareness and respect for human rights is on the increase. 
Nowhere has this been more obvious than in Honduras and especially in 
Guatemala where that nation has opened itself to a comprehensive review 
and scrutiny of its past human rights record. Significant U.S. 
financial commitment to this process as well as to programs we are 
funding in Nicaragua and El Salvador are clearly helping make these 
efforts successful. And finally, the militaries of several of these 
nations seem to have accepted their new roles in a democracy and under 
civilian leadership. This has been the case in Honduras, Guatemala and 
Nicaragua and was especially true during the post-Hurricane Mitch 
rebuilding effort.
  This is not to say that there are not problems. Drug use and crime 
seem to be on the increase everywhere and nagging problems of poverty, 
unemployment, illiteracy and infant mortality persist. But on the 
whole, Central America has moved beyond the crisis period of the past 
fifteen years and has given us great cause for optimism.
  Mr. Speaker, while I speak of the important progress Central America 
is making in the support of democracy, I would be remiss if I failed to 
mention Panama as well. As the

[[Page E1862]]

House knows, Presidential elections were recently held in Panama and, 
like its other neighbors, free, fair and transparent elections were 
also the rule of the day. I want to take this opportunity to 
congratulate the people of Panama as well for their commitment to the 
democratic process and to congratulate President Moscoso on her 
election as the first female President of Panama. We want to wish her 
well and offer our Subcommittee's help in any way to continue a strong 
U.S.-Panama relationship into the new millennium.
  Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of the celebration of their 
independence, I want to congratulate each of these nations for the 
progress they are making and to express my hope that they continue on 
this impressive path. All of the nations and people of Central America 
should be proud of what they have accomplished to date. We encourage 
them to continue down this path and we continue to offer our strong 
encouragement and assistance.

                          ____________________