A representative of the Embassy of the Republic of Honduras provided the following information in a 17 June 1997 telephone interview.

The military service law has not left the congress because it still being revised and debated. Only once the military law is published in La Gazeta, the offical journal of the Republic of Honduras, will the legislation come into effect. Presently, there is no military service law.

Please find attached media articles that provide additional information on military service in Honduras.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Embassy of the Republic of Honduras, Washington, DC. 17 June 1997. Telephone interview with representative.

Caribbean & Central America Report [London]. 18 February 1997. "Honduras: Army Campaign," p. 4.

Central America Report [Guatemala City]. 10 January 1997. Vol. 23, No. 1. "Honduras: The Cost of Demilitarization," p. 6.

_____. 21 November 1996. Vol. 23, No. 45. "Honduras: Demilitarization Runs Into Problems," pp. 1-2.

_____. 10 October 1996. Vol. 23, No. 39. "Honduras: Hard Times for the Military," p. 10.

Inter Press Service (IPS). 21 January 1997. Thelma Mejía. "The Army Wants You!" (Central America NewsPak [Austin], 20 Jan.-2 Feb. 1997, Vol. 11, No. 26, p. 8)