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Honduras Raises Flag on Disputed Island, Angers El Salvador
The Salvadoran government spoke out on Thursday to criticize the ceremonial raising of the Honduran flag on a Pacific island claimed by both nations.
“El Salvador views with surprise the recent act carried out by elements of the Honduras armed forces on Conejo Island, which is part of Salvadoran territory,” the foreign ministry in San Salvador said in a statement.
Located in the Gulf of Fonseca, which is shared by Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, the island is less than 1 square kilometer (0.38 sq. miles) in area.
The action of the Honduran military was at odds with the “good climate of understanding” that prevailed last month during talks in Managua among the presidents of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua regarding cooperation in the gulf, the ministry said.
El Salvador “has carried out, and will continue to carry out, the appropriate diplomatic actions to ensure the defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement added.
Honduran soldiers hoisted their country’s flag on Conejo Island three days ago as part of celebrations marking the 193rd anniversary of Honduras’ independence.
A similar ceremony in September 2013 set off a bilateral diplomatic flap.
El Salvador is determined to “continue working together with the governments and peoples of the republics of Honduras and Nicaragua to transform the Gulf of Fonseca into a zone of peace, sustainable development and security,” the Salvadoran foreign ministry said.
The three countries signed agreements to that effect in October 2007 and August 2014, the ministry noted.
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez visited Conejo Island in March to inaugurate a heliport.
Published in Latino Daily News
Source: http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/latino-daily-news/details/honduras-raises-flag-on-disputed-island-angers-el-salvador/31054#When:16:04:11Z
