US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA1833

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001833 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IIP/T/SV (CAPONTE); IIP/G/WHA (JMANES; CBARONE); 
WHA/PDA (OHILTON) 
EMBASSIES FOR PAO/CAO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KPAO, HO 
SUBJECT: EVALUATION OF U.S. SPEAKER ON SOCIAL INCLUSION AND 
MULTICULTURALISM: RICARDO RENE LAREMONT, TRACKER #18034 
 
REF: Tegucigalpa 143 
 
SUMMARY:  Dr. Ricardo Rene Laremont, Chair, Department of 
Sociology, State University of New York at Binghamton, 
lectured on Social Inclusion and Multiculturalism to six 
separate audiences in three cities in Honduras July 21-25, 
2003.  His presentations ranged on topics such as the Harlem 
Renaissance, the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in 
transforming society, affirmative action, legal practices in 
support of social inclusion and the creation of a culture of 
non-violence.  The program was  covered by the national 
medial. END SUMMARY. 
 
A) Description of the Activity: Dr. Rene Laremont conducted 
a successful four-day speaker program in Honduras giving 
presentations showing by specific, concrete examples how 
civil society in the U.S. brought about social change, the 
important role artists play in a country's development, the 
fact that access to power comes through education, and how 
the U.S. legal system has helped transform society.  Dr. 
Laremont also participated in a TV talk show, gave several 
radio interviews, and was guest of honor at a small lunch 
hosted by the APAO with columnist. 
 
B)   Date: July 21-25, 2003 
     Fiscal year: FY-03, Third Quarter 
 
C) Justification and Objective: To keep audiences focused on 
the importance of listening to communities carefully in 
developing programs of poverty reduction.  In societies like 
Honduras where 80 percent live in poverty, Laremont stressed 
the importance of civil rights, the role of civil society in 
strengthening democracy, and racial and ethnic diversity. 
 
D) Tracker No. 18034; MPP Goals: MPP Theme: Democracy; Human 
Rights, and Mutual Understanding. 
Audience reached:  Approximately 1,200 participants at six 
different conference venues, including representatives of 
the civil society and Garifuna NGOs; academic and cultural 
contacts; members of the Honduran Bar Association; students 
and professors from the law school at the National 
Autonomous University of Honduras; high school students and 
teachers; members of the media and general public.  Dr. 
Laremont's appearance on an early morning TV program with 
nationwide audience and impromptu radio interviews reached 
hundreds of thousands more. 
 
E)  Result/Impact: Excellent. 
 
The post fully met its objectives for this program.  Dr. 
Laremont informed national audiences on how the U.S. deals 
with religious, racial and ethnic minorities in a 
multicultural society and the importance of community 
participation in public policies.  Dr. Laremont spoke from 
his numerous investigations and own experience on how 
citizen participation leads to the transformation of 
society. The post had originally requested the speaker 
program to commemorate African-American Heritage Month, but 
postponed it to accommodate to Dr. Laremont's schedule.  In 
the meantime, we successfully programmed U.S. filmmaker 
Dennis Watlington for African-American Heritage Month. 
 
On the afternoon of his arrival in Tegucigalpa, Ambassador 
Larry Palmer and the DCM briefed Dr. Laremont on the 
political and social conditions in Honduras.  That evening 
at the National Art Gallery, he initiated his series of 
programs participating in the roundtable discussion "The 
Voice of the Excluded: Harlem, New York: A Case."  He 
discussed how the Afro-Cuban movement and the Harlem 
Renaissance blended in America.  He emphasized the 
importance artists play in forming a national identity and 
their role as political activists.  The program also 
featured Dr. Tulio Mariano Gonzalez, Vice President of the 
National Development Bank and Garifuna leader, and Dr. 
Gloria Lara, cultural anthropologist and former Fulbright 
grantee, as panelists.  The IRC director prepared a 
PowerPoint presentation with audio featuring renowned 
players of the Harlem Renaissance. 
 
The following day, Dr. Laremont participated in the early 
morning national TV program "Frente a Frente" where he 
discussed the role civil society plays in protecting civil 
rights and how the U.S. has promoted an inclusive society. 
The other invited guest was Dr. Ramon Romero, civil society 
advisor to Honduran President Maduro. 
 
On his second program day, Dr. Laremont spoke to a group of 
students and professors of the law school at the National 
Autonomous University of Honduras on how the U.S. Supreme 
Court has dealt with issues of race and class in the 19th 
and 20th centuries.  He expanded on how the social demands 
of the time lead to changes, including new anti-terrorism 
laws in the U.S. That evening, he addressed members of the 
Honduran Bar Association on this topic and referred to 
specific cases where the Supreme Court has been sensible to 
political pressure. CG John Jones also participated and 
invited the Honduran lawyers to take action and see that the 
law protects all Hondurans not just the wealthy and pointed 
to the difference between "immunity" and "impunity." 
 
The following day, Dr. Laremont spoke on "Social Inclusion 
and Legal Structures: Multiculturalism" at a conference co- 
sponsored by the UNDP's "Forum for the Strengthening of 
Democracy."  He discussed how nationalism is easy in a 
homogenous society but difficult in countries with different 
ethnic groups and how one can contribute to unite a society. 
He said nationalism doesn't have anything to do with the 
economy and that lack of resources is not an excuse to not 
work towards democracy.  He also spoke on the issue of 
voluntary and involuntary migration and how America became a 
diverse society. 
 
That afternoon, Dr. Laremont traveled to La Ceiba on the 
north coast for a program co-sponsored by ODECO, an NGO 
working on the development and empowerment of the Honduran 
Garifuna community. Dr. Laremont met with a group of elders 
at the Garifuna community of Corozal where they discussed 
land-titling problems.  In the evening, he adapted his 
standard presentation to an audience of high school 
students, representatives from the Garifuna community and 
civil society leaders.  He emphasized the need to organize 
communities for any movement to be successful. 
 
The last leg of the program was in San Pedro Sula, Honduras' 
second largest city and industrial capital, where he was 
guest of honor at a luncheon hosted by the APAO with media 
columnists. In the evening, he gave his presentation on the 
Afro-Cuban movement and the Harlem Renaissance in the nearby 
city of El Progreso.  This program enabled the post to co- 
sponsor an event for the first time with the Cultural 
Foundation of El Progreso. 
 
Throughout his program, Dr. Laremont addressed the issues of 
the role of the civil rights movement in changing laws and 
practices in the U.S. and how the U.S. became a 
multicultural society; how education contributes to build a 
more equalitarian society; how societies can move from 
inclusive practices to exclusive societies; and how Mohandas 
Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully employed non- 
violent means to achieve their goals to make social changes. 
 
The post highly recommends Dr. Laremont for future programs. 
An expert in his field, he invariably adapted his 
presentations to his audience.  His warm personality, fluent 
Spanish, familiarity with the multi-ethnic communities in 
the region enabled him to discuss a wide range of topics 
with his audiences. 
 
F) Non-USG Sources of In-country Funding/In-kind Support and 
Amount: Some of the host institutions provided venues free 
of charge. 
 
G) Quality of U.S. Support and IIP Offices Involved: 
Excellent.  Post would like to thank IIP/T/SV Carmen Aponte 
for proposing Dr. Laremont, who proved to be just the right 
person to meet our program objectives. 
 
Palmer