22 101. At the request of the Municipality of Tela, on September 26, 1979, the INA adopted 76 Decision No. 164, in which it decided – pursuant to Article 13.c of the Agrarian Reform Law of 1975 – “… to use an area of approximately 1,380.4 hectares in order to expand the urban perimeter of the town of Puerto de Tela, in the Department of Atlántida between 1980 and 1990, a period that could be 77 extended depending on the future needs of said town.” 102. On May 25, 1987, the Municipality of Tela asked the INA to expand its urban perimeter, based on a proposal put forward by the Office of the Directorate General for Urban Planning, a dependency of the Ministry of Communication, Public Works and Transportation, because of the 78 population growth in the Municipality. Through resolution No. 055-1989 of April 24, 1989, the INA authorized a 3,219.80 hectare expansion, citing as legal grounds, inter alia, the aforementioned article of 79 the 1975 Agrarian Reform Law. Said resolution also resolved as follows: SECOND: To exclude from the demarcated urban area the lands allocated to the beneficiaries of the Agrarian Reform prior to this resolution until the total value of those lands has been paid. THIRD: The present statement is made without prejudice to the property and possession right that individuals or juristic persons may have inside the demarcated area. FOURTH: To copy this resolution to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for it to grant its approval, as this includes a 80 tourism zone; the respective plan should be attached thereto. 103. Pursuant to operative paragraph 4 of the resolution, on January 17 1992, the Honduran Tourism Institute adopted resolution No. 002, in which it resolved to approve the demarcation of the urban perimeter, excluding from the expansion area “approximately 40 hectares that overlap with the Lacetilla Botanical Garden and Research Center.” The IHT also resolved that “it is recommended that the Guidelines for the Urban Development of the Town of Tela, drawn up by the Town Planning Directorate in March 1979, be used as a pattern to follow for land planning. Under those Guidelines, advantage would 81 be taken of the area’s tourism potential inside a new urban perimeter.” 104. The information at the IACHR’s disposal indicates that the expansion of the inner core of the Municipality encompassed a large part of the territory ancestrally occupied by the Triunfo de la Cruz Community. The Commission notes, moreover, that it included areas for which the Community even had title deeds recognizing that occupancy – in particular, the ejido title of 1950 and the occupancy guarantee of 1979 –, as well as areas whose titling in the Community’s name was being processed by the INA, such 82 as the application filed in 1969. Said provision literally states: "Excluded from the provisions of Article 12 referring to land eligible for agrarian reform are: c) Communal land (tierras ejidales) that the National Agrarian Institute devotes to that purpose in accordance with demographic growth plans, after hearing what the municipalities concerned have to say." Honduran Agrarian Reform Law, Decree-Law Nº 170/74 dated December 30, 1974, in effect since January 14 1975. Available at: http://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/hon5175.pdf. 76 77 Annex 16. Decision No. 164 of the National Agrarian Institute dated September 26, 1979. File 57426 with the National Agrarian Institute, pp. 292 to 293. Appendix 8 of the petitioner’s written communication of May 23, 2006, received by the IACHR on May 30, 2006. 78 Annex 17. Resolution number 055-89 of the National Agrarian Institute, dated April 24, 1989. Annex 7 of the initial petition dated October 27, 2003, received by the IACHR on October 29, 2003. 79 Annex 17. Resolution number 055-89 of the National Agrarian Institute, dated April 24, 1989. Annex 7 of the initial petition dated October 27, 2003, received by the IACHR on October 29, 2003. 80 Annex 17. Resolution number 055-89 of the National Agrarian Institute, dated April 24, 1989. Annex 7 of the initial petition dated October 27, 2003, received by the IACHR on October 29, 2003; and Annex ? of the document containing the State's observations on the merits, dated March 8, 2007, received by the IACHR on March 9, 2007. 81 Annex 18. Resolution 002 of the Honduran Tourism Institute, dated January 17, 1992. Annex 8 of the initial petition dated October 27, 2003, received by the IACHR on October 29, 2003. 82 Regarding the maps the IACHR has at its disposal, see Annex 16. Memorandum prepared by the Head of Land Registry and Measurement of the National Agrarian Institute, dated July 5, 2001. Application No. 57426 submitted to the National Agrarian Institute, pages 121 to 127. Annex B to the State's writ containing its observations on the merits, dated March 8, 2007, received by the IACHR on March 9, 2007. Regarding inclusion of the area allocated to the Community as communal land n the expansion of the urban core, see Annex 9. Expert Opinion DAT 018-98 provided by the Division of Legal Services of the Land Title Department of the National Agrarian Institute _ dated January 22, 1998. File 2000-81 addressed to the National Agrarian Institute, pages 462 and 463. Annex 7 of the petitioner’s writ dated May 23, 2006, received by the IACHR on May 30, 2006; Annex 19.