NEWS AND ACTION ALERT

MILITARY COUP IN HONDURAS

6/28/09

 

[Ed. note: What follows is a brief summary of what has happened so far from sources listed below.]

On 11/27/05 Manuel “Mel” Zelaya of the center-left Partido Liberal Party was elected president in a fair and free elections in which his party won 62 of 128 congressional seats. For years Honduras had been “in the pocket of Chiquita and the US Embassy.” This election was hailed as a major change.

Since Zelaya became president Honduras has:

• Increased the minimum wage.
• Improved working conditions of teachers.
• Instituted measures to re-nationalize energy-generating plants and the telephone system.
• Joined Petrocaribe, the oil-sharing plan begun by Venezuela.
• Joined ALBA, the Venezuelan-led trade bloc.
• Delayed formal accreditation of US Ambassador Hugo Llorens.
• Called for a national referendum to replace the Honduran constitution.

These changes have been accompanied by three years of left-right political controversy.

For several days preceding the coup a leader of COPINH, the National Council of Indigenous Peoples, was under observation by the military and police. One week before the coup Fabio Ochoa, regional coordinator of the campaign for constitutional reform, was shot five times (still in intensive care).

The Coup : At 1 AM Sunday (6/28/09) 200 soldiers entered the President's house, forcibly removed a pajama-clad Zelaya and his family, and put them on a military plane to Costa Rica. (The leader of the coup, Gen. Romeo Velasquez, is a two-time graduate of the US Army School of the Americas (WHINSEC).) Then:

• a number of government ministers were arrested.
• Electricity was cut off throughout Honduras, and the national telephone system and television stations were shut down. A crew from TELESUR was detained and beaten and later released after intense international pressure.
• Military check-points were set up in all towns.
• President of the Congress Roberto Michelleti read a letter of resignation to the Congress, allegedly from President Zelaya and Michelleti was then named de facto president.
• Chancellor Patricia Rodes was kidnapped and is still missing.
• A new Cabinet was named.
• Reportedly, the ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua were detained, beaten and later released by hooded men.

President Zelaya, by telephone from Costa Rica, denied the letter of resignation was his, denounced the coup, and said, “If the US is not behind this coup, the coup-mongers won't be able to stay in power even 48 hours.” And, “The only reason that I wasn't assassinated was that the soldiers are from the people. It was a moment of great tension.”

Protests

• 25,000 protested in the capital, Tegucigalpa.
• The OAS, the European Union, and most Latin American nations have denounced the coup, the OAS saying that Honduras must return President Zelaya in three days or risk suspension.
• The UN voted by acclamation to denounce the coup planners. So did President Obama. Venezuela offered to support the protesters. Many have called specifically for the return of President Zelaya. President Obama has not yet done so.
• Some towns in Honduras have declared they will not recognize the imposed government. So have two army battalions.

Repression

• Protesters are being violently dispersed with tear gas and guns.
• The official Honduras Human Rights Commission and the Fiscal Attorney General refuse to document abuses.

Actions recommended

• Urge President Obama to call for the return of President Zelaya and Chancellor Rodas.   (202-456-1111)
• Call the State Department (800-877-8339) and your elected representatives to urge them to:
• Denounce the coup and support international efforts to bring the coup planners to justice.
• Replace the US Ambassador and halt military aid to Honduras.
• Investigate what, if any, role US Ambassador Hugo Llorens may have played in the coup.  

Sources of information:

Alliance for Global Justice
CISPES
COFADEH in Honduras
Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Latin America Solidarity Coalition
National Catholic Reporter
Nicaragua Network
Quixote Center
Rights Action
SOA Watch
Upside Down World
Witness for Peace