[News] End the Brutal Repression of the Honduran Social Movement
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Mon Aug 30 18:01:13 EDT 2010
Take Action! End the Brutal Repression of the Honduran Social Movement
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/honduras-archives-46/2667-take-action-end-the-brutal-repression-of-the-honduran-social-movement
Written by Honduras Solidarity Network
Monday, 30 August 2010 14:40
[]
A coalition of U.S. organizations today denounced
the exercise of violent repression by Honduran
military and police forces against members of a
striking teacher's union at a university in
Tegucigalpa. The Honduras Solidarity Network
(HSN) declared that "the recent brutal attacks by
government forces against non-violent protests
show that there has been no reconciliation after
last year's coup d'etat, and the U.S.
government's policy of support for the current
government must be changed. We call for an
immediate end to the repression and human rights
violations against the opposition movement".
The group referred to military and police attacks
against members of the teacher's union, COPEMH
(Colegio de Profesores de Educación Media de
Honduras (Association of Secondary Teachers of
Honduras)), and their supporters, which took
place at The National Pedagogical University
Francisco Morazan in Tegucigalpa on August 26 and
27. The union has been on strike since May, and
is generally viewed as opposing the regime of
Honduran President Porfirio Lobo. The HSN based
its action on reports received from the human
rights group COFADEH and the General Workers'
Central Federation (CGT) labor organization, and
corroborated by local news from Radio Globo and
eyewitness accounts that report the following:
On Friday, Aug. 27, police and military troops
surrounded the National Pedagogical University,
responding to thousands of teachers and members
of trade unions, peasant organizations and other
organizations supportive of the teachers gathered
on the university grounds. The police and
military forces sprayed tear gas from trucks and
beat protesters with truncheons before firing
canisters of tear gas into the University
grounds. As people were overcome by the gas and
tried to leave, they were beaten and many
detained. Among the injured were two well-known
reporters from Radio Globo, one of the few
independent radio stations in the country. Among
those seriously affected by the gas were a number
of children and pregnant women.
On Thursday, the police and military attacked the
same group at a massive protest near the
presidential residency in the capital city.
Television stations aired video showing
soldiers firing their rifles during the
repressive action and police beating protesters.
Four teachers from the teachers' union were
seriously injured and, according to human rights
organizations in Honduras, they were denied
medical care at the main public hospital in
Tegucigalpa. The teachers' union then took the
men to a private medical facility.
On Aug. 20, four leaders of the teachers' union
were badly injured when police attacked them
during a union march. The men were detained at a
police station for 12 hours during which time
they were denied medical care and human rights
observers were refused entry to the jail to verify their condition.
Throughout the month of August the level of
conflict and the human rights crisis in Honduras
has deepened. Non-violent protesters in Choloma were beaten, and three
members of peasant organizations in Aguan were
killed. Another journalist, critical of the
regime, was murdered bringing to ten the total of
journalists murdered since Lobo took over in January.
Vicki Cervantes, a spokesperson for the Honduras
Solidarity Network said, "The United States
government continues its support for the
oligarchy and Lobo in the form of aid and
pressure on other governments in the hemisphere
to accept the illegitimate Lobo administration."
Meanwhile, on the ground in Honduras the
opposition of the majority of Hondurans to the
coup and the subsequent regimes, including
Lobo's, is growing. For the first time since
1954, Honduran trade union federations have all
agreed to prepare for a general strike and nearly
a million Honduran eligible voters have signed
letters demanding the convocation of a
constituent constitutional assembly with the
peoples' participation and leadership.
The Honduras Solidarity Network, a nationwide
coalition of non-profit, human rights and
educational organizations, and the Honduran Front
for National Resistance (FRNP) call for:
· an end to police and military repression of the
teachers and the protesters at the university;
· resumption of negotiations between the government and the Teacher's Union;
· payment of back wages and an investigation into
the violation of the teachers' human rights.
Call and Write the Obama Administration and
Congress to demand that until the brutal
repression of social movements in Honduras ends, the United States Government:
· Suspend all aid to the Lobo administration
· Stop the U.S. State Department lobbying for
recognition of the undemocratic government of Honduras.
· Recognize the Honduran people's demand for a
Constituent Assembly to establish a functioning, participatory democracy.
Contacts:
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103647056768&s=-1&e=001Ea_rSDPUvXQuh5d6gl41X9zDwVaRAxWYmhmH1Bbh91aU5pGjph2FMjTmM-uBdaSqssa3n3NhdTvrLSuZfDIjpCgHaYNsyujFI1Zm9NXUlfaDh7uHK44A6zWHVtYE4yY->Click
here to contact Senators and Representatives.
To contact the State Department:
Fax: 202-647-8947, Voice: 202 647-8947, or Email:
Maria Otero, Under Secretary for Democracy and
Global Affairs; c/o Laura Pena, Assistant:
<mailto:PenaL at state.gov>PenaL at state.gov This
e-mail address is being protected from spambots.
You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Dr. Arturo Valenzuela:
<mailto:ValenzuelaAA at state.gov>ValenzuelaAA at state.gov
This e-mail address is being protected from
spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ambassador Craig Kelly, Principal Deputy Asst./ Secretary, Western
Office of Hemisphere Affairs:
<mailto:KellyC at state.gov>KellyC at state.gov This
e-mail address is being protected from spambots.
You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Fax: 202-647-0834)
Dan Restrepo, Special Asst. to the President,
Western Hemisphere Affairs,
<mailto:drestreop at nsc.eop.gov>drestreop at nsc.eop.gov
This e-mail address is being protected from
spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Paul Monteiro, Office of Public Engagement,
<mailto:Darron_P._Monteiro at who.eop.gov>Darron_P._Monteiro at who.eop.gov
This e-mail address is being protected from
spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
To contact White House:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact and White House Comment
Line 202-456-1414.
Sample Letter
Dear ____________,
Non-violent protests by striking teachers and
democracy supporters in Honduras have been
attacked in recent days by the military and
police causing many injuries and detentions. On
Aug. 26 and Aug. 27 the Honduran military and
police attacked demonstrators gathered at the
National Pedagogical University Francisco Morazan
in Tegucigalpa firing many rounds of tear gas and
live bullets. When those trapped in the
university tried to escape the tear gas, they
were beaten, including pregnant women and at least two journalists.
Until the brutal repression of social movements
in Honduras ends, I demand that the United States Government:
· Suspend all aid to the Lobo administration
· Stop the U.S. State Department lobbying for
recognition of the undemocratic government of Honduras.
· Recognize the Honduran people's demand for a
Constituent Assembly to establish a functioning, participatory democracy.
Sincerely,
[name and address]
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863-9977
www.Freedomarchives.org
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