FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
**Media Advisory**
Contact: Teresa Gutierrez 917.328.6470
Lucy Pagoada 646.373.2383
U.S.
LABOR, COMMUNITY & RELIGIOUS FACT-FINDING
DELEGATION RETURNS FROM HONDURAS
EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY &
INTERVIEWS CONFIRM
CRITICAL SITUATION IN HONDURAS
ESCALATING
Delegation Calls for Immediate
Restoration of
President Manuel Zelaya and
an
End to the Repression Sweeping
the Country
Delegates Available for
Immediate Interviews
WHAT:
On Monday, October 12, [2009] a 12-member U.S. delegation
returned from Honduras after a four-day visit to the country. Delegates
conducted a fact-finding investigation that included dozens of interviews, as
well as participation in street actions, in order to witness firsthand the
repression carried out by the fraudulent and illegal Micheletti
government.
The delegates met with human rights
leaders, representatives of the National Front of Resistance against the Coup,
labor and women’s leaders as well as youth groups. In addition, the
delegation delivered a statement to representatives of the U.S. Embassy in
Honduras in order to report on their findings.
A summary of the delegates’
findings include:
1) A civil war is brewing
in Honduras. The political situation in the country becomes more and
more critical with each passing hour. OAS negotiations did not go anywhere as
the fraudulent Micheletti government continues to become entrenched, despite
international condemnation.
2) The repression is
brutal. Human rights leaders and activists report on first-hand
repression that includes beatings, tear gas attacks, disappearances and
assassinations as well as attempted kidnappings. The delegation learned
firsthand that despite Micheletti’s announcement that the ban on civil
rights had been lifted, a ban on assembly, etc. was in fact still very much in
place.
3) The Honduran people are
committed to their demands. Despite heavy repression, the Honduran
people continue to not only demand the restoration of President Manuel Zelaya
and a Constituent Assembly, but continue to organize for their rights. The
level of coordination among the people and their various mass organizations is
maturing and the commitment to their demands is clearly unwavering.
4) The Michelet illegal
government remains entrenched and therefore more dangerous. It is a
dangerous sign that despite international condemnation the Michelet regime
remains entrenched. Clearly they are buying time until the proposed elections.
The delegation believes no elections should be held unless President Zelaya is
returned to office. The Michelet golpistas are becoming more desperate and
therefore more dangerous.
5) International
solidarity is key. The situation in Honduras becomes every day more
serious. International solidarity including material aid is extremely important
for the Honduran people and their struggle for justice.
WHO:
The U.S. delegation included representatives from the
following sectors: religious, veterans, anti-war, labor, professors, youth and
women’s groups, as well as several Hondurans residing in the U.S.
Delegates are available for interviews. To schedule interviews please call
Teresa Gutierrez at 917.328.6470.
WHY:
The U.S. government is pivotal in assuring that the violence
and repression ends and that the rightful president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya,
be returned. Solidarity from this country is also pivotal. That is why the Oct.
7 delegation traveled to Honduras and that is also why the delegation
participated in street actions in order to witness firsthand the attitude of
the Micheletti de-facto government towards the Honduran people. The first
night of the visit, October 7, U.S. delegates went to the Brazilian embassy to
interview President Zelaya, who would have gladly met with the delegation. When
Honduran troops menacingly amassed with guns, tear gas and masks, the
delegation was forced to run with the Honduran people away from the troops,
clearly proving the ban was still in place.
For a preliminary report of our findings,
please see the attached letter to the U.S. Embassy that was delivered on
October 9 by the delegation.
WHEN: The U.S. Labor, Community and Religious
Fact-finding Delegation will report back from their trip to Honduras on
Tuesday, October 27 at 777 U.N. Plaza at 6:30
pm. A video report from their trip will be premiered at
that time. In addition to the delegates, also invited to speak is Honduran
Ambassador Jorge A. Reina as well as Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney
General.
-30-
Statement to the U.S. embassy by
the
U.S.
Labor, Community and Religious Fact-finding Delegation to
Honduras
About the delegation – The U.S.
Labor, Community and Religious Fact-finding Delegation to Honduras
consists of 12 representatives of labor, community, peace, veterans and
religious organizations in the United States. We have come to Honduras to learn
the facts and context behind the military coup d’état and its
aftermath, and the current situation.
While in Honduras we have met with over 100
representatives and leaders of labor and peasant organizations and a broad
representation of organizations of women, youth, indigenous and Garifuna
peoples, including representatives of various barrios and colonias and a large
number of members of the clergy.
Our delegation wishes to communicate the following
information –
1. The de facto regime’s
ban on the free exercise of the Honduran people’s civil and
constitutional rights and civil liberties has NOT been
lifted, as claimed by the regime. This ban is still in effect, and is still
being brutally enforced by the police and by the Army, whose commander was
trained at the notorious U.S. School of the Americas.
- As an example, our delegation personally observed the
police and Army forcibly break up the massive, peaceful and nonviolent
demonstration on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 7th at the
Brazilian Embassy, where President Zelaya maintains his presence. Our
delegation was chased fro two city blocks by police and soldiers armed with
weapons and 3- to 4-foot wooden batons, and two members of the delegation were
almost hit by batons.
- Our delegation personally observed multiple truckloads of
police and Army being deployed in an attempt to intimidate a massive peaceful
demonstration at the Francisco Morazan pedagogical institute on the morning of
Thursday, October 8th, and again when the demonstration re-formed
later in front of the Clarion Hotel, where OAS representatives were huddled to
discuss the political crisis in Honduras. We observed a water cannon truck, of
the kind that has been used to hose down demonstrations, and preparations for
use of tear gas on the part of the military authorities. (Earlier
delegations had reported the use of US-supplied LRAD weapons to emit
ear-splitting screams of sound in the direction of President Zelaya and others
in the Brazilian Embassy.)
- We must also note that the majority of the demonstrators
at the Brazilian Embassy, Francisco Morazán Institute and at the Clarion
Hotel were women and children, with a large number of older people also
present.
- These actions by the de facto government were clear
attempts to prevent the exercise of the expression of the popular will of the
majority of the Honduran people. A private poll certified by the Honduran
government, showed that by a 3 to 1 margin, the majority of the Honduran people
oppose the coup and desire the immediate return of Zelaya to the
Presidency.
2. As long as the de facto and
illegal regime remains in place, with its repressive apparatus preventing the
free expression of the popular will, then any attempt to go ahead with the
previously scheduled November 29th elections, under these
conditions, can only have an undemocratic result and should be abandoned.
3. We call on the Obama
Administration and U.S. Congress to immediately discontinue ALL aid to
Honduras, including humanitarian aid, as long as the de facto and illegal
regime remains in power, and to clearly state that the US will not support any
solution to the Honduran political crisis without the unconditional restoration
of the elected Zelaya government.
4. We further call on the Obama
Administration to continue the visa sanctions on the members of the illegal de
facto government, and to freeze the US bank accounts of these individuals until
the legal Honduran government of President Zelaya is able to determine where
the funds came from.
--
Teresa Gutierrez
IAC National Co-Director
National IAC Coordinator Immigrant and Latin American Projects
Build May Day 2010
Bail out the People, not the Banks
Si Se Puede!
917.328.6470
