Yesterday, the coup regime in Honduras led by Roberto Micheletti decreed a 45-day state of emergency, suspending all constitutional guarantees, including freedom of association, freedom of expression, freedom of press and privacy. The Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, where President Zelaya remains in a state of refuge, has been surrounded by repressive regime forces for days now and is under siege. Tear gas bombs and high frequency sounds are being directed towards the embassy in an effort to torture Zelaya out of the building. These violent actions violate the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Consular Affairs, which accords embassies and consulates immunity and prohibits host countries from invading their territory or engaging in attacks against their personnel. On Saturday, September 26th, coup dictator Roberto Micheletti issued an "ultimatum" to Brazilian President Luis Ignacio "Lula" Da Silva, claiming that the coup regime would raid the Brazilian Embassy and strip it of its diplomatic immunity if the Brazilian government does not hand over President Zelaya to the regime. President Lula rejected the illegal demand.
Sunday's decree is a severe turn for the worse in Honduras, as a 45-day state of emergency will allow the coup regime forces to massacre and persecute Hondurans on a widespread scale without restraint by law. So far, since yesterday's decree, the death toll has risen above 100. Television and radio stations opposing the coup regime, such as Radio Globo, have been shut down and journalists have been detained and/or disappeared. The police and military under the coup regime's control are raiding poor communities seeking out supporters of President Zelaya and disappearing them. On Sunday, an Organization of American States (OAS) delegation that was heading into Honduras to attempt negotiations with the coup regime was prohibited from entry and turned back at the airport. Borders have been sealed.
This is an urgent call to activate all political and social emergency networks to organize support for the Honduran people and to further pressure the Obama Administration to withdraw immediately all its economic and military support to Honduras. Just last week, the Pentagon invited the Honduran military - under the control of the coup regime - to continue participating in training exercises with the United States. This is outrageous considering the Honduran military is principally responsible for the widespread human rights abuses taking place in the country since the coup was executed on June 28th. Furthermore, the State Department continues to provide USAID and other funding to NGOs and political parties backing the coup. All aid should be suspended and diplomatic relations and commercial ties should be immediately cut in order to suffocate the regime out of power. The Obama Administration's "ambiguity" and hesitation on Honduras has allowed for a viciously violent and repressive coup regime to dig its power deeper and has resulted in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Hondurans. Those abuses and crimes are in large part a result of Washington's failure to cease its support for the brutal coup dictatorship.
3 comments:
All we know that republican, another business sector and now the Pentagon is mentioned of US has and continuous supporting the COUP D'ETAT IN HONDURAS and by that reason the government of US has an ambiguous position on the theme.
Since my perspective, United States this playing a dangerous play, because on the one hand says that is a coup d'etat and by the other hand facilitates the conditions so that the facto government be fortified in the power!!!
Lady Hillary, we understand the play, but pitifully we cannot play it for two reasons the first one because we are the people repressed of Honduras and the second because by legislative decree deprive us of the personal and constitutional guarantees! !!!
And Oscar Arias has just rung the death knell for Honduran democracy by announcing his support for November 29 elections in Honduras. These will be extremely dangerous days because the golpistas will have to maintain a state of siege to detain targeted members of the resistance so that opposition to the election is lessened. Please see Honduras Oye! for article on Arias duplicitous moves. http://hondurasoye.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/proceed-with-the-november-election-says-moonlighting-mediator-part-time-costa-rican-prez-and-sometimes-us-envoy/
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