HONDURAS - THREE REPORTS
‘Mision de Francisco Morazon' - Solidarity in Honduras
Written by Pat Tate
I preface my report with a small explanation of the naming of it. Francisco Morazon is viewed as a hero of independence and democracy throughout Central America. He was a leader in the effort to oust the colonial rule of Spain in the 1815-1821 rebellion. He was elected as the first president of Central America and was geographically based in the province of Honduras. He was subsequently ousted in a golpe (coup) led by members of the Guatemalan elite. Fleeing to Peru, he reconsolidated his support in Central America and entered Costa Rica where he was selected as president. Morazon then began advocating for the formation of an army within his new homeland to secure his dominion over Honduras and a united Central America. The Costa Ricans were not enthusiastic about his ideas and subsequently murdered him rather than risk their campesinos in Morazons war to regain power in Honduras. He is viewed as a hero throughout the region with statues and parks named for him in every country. His vision of a united regional state is still tossed around, but no one seems interested in yielding their dominion.
We departed San Jose at 6:30AM, Sunday, September 6, 2009 and arrived in Tegucigalpa at 9:30 passing through the airport which was guarded by elements of the army. We were greeted by our contact, a member of the Friends Society residing in Honduras. He informed us that the Resistance Front was convening their first national meeting that morning to hammer out their operational plan for a united campaign. We asked our taxi driver to go past the site of the meeting and were stunned to find that there were hundred of attendees at the meeting at 10AM; we immediately joined them, sending our bags on to our hotel. We approached the gate where the security ‘unarmed' hesitated about letting us enter. On hearing our mission of human rights and peace we were guided in by the head of security. Inside the hall were 350-500 delegates, representing every region and nearly every civil organization in the country. While there was a continuous buzz, the meeting was well organized. Within 5 hours they hammered out an 18 point platform under which they would continue the non-violent resistance against the golpe and pursuit of a constitutional reform. I would state that their platform represents one of the most democratic documents I have ever encountered. We were invited to briefly address the convention and were warmly received. We made many contacts and commenced our week of meetings, interviews and observation.
We spent the late afternoon Sunday in meetings with various representatives of the Resistance who came to our hotel to speak with us. I mostly listened as my Spanish was the most limited of the group, although my comprehension is high. We heard tales of torture and intimidation throughout our visit though mainly we heard how much our presence and support was appreciated. On Monday, Labor Day in the US we visited the ngo, Center for the Disappeared of Honduras, where we were told stories of random arrest, torture and advised that the US Embassy would not receive a delegation from the Center. We made a decision that the three Americans in our group and our chief of mission, Francisco Cordero, Vice-President of the Costa Rican Human Rights Commission would try to get an interview to pursue what instructions and direction the Embassy staff were operating under. Forgetting it was a US holiday we were frustrated at what appeared to be a snub of our efforts. We determined to go to the Embassy on Tuesday.
Tuesday morning we briefly attended the Executive committee of the Resistance meeting, where while we were welcomed, it was clear they were about business and so we briefly invited them to contact us at our hotel. We departed walking towards a local mall looking for breakfast. We were picked up by Padre Tamano (El Salvadoran/Honduran) a member of the executive committee who offered us a ride. Hearing we were hungry he advised that a nearby public hospital ‘San Felipe' had an excellent and cheap canteen and we happily redirected our hunger. Arriving at the hospital we encountered a ‘manifestacion' (demonstration) of about 500 people, which was being approached by a phalanx of police. The demonstrators were peaceful and the police reserved, so we proceeded to enter and eat. The police and military presence within the hospital was substantial and we later discovered in interviews with 3 doctors that the ‘authorities' were directing them as to whom they were allowed to treat as well as sitting in every examination room to ensure no treatment was given to resistance members. After we departed to the embassy, our Latino/a members remained to watch developments at the protest which was growing. In short the numbers continued to grow as the hospital was a destination for a small march of 25 km by 30,000 protesters all non-violent. We learned that this is a daily occurrence around the country at 70 days and counting.
We were unable to make direct contact at the embassy, but later we arranged an appointment on Wednesday afternoon. We continued our meetings with various groups including the Feministas de Resistencia and others. We heard tales of physical, sexual and psychological abuse on the part of the army and police. There is no law in Honduras protecting women and children and violence against them seems to be a severe problem. However the women are determined that must change and so are strong in their resolve to foster a new constitution.
On Wednesday we met with the Head of Political Affairs and the Human Rights Officer at the US Embassy. They were responsive and affirmed that our embassy is not in contact with the de facto government, beyond the need to protect US citizens. The Human Rights Officer was alarmed when we related the situation at the hospital and made furious notes about it. He pledged that he would be visiting the hospital personally, as well as other facilities, to determine whether additional monitoring of Humanitarian aid was not being interdicted by the Army/Police. In all they seemed genuinely alarmed at our news.
On Thursday our group split up and I and another member headed off to Sichuatepeque where we spoke to the President of a farmers, mercantile cooperative, COMAL and his American Quaker wife about the state of affairs in the rural provinces. There is less of an oppressive atmosphere there, however it was reported that a convoy of 10 military trucks, with troops were moving through the province while we were there. Perhaps the most significant statement of the visit was a declaration that if the resistance fails and the golpistas continue their dominion, there will be a flood of leadership figures fleeing the country. Failure will result in another 100 years of oppression.
After a morning of both hope and possible despair we continued on to San Pedro Sula, the second largest city, located on the north coast. We arrived at dusk and after contacting our host, a local feminista, spent the night listening to tales of violence against women in the region. Friday morning we attended yet another meeting of resistance leadership. By now we were clear that their position is that there can be NO legitimate elections in November. The resistance is calling for the return of Mel Zelaya, a delay of 6-8 months of elections and a plan for a constitutional convention.
It should be noted that the constitution is based on the Spanish document. It states that the Army is the guarantor of the constitutions integrity; however Honduras does not have a royal element to which the Army must pass authority. Hence the current situation in the country, the illegal defacto government of Michelletti.
We regrouped with other members of our team who had visited Santa Barbara where they were told by the hospital director that he was operating without funds ($6million) that the Assembly had authorized after the coup. He stated that he had little in the way of supplies or medicines and was unable to pay his staff.
From what we were able to determine, the country is continuing to run by inertia, there is no plan for operating the country. The golpistas seem mostly concerned with holding on to power. There are a limited number of families in control, authoring tax exemptions for themselves and their businesses. An example, fast food restaurant franchises are ubiquitous, however they pay not one cent of tax on the earnings.
Among Zelayas ‘sins' were the negotiation with Venezuela for reduced price oil (cutting out the multi-national oil firms), signing on to the ALBA alliance (not ratified by the assembly), 50% increase in the minimum wage (upsetting Chiquita and Dole foods among others) and daring to suggest asking the people if they wanted a new constitution.
Zelaya was neither a radical nor a threat to the Hondurans, only to the ruling elite.
If further information is wanted, please contact me at pjtate@sonic.net and I will do my best.
I encourage those who can to participate in missions to observe and therefore provide a buffer to violence, which is in check due to the ongoing presence of foreign teams. The Honduran resistance is strong but needs our help to survive in the face of a history of violence.
In Peace (Paz)
Patrick J Tate
A Week in Honduras
by Virginia Druhe
I am glad I had the opportunity to be in Honduras the week of September 5-12 with a ten-person Witness For Peace delegation. At our meeting at the Embassy they told me another Veterans For Peace member had been there the day before! (It was Pat Tate.)
We were fortunate that in just one week we were able to accompany daily protest marches three times as international observers. I am quite impressed by the marchers' commitment to nonviolence and their skill in implementing it.
Overall, the police were also disciplined and seemed mostly focused on protecting property on the march routes. They may have sought to provoke confrontation one day by blocking the march route, but march leaders were able to re-route the crowd with no major incidents.
We spent the rest of our time meeting with university professors and students, lawyers, medical professionals, members of the Catholic Church, media correspondents, women's organizations, union representatives and government representatives and employees and a representative of the U.S. embassy.
Interestingly, the focus of resistance to the coup is not on the person of President Zelaya, whose term in office ends in January in any even, but on calls for the prompt restoration of constitutional government, holding legitimate national elections in late November, and ultimately for the country to hold a Constituent Assembly to write a new constitution. They feel that is the only way they can break the hold of the traditional 15 families on political, military and economic power. Zelaya's support for an Assembly seems to be the final straw that resulted in the coup on the day of a non-binding referendum on the issue.
While the mass and public violations have decreased in recent weeks, they have been replaced by much more personal and targeted threats to leaders of the resistance organizations. One man's wife and 2 year old child had a gun held to their heads and were told they would be killed if his work continued. He had already been detained and tortured himself. Many people report receiving threatening calls on their cell phones and being followed by military or police. There is great fear that the regime is biding its time until the November elections and that intense repression will follow then.
In terms of the human rights situation, the reports of Amnesty International and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission do a good job of summarizing the violations of the early weeks including:
- death threats and assassinations (6 - 9 documented)
- disappearance of persons (fears of dozens)
- mass arbitrary arrests, torture and beatings (Honduran organizations claim 9,300)
- threats against and attacks on independent media outlets, (only 2 that oppose the coup are currently functioning, and they are not available throughout the whole country)
- limitations on the freedom of expression through threats to the personal safety and security of individuals that have denounced the coup regime,
- regular sexual harassment and sexual assault, (Women's organizations are playing a significant role in the resistance movement and feel every effort is being made to degrade and humiliate them.)
Honduran governmental institutions and individuals including the Public Ministry and Attorney General have failed to recognize and document these abuses, so there are calls for the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and the United Nations to provide permanent fact-finding teams on the ground while blatant violations continue.
The U.S. government has taken steps to put pressure on the coup regime, especially revoking of the visas of coup-plotters and participants and announcing that the elections scheduled for November 29th will not be recognized under current conditions. However, these actions were taken weeks after the Organization of American States - crucial weeks for the people of Honduras. In fact, the U.S. response has not been clear or energetic.
The verbal condemnations would be much more effective if paired with
- cancellation of diplomatic relations with the current government
- continued insistence that international observers will not be provided for the November 29th elections and that the results of an election carried out under the de facto regime will not be recognized
- the freezing of any U.S.-based bank accounts of those individuals implicated in the orchestration of the coup.
There are also persistent reports of meetings before the coup between U.S. officials and citizens and those responsible for the coup and resulting abuses and violations. Our own officials - military, diplomatic and economic - who were involved in Honduras in the 1980's have been seen in all the wrong places.
Finally, we personally felt the importance people in Honduras place on the continued presence of international human rights delegations and observers in Honduras, both as a possible limitation on repression, and as a way to get factual information out around the world. If you have the opportunity to participate in a delegation to Honduras in the coming months, I encourage you to do so. This is clearly a time when our presence matters.
A way to be with the people of Honduras if you cannot travel is to join an international fast that begins today (9/15). www.grassrootsonline.org/news/blog/fasting-honduras You determine how you participate. I will be fasting from wine.
REPORT FROM FACT FINDING DELEGATION TO HONDURAS
I was in Honduras from 10/8/09 - 10/11/09 as part of a 10-person fact finding delegation that was openly in solidarity with La Resistencia. The delegation included two members of VFP - myself and Dave Welsh from San Francisco. Other members included community activists, members of the Honduran community living in the U.S., trade unionists representing their union locals, academics and clergy.
La Resistencia were our hosts and arranged our housing, transportation, security and itinerary. They are amazing people and I hope more members of VFP have the chance to travel on solidarity delegations to Honduras. Our solidarity is appreciated and embraced in so many genuine ways.
In making the coup d'etat (la golpe) the oligarchy has unleashed the genie out of the bottle. The Honduran people have suddenly woken up and things will never be the same - their demands are not only for the restitution of President Zelaya to office - considered a first step - but now go much further. They want to transform their country. While there have always been Honduran radicals and activists never has such a wide swath of Honduran society been so politically active.
Our hosts arranged for us to meet and have serious discussions with various sectors of society - including political leaders, a presidential candidate, women, trade unionists, youth, human rights activists and members of the clergy. We were able to observe various street protests and unfurled the banner of our delegation numerous times in solidarity with La Resistencia.
We also met with indigenous people who had traveled to Tegucigalpa from their rural homes near the border with El Salvador to take part in demonstrations, Garifuna from the Caribbean coast and Afro-Hondurans. Honduras is a multi-national country and the golpe is forging a level of unity among the different communities that never existed in the past.
La Resistencia is a non-violent resistance. It is important to note that all demonstrations against the government are now illegal and are countered by large aggressive formations of the Honduran Army and National Police. Tear gas and 3-foot batons are regularly used. Women and youth make up 65% -70% of the demonstrators and the women are particularly targeted by the security forces.
A few words about the military. Just as there is repression in the streets there is repression in the barracks. The ranks of the Honduran Army (armed with M-16's) and National Police (armed with Israeli-made Galil assault rifles) are overwhelmingly comprised of youth from compesino families. They are not given leave because of fear that their families may confront them over what they are doing. They have been told that if it is found out that they are with La Resistencia they will be executed! Thus there is a tremendous sense of distrust and fear in the barracks.
In our meetings we did hear anecdotal instances of soldiers showing solidarity with La Resistencia but these instances have been limited.
The Hondurans we met with felt that a letter addressed "To the Soldiers of the Honduran Army" from veterans organizations in the U.S. could be very helpful. Perhaps IVAW would be interested in signing such a letter. How it would be distributed would be up to La Resistencia - but it would be a modest contribution from us in solidarity.
I would like to write the letter in consultation with one of the members of our delegation - Reverend Rigoberto Avila. Padre Avila was a member of the Honduran Army for six years in the 1970's and I have recruited him to VFP! He lives in Westchester County, New York and I have asked Ben Chitty to follow-up on his interest in joining.
I hope the Executive Board can give a quick approval to this initiative as the situation in Honduras is so critical.
In solidarity, Michael Kramer, Chapter 021
