Monday, September 28, 2009

Micheletti Suspends Constitution and Detains 6 OAS Diplomats

Via Al Giordano: Micheletti has made public the following decree, which bans freedom of assembly, transit, the press and orders National Police and the Armed Forces to arrest and detain any person suspected of exercising those rights. It has also detained six foreign diplomats from the Organization of American States (OAS) - two US officials, two Canadian, one Colombian and Chilean OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza - for six hours in the Toncontin International Airport, barring their entrance into Honduras.

UPDATE! - Military and police assault and close Radio Globo (via Contraelgolpe)
BBC - Troops raided Radio Globo and Cholusat Sur TV. The raid on Radio Globo early on Monday was the second on the station since Zelaya was ousted in June. Radio Globo journalist, Carlos Lopez, said soldiers had "confiscated everything", including cameras and the keys to vehicles.

Audio of the last transmission from Radio Globo (youtube)

Good alternatives to Radio Globo providing live reports on Honduras:

Radio Progreso
Radio lo Nuestro
11:22 am ET - Telesur streaming special OAS Session on Honduras

Here is the decree:
Translation via Al Giordano:

Decree:

Article 1. For a period of 45 days beginning with this decree’s publication, the Constitutional rights of Articles 69, 72, 81 and 84, are suspended.

Article 2. The Armed Forces will support, together or separately with the National Police, when the situation requires, to execute the necessary plans to maintain the order and security of the Republic.

Article 3. The following is prohibited:

First: Freedom of transit, which will be restricted according to the parameters established by press releases broadcast on all radio and TV stations by the President of the Republic, which will be in effect in all national territory and during curfews, with the exception of cargo transport, ambulances, and urban traffic in the cities excluded in said communiqués, and medical personell and nurses that in those cities work during curfew hours.

Second: All public meetings not authorized by police or military authorities.

Third: Publication in any media, spoken, written or televised, of information that offends human dignity, public officials, or criticizes the law and the government resolutions, or any style of attack against the public order and peace. CONATEL (the Honduran communications commission), through the National Police and the Armed Forces, is authorized to suspend any radio station, television channel or cable system that does not adjust its programming to the present decree.

Article 4. It is ordered:

First: Detain all persons who are found outside of the established orders of circulation, or that in any manner are suspected by police and military authorities of damaging people or property, those that associate with the goal of committing criminal acts or that place their own lives in danger. All detainees will be read their rights, and at the same time must be brought to be booked in a police station of the country, identifying all persons detained, their motives, the hour of arrest and release from the police station, recording the physical condition of the detainee, to avoid future accusations of supposed crimes of torture.

Second: All persons detained must remain confined in the legally established detention centers.

Third: All public offices, national, state and municipal, that have been occupied by demonstrators or have persons inside of them engaging in illegal activities will be cleared.

Fourth: All Secretaries of State, decentralized institutions, municipalities and other state organisms must place themselves at the orders of the National Police and Armed Forces without any equivocation, along with all means at their disposal, for the development of these operations.

Article 5. The present Decree becomes law immediately, being duly published in the Official Daily “La Gaceta” and will be sent to the National Congress to be made law.

Ordered from the Presidential Palace in the City of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, on the 22nd of September of 2009.

ROBERTO MICHELETTI BAIN

CONSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

The four articles of the Honduran Constitution that have been declared suspended for the next 45 days by this decree are:

Article 69: Personal liberty is inviolable and only through law can it be restricted or suspended temporarily.

Article 72: The expression of thought by any media, without censorship, is free. Those who interfere with this right or through direct or indirect means restrict or impede the communication and circulation of ideas and opinions will held responsible by the law.

Article 81: Every person has the right to circulate freely, leave, enter and remain in national territory.

No one can be obligated to move from his home or residence except in special cases in accord with the law.

Article 84: No one can be arrested or detained except through written order by competent authorities, executed through legal formalities and for motives established by law.

Notwithstanding, open delinquency can be apprehended by any person only to deliver the delinquent to the authorities.

The arrested or detained person must be informed clearly of his rights and the facts of the accusations against him, and, additionally, authorities must permit him to communicate his detention to a family member or person of his choice.


Here is the second page of the decree:

The complete absurdity of this is that the justification of removing Zelaya from power was because he was supposedly attempting to ratify the constitution. Where is the supreme court and military now that the constitution has been suspended, and all basic liberties have been stripped from the Honduran people. How anyone could continue to support the coup is unbelievable.

“Today is the day in which we call for peaceful resistance, for demonstrations for 24 continuous hours. You, my dear Hondurans can’t lose your rights because someone, or a coup, restricts public liberties, violates human rights, murders and detains.” -President Zelaya

Updates from last night: (HondurasOye)
President Zelaya announced, over Radio Globo, that he will launch the final offensive to regain power calling on all his followers to march to Tegucigalpa. He called on all towns and villages to go to the capital. Zelaya said “I ask for a patriotic move from all Honduras, and that everyone who is able come to Tegucigalpa to fight for a final offensive.”

The first woman to die as the result of golpista repression, Wendy Elizabeth Avila, was overcome by the gases emitted by the golpista authorities yesterday. She went to the hospital and died today of pneumonia.

Radio Globo and Channel 36, two of the only remaining independent news outlets in Honduras, were publicly ordered shut down by military.

In the neighborhood of Ramon Amaya Amada, in Tegucigalpa, is under brutal repression with many people wounded. A Telesur team is reporting some journalists were run over by a military vehicle.

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