¡Honduras Resists!

Honduran elections exposed

2009-12-07T08:31:00.001-08:00

VIDEO: An election validated by blood and repression

2009-12-03T13:07:00.001-08:00

Honduran "Elections"

2009-12-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

HondurasOye - Supporters of Zelaya raise their painted hands calling the people not to vote in the November 29 “election”, during a demonstration in Tegucigalpa. Legitimate president Mel Zelaya, from his refuge in the Brazilian embassy, announced that abstention had reached 65% of the electorate (well above the 44% abstention in the 2005 election), with peaks of up to 75% in some districts in the north of the country. An official statement from the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup put the number of voters abstaining at between 65% and 75% of the 4.6 million registered voters.

Al Giordano- National Party candidate Pepe Lobo declared the "winner" of the mock elections in Honduras with over 50 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Liberal Party candidate Elvin Santos. Various Latin American nations have already said they do not recognize Lobo as a legitimate president, including Uruguay which today elected former guerrilla leader José Mujica in real elections today, not to mention a vast number of Honduran citizens. Claims of voter turnout, results, all of it, of course, can't and shouldn't be believed. And won't be. Nothing is resolved. Today's act of electoral theater was an exercise in futility.

DemocracyNow Report on Fraudulent Elections

Wayne Madsen on RussiaToday

U.S. human rights observers denounce intimidate, raids, threats, detentions and physical abuse use by military during elections

U.S. Human rights observers from a dozen different organizations around the United States have been in Honduras for several days to observe the human rights environment in Honduras at this time of elections.

Some 20 U.S. Citizens have traveled throughout Honduras over the past 3 days to cities and communities such as Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Tocoa, Santa Rosa de Copán, Choluteca, Comayagua, Siguatepeque y Puerto Grande. In addition, they have visited police stations, hospitals and jails.

In each of these communities they have observed the systematic abuse of human rights as evidenced by raids, detentions, threats, physical abuse, intimidating and persecution on the part of state security agents. These actions have been mostly directed against citizens identified with the Resistance movement.

Amnesty International (AI) denounced an atmosphere of intimidation in the run-up to controversial general election in Honduras. In a statement, AI charged that the de facto government in Honduras has stockpiled anti-riot material such as tear-gas ahead of Sunday's elections. AI delegate in Tegucigalpa Javier Zuniga told the German Press Agency dpa that basic voting guarantees were not being respected, due to the limitations on personal freedoms that were imposed in the Central American country since democratically-elected Zelaya was ousted by a military coup on June 28.

'Rights like the right to communicate and receive information, which are fundamental for an electoral process so that people have a perspective on what is happening, are constantly suffering limitations,' Zuniga told dpa.

AI denounced in a statement that the de facto authorities in Honduras 'have stock piled 10,000 tear gas cans and other crowd control equipment, triggering fears of an increased risk of excessive and disproportionate use of force by security forces around the presidential elections.'

National Lawyers Guild Calls for the US to Disavow the Legitimacy of Elections in Honduras The National Lawyers Guild calls on President Obama and the U.S. Department of State not to recognize the elections in Honduras, which was conducted under the control of an illegitimate coup government.

Honduras State Employees Forced to Attend Santos Campaign Rally

Evidence has surfaced that state employees were forced to attend the closing campaign ceremony of Elvin Santos, the ex-Vice President under Zelaya. In the letter, addressed to all department heads of the office of Civil Service, general director Marco Tulio Flores wrote, “I instruct all employees that are fulfilling their duties, without any exception, to attend the closing campaign of the Liberal Party that will take place Sunday November 22 at 9:30am. In a booth at the entrance to the coliseum Xiomara Orellana will take attendance of all personnel of this institution.”

On Saturday November 28 military soldiers raided the offices of small business collective RED-COMAL in Siguatepeque, Comayagua, a city approximately 2 hours north from the capital. The Police Commissioner issued a search warrant 15 minutes after the raid began with the purpose of looking for weapons, posters and any documents that call on the population not to vote. Ricardo Bueso, speaking to Radiodelosmenos.org, reported that the military and police stole four laptops along with money from some of the organization’s sales

Amnesty International - Military shooting in Honduras must be urgently investigated and witnesses protected
Amnesty International said on Saturday that it was deeply worried about the safety of victims of and witnesses to a shooting at a military blockade that took place in Tegucigalpa on Friday night. The organization called on the Human Rights Prosecutor to urgently investigate the incident. According to eye witnesses interviewed by Amnesty International on Friday night, four men were on their way back home when they saw a military blockade moved from its normal position, close to the Estado Mayor (military compound). They were not given any indication to stop or request to slow down so they drove past. Immediately after, shots were fired by the military at the car. The men drove on and as they went into a new road, one bullet hit the driver, 32-year-old Angel Salgado, in the head. He lost control of the vehicle which then crashed into a taxi and injured several bystanders, including 45-year-old woman, who was also hit by a stray bullet. She is now in a serious condition in hospital.

Honduras Updates

2009-11-18T07:02:00.000-08:00

Making the Coup “Stick” by Forcing a Vote
The Honduran armed forces are comprised of 12,000 men and 14,000 police in this impoverished Central American nation of 7.5 million people, and the military has called up reservists for deployment during the election. — AFP

AFL-CIO: Free Elections Not Possible Now in Honduras

The continued repression of trade unionists by the regime set up in Honduras after a June 28 coup makes it impossible to hold free and fair elections, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in a Nov. 13 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Trumka points out that delegates to the AFL-CIO Convention in September passed a resolution calling on the U.S. government to suspend military aid to Honduras until President Manuel Zelaya, the democratically elected leader, is returned to office and human and trade union rights have been restored.

Click here to read the convention resolution on Honduras and here to read Trumka’s letter.

Via Adrienne Pine - Letter from Zelaya to Obama

Excerpts:

From the Desk of the President

Dear President Obama:

When we met for the first time the 8th of July with the Secretary of State Cinton after the Coup d'Etat there was made clear to me and to the world the position of the Obama administration of condemning the Coup d'Etat, not recognizing its authorities and demanding the return to the state of law with the restitution to the office of President elected by the people. The official position of your government and its representatives that sponsored and signed the resolutions of the UN, OAS. In which the third point demanded my immediate and secure restitution.

As the Secretary General of the OAS José Miguel Insulza has pointed out, there does not exist a political environment for elections, as has been observed and pointed out by the North American Congress member [Jan Schakowsky] in her visit to Honduras, observing a veritable environment of violation of human rights in Honduras....

The presidential election is now scheduled for the last week of November. In this case, as Constitutional President of Honduras, and as citizen who represents and was elected by the democratic vote of the people of Honduras, I see myself obligated to state that under these conditions we cannot back it and we will proceed to challenge it legally in the name of thousands of Hondurans and hundreds of candidates that feel that this contest is unequal and does not present the conditions of free participation.

In Honduras due to the repression that the Honduran people today is subjected to, where there is no respect even for the highest authority of the President of the Republic, where they have not considered that in three years I achieved the best economic indicators and the greatest reduction of poverty in the 28 years of democratic life, where I was removed by force of arms, never was submitted to a trial nor to due process and today have 24 accusations and orders for arrest for drug trafficking, corruption, and terrorism, among others, and where the major part of the Ministers of my cabinet are the object of political persecution and are to be found fleeing the regime in different parts of the Americas.

3500 people detained in 100 days, more than 600 people wounded and beaten in hospitals, more than 100 assassinations and an unknown number of people subjected to tortures committed against citizens that dared to oppose and demonstrate for their ideas, for liberty, and for justice, in peaceful demonstrations, all that converts the elections of November into an anti-democratic exercise by an illegitimate state, due to the uncertainty and military intimidation, for large sectors of the people.

To carry out elections, in which the President elected by the people of Honduras, who is recognized by your Government and the international community, is prisoner, surrounded by military in the diplomatic mission of Brazil, and a de facto president, who imposes the military, surrounded by the powerful in the palace of government, would be a historic shame for Honduras and an infamy for the democratic peoples of the Americas.

This electoral process is illegal because it covers up the military coup d'etat, and the de facto state that Honduras lives with does not furnish guarantees of equality and liberty of citizen participation, for all the Hondurans, it is an antidemocratic electoral maneuver repudiated by large sectors of the people to cloak the material and intellectual authors of the Coup d'Etat.

The elections are a process, not just a day when you go to vote, they are a debate, they are the exposition of ideas, they are equality of opportunities.

In my status as President elected by the Honduran people, I reaffirm my decision that from this date on, whatever will happen, I WILL NOT ACCEPT any accord of returning to the presidency, to cloak the coup d'etat, that we know has a direct impact through military repression on the human rights of the inhabitants of our country....

We are firmly resolved to battle for our democracy without hiding the truth and when a people decide to peacefully fight for its ideas, there is no weapon, no army nor maneuver that is capable of stopping it.

In the expectation of your prompt response, I repeat my highest regards.

JOSE MANUEL ZELAYA ROSALES
President of Honduras

Election Boycott Kicks Off with “To Vote is to Say “Yes” to the Coup D’Etat”

HondurasOye - Soto Cano Base: SOUTHCOM Awards $38M Contract to Honduran Firm for “IT-Communications”
This critical infrastructure program supports the Commander of JTF-Bravo — the Commander of all U.S. military operations in Central America in the execution of USSOUTHCOM’s strategy to build Partner Nation Capacity. It is intended to bolster security, stability and prosperity in the Americas.

President Manuel Zelaya: Talks Are Off with Coup Government After Deal Collapses

2009-11-09T13:48:00.000-08:00

An American-mediated accord to end the four-month political crisis in the country appears to be in shambles just a week after it was signed. On Friday, ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who remains in the Brazilian embassy, declared the deal was over. Meanwhile, coup president Roberto Micheletti said he would install a national unity government without the participation of Zelaya. DemocracyNow interviewed President Zelaya from the Brazilian embassy.

Reporters Press State Department on U.S. Recognition of Fraudulent Elections:

IAN KELLY: The bottom line is that we have a Honduran process in place, where the two sides have sat down. They’ve signed on to the agreement. The agreement is specific in terms of the next steps to be taken. If the two sides can agree on a way forward—and the best way forward is this agreement; I mean, it’s very specific—then we support it. But what happens between now and November 29, you know, I don’t know. But we’re supporting this Honduran process.

REPORTER: Even though it is not being implemented? You’re continuing to support it, even though you’re disappointed in what it is?

IAN KELLY: We’re disappointed that this—

REPORTER: But you’re still going to support the process.

IAN KELLY: We’re supporting the process.

REPORTER: Well, then, I don’t understand. Then what you just said, as the bottom line, means nothing.

IAN KELLY: It means that—it means that they need to sit down and start talking again. They—it means that they have to stop saying—maybe they need to stop making dire statements like the agreement is dead.

REPORTER: There must be someone in this building who can give a straight answer to this question.

Negotiations Fail

2009-11-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

AP - US-brokered pact for Honduran crisis failsOusted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Friday that a U.S.-brokered pact failed to end a four-month political crisis after a deadline for forming a unity government passed.

But the U.S. still thinks the accord can work, and is working to move forward on it, said a State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity because an official statement was still being prepared.

The Obama Administration's position contradicts the ousted leader of Honduras.

"The accord is dead," Zelaya told Radio Globo from the Brazilian Embassy where he has been holed up under threat of arrest. "There is no sense in deceiving Hondurans."

Zelaya spent Friday huddled in meetings with supporters and it was unclear what his next move would be.

Jorge Reina, a negotiator for Zelaya, said the pact fell apart because Congress failed to vote on whether to reinstate the deposed president before the deadline for forming the unity government.

"The de facto regime has failed to live up to the promise that, by this date, the national government would be installed. And by law, it should be presided by the president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya," Reina said.

Shortly before midnight, Micheletti announced that a unity government had been created even though Zelaya had not submitted his own list of members. Micheletti said the new government was composed of candidates proposed by political parties and civic groups. He did not name the new members.

Hundreds of Zelaya supporters gathered outside Congress on Thursday to demand his reinstatement. The protesters said they will boycott the elections if Zelaya is not returned to power beforehand to serve out his constitutionally limited single term, which ends in January.

Reina accused Micheletti of preparing "a great electoral fraud this November."

"We completely do not recognize this electoral process," Reina said. "Elections under a dictatorship are a fraud for the people."

National Resistance Issues Midnight Deadline: No Zelaya, No Recognition of Electoral Process or Results

2009-11-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

COMMUNIQUÉ No. 33: DEADLINE FOR THE RESTORATION OR THE ELECTIONS SHALL NOT BE RECOGNIZED
Communiqué No. 33

The National Resistance Front Against the Coup d’État communicates to the Honduran population and the international community:

WHEREAS

1. During 131 consecutive days of struggle, we have pressured for a peaceful way out of the political crisis that our country is undergoing as a result of the coup d’état perpetrated by the Honduran oligarchy. In this period we have accompanied the initiatives that have been put forward from several national and international sectors, maintaining three fundamental demands: a) the return of institutional order with the restoration of the legitimate president, Manuel Zelaya Rosales, b) respect for the sovereign right to set up a National Constitutional Assembly with which the country may be refounded and c) punishment for the human rights violators.

2. That the so-called Tegucigalpa-San José agreement contains as its first priority the return to constitutional order and literally indicates “bring back the incumbency of the Executive Power to its state prior to the 28 of June until the conclusion of the current governmental term, the 27 of January of 2010.”

3. That the National Congress, co-author of the breaking of the constitutional order on the 28 of June, is using delaying tactics in refusing to convene the full assembly in order to repeal the decree that installed the defacto regime.

4. That the OAS and the United States government, whom we consider accomplices in the military coup d’état, do not show interest in the definitive ouster of the putschists from power.

WE THEREFORE RESOLVE:

1. If today Thursday, November 5, by 12:00 midnight at the latest, President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is not restored to his office, the National Resistance Front Against the Coup d’État shall not recognize the electoral process and its results.

2. We alert all of the organizations of the Resistance on a national level so that if the restoration of President Zelaya does not happen in the established period they may be ready to execute the actions of non-recognition of the electoral farse.

3. We call on the international community to maintain the position of non-legitimation of the defacto regime and the November 29 elections.
“WE RESIST AND WE SHALL WIN”

Tegucigalpa, M.D.C. November 5, 2009.

Honduras deal thrown into doubt

2009-10-31T06:50:00.000-07:00

Al Jazeera - Honduras deal thrown into doubt

A deal to end the political standoff in Honduras has been thrown into doubt after a negotiator for the de facto government suggested that Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president, will not be returned to power.

The comments by Arturo Corrales prompted confusion on Saturday as it had been thought Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, Honduras's de facto leader, had reached a deal.

The two sides have been at odds for four months over whether Zelaya should be reinstated before presidential elections due to be held in November.

It was thought that through the deal Zelaya could be returned to power before elections on November 29, if the measure won support from congress and the supreme court.a

But Corrales said that since congress would not be in session before the elections, Zelaya would not be confirmed in office.

"The congress is not in session, and I understand that it is programmed to return after the elections, because each one of the representatives is, at this very moment, in their respective districts campaigning around the clock," he said.

Andres Conteris, a reporter for the US-based public television and radio show Democracy Now, who has been holed up with Zelaya in the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital, said the remarks by Corrales went against the agreement.

"This is absolutely a contravention of both the spirit and the word of the accord that was signed today," he told Al Jazeera by phone from the embassy in Tegucigalpa.

"For the negotiator of the coup regime to say that the legislature is not going to meet until after the election is a contravention because the accord specifically states that no later than November 5, the new constitutional authority of the unified government will be empowered as the new government of Honduras."

Great interview from Adrienne Pine on Honduras -
(It goes black for a few seconds in the beginning but the video comes back)

Honduras: Briefing with COFADEH leader Bertha Oliva, 11/5 @ 11 AM, Cannon 201
Briefing with Bertha Oliva, General Coordinator of COFADEH,
Committee of Relatives of Missing Prisoners in Honduras

Thursday, November 5, 2009
11 AM
Cannon 201
Bertha Oliva is the General Coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of Missing Prisoners in Honduras (COFADEH). Bertha's husband, professor Thomas Nativí was "disappeared" in 1981, during the period when the death squads were active under Honduras' military dictatorship. She founded COFADEH together with other women who lost their loved ones, in order to keep alive the memory of the hundreds of dissidents that were "disappeared" between 1979 and 1989 and seek justice and compensation for their families. Among other achievements, her organization succeeded in obtaining a condemnation of Honduras by the Inter American Court for Human Rights, the first such ruling against a state in the institution's history.

Bertha has since become an emblematic figure in the Central American human rights movement. In addition to the issue of the disappearances, her organization represents victims of severe rights violations, educates the general public on human rights issues, and investigates and helps prepare legal documentation for cases. COFADEH has been keeping careful track of the massive rights violations that have taken place under the coup regime that took power in Honduras on June 28, 2009 and has just finished a detailed report on the current human rights situation.

HondurasResists: The negotiation is in the streets: A day of resistance and repression

Running away from tear gas clouds behind them several people carry a woman in shock around a corner to a water spigot someone has found. Her bright yellow shirt is soaked in a mix of sweat, tear gas and water. People gather around her wiping her down and washing out her eyes and their own. Suddenly we hear more shots and the footsteps of the elite cobra commando unit of the Honduran police. As we flee to the top of a hill we run into another human rights observer who reports that several people have been badly beaten and are in the hospital. We find our way to where the resistance has re-grouped in front of the Marriott hotel. A van pulls up with food for the resistance and people form lines to get some tortillas and cheese. As people begin to sit down and eat four large army trucks arrive, slowly driving through the crowd as cobras pour out the back and put on their gas masks. An older woman with an apron on is yelling at them, “why don't you just kill me now?” Without any warning the cobras and army, now several rows deep, begin advancing on the crowd. Within moments and without provocation tear gas is flying in the air and the army and police are chasing after people with batons swinging.

Moments before all this started we were marching under the sun to colorful rhythms of a high school marching band. Not far away, a mother and her small child walked hand-in-hand with smiles so big the sun reflected off their teeth. A couple of people had stopped to buy ice cream from a vendor. An older woman with her whole family were waiting in the shade for the march to continue forward.

The march started with thousands of people gathering early in the morning at the national pedagogical university, preparing to openly defy the de facto government's prohibition of marches and take the streets to demand the restitution of President Manuel Zelaya and a constitutional assembly to re-found the country from below. When we asked the police to speak to the person in charge in order to announce the presence of human rights observers, an officer said, “here the military is in charge, talk to him, over there” and pointed out a military commander at the back of the thick line of authorities. Here in Honduras, the military is in charge.

“The true negotiation is in the streets. When they throw tear gas bombs at us, that is a negotiation. When we march, that is a negotiation. When they beat us, that is a negotiation. The fight in the streets is the real negotiation, not what happens in the talks between the official delegations. We are completely clear that only the people will save the people,” Garífuna leader Alfredo Lopez later told us, just a few hours before de facto Honduran president Roberto Micheletti would for the first time announce a willingness to allow Zelaya's return to power.

On the 124^th day in a row of resistance to the coup d'etat in Honduras, the first demand of the resistance – the restitution of the democratically-elected president Manuel Zelaya – appears within reach. Since the military kidnapped him on June 28^th, at least 26 members of the non-violent resistance have been killed. Over 4,000 have been detained. Women have been assaulted and gang raped by police and army officers. Teachers have disappeared only to show up in a morgue or with their body cut all over. This repression has done little more than strengthen the will and deepen the commitment of the resistance. The demand for a new constitutional assembly and the re-founding of the country in the name of participatory democracy and human rights has become universal.

As indigenous leader Berta Cáceres told us, “Honduras used to only be known for its role as a U.S. base hosting the contra operations or as the place struck by hurricane Mitch. Now it is known for the dignity of its people. We have come too far to ever turn back and this struggle is just beginning.”

Reports of agreement deal are premature

2009-10-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

Honduras Oye - What Deal? The Fat Lady has Many Sisters
Great analysis of the many problems with the current deal:
Here are some excerpts -

The Honduran military kidnapped the president and forcibly exiled him to Costa Rica. Then, it put a wall of armor between the golpistas and the people of Honduras. The military defended its coup through gross human rights abuses, including murders and disappearances and maintains a massive presence throughout the entire country four months after the coup. If the military, at any point, had laid down their guns, this coup would have fallen in three days.The agreement produced late Thursday nite, appears to have five basic components: formation of a “unity” government, recognition of the November 29 election, no amnesty, verification committee to make sure the agreement is implemented, and a truth commission.
The agreement calls for a “unity” government and one can expect Zelaya to be boxed in very tightly. The only unity in this government will be among the golpistas on how best to keep Zelaya’s hands tied.

As for recognizing the November 29 election, you could not put a bigger dagger in the heart of the people of Honduras. For all intents and purposes, this will be a golpista election. And, as was the case in Haiti, the people of Honduras will boycott it massively. In the agreement, the international community is being asked to guarantee that it will recognize the result of the election before it even takes place. Regardless of who wins in the election, the winner will carry the banner for the golpistas and the de facto regime’s power grab will be legitimized.

Al Giordano - Reports of deal are premature

Reuters reports that coup “president” Micheletti has agreed to step down:

”I have authorized my negotiating team to sign a deal that marks the beginning of the end of the country’s political situation,” Micheletti told reporters on Thursday night.

He said Zelaya could return to office after a vote in Congress that would be authorized by the country’s Supreme Court. The deal would also require both sides to recognize the result of a Nov. 29 presidential election and would transfer control of the army to the top electoral court.

If approved by Congress, Zelaya would be able to finish out his presidential term, which ends in January. It was not clear what would happen to other elements of the agreement if Congress votes against Zelaya’s restoration.

Micheletti’s claim that a Congressional vote to restore Zelaya would require Supreme Court authorization is a flat out lie, according to a source with Zelaya inside his Brazilian Embassy refuge in Tegucigalpa: “That is what the golpistas have put out, but that is NOT the accord… The Supreme Court gives its non-binding opinion to the Congress, but the key is that all of this takes time, time that the golpistas want to keep taking.”

This is likely a move by the golpistas to gain support from the international community to hold fraudulent elections. There is no way free and fair elections can take place in less than a month after over 100 days of oppression, censorship and intimidation. That is IF they even restore Zelaya to full power in a reasonable time frame. Its likely to be drawn out by the Supreme Court and Congress and pushed up right to the November elections.

El Libertador - Military requests names and phone numbers for anyone involved the resistance movement
Military chief of communications Carlos Roberto Rivera Cardona has requested all mayors submit the names and phone numbers of leaders involved in the resistance movement against the coup. While the armed forces are denying such requests, El Libertador published an actual copy:

Coup Updates

2009-10-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Honduran Embassy - Micheletti calls for an end of negotiation
With three U.S. diplomats expected to arrive in coup-torn Honduras, interim President Roberto Micheletti said Tuesday that negotiations on ending a four-month political crisis must wait until after Nov. 29 elections.

COFADEH reports increased human rights violations
21 assasinated, four of whom are teachers; 4,234 denunciations of violations of human rights, and 114 citizens accused of sedition.

Foreign Policy in Focus - Coup's Impact on Honduran Women
Salvador Zuniga, of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), believes the June coup was prompted in part by a socially conservative religious reaction to feminist organizing around reproductive rights. "What I can say is that the feminist compañeras (companions or comrades) are in greater danger than any other organization," he says.

A young mother named Irma Villanueva made her own story public in mid-August. She told Radio Progreso how she had been arrested at a recent demonstration and then raped by four policemen. One of the rapists implied they were punishing Villanueva for her political activity: "[N]ow you're going to see what happens to you for being where you shouldn't be."

Villanueva is not alone. Honduran Feminists in Resistance, a group formed immediately after the coup, reported to the Latin American Herald Tribune on September 3 that they had documented 19 cases of rape committed by Honduran police. Honduran feminists believe that this number is probably conservative.

NACLA Report on the Americas - Honduran Coup Regime and Landowning Elites Enlist the Support of Foreign Paramilitaries
A United Nations human rights panel issued a warning concerning the presence of contracted foreign paramilitary forces operating inside the troubled country. According to the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, an estimated 40 members of the infamous United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) have been hired by wealthy Honduran landowners to defend themselves "from further violence between supporters of the de facto government and those of the deposed President Manuel Zelaya."

As Zelaya's Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas notes, it is widely believed that these mercenaries are being used to "do the dirty jobs that the armed forces refuse to do." In addition, the panel established direct links between President Roberto Micheletti's coup-installed government and foreign paramilitaries, stating that an additional group of 120 hired soldiers from several countries throughout the region had been created to provide support for the coup regime. This report confirms allegations made by the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo back in September.

Noting that Honduras is a signatory to the international convention against the use of mercenaries, the panel, comprised of a diverse array of security and human rights experts, expressed its deep concern and called upon the Honduran golpistas to take action against the use of paramilitaries inside Honduran territory.

The AUC, essentially an umbrella organization of various right-wing death squads, many of which also collaborate with Colombian drug traffickers, is one of the region's most notorious paramilitary organizations and is classified as a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department.

The AUC has also been directly and indirectly linked to numerous powerful elites and business interests in Colombia, including many close to President Álvaro Uribe's administration, and is said to operate "parallel" to the Colombian military. Accordingly, the linkages connecting the Honduran military regime, powerful members of the country's landed elite, and right-wing Colombian paramilitaries are extremely troubling but not altogether surprising.

Back on July 4, before any evidence of direct collaboration with Colombian narco-terrorists had emerged, journalist Al Giordano noted that the Honduran regime was in the process of making itself into a "rogue narco-state," shutting itself off from the international community while allying with the most shadowy and reactionary sectors of the Latin American right. Among its prominent supporters have been Rafael Hernández Nodarse, a millionaire arms trafficker with ties to Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, and Otto Reich, a Washington super-hawk who played a prominent role in Iran-Contra affair. All these parties share an agenda of preserving unjust wealth and resource distributions while waging total war against social democracy using any means necessary. Honduras merely represents the most recent arena in which this war is being waged.

The right's problem with Zelaya has never been that he tried to reform his country's deeply flawed constitution ("the worst in the world," according to Costa Rican President Óscar Arias), but because, according to Micheletti himself, he "became friends with Daniel Ortega, Chávez, Correa, Evo Morales. ... He went to the left." In other words, Micheletti is using the same tactics of "guilt by association" that his AUC allies use to justify their violence, only this time the "guilt" consists of association with other popular, democratically elected heads of state in the region. Nevertheless, the message and the effect are still the same: If you oppose us, and what we stand for, we will take you down with force.

116 Days of Resistance

2009-10-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

OAS meeting this morning at 10:30AM to discuss Honduras. You can watch it live here.

Friday, October 23: At 10:00AM, popular candidates will gather at an auditorium at COLPROSUMAH to make a decision about participation in the upcoming fraudulent elections.

State Dept Briefing - Several people from the Honduran electoral tribunal are going to be in town this week. Most likely looking into ways to pull off an illegal/illegitimate election

Embassy of Honduras - Major Honduran political party - Unificación Democrática - has resigned from the November elections.

HablaHonduras - Police assassinate Professor EUCEBIO FERNÁNDEZ SUAREZ a local COLPROSUMAH director who was active in the resistance movement.

10/20 - Honduran Coup Updates

2009-10-20T06:44:00.000-07:00

PressTV - OAS Probes Human Rights Abuses
The Organization of American States has sent a delegation to Honduras to investigate possible human rights violations after the recent military coup in the country. The delegation that arrived in Honduras would meet with top officials of interim leader Roberto Micheletti's administration and those opposing the coup. Officials from Micheletti's administration say two people have lost their lives during the demonstrations However, the Committee for Missing Prisoners in Honduras puts the number of those killed at 12, while Human Rights Defense Committee president Andres Pavon said that another 25 people were wounded during the protests.

Latin American leaders in a Saturday statement issued at the end of the two-day meeting of the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean (ALBA) urged the international community to reject the presidential election planned by the Honduran interim government next month. "No electoral process held under the coup-installed government, or the authorities that emerge from it, can be recognized by the international community," the statement said.

Bloomberg - Zelaya Backers Vow More Protests on Acting Government
Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya vowed to step up pressure on the acting government for his restoration after burying a union leader who died from gunshot wounds sustained at a weekend protest. “We’ve lost another comrade, we feel indignant, impotent, but above all this reaffirms our struggle,” said Juan Barahona, who served as a negotiator for Zelaya in talks to end the crisis, in an interview today at a cemetery north of Tegucigalpa where union leader Jairo Sanchez was buried.

Talks to end the Honduran political crisis, triggered by the June 28 ouster of Zelaya, remain deadlocked over what government branch should decide on whether Zelaya is restored to power.

10/19 Update - Honduran Coup

2009-10-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

Update: Pictures from the protest in front of Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates at bottom of post

Protest against paid DC backers of Honduras coup Monday Oct 19
*Meet us there, I'll post pics later today

Where?
In front of the offices of Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates
1850 M Street NW, Washington, DC
Closest Metro Station: Dupont (Dupont South Exit)

When?
Monday, October 19, 2009, 12.30 - 1.30 PM

Honduras Oye – President of Union of INFOP Workers Jairo Sanchez shot by the police at an anti-coup protest on September 23; he remained in critical condition until his death this past Saturday. (Thanks for the clarification Nell)

-detailed account from Dick Emanuelsson with photos by Mirian Huezo Emanuelsson here.

ALBA Imposes Sanctions on Coup Regime (In Spanish)

Human Rights Watch - HRW calls on coup regime to stop blocking human rights inquiries

The international community should strongly back the efforts of prosecutors in the human rights unit of the Honduras Attorney General’s office to investigate army and police abuses in Honduras and to overturn a decree by the de facto government that severely restricts freedoms of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today. The organization also called on the international community to oppose any amnesty for human rights violations as part of the transition back to democratic rule.

Fantastic Al-Jazeera videos on the crisis, amazingly well done. Kudos to Avi Lewis for putting together such a compelling and comprehensive piece on the coup:

FAULTLINES – AL JAZEERA: PART 1 – THE HONDURAN RESISTANCE

FAULTLINES – AL JAZERRA: PART 2 – THE HONDURAN POLITICAL ELITE

Pictures from the protest in front of Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates:

10/14 - Honduran Coup Update

2009-10-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Reuters - Honduran abuses rampant after coup
Suspicious deaths. Beatings. Random police shootings. Life under the de facto government of Honduras at times feels uncannily like Latin America's dark past of military rule. International and Honduran human rights groups say security forces have committed a litany of abuses. They link at least 10 deaths to de facto rule under Roberto Micheletti.

Amnesty International said in September that Honduras risks spiraling into a state of lawlessness where police and military act with no regard for rights. Honduran human rights group Cofadeh said it had numerous reports of police firing guns in poor areas of Tegucigalpa.

The Mark - Justifications for the removal of the Honduran president ignore one crucial fact: there’s no such thing as a constitutional coup.
Make no mistake: what happened was a coup. It doesn’t matter that the military acted on a court order – courts were complicit with the coup in Chile in 1973. It doesn’t matter that the architects and beneficiaries were civilians, as was the case in Ecuador in 2000, or that the coup itself was a relatively gentile affair by historical standards. It doesn’t matter that the president has occasionally behaved idiotically.

What does matter is that nothing the president did justifies his removal by force without due process. It matters that Zelaya was sent into exile rather than arrested and brought before a judge, and that the de facto regime has not proven in a court of law that the president broke the law. (What is more, he did not break the law: at no time did Zelaya propose to change the re-election rule, nor could he have done so before leaving office.) And it matters that the actions of Micheletti and his cronies violated the letter and the spirit of the law and were also inconsistent with basic principles inherent in all constitutions.

Honduras Update

2009-10-11T07:47:00.001-07:00

Adrienne Pine - Highly armed sharpshooters installed outside the embassy
Platforms with highly armed sharpshooters installed outside the embassy, using telescopic and infrared targeting systems, just meters away from the windows of the building where the president, his family, and many others are held hostage by the regime.
Belén Fernández - Surveillance Camera Footage of Honduras Coup Invasion of Channel 36
National Police enter through the television network's underground parking lot and then up the stairs at 5:20 a.m. when the station is empty. They bring in men wearing masks and bulletproof vests stamped "Policia Nacional" to disconnect the TV station's broadcasting equipment, who then start removing it, piece by piece, from the premises. The police also bring their own videographer, so the regime presumably has its own archive of what exact equipment it stole!

Masked men of the coup regime rifle through the equipment in another studio from the same Channel 36. At points you can see the National Police video cameraman in view of the surveillance camera. And then you can see them carrying it all down the stairs and out the door, an hour and 40 minutes later, at 6:58 a.m.

There's your Honduran "civilian coup" regime's version of "democracy" and "freedom" at work.

Adrienne Pine - Presidential Decree Bans All Non-Coup Media

Executive Agreement Number 124-2009

The Constitutional President of the Republic

Considering: That the human person is the supreme end of society, the state, and all have the obligation to respect, protect, and conform to article 62 of our Constitution, the rights of every person are limited by the rights of the others, for the security of all, and for the just demands of the general good and the developing democracy.

CONSIDERING: That the President of the Republic in Council of Ministers has confirmed, through communications from defense and State security organs and other entities, the deterioration we have come to have, the effects on legally protected property, by social communications media systematically denaturing the objective of democratic rule of law and creating a regimen of social anarchy fomenting vandalism to the point that it threatens social peace and the security of the State, and incalcuably affecting the national economy.

Considering: That it is an urgent necessity to preserve the public order and peace in all the national territory, to guarantee life and the well being of all people residing in the national territory, with the ultimate end, guaranteed by our constitution of the Republic, and with the democratic system, fundamental pillar of our society.

Considering: That it corresponds to the State to guarantee liberty of though and expression, but when the communications media attempt against the national security, the public order, the health, or the public morals, it makes it imperative to execute regulations founded in the existing legislation in conformity with the INTERAMERICAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS.

Wherefore
The constitutional President of the republic, in conformance with the articles 245 points 7 and 16, 248 and 252 of the constitution of the Republic, articles 11, 17, 18, 20, 22 number 10, 24, 116, and 117 of the General Law of Public Administration and the rest that the constitution and the laws confer.

Agree
Article 1: Declare, for reasons of national security and in application of the commands in Article 28 of the case law of the Telecommunications sector, specifically that referring to the use of the radio spectrum in the national territory, apply the measures which in law correspond to those that infringe the law.

Article 2: Instruct for legal effects corresponding to the National Commission of Telecommunications (CONATEL) and other competent organs of the state, that they proceed in conformity with their laws, to protect the national security in the function of the larger interests of the country, the good, the physical and moral integrity of humans. The state, as owner of the radio spectrum can revoke or cancel the use of approved titles (licenses and permissions) authorized by CONATEL to operators of broadcast speech and television that emit messages that generate national abhorrence, pretend to be protected speech, and also call for a regimen of social anarchy against the democratic state that attempts against the social peace and human rights.

Article 3: Remit to the National Commission of Telecommunications (CONATEL), the communications contained, the reports emitted by the defense and security forces and other parts of the government for its fulfillment.

Article 4: The present accord is executed immediately and should be published in the official newspaper La Gaceta.

Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District the 5th of October of 2009.

Communicate and Publish this.

Robert Micheletti
Constitutional President of the Republic
Oscar Raul Matute Cruz
Secretary of State

10/10/09 Honduras Update

2009-10-10T09:43:00.001-07:00

CNN- Use of mercenaries in Honduras on the rise according to U.N.
A group of independent U.N. experts expressed concern Friday over the increased use of mercenaries in Honduras, where a de facto president has been in power since a military-led coup in June. The U.N. panel said it received reports that 40 former Colombian paramilitaries had been hired to protect properties and individuals in Honduras since the June 28 coup that ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya. The experts noted that the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries is prohibited under the International Convention on the issue, which Honduras has signed.

HondurasResists - Army Raids Garifuna Hospital
On October 7th at 6am three army patrols broke down the doors and stormed the first Garifuna hospital in Honduras, located on the Atlantic Coast.

10/7/09 - Live Blog Honduran Coup

2009-10-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

Via Al Giordano - Poll: Wide Majority of Hondurans Oppose Coup d’Etat, Want Zelaya Back
A legally certified Honduran polling company – provides a clear measurement of how the Honduran people view the June 28 coup d'etat. Some of the most interesting numbers:
Hondurans widely (by a margin of 2.3 to 1) oppose the coup, oppose coup “president” Micheletti by a margin of 3 to 1 and favor the reinstatement of their elected President Manuel Zelaya by a clear majority of 3 to 2.

Are you in favor of the June 28 coup d’etat against President Manuel Zelaya Rosales?
In favor of coup: 17.4 percent
Opposed to coup: 52.7 percent
No response: 29.9 percent

Should Micheletti stay in power or leave the current government? Micheletti should stay: 22.2 percent
Micheletti should leave: 60.1 percent
No response: 17.7 percent

Do you agree with the repression or condemn the repression that the Armed Forces and National Police have engaged in against the National Resistance?
Against repression: 65.4 percent
For repression: 8 percent
No response: 26.4 percent

Two Members of the Honduran Resistance Murdered - The Honduran resistance and human rights organizations have condemned the murder of teacher Mario Contreras, vice principal of the Abelardo Fortín Institute, and Lenca leader Antonio Leiva, two members of the resistance allegedly killed by hired assassins. According to a preliminary report from the Committee of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees in Honduras (COFADEH), Contreras was shot twice in the face 100m from his home by two unknown men on a motorcycle. He was taken to hospital but died shortly after arriving, Telesur reports.

Another member of the resistance front, Lenca leader Antonio Leiva, was also found dead in Santa Bárbara, in the west of the country. According to sources close to the victim, he was kidnapped in the morning and his body was discovered in the afternoon in a village in the area.

Earth Times - Lula Says Micheletti Should Step Down in Return for Amnesty
Honduras coup leader Roberto Micheletti should step down immediately in return for an amnesty, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday. “For us the solution will be easy if those that participated in the coup leave power and allow the legitimately elected president to take power,” Lula told journalists at a summit with European Union leaders in Stockholm.

10/6/09 - More Violent Repression in Honduras

2009-10-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

Micheletti's thugs beat a pregnant woman and her husband as they leave the hospital.

HondurasResists - 68 mayors and congresspeople gathered at the teachers’ union headquarters to declare they will boycott the elections if Zelaya is not restored to power.

Habla Honduras - Micheletti regime denounced before the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Article in Spanish.

Honduran economy at a standstill

Al-Jazeera Report: Anti-coup protesters jailed

2009-10-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

Anti-coup protesters jailed for demonstrating

10/1 Live Blog - Honduras Resists

2009-10-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

La Prensa - Honduran Supreme Court comes out against Micheletti's decree

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Honduras today asked president Roberto Micheletti to cancel the decree that suspended constitutional rights because it harms the electoral process scheduled for November... and thus joined in similar demands made by Congress, presidential candidates and other sectors...

Micheletti said... that he would agree to analyze the request and insisted that the decree will be "cancelled in the opportune moment."

However, he said that he would continue to consult on the matter with the Supreme Court and other State organisms with the goal of making a "consensus" decision.

Al Giordano has a great analysis of this news on his blog HERE

"On Sunday, Micheletti announced the authoritarian decree without having the aforementioned "consensus" of key coup players. Some seemed as surprised as the general public to find out about it. The decree already does not have any "consensus" even among the limited power players between whom the coup was negotiated and implemented. Now he is saying he needs "consensus" to remove it. What does this tell us? It reveals that Micheletti himself isn't calling the shots here. He specifically mentions the Supreme Court, and his reference to "State organisms" most likely means the Armed Forces: the two real kingpins of the coup, for whom Micheletti is a mere marionette. In typical style, he fools gullible reporters to repeat claims that he has already backed off the decree, while this morning military and police troops continued attacks on peaceful demonstrators that have maintained government agricultural offices occupied for three months now. Clearly, the real powers behind the decree - the Supreme Court and the military - want to make sure it meets its main goals before having to call it off." -Al Giordano

El Libertador - Radio Globo continues to transmit from a clandestine location inside Honduras. Transmission available HERE

El Libertador : "We overthrew Zelaya for being a progressive." -Micheletti

Protest of Silence: University students and other members of the Frente Nacional Contra el Golpe de Estado in San Pedro Sula are calling for a “silent protest” Today in response to the closing of Radio Globo and Canal 36. The event will take place at the Froilan Turcios Plaza at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras (UNAH) in San Pedro Sula.

AP - Brazilian Delegates Visit Honduran Embassy
Brazilian delegate criticized Honduras' coup-installed government for attacking his country's embassy with toxic gas and said Brazil had every right to provide refuge to ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. Congressman Ivan Valente, one of six Brazilian lawmakers who planned to visit the embassy Valente said that there was evidence the Embassy building had been subjected to "toxic gas" attacks

Christian Science Monitor - Censored Radio Globo quadruples listeners by going online
Radio Globo director David Romero says the station has over 400,000 listeners online, four times its regular following. "It is frustrating the government," he says, laughing. "They can´t stop us."

Most of the Honduran poor do not have access to the Internet and relied on Radio Globos broadcasts.

Video of protests in front of Radio Globo, military violently breaks up crowd with teargas and batons.

9/30 - Live Blog on the Honduras Resistance

2009-09-30T07:19:00.001-07:00

BBC - Honduran Police Evict Zelaya Supporters
Honduran police on Wednesday began evicting supporters of toppled President Manuel Zelaya from government office buildings where they had holed up for three months to protest his ouster in a military coup. Riot police surrounded the National Agrarian Institute (INRA) in Tegucigalpa early on Wednesday and cleared out 57 Zelaya supporters from the two-story building, where farm workers had protested since the June military coup.
Video:

Zelaya interview with Telesur - At least 100 people have been assassinated by the Micheletti regime, said Zelaya in the interview.

Dr. Juan Almendares discuss the use of chemical attacks and LRAD by the regime:

Doctor Luther Castillo Harry the head of the Foundation "Luagu Hatuadi Waduhenu" (For the Health of our People) reports that the Micheletti regime is shutting down Garifuna hospitals and health projects.

9/29 - Live Blog - Golpe de Estado Honduras

2009-09-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

Radio Globo back!! The station is now broadcasting over the Internet from a clandestine location in Honduras. They are calling on people to go to its seized studios on Bulevar Morazan this morning at 8 a.m.

Listen to Radio Globo Here (click listen) and at www.radioglobohonduras.com

Video of Radio Globo after military raid.

Televisa - Radio Globo reporters beat by military during raid on station

Via Adrienne Pine - El Tiempo's website down. Not terribly surprising in light of the strong anti-coup El Tiempo Staff Editorial, titled "The Real Goal of the 45-Day Curfew is to Torpedo November's Electoral Process", translated by Kristin Bricker at Narco News, and the long letter from Jaime Rosenthal, owner of El Tiempo, to the Honduran people, posted here in Spanish.

Speeches and images from yesterdays protest at the Universidad Pedagógica HERE

El Universal - Micheletti handed out another ultimatum, this time to the governments of Spain, Argentina, Venezuela and Mexico.

"In the case of those countries that unilaterally decided to break diplomatic relations with Honduras... the situation of Argentina, Spain, Mexico and Venezuela, I'll let them know that the government will not receive diplomatic agents from those countries."

NYT - Micheletti Reconsiders Restrictions On Civil Liberties:
The de facto government backed off last night from its attempt to shut down protests and limit free speech after congressional leaders warned that they would not support the measure. The revolt by Congress, the first public fracture in the coalition since the coup. In a televised news conference Monday evening hours after soldiers forcefully shut down two dissident media outlets under the new measures., Micheletti asked for “forgiveness from the Honduran people” and said he would ask the Supreme Court to lift the decree “as quickly as possible.” Leaders who confronted Mr. Micheletti on Monday appeared to be concerned that the decree went too far and would undercut the legitimacy of the election and jeopardize the reinstatement of foreign aid, which had accounted for 20 percent of the country’s budget.

Al Jazeera - Protesters, OAS meeting only about the diplomats refused entrance to Honduras on Sunday), shutdown of Radio Globo and Channel 36, etc.

El Libertador -There has been a drastic increase in mysterious deaths since the first days of the coup. According to the Committee for Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH) there have been more than 100 such deaths since the de-facto government took power. One of the principle characteristics of the executions is the peoples connection to the resistance movement.

Mel Zelaya addresses United Nations via cellphone (YouTube)

U.S. State Department Issues Statement on Honduras:
The United States views with grave concern the decree issued by the de facto regime in Honduras suspending fundamental civil and political rights. In response to strong popular opposition, the regime has indicated that it is considering rescinding the decree. We call on the de facto regime to do so immediately. The freedoms inherent in the suspended rights are inalienable and cannot be limited or restricted without seriously damaging the democratic aspirations of the Honduran people. We remind the de facto regime of its obligations under the Vienna Conventions to respect diplomatic premises and personnel, and those under their protection.

Narcosphere: Interim Government Hires Fiction Writer to Hawk Coup Regime

Micheletti junta shelling out $292,000 for D.C. flack attack. Washington, D.C.-based C hlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates (CLSA), claims among its founding partners Peter Schechter, who also is a published fiction writer. His first book, “Point of Entry” [not to be confused with the 1981 heavy metal album by Judas Priest of the same name] is fashioned around a plot pulled right out of low-budget B-movie script.

DemocracyNow: Internal Pressure Forces Honduran Coup Regime to Reverse Civil Liberties Crackdown, But Repression Continues

DN speaks with Andrés Conteris from inside the embassy where Zelaya is hiding and with Luther Castillo, a Honduran doctor who is in Washington to speak with US lawmakers.

Resistance Music from the Honduran Coup

2009-09-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Resistance Music Coming out of Honduras:
Radio Globo has been playing a lot of great music coming out of the resistance movement in Honduras, but its tough to track down. If you have any links leave them in the comment section

Polache- Video I shot during protests days after the coup

Cafe Guncasco - "El club de los idiotas"

Viene Mel, Urge Mel

eli el crack -"Golpistas tienen miedo" Reggaeton Contra el Golpe

Un Zapatazo- Giordano Morel Klaus Koch

Abyayala

Soldado Unete al Pueblo

Pez Luna

Live: OAS Special Meeting on Honduras

2009-09-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Live webcast of the special meeting of the OAS Permanent Council to continue considering the situation in Honduras

ENGLISH
SPANISH

Brazil: "We highly doubt elections will be held, and if they are they are they will not be valid or fair."

Argentina: "I think that in anything we say about Honduras in recent times, we are discussing whether we are inclined to accept an electoral process as legitimate when it is carried out by the de facto, coup government. If we tolerate an electoral process from the hands of anyone but Manuel Zelaya we are setting up a system of condemning coups and then accepting the illegitimate elections the coup regime holds afterwards to justify its illegal actions. We cannot accept elections held under anyone except Manuel Zelaya."

Various Reports on Honduras Today

2009-09-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

DemocracyNow: Honduran Coup Regime Imposes Media, Protest Crackdown

Efe: Micheletti says Brazilian Embassy will lose its diplomatic status if it doesnt turn over Zelaya

Telesur: Military vehicle runs over international journalists

RadioGlobo: Final broadcast from RadioGlobo as the military storms the radio station. RadioGlobo asks for the support of the Honduran people as the military breaks down the doors to the radio station and calls on the military to respect the freedom of expression and freedom of press.

Mi Nacion: Compilation of video clips of Honduran resistance and military oppression

9/28 - Honduran Resistance Updates

2009-09-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

People are massing at the Pedagogical University in spite of massive police and military presence throughout Tegucigalpa

Telesur has video and photographs of the military shutting down Radio Globo

Honduras in Lucha: President Zelaya warns again that attack against embassy is imminent.

The regime is rounding up, detaining and torturing people in stadiums. Several reports have come out of 75 or more people currently being tortured in the National Stadium in Tegucigalpa, and other reports like the one below from various other stadiums. Ominously reminiscent of Pinochet's Chile.

Dr. JUAN ALMENDARES ON TORTURE OF TEACHER, AUGUSTINA FLORES
Translator: Dr. Norman Givan

Dr. Juan Almendares, Honduran medical doctor and award-winning human rights
activist and current president of the Honduran Peace Committee as well as
the past secretary of the Coordinating Committee of Popular
Organizations.

I, Juan Angel Almendarez Bonilla, Honduran doctor, member of the Medical
Association of Honduras, registration number No 430, Executive Director of
the Center for Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims
and their Families (CPTRT) duly authorized by the person concerned and their
families, am bound for ethical reasons and respect for human rights to
submit the following testimony to both national and international human
rights organizations and world public opinion, regarding the violence and
torture of the subject Agustina Flores Lopez, a teacher of fifty years
specialising in Educational Management.

On 24 September at 6:30 pm, I was called by Berta Ceres, leader of the
Lenca indigenous organization COPINH, sister of Agustina and the President
of COFADEH, Berta Oliva, to urgently assess the condition of health of
Agustina, who is incarcerated at the Criminal Investigation Directorate
(DGIC) in Comayagla.

We visited with the team and Berta Ceres of COFADEH at the DGIC on 24
September 2009 at 7 PM ET close to the hour of curfew. The authorities in
control at that time allowed us to speak with and review the teacher.

By her own account Agustina Flores Lopez was taken prisoner by eight
policewomen on Tuesday 22 September between 6.00 and 6:30 am, while walking
in the area near the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa.

“While one twisted my arms behind my back the other hit me on the face,
squeezed my neck and assaulted me. I had already been handcuffed– and I
recognised one of them with the surname Garcia. During the beating they
shouted at me” YOU ARE THE DOGS OF RESISTANCE, ITS GOOD THAT YOU SHOULD BE
FUCKED UP.

“First, they took me to Manchen and the patrol was carrying six members of
the resistance who had been beaten up. Then I was taken to the Chochi Sosa
Stadium where at first there were 11 detainees; but later I managed to see
about thirty members of the resistance who had been beaten and wounded.

Then I was moved on to the CORE VII detention center. They took my cell
phone and to date it has not been returned.

A clinical description of Agustina shows the following features:

Profound sadness, facial deformities and pain afflicting various parts of
the body: face, neck, back, arms and legs by the multiple traumas caused by
police. Occasional dizziness and vertigo with frequent loss of balance. Does
not remember whether she lost consciousness; sometimes are confused and
sleepy.

Has a history of suffering Primary Sjogren’s syndrome, with dryness of
ocular and oral mucous membranes and autoimmune problems that make her
susceptible to severe infections, especially under extremely unsanitary
conditions in prisons. She is under treatment for hypothyroidism, with two
hundred micrograms of levothyroxine. During her capture the taking of
levothyroxine tablets was suspended, putting her life in extreme danger.
This medication should be adjusted periodically under strict medical
supervision because of the extreme stress and the physical and psychological
torture under which teacher Lez Flores has been under.

Another of her major problems is hypertension. At the time of examination
she had a reading of 220/100 mmHg, which exceeds the value for
predisposition to cerebral vascular haemorrhage, due to the traumatic
situation in which she lives deprived of liberty.

Among other findings:

Bruises from blows, with bruises below her lower lip and right labial region
with inflammatory edema of the right half of lower lip, contusion area on
the labial mucosa on the same side and right molar area ecchymosis of
approximately 4 cm in an almost rectangular form.

Pain in the antero lateral left neck with blunt injuries and severe pain and
spasms of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Neck movements associated with
paresthesia (tingling) in both bilateral upper limbs.

Severe pain that follows the anterior and lateral thigh.

Severe pain in the shoulder region, upper trapezius area and the back lumbar
region of the spine and pain adjacent to both sides of the traumatic spinal
injuries she received during capture.

Blunt injuries and muscular aches on the internal lateral left forearm.

Multiple injuries in blunt multiple trauma axillary, anterior right inner
arm.

Bruises on the left elbow region and posterior aspect of left arm and
ecchymotic circular lesions in the lower third of the inside of her left
arm.

Based on the above I consider that Agustina Flores Lopez has high risk to
her health as result of her imprisonment and should be transferred
immediately to a hospital and placed under medical supervision for physical
and psychological politraumatizatiwbr>n; to be evaluated by specialists in
Neurology, Endocrinology, Cardiology, Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy,
and provided counselling and under other conditions by trained personnel in
torture CPTRT. In a beautiful gesture Agustina told me that one of her major
concerns is not fulfilling her duties as a tutor to my grandchildren. Her
eyes filled with tears when she stated that one of the most horrible
experiences in her life has been to share the suffering and inhuman and
degrading treatment suffered by detainees in Honduras

Based on the above we demand the immediate release of Agustina Flores
Lopez; in addition to which, we have a moral obligation to demand freedom
for each and all political prisoners in Honduras following the military
coup.

According to information provided by the Association for Freedom of
Political Prisoners most of these people are deprived of their liberty in
the “Marco Aurelio Soto” National Penitentiary and accused of crimes and
sedition:

1. SANTOS GARCIA REYNARD MONCADA (Paradise)
2. ORLANDO GARCIA JOE MONCADA (Paradise)
3. MARIA GARCIA ANTOLINA HERNANDES (Paradise)
4. JOAQUIN GARCIA OSCAR MONCADA (Paradise)
5. ASUZENA GLADYS LAGOS (Paradise)
6. VICTOR RAMOS ADOLFO IZAGUIRRE (18) (Paradise)
7. MARIO ENRIQUE MOLINA DGIC (Tegucigalpa)
8. PORTA ANTONIO ALVAREZ (SPANISH)
9. MILTON MARTINEZ MATTHEW RYE (Tegucigalpa)
10. WALTER JOEL RODRIGUEZ ANDEAN (Tegucigalpa)

Two youths left with interim measures with the false charge of Aggravated
Robbery:

KOREA Ibraham VICTOR MARTINEZ
ARIEL FRANKLIN OLIVE BAQUEDANO

No, no basta rezar. Hacen falta muchas cosas para conseguir la paz. (video)

Micheletti Suspends Constitution and Detains 6 OAS Diplomats

2009-09-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

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 22^nd 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.

Live Blog - Deadlines, Death Threats, Chemical Attacks, Media Censorship

2009-09-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

Reuters - Regime rejects visiting OAS delgation: The Honduran de facto government on Sunday refused to allow a delegation of the Organization of American States entry into the country

El Libertador - Marco Antonio Canales Villatoro was assassinated yesterday in front of a protestant church he attended in downtown Tegucigalpa. Canales Villatoro is the nephew of Radio Globo owner Alejandro Villatoro.

Al Jazeera video inside the Brazilian Embassy.

Chemical Weapons being used in Honduras
Dr. Juan Almendares
(Dr. Almendares is a Honduran medical doctor and award-winning human rights activist. He is the president of the Honduran Peace Committee, as well as the past secretary of the Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations.)

The occupants of the Brazilian Embassy accompanying President Manuel Zelaya
Rosales, wife and family, as well as people in communities and protestors
are being attacked with chemical weapons launched from helicopters or
aircraft; and sophisticated sonic and electromagnetic radiation devices that
produce severe diarrhoea, vomiting, nosebleeds and gastrointestinal
disorders.

The clinical symptoms manifested are consistent with the use of toxic
substances such as: pesticides, chemical compounds and gases, radioactive
substances like radioactive cesium and toxic mushrooms.

We are urgently appealing for an international medical mission and to the UN
World Health Organization (WHO; this is an irregular war against the people
of Honduras. The armed forces have not allowed access to the Brazilian
Embassy for doctors or the International Red Cross; violating all treaties
and international conventions on health, respect for human rights

Please make this urgent call on behalf of life and love of humanity.

Radio Globo - Channel 36 shut down by the regime. Radio Globo signal frequently interrupted. Radio Progreso director continues to receive death threats. The regime is running a direct interference to block Radio Globo's broadcast in Tegucigalpa and various cities across Honduras.

Video from yesterdays protests in Tegucigalpa.

De-facto Government Issues Brazil an Ultimatum

2009-09-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

Reuters - Brazil says won't comply with Honduras ultimatum: Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday his nation would not comply with a demand from Honduras' de facto government to decide the status of ousted President Manuel Zelaya in 10 days. He demanded an apology from Honduras' de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti.

CNN - Honduras is accusing Brazil's government of instigating an insurrection within its borders. "Since the clandestine arrival to Honduras by ex-president Zelaya, the Brazil embassy has been used to instigate violence and insurrection against the Honduran people and the constitutional government," the secretary of foreign affairs for Honduras' de facto government said in a statement late Saturday night.

Reuters -Zelaya can stay in embassy as long as wants - Lula

PressTV - Micheletti Unwilling to Meet with Zelaya: Micheletti, has rejected a direct meeting with deposed President, Manual Zelaya. Micheletti slammed the opposition for the ongoing disturbances, calling them "bums looking for an opportunity to steal." He said that Zelaya could leave Honduras "either through political asylum or by obeying the courts."

Hondurans Pay Price of Coup

2009-09-26T08:41:00.001-07:00

Live Blog: La Lucha Sigue

2009-09-24T08:30:00.001-07:00

BBC Report The regime announce that the curfew has been lifted. Plans to organize pro-coup protest, multiple first hand accounts on Radio Globo of business leaders forcing workers to attend rally.

Honduras Oye: "At least four persons dead, including an 8 year-old child. The President of the Union of Workers of INFOP reported shot yesterday has now died.

Between 30,000 an 60,000 demonstrators participated in the demonstration at the Pedagogical University yesterday. The repression from police was severe and dozens of people were seriously injured."

Honduras en Lucha - Multiple cases of torture of Zelaya supporters:

The first photo is of 51 year old Carlos Humberto Izaguirre who was tortured by the national police. The second photo is of Walter Javier Rodriguez, a 21 year old who was detained and tortured in two police posts in Tegucigalpa. Rodriguez was sitting on a curb near his house we he was attacked by police. "First they took me to a police post in Colonia Alemania and then to the 4th police station of Belen. In both places they locked us up in a cell and began to beat us with tubes, brooms and anything they could find and told us they were going to kill us," said Rodriguez.

Video from protests in front of the Brazilian embassy. At 5:30am the military showed up to break up the peaceful protest, using live rounds and teargas.

12:56 pm - Radio Globo: Reports from inside Brazilian embassy, military is not letting food or water into the embassy.

AP Report: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has suspended technical assistance to Honduras' electoral court, saying presidential elections scheduled for November will not be credible. The total U.N. assistance pledge was $1.3 million.

Venezuelan President to address United Nations General Assembly:
Stream in English at 3:00pm ET below:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

in Spanish HERE

Tiempo - Local Honduran paper, Tiempo, reports that police killed 18 year old Elvis Jacobo Euceda Perdomo for yelling "golpistas" at the police. Perdomo was on his way to a soccer field when he shouted at the passing patrol truck. An officer got out of the truck and began shooting at Perdomo while he was riding his bike away from the officers. Pedromo was shot in the head and back.

Honduran Resistance Updates

2009-09-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Brazilian President Lula da Silva called for an emergency session of its Security Council to defend its sovereign territory.

UN General Secretary Ban ki-Moon announced that the United Nations has suspended its aid to the faux-elections in Honduras because they are, “not credible.”

Red Hondureña de Noticias and Radio Globo are reporting that the de-facto government is rounding up thousands of public and private workers to carry out an assault against the Brazilian embassy. Since yesterday reports have been filtering through the national and international press indicating that in the march of the "white shirts" or coup supports, soldiers will be dressed in red to provoke disturbances that will end with the death of various innocents participating and thereby justify the aggressions against the diplomatic mission, which will culminate with the assassination of all its occupants.

Honduran coup roundly denounced by international community, and any elections under the de-facto government will not be recognized.

Brutal Repression Against the Honduran People

2009-09-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

Venezuelan TV is reporting 3 dead, and is corroborating other stories that there are over 300 people being detained in stadiums across Honduras.

"We will continued to the last consequences, be it here on this street or in any street over there supporting the resistance."

Micheletti on CNN en Español

2009-09-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

The current regime may be completely isolated internationally, and roundly condemned by nearly every international body. But Michelleti doesn't mind because he "stays close to God!"

Live Blog - Resistance vs. Oppression

2009-09-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

Viva la resistencia popular! Long live the popular resistance!

Video of neighborhoods in Tegucigalpa resisting the illegal curfews set by the coup regime:

10:04 am - Radio Globo's homepage is down, google RadioGloboHonduras and use the cached version of the site to access their broadcasts

-Tegucigalpa neighborhoods are defying the curfew and protesting against the coup

-People have come en masse chasing the police out neighborhoods, and have erected barricades to keep them out.

"They are now organizing to maintain those barricades. Tegucigalpa is beginning to look like the city of Oaxaca, Mexico in 2006." -Al Giordano

10:21 am - Curfew was just lifted for the afternoon, but the assembly of more than 20 people is prohibited. Reports are saying the resistance is preparing a march on Tegucigalpa.

10:56 am - Reuters: At U.N., Brazil's Lula demands Zelaya reinstatement

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the first world leader to address the U.N. General Assembly, called on Wednesday for ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya to be reinstated.

"The international community demands that Mr. Zelaya immediately return to the presidency of his country and must be alert to ensure the inviolability of Brazil's diplomatic mission in the capital of Honduras," Lula said, drawing applause from the hall.

11:47 am - Bloomberg: "Honduras’s ousted President Manuel Zelaya said the government of acting President Roberto Micheletti planned to storm Brazil’s Embassy in Tegucigalpa, kill him and call the death a suicide."

1:34 pm – Momento 24: Pro-Zelaya demonstrator died from bullet wounds.

2:17 pm - The military just interrupted Radio Globo's transmission. The transmission declared: "....under Article 293 of the Constitution the National Police must maintain the national security. The police has orders to maintain security. People who are breaking the curfew, who take children to illegal protests are responsible for the security of their own children and the police are not responsible for anything that may happen to them. Police will use all necessary force to maintain peace..."

3:00 pm - The Telegraph is reporting that a 65-year-old man, a Zelaya supporter, was killed in the poor Flor del Campo district of the capital on Tuesday night.

3:10 pm - Radio Globo is interrupted again by a de-facto government, the Minister of Industry and Commerce made an announcement declaring that Micheletti has full support from the business leaders and that the de-facto regime has opened all borders to allow the transit of goods, and that Honduras has reserves of gas and food and for the people to stay calm.

3:43 - People are being illegally detained in the Chochi Sosa baseball stadium.

3:47 pm - President of the Instituto Nacional de Formación Profesional (INFOP) gravely wounded by a gunshot from the military while organizing workers in Col. Quezada

3:56 pm - Can't access Radio Globo any longer. If anyone knows any way to stream it let me know. I was running the stream live through a backdoor on their site after the homepage went down, but that isn't working any longer.

***Honduran newspaper El Libertador is reporting 10 people have been killed by military/police forces, 25 have been wounded with gunshots, 20 people are suffering stabbings wounds inflicted by the military, and 3 people are reported to have been tortured, one of whom showed El Libertador over 100 cigarette burn marks on his arm, and the other two had multiple broken bones.***

(Image from Paul Carbajal at Adrienne Pine’s Quotha.net of captives from yesterday’s arrests)

4:15pm - New link to stream Radio Globo!

Free TV : Ustream

4:33 pm - 4 buses filled with Zelaya supporters have been detained in La Ceiba

4:59 pm - Police are dispersing protesters in the Central Park of Tegucigalpa with teargas

5:11 pm - President Zelaya speaks with Radio Globo. He says the interim-government refuses to meet with him. The police have become a destructive force in Honduras, pawns of the oligarchy. There is extreme repression against the Honduran people. As the legitimate dignitary of Honduras, he asks for the U.N. to take the necessary actions.

Zelaya says he is working with various sectors in Honduras to reclaim his presidency. He denounces the military and coup, saying "the people must rule in Honduras, not rifles." He added, "the people are manifesting peacefully in the street and they are being murdered."

"The people live for democracy... everything we have lost during this (the coup) can be recovered. Tomorrow we will keep struggling for democracy, and we will continue struggling. My life is dedicated solely to the Honduran people." - Zelaya

5:24 pm - Michelleti on CNN, claiming that everything he is doing is constitutional. When asked how he responds to the fact that the international community almost completely supports Zelaya, he says he has God and the Honduran constitution on his side.

Live Blog: Coup Attacks Resistance

2009-09-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

5:19pm - Radio Globo: Over 300 people arrested in Tegucigalpa-police firing live rounds and tear gas into crowds of protesters refusing to comply with curfew. Canal 36 shut down by military. 22 wounded currently being treated in Hospital Escuela.

6:02pm - AP Report: The United States pledged to do whatever it can to help Brazil's embassy in Honduras, which was surrounded by soldiers and had its lights, water and phone lines cut off after deposed President Manuel Zelaya took refuge there.

6:19pm - The de-facto regime just cut into Radio Globo's broadcast denouncing the Brazilian government for allowing Zelaya to stay there. They are demanding that Brazil turns Zelaya over to the military or take him out of the country.

Telesur reports two killed by military forces, many injured and even more detained. Embassy of Brazil still without electricity/water/phones:

Al Jazeera Report: Zelaya in Honduras - Coup Violently Represses Supporters

2009-09-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Live Blog: Pres. Zelaya returns to Honduras

2009-09-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

2:40pm - AP Report: Exiled Honduran president returns to capital
Zelaya returned to Honduras and is calling the resistance to gather in
front of the United Nations building in Tegucigalpa to protect the
constitutional president of Honduras.

De-facto President Roberto Micheletti denies Zelaya's presence in Teguciglpa, claims he is in Nicaragua

2:46pm - AP Report: State Department Confirms Zelaya's Presence in Honduras

3:02pm - Al Giordano/NarcoNews: TeleSur reporter Adriana Sívori is now inside the Brazilian Embassy and confirms President Zelaya's physical presence there. TeleSur is showing images of uniformed National Police members, with billy clubs, shields, helmets and guns, surrounding the zone near the Brazilian Embassy

3:40pm - Radio Globo is streaming radio from the front of the Brazilian Embassy.
http://www.radioglobohonduras.com

4:35pm - Al Giordano:

"This is a textbook example of "dilemma actions." It puts the coup regime on the horns of a dilemma, in which it has no good options. It can leave Zelaya to put together his government again from the Brazilian embassy with the active support of so many sectors of Honduran civil society, or it can try to arrest the President, provoking a nonviolent ... Read Moreinsurrection from the people of the kind that has toppled many a regime throughout history.

Minute by minute, hour by hour, and, soon, day by day, the coup regime is losing its grip. At some point it will have to choose either to unleash a terrible violent wave of state terrorism upon the country's own people - which will provoke all out insurrection in response (guaranteed by Article 3 of the Honduran Constitution) - or Micheletti and his Simian Council can start packing their bags. Meanwhile, the people are coming down from the hills to meet their elected president. This is immediate history"

5:21pm - Interim government declares curfew

5:32pm - Organizers of the resistance are telling people to ignore the curfew and stay in the streets, and are telling the military that only Zelaya can call a curfew and that they dont want any blood spilled tonight. The OAS just called an emergency meeting right now.

5:50om - Regime cut electricity to the entire neighborhood surrounding the Brazilian embassy.

8:17pm - Interim government extends the military curfew until 6 p.m. tomorrow evening, which means nobody goes to work on Tuesday, not even during daylight hours, and all stores will be closed.

10:40pm - Radio Globo: "The coup regime is suspending all international flights to keep the OAS and UN officials out of the country. Honduras is in a state of revolution.The barrios are igniting with the fever of rebellion. This coup will fall!"

1:05am - Radio Globo: "We are in the final offensive, in spite of the curfew there are still over 20,000 surrounding the Brazilian embassy."

"We are here peacefully, unarmed because we are the people and don't fear the military. The military must serve the people and their democratically elected president, Mel Zelaya"

Mel Zelaya Interview!

2009-08-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

DemocracyNow: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Speaks from Nicaraguan Border on Who’s Behind the Coup, His Attempts to Return Home, the Role of the United States and More

Great comments from Costa Rican President Arias and Honduran President Mel Zelaya, it shows how isolated the Honduran government is in the international community. Its very telling the comments Zelaya makes about the right-wingers in the U.S. and the real control the business leaders have over the current oligarchy in Honduras.

It is very scary the resurgence of Billy Hoya and former torturers who have been trained at the School of the Americas and have a long history of torture, disappearances and assassinations.

Bloody Sunday-Toncontin Airport

2009-07-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

I just came across another video showing when the military open fired on us. Dani and I were a few rows behind where they are taking down the fence. Here is the picture I took just before the shootings began to give you a point of reference, in the video we would be just behind the people who have opened up sections of the fence right before the military open fires.

And here is a video from a different angle: The wall you see people hiding behind is the same one we were pushed up against as we tried to flee.

Back from the Honduran Coup

2009-07-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

Finally I've had a little bit of time to gather my thoughts, reflect on everything that happened the during our time in Honduras and contemplate how I would ever be able to fully describe the things we saw and participated in.

If we rewind to June 28th when President Zelaya was kidnapped and removed from office I decided that I couldn't stay in the U.S. and just passively watch what was occurring back in Honduras. It was tearing me up watching my people take to the streets and demand a return to democracy and for me to just sit behind a computer screen and do nothing would be unthinkable.

So Wednesday afternoon I buy a ticket to Tegucigalpa. President Zelaya was scheduled to fly from DC to Honduras Thursday so I picked up the earliest leaving ticket so I could have a chance to arrive with him, or be there for his arrival.

So I clear things with work, I'll be back Monday, quick trip to see whats going on, participate in some protests and fly back. Sounds simple right? If only.

I fly into Tegucigalpa Thursday to find out that Zelaya and the OAS met and decided to give the acting government 72 hours to return Zelaya to power. Putting him in on Sunday instead. I arrive to stay with an old old friend from Honduras Diana and her husband Patrick their adorable newborn baby Benny. They were excellent hosts, and put me up for a night before Dani arrived. We had never discussed politics before and so I was a little surprised to find that they were extremely conservative and actually supporters of the coup. It worked out great though, as I was able to get a variety of perspectives on the situation and Patrick even set it up to get me out to the first protest taking place inside the gates of the Presidential Palace in Tegucigalpa since the coup.

The night before the protest we were watching TV and I noticed that all the local channels were running pro-military propaganda, I asked Diana about it and she said that the old channels were running "gossip" about the coup and so they took them off the air. The other thing that I noticed was that whenever CNN or any international news networks began showing a report critical of the Honduran coup it would be quickly interrupted by a pro-coup broadcast that I became ever too familiar with. The military propaganda would cycle through a timeline of why it was important and constitutional to remove Zelaya from power. It would call all opposition "undemocratic, radical, foreign, communist..." the typical things. But the key words through the entire time were "Paz y Democracia." Like, "Are you going to the march for Peace and Democracy or the violent one?" Very Orwellian... Its also worth noting that the whole country was on indefinite lockdown under a sunset to sunrise curfew the entire trip.

The following day Patrick dropped me off early in the morning, Dani was flying in around noon so that gave me most of the morning to see what was going on. Patrick made sure to make me change out of my black guayabera shirt, because as he put it: "You look like a Che-ist and will get beaten up." Apparently all those supporting the coup were wearing white t-shirts. (The rest of the trip I packed one around with me just in case I ran into a bad situation I could disguise myself!) As I walked along to the march I encountered a heavy military presence, instead of confronting protesters they were escorting everyone into the grounds near the Presidential Palace where a massive stage was set up. Everyone was dressed in white, and obviously from the middle-upper class. Designer jeans and sunglasses were everywhere, an odd sight for most of my travels in Honduras. Giant commercially manufactured vinyl signs denouncing Zelaya, Chavez, Ortega, Morales and CNN were everywhere.

As noon approached I made my way through the fairly large rally to and picked up a cab to the airport. As we made our way through the cab driver explained that the military had been shutting down anti-coup marches, shooting the tires out of buses coming to Tegucigalpa, and arresting and shooting people wearing shirts for "La Cuarta Urna" the constitutional referendum Zelaya was hoping to make to allow presidents to serve two terms instead of just one.

I picked up Dani and we made a dash to the hotel, and dropped our gear off. I did however make time to give her a proper welcome to Honduras. We stopped in a dirty, smelly market where real people can buy any piece of a cow you wish... and we ate delicious baleadas, the Honduran specialty.

We grabbed a cab and our only instructions were, take us to the pro-Zelaya protest, he looked at us wide-eyed... who could this stupid gringos be wanting to go to the "violent" protest. After a quick trip (regardless of what happened in Tegucigalpa, I still maintain that the most dangerous part of the trip were the cab rides, seriously Honduran cab drivers should all be in Nascar) we pulled up to a large demonstration. The first thing I saw was a plume of smoke and immediately assumed they were burning tires or something... but as we approached I found it was an indigenous woman burning incense at the front of the protest to ward off evil spirits.

The drastic difference from the two protests was immediately apparent. These were REAL people, working class people, farmers, students, teachers, indigenous people. The real soul of Honduras was in these protests. People had made signs from everything. Flags weren't vinyl copies made in china shipped to Honduras through some twist of free trade exploitation. Honduran flags here were hand stitched in someones house out in the pueblos.

Despite all the warnings about these protesters being violent and angry, we found them to be extremely welcoming and kind. Everyone asked who we were, why we were there and asked us to take lots of pictures because their voices were being silenced by the military propaganda. Everyone was so enthusiastic, and had huge grins on their faces. Music, drums and dancing were everywhere. It truly was an amazing thing to behold. A typical rainy season Honduran storm rolled up and the people began chanting, "Only the rich fear the rain!"

This was our introduction to countless protest songs. The most prolific being "Yo quiero a Mel, es mi presidente yo quiero a Mel," (I want Mel, he is my president, I want Mel," which would inevitably give way to "Viene Mel, Urge Mel, Viene Mel." (Mel comes, we need Mel). As we began marching a Honduran singer Polache climbed ontop of a truck and sang a beautiful song to President Zelaya asking him to return.

As the protests died down we made our way to Patrick and Diana's house for dinner and back to the hotel for an early night. The next day, Saturday, would be the first day since the coup that people would have off and protests were supposed to be massive. We spoke to so many people about their difficulties coming into the city as the military was trying to block protesters from making it downtown, and even met a group of indigenous farmers who had walked 3 days because the military shot out the tires of their bus.

Here is video of the military shootings out the tires of people coming from Limones to Tegucigalpa:

That night we were awoken to a very loud explosion that shook our hotel. Come to find out the military had bombed Channel 11's studio (DemocracyNow report).

From the DemocracyNow report:

There was a journalist on Friday murdered after leaving Radio America in San Juan Pueblo in the rural area in the north. Then there are two journalists who are in hiding. One is the head of channel 36 and the other is the director of Radio Global. Other journalists who have decided to continue their programming are facing death threats. And fear and intimidation tactics. One journalist jumped three stories when the soldiers came to get him in Radio Global on the day of the coup. And the reason he did so is because he had been tortured in the 1980’s and he feared this would happen once again. Another journalist had his family threatened and just two days ago, his two sons on the street were threatened with a revolver a car with darkened windows on the street. Also a bomb exploded at Channel 11 in Tegucigalpa. The material damage was severe, there was no one else hurt. Other channels closed, I said channel 36, also channel 45. In terms of radio, Radio Global in Tegucigalpa is the station that is most been under attack. I mentioned a man who jumped three stories, the director is in hiding. Other journalists are under life threats. One of the radios stations in the countryside, Radio Progresso, this was shut down. Radio Progresso is a very, very progressive voice run by the Jesuit community. One station here in Tegucigalpa that carries the headline news of “Democracy Now!” was clearly forced to take headline news of “Democracy Now!” off the air because we have been reporting on the coup. So the press censorship has been very, very severe and intimidation and terror tactics against journalists have been in incrementing.

This really was the beginning of some nerve racking situations for Dani and I.

The next morning we woke up early and made our way to the beginning of the march up by the University. We started taking lots of pictures and meeting so many interesting people from all over Honduras. The protest was massive. I have no idea how one would even calculate the crowd, but at one point I climbed an overpass overlooking Tegucigalpa and it was wall to wall as far as I could see in both directions. It was such a powerful sight, the crowd was so energized and happy.

I never once saw any violence or felt threatened in any way. Dani stood out a bit more than I did and she never felt any threat from any of the protesters. Everyone was in it together watching out for each other. I cant count the number of free bags of water I was given or how many times people told us they were grateful for us being there. Everyone had a story and wanted to share it with us.

As we made our way through Tegucigalpa we entered some pretty narrow streets and the military began flying helicopters extremely low at the crowd, it was very unsettling seeing how crowded we were and everyone was worried they would open fire from the helicopters into the crowd.

We made our way past the Supreme Court and Armory, and both were heavily guarded, but protesters formed a wall separating the crowd from the military and told everyone to not do anything to provoke the military. Through the whole thing the protesters were extremely friendly with the military and police and would constantly shout "Pueblo Unete!" People Unite! Asking the military to join us.

We finally reached the airport, and Dani and I made our way to the very front where the crowd and military met. There was a small gap and an indigenous woman had a bucket with incense she was burning and walked back and forth between the protesters and the military. The protests remained peaceful and we made our way up to the top of the airstrip looking down where it was announced that tomorrow Pres. Mel Zelaya would be returning!

The protests had been growing exponentially each day, and by Sunday the crowd was massive. They were very well organized and disciplined when dealing with the police and military. Sunday afternoon things really came to a head as the peaceful protest marched on the airport to demand the return of President Zelaya who was scheduled to return in the afternoon. The protest was peaceful and attended by large numbers of women and children, as well as indigenous groups from across the country.

As the protest neared the airport it was met with heavy military road blockades. Protest leaders worked in cooperation with the military and the military retreated peacefully three times, allowing the people to proceed to entrance of the airport and eventually to the far side of the runway.

And the protesters move forward after the military retreats:

There was open dialogue between the protest leaders and military. As we reached the far side of the runway I was about three people behind the fence and a man on the loudspeaker began begging the soldiers to not fire on their fellow Hondurans. He explained that we would be entering the airstrip to escort the president off the plane when he landed, so he would not be kidnapped by the military.

People began cutting the fence and tearing down sections. There was no violence directed to the military at any point, and they were repeatedly told not to fire because we were peaceful, and there was a heavy presence of women and children in the large protest.

People tearing down fence:

Suddenly without notice the military fired teargas and simultaneously open fired on the crowd. Everyone began screaming and running for cover but we were initially pinned against a wall. As we made our way around the wall I tripped over three women who were being run over by the large number of people trying to escape, and I was unable to help them up as the force of the crowd pushed me. As I glanced back I noticed that a small number of brave souls actually were throwing rocks at the soldiers as the soldiers were indiscriminately shooting into the crowd. Rocks vs. bullets. It was a powerful moment.

My eyes and chest were burning, I couldn't see but made my way around behind a fast food restaurant which was being riddled with bullets. As I made my way around, you can hear in the videos the sporadic gunfire at the crowd. Dani and I hid behind a car for a minute, which you can see in the video, and then grabbed each others hands and fought our way over a small wall and around to a neighborhood a block away from the shootings.

Here is video Dani shot of us fleeing the gunfire:

As the shooting died down we made my way back to the fence and found a man next to me had been shot and killed, there was blood all over the streets and a motorcycle was full of bullet holes. We also spoke with a man, in the videos, who was covered with blood.

The buildings were covered in bullet holes, and rock retaining walls were torn apart with bullets. The military has been claiming they were shooting rubber bullets, but as far as I know a rubber bullet shot from 50 yards away doesnt put a 2 inch hole in someones head like we witnessed.

The military has been releasing propaganda on local TV, the only source of news we have, claiming that Mel Zelaya was circling above giving orders to the protesters to attack the military, Zelayas plane did not arrive and begin circling the airport until far after the shootings took place. Also the military is saying protesters attacked the military, We were on the very front of the protest against the fence when the shooting took place and no such provocations ever took place.

Yes, teargas is pretty painful:

Man washing teargas from eyes:

After the shooting died down the streets were eerily silent and the mood had so quickly shifted from lively happy protesters dancing in the streets, to complete chaos and fear, to shock and disbelief. We sat and watched the military for a while, trying to understand how they could shoot their own brothers in sisters on the streets. When you looked into the faces of the military they all were so young and innocent looking. Its unbelievable that they could consciously fire into a crowd filled with children.

We slowly made our way back, thinking we would return home and try to process what had just happened. We ran into a large crowd who had moved from the end of the airport to the entrance where they were singing the Honduran national anthem, everyone with a fist in the air.

Suddenly a plane began circling above the airport and the atmosphere became electric. Radio was turned on the loudspeakers and the Honduran President Mel Zelaya addressed the crowd as he circled above the airport. Zelaya condemned the coup, the violence taken against the peaceful crowd and promised to return.

That night we returned to our hotel unsure what to think about the past few days events. It was time for us to make our way out of Honduras, little did we know the difficulty we would have trying to leave. The Tegucigalpa airport was indefinitely shut down, reports were saying at least until the end of the week. So we opted to try to make our way to San Pedro Sula.

We took the earliest bus, but in between Siguatepeque and Comayagua were met with roadblocks set up by farmers who had come down from the mountains to support President Zelaya. It was truly impressive how much they were able to do with such few numbers and small resources. They put a few sticks across the road and promised not to move until the president returned. After some serious negotiating we finally made our way past the roadblocks and eventually to San Pedro Sula.

Dani stuck at the roadblock

Dani booked the first flight out leaving a day before me. The situation was deteriorating, it was getting progressively more dangerous to be a foreigner as the military had been deporting and interrogating foreigners from Venezuela and Nicaragua.

My last day I went to a protest in San Pedro Sula that marched on the town center in front of the catholic church. After much dancing and music and speeches we were told that although the church supported the coup, there were several priests who did not, and they would be holding a mass and vigil for the protesters that evening.

I had my serious doubts about my sanity for showing up to the airport, thinking it was a suicide mission. I spent the last night barricaded in my room, with the back window open and my bags stashed ready to make a run out the window, over the roof and into a back alley. I had it all very well planned. Fortunately nothing happened and things went smoothly at the airport and I arrived home in one piece.

Sadly things still seem to be spiraling out of control just yesterday two members of the opposition political party, Unificacion Democratica, were assassinated. And over the weekend Honduran police detained six employees of the regional television network Telesur and Venezuela state-run station Venezolana de Television.

I am uploading video to= http://www.youtube.com/user/NeilBrandvold

and pictures to= http://www.flickr.com/photos/40144233@N05/

Dani has video here: http://www.youtube.com/user/danigrigsby1

Political Graffiti from the Honduran Resistance

2009-07-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

More Honduras

2009-07-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

Dani has written an amazing account of our time in Honduras, I highly recommend you read it here: http://honduraswatch.blogspot.com/

also....

Berthoud Recorder has done two great articles about our trip HERE and HERE

The Weber State University Signpost has one HERE

Hispanic Link has one HERE

IndyMedia in Athens has one HERE

My Honduras- Report from Dani Grigsby

2009-07-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

By Dani Grigsby
"You cannot find peace by avoiding life" - Virginia Woolf

It's time to write...

(HERE are my pictures - they follow this story chronologically.)

I had intended to fly to Japan, alone, to experience a country I'd never experienced. To have an adventure and to fill the unquenchable need I have to explore, experience and live.

My car was broken into days before my trip rendering me penniless as my wallet was taken, my accounts wiped clean of their assets. While money is replaceable it would not be replaced in the amount needed for me to eat, travel, find lodging while in Japan. I'd made arrangements and it would probably work out, if only barely.

I was talking online with long-time friend, Neil, and mentioned these stresses to him. He told me, 'well you should just join me - I'm going to Honduras to observe the coup and participate in the demonstrations.' He was joking, of course, but my interest was piqued. "I really will do it you know, if you're serious I'm going to switch my ticket." Twenty minutes later it was done. I was to fly out the next day to meet up with Neil in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (another country to which I'd never been - a part of the world to which I'd never traveled - a language I don't speak). To fly in to the middle of a military coup, a country under Marshall law and an uncertain future.

I left less than 24 hours later (after quickly dumping out my backpacking pack of its developed-world packed items, replacing them with my well used developing world travel gear). Slept the night in the Atlanta airport and caught my near empty flight to Teguc first thing the next morning.

Upon clearing customs I walked out into the street. I didn't see Neil at first as a large crowd of people was pressed against the glass at the front of the airport trying to see if their friends/family had arrived on the flight. He was standing on a ledge across the street and called me over.

Grabbing a cab we rushed to the near empty hostel threw down my gear and rushed to the protests. Neil and I soon found that we are quite compatible in conflict zone 'tourism.' There was never any discussion of, "where do you want to be? is it okay if we move closer?" Instead we were almost pushing each other over to get to the very front of everything, climb to the highest point to watch, push our way to the front of each large group of people.

The first protest was somewhat small, the people had closed down a bank downtown and were dancing and singing in the streets to a national music star, Polache. It was really incredible, the energy pulsating, the people enthusiastic. At one point I tried to climb atop a large wall to watch. A man already on top offered me his hand to assist me up, Neil joined. He began to tell us of the trek he'd made through military road blocks and on bus. People were being pulled from his bus and arrested if they were thought to be pro-Zelaya. He and his friends got off the bus and had to hitch and walk their way into the city just to be at the protest. Just to participate in their democracy. To be heard. He risked his life to stand up for what he believed in, his country. It was amazing. (thanks to Neil for translating for me - no hablar espanol)

The people did a short march around the block, chanting, singing, dancing. The atmosphere was festive. They were hopeful. The people were uniting. The energy was contagious the air electric. The streets were filled with banners and fliers 'GOLPISTA FUERA.' All walls were adorned with graffiti. The country may be owned by the military at the moment but the people had the streets and it was exciting.

Neil and I attracted attention and people began telling us their stories, unprovoked. Neil listened and would translate for me. The stories were simply incredible. This would be a constant for us for the next several days of marching. Constantly being inspired.

We ate with friends of Neil's from Honduras that night (great food! balearas...however you spell it - como se dise tortilla en espanol? hahahahaha), returned to the hotel to watch some TV - only to find the stations taken over by the golpista government's propaganda, it was rather eerie. Neil sat on the roof and spoke with men who had traveled days to get into the city to participate in the marches, I crashed.

That night we awoke to the first of the bombings.

The next day we woke early to join the march from the university to the airport. A long distance. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at the University. The energy from the day before was back, only multiplied a thousand fold. The people were told to organize by neighborhood so they could watch out for one another. Neil and I laughed as we stood together...our neighborhood of two (from the US) was complete :). Before beginning to march a pastor offered a prayer. Be you a praying person or not, it was moving.

As the march began Neil and I climbed to the top of a bridge to observe. The line of people just kept coming and coming and coming and coming and coming. I had chills (and do again writing this) as I watched a never ending sea of people chanting and singing and laughing. United in a belief that they were going to bring justice to their country. It was beautiful.

Not soon into the march the military began sending out helicopters to fly low over the protesters to intimidate (there was no other reason for their presence). It had little effect as the people just screamed at them, shaking fists in the air (I'll admit, it worked on me a few times...!).

We saw many graffiti artists along the route... :)...

We marched in the hot sun for hours, up and down hills, under bridges, past roads blocked by the military. All in peace. All in unity. All in a spirit of conviviality. Truth be told, it was a hell of a lot of fun. People commented on my sun burn (obtained from the previous weekend's 100 mile bike race) - "you're a tomato!" they exclaimed!

It must be noted that of the team of Neil and Dani I stood out significantly more. Light hair, blue eyes, light (bright red) skin. Through that I never felt threatened, never targeted, I was accepted by the people even though I spoke no Spanish (though I tried...accidentally telling a woman I hated food when she offered me her sandwich...hahahaha). I was a part of the people, regardless.

We made it all the way to the airport to find the military had blocked the entrance and Zelaya's plane was not to land that day. We stayed and enjoyed the atmosphere around the airport until the crowd was told to disperse and meet again the next morning to march on the airport.

Happy 4th of July - Neil and I had a true 4th this year having spent the day marching for freedom. Never going to forget that.

Second night waking to bombings.

Sunday.
"A woman's whole life in a single day. Just one day. And in that day her whole life" - Woolf

Got up and didn't march with the people, instead climbed to the top of a hill with a giant Christ statue on top, with a view over all of Tegucigalpa. It was amazing. We then got anxious and cabbed to the airport to observe the goings on. Our cabbie had to drive us around the back way as the traditional roads were closed. When he dropped us off we were confused. The streets by airport were empty. Eerily empty. The red cross had established itself in each back street but the streets were bare. We soon saw military and police crowded into trucks, sirens blaring speeding down the road toward town. We looked at each other and immediately followed.

Shortly after we realized that the military and police had set up a road block. Blocking the people from marching on the airport, and we were BEHIND it. We debated which side of the military was the safest side to be on and decided we'd stick with the press corps for the time being. We positioned ourselves on a ledge overlooking the military in formation - all waiting, tensely, for the people to arrive. Which, in time they did - but the military chased us off at this point (I posted a video of this previously) - so we ran behind the barricade and climbed a grassy hill on the other side with military in front of us and behind. We positioned ourselves behind the press workers wearing full flack jackets, toting gas masks and helmets. Nerves were high.

A group of protesters marched in front linked arm in arm and placed themselves as a barricade between other protesters and the military, "we will not be violent!" was the cry shouted form megaphones. AND THEY WEREN'T. I'm emotional about this. The people were never violent. I have footage of them handing water to the military men who were blocking their path to welcome their democratically elected president home. The people kept chanting at the military, "Pueblo unete!" True ahimsa in Honduras.

From our vantage point we saw the military general talking on his radio and the police chiefs joining with him. The press began to swarm. Not too long after the announcement came over the loud speaker that the military was going to RETREAT! The people had taken the streets! Row by row the military retreated, "give them room! give them time to get away!" was the cry from the loudspeaker. Brotherhood, in its truest form.

After the last of the police had dispersed the people slowly began marching forward. Oh the atmosphere was lively! I filmed for four solid minutes on my crappy digital camera as the wave of protesters marched by. They saw Neil and I with some of the press corps on the hill and they shouted and cheered and smiled and waved at us. Victoriously.

We slowly made our way to the gates of the airport. Zelayas plane was coming the radio reports were saying over and over. The people dispersed a bit around the airport and waited. Neil and I made our way to the front of the crowd that had gathered by the runway. A small fence with barbed wire was all that separated us from the military behind.

We sat in front of a large stone wall. It was hot, we were tired but we were excited. Both of us felt that the people had done it. Zelaya would land and the people would welcome back their president. The military was cornered (seemingly) at the airport. The people had won back their country, peacefully.

The military began moving trucks, and small aircraft onto the runway. It soon became clear something was up. After an hour or so the people became restless. Would it happen? Would Zelaya be allowed to land? Over the loud speaker it was announced to the military (Neil has this on film), "we are going to march onto the runway. we will welcome our president. do not shoot at us, your fellow Hondurans. we will be peaceful!" Slowly the men in front began to cut down the fence while Neil and I snapped photos.

Translation of video below:

"Please do not fire on any Hondurans. Your responsibility is to protect the Honduran people against...(inaudible) Everything you consume and have is paid for by the sweat of our people. This government and its power is over. It has been denounced by the international community. Now, our president is about to arrive and the people will recieve him. We will not permit, for any reason, that they will kidnap him again. So dear soldier of our country, we have nothing against you, we have nothing against you..."

The rest is a slow motion blur.

Without any warning rapid bursts of gun fire began. Immediately men, women AND CHILDREN began screaming and falling to the ground. Neil and I were very close to the fence. Too close. We crouched low instinctively and I grabbed desperately to his arm. "We need to MOVE!" Neil screamed.

We were stuck in front of the stone wall. We pushed our way with some people around to the left side of the wall at which point the women around Neil and I tripped. We dropped hands so Neil could try and help them up. Meanwhile I attempted to turn on my camera so I could video tape the shooting (keep in mind the gunfire is still going on, non-stop). In doing so I tripped and fell on top of the women as well.

At this point the military began shooting tear gas. There's no way to describe the feeling of tears gas. It was probably more terrifying than the sound of bullets being fired around you. It settled on us and immediately began to sting and burn our eyes, noses, throats and chests. I couldn't see, could hardly breath and all the while all I could think was, "people are dying, oh my GOD, people are dying." The gun fire continued, unabated. Neil and I were separated. He began to scream my name at the top of his lungs. I could barely see, or think but was able to follow the sound of his voice behind a Popeyes Chicken situated across the street from the airport runway. En masse we arrived with others fleeing the gunfire. At this point both Neil and I realized we hadn't been recording and turned on our cameras, thus the footage you see is late into the shooting.

Neil asked for water - I was so much in shock I offered him my coke (not sure what I was thinking). The shooting began again and we ran behind some cars. I stood up to film what I saw - my camera lens was clouded from tear gas so you can't tell but from behind the car I could see hundreds of rocks being lobbed over the fence at the military. Rocks against bullets. ROCKS. Children, women, elderly, PEOPLE fleeing from bullets and retaliating with ROCKS. The Palestinian intifada comes to mind...rocks!

The shooting continued and our hiding spot was soon too crowded for safety. To see people running toward you en masse is terrifying. I thought the military was chasing us, that they'd crossed through the fence.

Neil and I grabbed hands and ran together, climbing a fence and filming the continued shooting. We ran further down the street and collected ourselves.

After some amount of time (who knows...time was irrelevant through all this, it could have been days, hours, seconds) we decided (again, without consulting each other) to head back to the scene. What had happened?

It must be said this is INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO WRITE. I'm having a really hard time. This is tough.

We watched people dousing themselves in water to wash off tear gas - which hurts for a long time after. The closer we got the angrier the people were. As we got to the front of the scene of the shooting people immediately started dragging us around by the wrists, "FILM THIS!!!!" they screamed. They showed us the front of the Popeyes Chicken the building behind which we'd sought refuge. It was riddled with bullets. We then were taken to blood stains - the red cross workers had cleared up most of the carnage and injured.

Finally a man dragged Neil into the front of the crowd (me in tow) we saw the blood before we knew what it was and we both dropped back a bit.

People died in this shooting. A child died. No matter what the international press reported we heard it from Red Cross workers. A child no older than 10, two men 17 and 25. One shot through the head. Neil and I saw this later. No more details are necessary. But people died. Peacefully protesting a coup. Lives ended.

The crowd was deflated. People walked around in a daze. Neil and I meandered without talking back down the street toward the front of the airport. We climb atop a ledge to watch the airstrip for a few minutes. To breathe. We sat next to several Hondurans seemingly doing the same thing. We were alive. And I was angry.

We continued toward the airport entrance just on time to see the military in full armor still guarding it. A smaller crowd still stood in front of them chanting with so much enthusiasm. They sang their national anthem. My body had chills and I stood there, fist up in support and listened. I couldn't sing along, I didn't know the words, but at that moment I, too, was Honduran.

To guard this sacred emblem
We shall march, oh fatherland, to our death;
Our death will be honoured
If we die thinking of your love.
Having defended your holy flag,
And shrouded in its glorious folds,
Many, Honduras, shall die for you,
But all shall fall in honour.

Then the announcement came that Zelayas plane was circling overhead. We stood, head's skyward and listened as Zelayas voice was broadcast over the radio. He was trying to land but after the shooting the people weren't able to take the runway and the military blocked it. He circled for at least 30 minutes - his people cheering below. In the end the flight was diverted and the military succeeded in its goal - keep Zelaya out. And people had to die for it.

It was then announced that the country-wide curfew was to begin that night at 6:30 Neil and I had to run to catch a cab - nobody would take us as everyone was scrambling to get home before 6:30 - being caught out after meant arrest or worse (we'd witnessed this on previous nights).

We made it home and got online - this is when I wrote the blog post on 7/5/09. We were in shock.

We spent the entire next day in shock and on lock down. We did venture out into the city but not to the protests. We eaves dropped on the press corps staying at our hotel.

The airport was closed so Neil missed his flight. We spent a great amount of time that day on the telephone trying to book us both flights out of San Pedro de Sula. Neil's was to leave the next day. We stayed up late late talking and caught a bus to San Pedro in the early morning.

Leaving Tegucigalpa was defeating for me. I felt like I was betraying the people somehow. I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

We hadn't gotten far from city when our bus stopped, "there's a roadblock" the driver announced. Neil and I immediately hopped off the bus to protests from the driver, "it's not safe!" and marched up to see the road block. This was all it was:

'Never underestimate the ability of a small group of dedicated people to change the world. It's the only thing that ever has' - Margaret Meade

Yes, it was inconvenient. Neil missed his flight. But the people were not defeated. I will always take that with me.

We arrived in San Pedro shortly before curfew. We walked around the plaza, got food and returned to our hostel. My flight was booked out the next day.

Leaving Neil in the country was even worse than leaving Teguc - again, I felt I was betraying! Though, I barely made it out of the country. My passport was flagged for some reason and the security took it for 1.5 hours. I crouched on the floor in near tears asking in broken spanish what was going on. Nobody could answer. I was nervous. Eventually they searched my luggage several times (I'd hidden by SD cards in my bra) and let me pass. I got to the plane 20 minutes before take off. Quite stressful.

As I boarded and Honduras floated away beneath me I couldn't deal with the images I had in my head, the chants that floated through my brain.

Our lives are full of defining moments. Or moments that need defining. Honduras was for me, both.

Why did I go? To be a witness. Did me being there change the outcome of events? No. Was my presence necessary? No. Did it mean anything to anyone? Yes. For one, you're reading this. For another, I met so many Hondurans who were so excited to see me - just because I was foreign, white, maybe even "wealthy" (ha!). Do I want to be glorified for what I saw? No! It's not about me. It's not about Neil. This was never about us. This was about Honduras. This was about the people who refused to be silent. To people world-wide who refuse to roll over and accept what is thrown at them. The oppressed, the voiceless. I went. I heard and in my teeny, tiny way I gave voices to the voiceless. And those voices have changed something inside me. So, I went to be a witness. I returned Honduran - feeling more human, connected and alive than perhaps ever in my life.

And I'm going to keep talking, even though it's hard. Even though it makes my stomach churn and I wake up at night thinking the military is attacking my room. I cannot be silent. I can't for the sake of those I left behind. Those who didn't have the luxury of boarding a plane to safety. Those who will continue to take to the streets until justice is restored.

Thanks for reading.

Honduras on my mind

2009-07-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how one week can so drastically change your perspective on whats most important in life. I've been left in complete awe of the Honduran people and can't get images from last week out of my mind.

Moments keep replaying in my head... like watching President Zelayas plane fly over the Toncontin airport, where just after being shot at, teargassed and having stood next to their fellow brothers and sisters as they were brutally murdered for demanding justice, the Honduran people remained in the streets. Defiantly we stood in front of the military blockade as we watched the president try to land while everyone, with tears in their eyes and fists in the air sang the Honduran national anthem.

There is a refrain in the national anthem that says:

Por guardar ese emblema divino
Marcharemos, oh patria!, a la muerte;
Generosa ser nuestra suerte
Si morimos pensando en tu amor.
Defendiendo tu santa bandera,
Y en sus pliegues gloriosos cubiertos,
Seran muchos, Honduras, tus muertos,
pero todos caeran con honor!

Which roughly translates to:

To guard this sacred emblem
We shall march, oh fatherland, to our death;
Our death will be honoured
If we die thinking of your love.
Having defended your holy flag,
And shrouded in its glorious folds,
Many, Honduras, shall die for you,
But all shall fall in honour.

I received a very sweet email from a friend in Honduras today who said:

"Honduras is a beautiful land! With people looking to fight for your rights!
But powerful groups want to manipulate, handle the people at your convenience!
But people will fight to the end! Thank you for your solidarity with my people."

Honduras, we are still listening.

Thanks for the picture Dani.

Honduras Update

2009-07-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

We made our way to San Pedro, I have lots and lots of stories and news but that will have to wait until my return. Things here are safe, Dani caught a flight this morning, I should be out soon. Yesterday was unreal, it took a full day to get here (normally a fairly short trip) farmers from villages had set up roadblocks along the road. After a trying day I missed my flight but fortunately made it here.

All is good. A few places have picked up the story, my home town newspaper the Berthoud Recorder did a nice story HERE

Here is a video Dani shot while we were dodging bullets Sunday;

I dont think the reality of the things that we witnessed and experienced here is really sinking in yet. Looking forward to getting home, but its going to be hard to watch everything thats happening here from all the way back in the states. If I could I would stay with the people.

El Pueblo Unido - Honduran Military Fires on Protesters

2009-07-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

When I finally get back home I promise to more fully describe the events that have happened over the past few days. Im really filled with such a wide range of emotions right now its hard to articulate what I have seen and participated in. I arrived in Honduras to find the people protesting in support of the military coup and protesting against. All peacefully.

I attended many protests and the anti-coup/pro-zelaya marches were quickly growing in size. People from the villages were flooding into Tegucigalpa, and I was told many stories from people who were coming in and had their bus stopped by the military, tires shot and were forced to spend days walking into the city to protest.

When I have time later Ill share many of the stories, but things really came to a head this afternoon. Today was the largest protest and was easily had over one hundred thousand protesters at least. Probably upwards of a million but it was difficult as I never saw the end of the marches. President Mel Zelaya was set to return this afternoon, so the protest marched on the Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa. People were completely peaceful, and very well organized. The march was met with three military roadblocks which were peacefully moved as police and military retreated.

As we eventually reached the final destination, the end of the runway a man on a loudspeaker spoke passionately to the military, begging them to not fire on their fellow Honduran brothers and sisters who only wanted the return of their president. The speaker then explained that we would be entering the airport to escort the president off the plane. People began cutting the fence to enter the airport. Dani and I were about 3 people back from the fence when suddenly tear gas was shot at us and the military began shooting fully automatic guns into the crowd of peaceful protesters around us. The protest was filled with women and children, everyone began screaming and running for cover. I lost Dani for a minute as we tripped over some women who had fallen over. Bullets were flying everywhere as I made my to a restaurant and tried to hide around the corner. I was screaming for Dani, while my eyes and chest burned like I have never experienced before. We made our way behind a wall and car but the shooting began moving closer, hitting all the windows in the restaurant next to us, so we jumped a wall and sprinted down a street to seek cover.

After the shooting slowed down a bit we made our way back to the fence where we were standing, only to find they had shot a man dead next to where we stood, there was blood all over the streets and his motorcycle was riddled with bullet holes. A man who was with him was covered in blood screaming about what had happened. Reports there said 4 died, including one child.

Im working on uploading media, I have thousands of pictures and a lot of video but its difficult with the slow internet connection here.

We are safe now, very shaken up but safe. Tomorrow we will most likely be working on getting out of the country to fly out of Nicaragua. Im very sad about leaving the people here. I am hoping for the best for Honduras, but the situation looks worse and worse by the minute. I still am in complete awe that the military would fire into a crowd of peaceful protesters the way they did. I promise a better account of everything later, but wanted to let everyone know that we are safe. I have some pictures here=
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40144233@N05/

and some video here=
http://www.youtube.com/user/NeilBrandvold

Going to Honduras

2009-07-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

This is a short post, just wanted to put it up before I left. I'm in the process of throwing together all the necessary last minute preparations for a trip to Honduras. I leave at 6am tomorrow morning and will be gone until Monday.

I've activated my cell phone so I'll be able to make and receive calls, its expensive so I'll keep them to a minimum. I'll try to post as much as I can and get up as many pictures as possible. I promise to be safe, I have friends I'm staying with, and in a surprise last minute addition Dani is going to meet me out there for a few days!

For updates on the political situation I'd suggest checking out DemocracyNow. Here is todays report:

Military Using “Brutal” Force Against Anti-Coup Protests in Honduras

The ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is expected to meet with US diplomats in Washington today before attempting to return to Honduras Thursday, five days after being deposed by a military coup. Meanwhile, the streets in Honduras remain tense, and the crackdown on the media has reportedly not been lifted.