Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières
Call for Action in solidarity with Honduras
FOR THE REINSTATEMENT OF DEMOCRACY IN HONDURAS!
AGAINST THE COUP! IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF HONDURAS!
This is a call to all solidarity organisations and individuals to stand for democracy in Honduras and Central America.
Military dictatorships never again!
We demand the immediate reinstatement of Zelaya, the democratically elected president of Honduras. Immediate stop to the repression against the people of Honduras by the military and police forces.
Saturday, 4th of July, 12pm
At GPO (crn of Elizabeth & Bourke St, Melbourne CBD, Vic)
For more information call Lulu 0421 957 341, Roberto 0425 182 994 or Oscar 0415 232 057
E-mail: info solidarityconference2009.org
This protest was initiated by the Latin America Solidarity Conference 2009 organising committe and the organisations represented there.
Other cities are organising similar actions.
Supported by:
LatinAmerica Solidarity Conference 2009 Organising Committee:
Centre for Latin America Solidarity and Studies (CLASS)
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG, Australia)
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN, Melbourne)
Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network
Peace & Justice for Colombia (Melbourne)
Chilean Communist Party (Melbourne)
Communist Party of Australia (CPA)
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP)
Socialist Alliance
Statement by the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN)
CONDEMN UNDEMOCRATIC COUP IN HONDURAS:
The Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN) strongly condemns the undemocratic coup conducted by a small group of military, members of the oligarchy and their political agents in Honduras. The violent kidnapping and expulsion to Costa Rica of democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya is a ruthless attack on the rights of the Honduran people to freely elect their own leaders, and decide their own political future.
The pretext for the coup was no more than the president’s plan for a non-binding national poll to determine support for a future referendum on the convening of a Constituent Assembly to recommend changes to the undemocratic Honduran Constitution, which was imposed on the country during the Reagan administration’s puppet regime in Honduras in 1982. Now the congressman who organised the poll has reportedly been assassinated by the military.
The assault on the Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan ambassadors, who were trying to protect the foreign minister of Honduras from arrest by the military, is a further threat to the international Bolivarian movement for unity and social change throughout Latin America. AVSN declares that an attack on any progressive Latin American government — especially a member of the Bolivarian Alliance for Latin America (ALBA), as Honduras is — is a danger to all people’s governments in the region.
This return to the era of military coups is a throwback to the dark past of Latin America of decades ago, and must be firmly rejected by all the peoples and governments of the world.
In particular, we call on the governments of the United States, Europe and Australia to resolutely condemn this coup, to refuse any recognition to the new, fraudulent regime in Honduras, and to cut off all military, economic and political ties with the Honduran junta.
We salute Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez when he warned of CIA involvement in the Honduran events, and when he called on US President Barrack Obama to “reject the coup right from the marrow.” We also fully support the moves by the nine governments of ALBA to prepare a plan of action to combat the coup. We also note the vigorous condemnation of the Honduran coup by the Organisation of American States.
Moreover, we call on the United Nations Security Council to convene an emergency meeting to condemn the coup and completely isolate the coup-plotters internationally until President Zelaya is returned to his rightful presidential office, all Honduran military forces are sent back to their barracks and the coup-plotters arrested and put on trial for their crimes.
We pledge the full solidarity of the AVSN and the Latin American solidarity movement in Australia until the coup is overturned and democratic rights reinstalled in Honduras.
Restore democracy in Honduras!
Statement from the Socialist Alliance (Australia)
July 2, 2009
The Socialist Alliance strongly condemns the June 28 coup d’etat by the military, members of the oligarchy and their political agents in Honduras. The violent kidnapping and expulsion to Costa Rica of democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya Rosales is an attempt to deny the people of Honduras their fundamental human rights to determine their own government and political future.
The coup took place as millions of Hondurans were preparing to exercise their right to vote for the first time in a consultative referendum on the future convening of a constitutional assembly to reform Honduras’ constitution. The Zelaya government’s proposal to draft a new constitution is the culmination of other measures under his presidency that have come under attack by conservative forces, including a significant raise in the minimum wage, measures to re-nationalise energy generation plants and telecommunications, signing a bill to greatly improve labour conditions for teachers, joining the Venezuelan Petrocaribe program, and delaying recognition of the new United States ambassador after the Bolivian government implicated the US embassy in
supporting paramilitary groups destabilizing Bolivia.
The Socialist Alliance also condemns the June 28 assassination by the armed forces of Honduran congressperson Cesar Ham, the organiser of the consultative referendum on a new constitution, and the abduction of Honduran foreign minister Patricia Rodas. The assault and attempted kidnapping on the Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan ambassadors in Honduras, who were trying to protect Rodas was a direct attack on the
Bolivarian movement for unity and progressive change in Latin America.
The Socialist Alliance is very concerned for the safety of the human rights organisations that have supported the president and the efforts for constitutional reform. Reports of the military pursuing civil society leaders in the street and of leaders of the National Council of Indigenous Peoples being forced into hiding must be responded to be all who support freedom.
We applaud and stand in solidarity with the thousands of brave Hondurans who have mobilised to defend democracy by demonstrating in the streets and attempting to exercise their right to participate in the referendum despite intimidation and assault by the armed forces. We also solidarise with the Honduran trade unions and social movements calling for a general strike in support of their ousted president.
The Socialist Alliance congratulates the nine governments of ALBA, the Organization of American States, and the UN General Assembly president Miguel D’Escoto for their immediate condemnation of the coup and support for Zelaya as the only legitimate president of Honduras. We note that the European Union and numerous governments have condemned the coup, and call on the Australian government to:
· Refuse to recognise the Congressional appointed ’de facto’
government of Roberto Michelletti;
· Demand the immediate, safe return of the President Zelaya and
foreign minister Rodas, and the reconstitution of the elected government;
· Demand the immediate release of all political and social
movement organisation leaders who have been detained by the military;
· Insist on respect for the safety and human rights of all
Hondurans; and
· Support calls from the Honduran people for the coup leaders to
be arrested and tried for their crimes.
We pledge the Socialist Alliance’s active solidarity with the Honduran
people’s fight for democracy and justice, and will continue to protest
until the coup is overturned and democratic rights are reinstalled in
Honduras.
* For further information: Lisa Macdonald 0413 031 108
Resistance, socialist youth organisation in solidarity to the people of Honduras
Tim Dobson, Resistance national executive member
The news of a military coup d’etat in Honduras reached most Resistance activists as they awoke on Monday morning on the 29th of June. There was much sadness, anger and frustration but also determination to not allow yet enough coup to happen against a democratically elected leader in the Americas.
First and foremost, Resistance rejects the coup d’etat and believes the government installed by the coup is illegitimate and has no mandate. We agree with The Organisation of American States, that this was “an unconstitutional alteration of the democratic order’ in Honduras and that there is only one president of Honduras, the democratically elected, Manuel Zelaya.
Those in the government installed by the military and the military itself have constantly sought to deny the Honduran people their most basic democratic rights. This coup itself was justified on the grounds that the Honduran people were to be consulted in a referendum about whether a constitutional assembly should be convened in order to reform the constitution. The current constitution itself was written in 1982, during the time when the Reagan administration was funding death squads throughout Central America. It is an outdated and undemocratic constitution which entrenches the rule of a powerful elite.
The Supreme Court ruled the vote illegal, after pressure was applied by right wing parties, so the ballot was to be non-binding. The military refused to distribute the electoral material for the referendum. So, the head of the high military command, General Romeo Vásquez was fired. In Honduras, as in the United States, the president has the final say on military matters. In spite of this the Honduras’ Supreme Court reinstated General Romeo Vásquez to his position.
All throughout this period the people of Honduras were mobilizing in big numbers to defend their president and their right to have a say in the direction of their country. The right wing parties have formed an alliance with the military in order to ensure that the popular will of the people is not heard.
The actions of the military after the coup d’etat are quite telling in who and what they represent. Reports have emerged that the military junta took away the Cuban ambassador and left the Venezuelan ambassador on the side of a road after beating him. Cuba and Venezuela are easily identified as the countries leading the process of radical social change occurring through Latin America. Along with Cuba and Venezuela, Honduras was a Member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our America (ALBA), an economic social, political, and economic integration organisation based on the principles of cooperation and solidarity.
This type of coup is not unprecedented; in fact the continent of America has been plagued by them, most of whom have had the support of the United States. In April 2002, the progressive government of Venezuela was overthrown with the support of the United States. But this coup was short-lived, due to the massive mobilisations of the poor and oppressed in Venezuela, which helped to see Chavez re-installed as President.
Certainly, the Honduran people will seek to mobilize against the Coup. Zelaya himself has said “There should be demonstrations everywhere.". Some workers organisations within Honduras have called a general strike against the coup. The new coup government, led by Roberto Micheletti have grave fears of this happening, which is why as one of the first moves, they imposed an overnight curfew.
Resistance expresses complete support and solidarity to the people of Honduras in their struggle. This solidarity will not just happen in words, we will seek and call on others to put as much pressure as possible on the Australian government to not recognize the coup government. As of writing, the Australian government had not a word to say about the situation in Honduras. We believe this must immediately change and that the Australian government must follow the lead of the Organisation of American States and many other nations and say they will not recognize any government but that of President Manuel Zelaya.
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