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Stand with Hondurans Hondurans Call for Solidarity as Military Represses Peaceful Protests Call the State Department (202-647-4000) and the White House (202-456-1111)
President Manuel Zelaya, after over eighty days in
exile, returned to Honduras on Monday, September 21. He is based at the Brazilian embassy
along with members of his cabinet. The Honduran military and the police
moved Tuesday morning against the peacefully assembled crowd in front
of the Brazilian Embassy and disbursed them with rubber bullets and
water tanks. Supporters of the constitutional president of Honduras are
being attacked and beaten. The embassy is now surrounded by the military.
Nectali Rodezno from the Association of Lawyers
Against the Coup reports that as of mid-day Tuesday, over 300 people
have been detained, dozens have been injured and there are up to 3
unconfirmed deaths. The de facto government decreed a national curfew
at 4pm Monday that has been extended until 6pm Wednesday.
The state of siege has expanded beyond the embassy as well.
The office of at least one human rights organization has been hit with
tear gas. The few media outlets that are offering information about
the resistance movement have been threatened and some have been taken
off the air. All of the international airports in Honduras have been
closed.
Emma Carolina of the Foro de Mujeres por la Vida reports, "While
President Manuel Zelaya is calling for dialogue and urging the
population in resistance to the coup to take peaceful action, the de
facto government is converting the curfew into a state of siege, which
is completely illegal and violates the human rights of the population.
These methods are being enforced in order to dissuade Hondurans from
concentrating in the country's capital in order to express our support
for the return of constitutional order in Honduras."
The National Police have announced that they have
an arrest warrant for Manuel Zelaya and there is fear that, although it
would violate international law, the armed forces might attempt to
enter the Brazilian embassy. The Honduran police and military have
committed grave human rights violations under this coup regime, often
during curfews. Please help to prevent bloodshed in Honduras.
1. Call the State Department at 202-647-4000 to deliver the following message: "Work
for the unconditional immediate reinstatement of President Zelaya.
Pressure the Honduran military to stop the violence against the people
and their democratically elected president, Mel Zelaya."
2. Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111 with the same message. 3. Contact your Members of Congress. Click here to send a letter written by our partners at School of the Americas Watch to demand that they take a stand for democracy and against the military coup. |