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While the US corporate media prefers to focus on the occasional single murder, the corporate-backed thugs currently holding Honduras hostage are hoping to shut down all contact with the outside world, apparently so they can prepare to commit all sorts of mayhem without our knowing about it:
The most important news, from RNS:
The Micheletti regime, about 4 am this morning, violently dislodged the protesters outside the Brazilian embassy with tear gas, pepper spray and water canons. Radio Globo reports THEY SUSPENDED THE CONSTITUTION and declared a state of emergency. Among the rights suspended are the right of free circulation and assembly.
There are many people hurt, and reports of at least one death as a result. Update: Adrienne Pine, reporting that police are surrounding the hospital where the wounded were brought, says there were “17 critically injured patients (3 already dead)”. Vos el Soberano reports that the police have surrounded the hospital with the injured and are removing them to an unknown location.
From RNS:
Members of the union of electrical workers of the National Electric Company (ENEE) called in to Radio Globo to announce that the Micheletti government intends to cut electricity in the entire country today.
Also from RNS:
The owner of Radio Uno in El Paraiso, called in to Radio Globo this morning to report that last night his station was taken over by the military, that its employees were beaten, arms broken. This morning the military called him and told him he could have the station back and it could broadcast, but only if it did not mention Manuel Zelaya or anything about the events in Tegucigalpa.
We were fortunate to receive a very complete report from DemocracyNow this morning here. The main report of interest was that 500 people were violently removed using tear gas that penetrated the embassy.
Tiempo has barely updated: Lula of Brazil asks for peaceful solution.
Call the State Department at 1-202-647-4000 and the White House at 1-202-456-1111, and get hold of your congresscritters as well. Give them a variant, in your own words, of the following message:
"Work for the unconditional immediate reinstatement of President Zelaya, demand that the Honduran military doesn’t move against the people and their democratically elected president, Mel Zelaya and ensure that the coup plotters will be held responsible for their actions. Any bloodshed will be on the hands of the coup government and security forces."
If you’ve wanted the chance to save a democracy with a phone call, here it is.
The coup plotters have tried to justify their coup by pretending, with the aid of highly-paid lobbyist shills like Lanny Davis, that they are in the right and Manuel Zelaya — who they hate for daring to raise the minimum wage — is in the wrong. But the fact that they are trying to cut off our ability to see into Honduras indicates that they intend to totally drop the pretense of decency once they figure nobody can see them commit their crimes. The two things holding them back so far are the ability of Hondurans with diesel generators to keep the power flowing to the Brazilian Embassy and the radio and TV stations — and our ability to push our leaders to do the right thing.
15 Comments
Thanks PW
What’s the right thing to do here?
“Call the State Department at 1-202-647-4000 and the White House at 1-202-456-1111, and get hold of your congresscritters as well. Give them a variant, in your own words, of the following message:
“Work for the unconditional immediate reinstatement of President Zelaya, demand that the Honduran military doesn’t move against the people and their democratically elected president, Mel Zelaya and ensure that the coup plotters will be held responsible for their actions. Any bloodshed will be on the hands of the coup government and security forces.”
See here
Personally, I’d like to see Obama do what Reagan did in Grenada.
Sorry, Zelaya’s reinstatement should come with conditions.
I want his reinstatement to happen but it’s not wise, just or possible for it to be unconditional.
“Zelaya’s reinstatement should come with conditions.” ; why? But more to the point, forget about Zelaya’s reinstatement, focus on what is going on, and take action.
Why? What conditions? Zelaya is the legitimately elected leader at this moment.
Don’t believe the Lanny Davis golpista-generated bullshit about “Zelaya destroying the constitution”. Zelaya had called for a NON-BINDING referendum on a possible change in the country’s constitution. The golpistas, fearful that the result would be in Zelaya’s favor, triggered the coup before the referendum could be held.
Grenada was a fricking travesty. It is not like the guy who was overthrown there was any kind of friend of the U.S., instead he had the Cubans building him a big airport which really had no legitimate non-military use. Reagan wanted an excuse to kick the shit out of a Cuban proxy and the internal coup gave him an opening.
The situations in Grenada and Hondurus are not at all alike. Nor is the unilateral use of miliary force particularly a good idea here. Aren’t we a little tired of illegal go-it-alone wars? Plus way to ignore the history of US conducting diplomacy in Central Americanby invading them time after time with Marines like we did through the twenties and thirties to protect the interests of United Fruit.
Maybe we can keep our thinking a little IN the box here?
As unwarranted as Reagan’s invasion of Grenada was (with all the hoopla and speeches), with the actions of the U.S. to undermine the legitimate election of Hamas in Palestine, with Bush’s repetitive speeches about spreading democracy, an invasion by U.S. Armed forces (and there are other alternatives available that would have brought about the same result as an invasion before the IMF went ahead and approved $150M for the coup government) to show that the U.S. actually does respect democracy (at least in other nations) would be a very good thing. Especially after Haiti.
I suggest you read Confessions of an Economic Hitman before wanting me to think ‘in the box’.
Will add Zelaya to my nightly Congressional single payer phone calls.
Yeah, look what happens to a non-corporate-crony type leader who pushes for the people. Dumped on a Costa Rican airport tarmac in his pjs … and US corporate media looks away, Hillary and Obama MINIMIZE (corporate cronyism without borders). Deaf to the people. Human rights have been replaced by Global Corporate Unacknowledged But Intimidating Dictatorships.
US pledges to help besieged Brazil embassy in Honduras
“The United States pledged Tuesday 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.
Micheletti done messed up when he teargassed the Brazilian Embassy. That in itself is more than enough pretext for Brazil to march in with guns a-blazin’.
Great info, I had been following but didn’t find much detail, as you have here. Thanks
Athough Hillary Clinton announced that the US would be cutting all US aid to the golpistas, she didn’t mention that IMF funds would continue to be paid.
Report from Honduras
“We now go directly to the Brazilian embassy, inside, in Tegucigalpa to Andres Conteris, who works with us at Democracy Now! and on the Program on the Americas director for Nonviolence International.”
This will all end very badly.