The Latin America Solidarity Coalition’s position on the Honduras situation

Below you will find the Latin America Solidarity Coalition’s stated position with regards to the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accords in Honduras.

We demand that the:
• US not recognize the scheduled November 29th elections in Honduras;
• US support the right of the Honduran people to boycott the elections without repression from the Micheletti government;
• US denounce human rights abuses when they occur.

In response to the failure of the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accords, agreed upon by Mr. Roberto Micheletti and President Manuel Zelaya on Friday the 30th of October, our coalition reaffirms our commitment to the counter-coup movement in Honduras, and our support for the 42 organizations that form the National Front Against the Coup. The agreement on the restitution of Zelaya signified an apparent watershed in the negotiations between democratic & putschist forces. However, it is now clear that the Micheletti regime has no intention of fulfilling its end of the bargain. After five months of military rule and widespread human rights violations, the regime hopes to legitimize itself by realizing elections under circumstances that couldn’t possibly be considered free and fair. The withdrawal by candidates who oppose the coup, at the presidential, congressional, and local levels, and the denouncement of elections by President Zelaya, indicates that democratic elections cannot be carried out under dictatorial conditions.

Our coalition rejects the words of former Sub-secretary Thomas Shannon, who referred to both the military imposed Micheletti and the democratically elected Zelaya as “heroes of Honduran democracy,” representing an administration that failed to denounce the brutal and dictatorial measures of the regime, but swiftly qualified as “irresponsible and foolish” Zelaya’s clandestine return from exile. Shannon’s overseeing of the accord seems to have been a cynical political maneuver. His candidacy to the ambassadorship of Brazil, which for several months was blocked by Republican Senator Jim DeMint due to the administration’s stance against the coup, will now proceed, as Shannon has assured DeMint that the Obama administration will now recognize the results of the November 29th elections, regardless of whether or not Zelaya is returned to power.

This conflict of interest should be unacceptable to a president who pledged to “launch a new chapter of engagement” with Latin America. We will continue pressuring the administration to support democracy and the rule of law in Honduras, and to oppose those forces whose core objective is to ensure the oligarchy’s clutch on Honduran society. These forces have demonstrated their willingness to sacrifice the human rights of the citizenry, to violate their constitution, and to isolate Honduras from the community of Latin American nations in achieving this goal. Apart from demanding the restitution of Zelaya, the popular demand for the convocation of a constitutional assembly remains in the balance, and the resistance continues the struggle towards a constitution inclusive of women, youth, indigenous and Garifuna peoples, workers, community councils, teachers, artists, intellectuals, and professionals. It is the aim of our work to support the Honduran people in this historical process. US out of Honduras!

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