Report from the international mission for solidarity, accompaniment, and observation in Honduras
An international mission for solidarity, accompaniment, and observation in Honduras has arrived in Tegucigalpa on Monday 27th July. On Monday, July 28th the mission was received by several local human rights organizations. (See list at the end.) It also witnessed two demonstrations organized by the supporters of the Zelaya government On Tuesday, July 29th the delegation took part in a press-conference organized by the Committee for relatives of disappeared detained people in Honduras (el Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras COFADEH), announcing the mission and reporting about the first observations of the mission. (See the press release enclosed – in Spanish only.) On the same day the mission accompanied two Hondurian human rights organization in a a fact-finding mission to the border area of El Paraiso, next to Nicaragua, with the camp of president Zelaya nearby on the Nicaraguan side. “Life in the capital of Tegucigalpa may seem normal to an outside visitor at first sight,” says Tom Kucharz, a Spanish delegate of the mission. “At night here is however, curfew in the entire country, as declared by the illegitimate president installed after the coup d’etat, Roberti Micheletti. Heavy censorship, suspension of the freedom of movement and gathering and the lack of credibility of the information provided by the de facto government and authorities controlled by it contribute to creating a situation of tension and fear. There are two verified victims of politically related violence and there is also a greatly heightened rate of murders in the capital city of Tegucigalpa as reported by police sources and Human Rights organizations. Rumors about mass detentions and violent oppression prevail.” The convoy yesterday was allowed to pass through all way to the border, contrary to what was the case when CODAFEH attempted two earlier fact-finding missions since last Friday when the border was first closed. Between Tegucigalpa and the border, a distance of a little more than a 100 kilometers, there were 8 check-points, some of which controlled by civilian police, some by the army and some by both forces. “We saw hundreds of heavily armed police and soldiers. The whole area is very heavily militarized. The area between the last civilian check-point and the border is de facto in a state of emergency controlled completely by the army,” says the Finnish member of the mission, Thomas Wallgren. “The situation at the border seems to have changed decisively during the last days. On Friday 24th, when it was reported that Zelaya was trying to enter the country, and during the first days after that, we have several reports according to which crowds of people from various parts of the country who support Zelaya headed to the border in what seemed to be a spontaneous political movement with little coordination. Yesterday, our mission met a group of 38 persons from an indigenous group that was referred to as “lencas”, who were on their way back from the border area. The group, traveling in a hired truck, had been stopped by an army check-point in El Paraiso and refused further passage. They had decided to try to reach Nicaragua by crossing by foot over the mountains. At the night of the 27th to the 28th they were, as they reported to us, encircled by armed forces, captured and given the choice between being detained in El Paraiso and returning home. Overall, our conclusion is that the army has by now been successful in its effort to prevent any movement of supporters of Zelay to the border or in the border area,” says Wallgren. “What we see is a lot of psychological pressure, organized to demoralize and demobilize the supporters of the legitimate government. This appears to be a dictatorship with a civilian face” says Nora Cortiña, the Argentinian leader of the mission. Yesterday, when the mission stopped at the last civilian check-point in El Paraiso, it was invited to meet with Xiomara Castro de Zelaya who camps at the local district office there with her family, and supporters. The first lady of the country, Xiomara Castro, has been presented an offer by the military officers in charge there to continue to the border, but only without her supporters. In a short personal meeting in her temporary office, Xiomara informed us that she has firmly rejected the offer. She says she will go only of all citizens that want to go with her are granted there constitutional right to travel freely in their own country. Tegucigalpa, 29th July 2009 Phones in Honduras: +504 - 898 52 607 / +504 – 964 23 566 / +504 – 965 93 265 / +504 965 91 621 e-mail: Tom Kucharz: agroecologia@ecologistasenaccion.org, thomas.wallgren@helsinki.fi Organisations that the mission has visited so far include: El Comité para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en Honduras (CODEH) El Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras COFADEH El Centro de Prevención, Tratamiento y Rehabilitación de las Víctimas de la Tortura y sus Familiares (CPTRT), FIAN-Internacional, La Coalición Hondureña de Acción Ciudadana (CHAAC), and Sindicato de Trabajadores de Bebidas y Similares (STIBYS) MEMBERS OF THE MISSION: - Nora Cortiñas, Madres de Plaza de Mayo – Linea Fundadora / Jubileo Sur (Argentina) - Thomas Wallgren, Head, Department of Philosophy, University of Helsinki, Finland, member of the City Council in Helsinki (socialdemocrats) / Finnish Refugee Council - Mauricio Valiente, Spanish commission for refugee aid (Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado-CEAR Efrén Reyes del Servicio Internacional Cristiano de Solidaridad con los Pueblos de América Latina - Oscar Romero -SICSAL (El Salvador) - Tom Kucharz, Ecologistas en Acción (España). More participants from several countries are expected to arrive on the 29th of July. The mission has been organized by Enlazando Alternativas – Red Biregional Europa Latina y el Caribe