Martial Law in Honduras Fractures Support for Coup

ryan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:03:27 +0000

The Honduran coup regime has formally taken off the mask of democracy that they’ve tried to use to deny that a military coup d’etat happened on June 28. Within a period of 48 hours, the coup regime issued a blanket suspension of constitutional rights, illegally detained six OAS diplomats who arrived in the country to negotiate the return of President Zelaya to power, sent soldiers into the stations of Radio Globo and Channel 36 and shut them down at gunpoint (confiscated all of their equipment), arrested more than 50 farmers who were occupying the National Agrarian Institute for 3 months to protect their records against the coup, issued an absurd ultimatum to Brazil and arrested hundreds more in a nation-wide crackdown on anyone who disagrees with their illegal seizure of the government. These actions removed any doubt that a traditional, military coup d’etat occurred in Honduras and that a dictatorship has been in place ever since. This realization has fractured support for the coup — many people who previously supported the coup are now saying that the November elections are not possible, the Honduran Supreme Court denounced the decree suspending constitutional rights and demanded that it be repealed and there are now former coup plotters calling for the immediate return of President Zelaya.

Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition » Radio Globo