Alex Main/CEPR – Dec. 28, 2011. In response to widespread concern in both the House and Senate over human rights abuses involving the Honduran police and military, the United States Congress has placed new conditions on a portion of U.S. police and military aid to Honduras.
Original version of this article in Spanish can be found on the Mio Aguán blog here.
In the Aguán a baby Jesus will be born in the midst of repression
The Permanent International Observatory for Human Rights in the Aguán once again denounces the climate of repression prevailing in the Aguán Valley on the north coast of Honduras.
http://pablosolon.wordpress.com/(Spanish below) The Climate Change Conference ended two days later than expected, adopting a set of decisions that were known only a few hours before their adoption. Some decisions were even not complete at the moment of their consideration. Paragraphs were missing and some delegations didn’t even have copies of these drafts.
John Perry /15th December 2011– Costa Rica is renowned for its excellent environmental record, but with the construction of a 150km road beside the San Juan river it appears to be going against that reputation by causing enormous damage to the environment. See entire story –http://www.opendemocracy.net/print/63229
Original Spanish version of this statement by the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) can be found on OFRANEH’s blog.
Suggested background information:
Congressman Howard Berman released a strongly worded letter to Hillary Clinton, in which he expresses his concern about the human rights situation in Honduras. The letter goes into great detail regarding the involvement of Honduran security forces in killings, torture and other crimes and states that it is necessary "to evaluate immediately United States assistance to ensure that we are not, in fact, feeding the beast." Please see the attached letter.
The General Coordinator of the Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (Cofadeh), Bertha Oliva revealed to defensoresenlinea.com that the decision taken by the National Congress to grant police powers to the military is an illegal, unconstitutional decision that opens the door for members of the Armed Forces to openly commit all types of human rights violations.
Daniel McCurdy, Nov. 14, 2011 Last Sunday, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega was re-elected by a large margin. His party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), won an unprecedented majority in the National Assembly. The major media, which are generally hostile to Ortega (and to most of the left governments in Latin America), mostly missed the main economic changes that might explain this result. These include a significant reduction in poverty and inequality and a considerable increase in access to health care and education.
