Announcing his return to Tegucigalpa today (Sunday, July 5th)
TEGUCIGALPA, July 4 (PL).—President Manuel Zelaya sent a message to the Honduran people today assuring them that he is prepared to make any effort and any sacrifice to obtain the freedom that the country needs.
Below is President Zelaya’s proclamation prior to his return tomorrow to this Central American nation to reoccupy his post after the coup d’état on June 28.
Sunday June 28, 2009 Tom Loudon
A National Constitutional Referendum had been scheduled in Honduras for today, sparking tensions between the President and other branches of the government; the Congress and Supreme Court had ruled against the referendum during the past week. Last Wednesday General Romeo Vasquez refused to cooperate in conducting the referendum and President Zelaya fired him. The next day President Zelaya and supporters stormed the base where the ballots were being kept, and removed them. The situation was tense, but it was expected that the referendum would be conducted today without major incident.
Please Join an Emergency Delegation to Honduras!
Yesterday we received a request from social movements in Honduras for international accompaniment during this critical period. Starting next week, there are no international delegations scheduled to be in Honduras.
Nan McCurdy, a journalist and Methodist Missionary in Nicaragua, files these reports from Honduras. Follow the linked headlines for audio reports.
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On Sunday, a coup d’état was carried out against President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras by military and political forces hostile to his government. Heavily armed, hooded soldiers arrived at his residence at 5am and, after a scuffle with his security forces, kidnapped Zelaya and flew him to Costa Rica.
Later Sunday afternoon, the Honduran Congress convened an emergency session, where a letter of resignation, supposedly signed by Zelaya was read, and the previous head of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, was sworn in as the new President. Most of Zelaya’s Cabinet has been taken into custody, including Foreign Minister, Patricia Rodas, who was kidnapped by the military despite efforts on the part of Ambassadors from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to prevent her arrest.
Signers of Open Letter Condemn Exclusion of Haiti’s Largest Party from Ballot
Liberation theologian and steadfast advocate for Haitians, Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste died in Miami Wednesday evening. He was 62. Tributes and biographies are appearing all over the web as Haitians and the social justice community remember one who lead with such passion. Be sure to read this article from the Miami Herald and the tribute at the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti.
This morning Carol Howard Merritt and Bruce Reyes-Chow interviewed me during their weekly internet radio show, The God Complex: Where the fully divine runs smack dab into fully human. The topic was Jubilee, debt relief and Haiti.
The possibility of the U.S. granting Temporary Protected Status for Haiti continues to gain exposure in the press. Listen to this story from today’s NPR Morning Edition that includes positive comments from Sec. Clinton.
The last ten days have brought a lot of attention to Haiti.
Last Tuesday, at the Donors Conference in DC, Sec. Clinton announced a $50 million plus aid package that includes $20 million of budget support that will pay Haiti’s debt payments to the World Bank through the rest of this year.
