FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 13, 2013
CONTACT: Amy Dudley, 202-224-9688, or Sarah Peck, 202-228-1174
IN LETTER TO SECRETARY KERRY, KAINE CALLS FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN HONDURAS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and a dozen fellow senators sent a letter today to Secretary of State John Kerry calling for all possible efforts to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections in Honduras.
“I’m very concerned by the ongoing violence in Honduras and the impact on the November 24 elections,“ said Kaine, who served as a missionary in Honduras in 1980. “We are receiving reports of threats against journalists and even assassinations of candidates.”
Emphasizing that the United States has no preferred outcome other than clean elections that win the confidence of the Honduran people, Kaine said, “only a legitimate Honduran government can work to stem the systemic violence, end criminal impunity, and create opportunities for Honduran youth.”
The letter calls for: unrestricted access to electoral facilities by Honduran and international observers; strict neutrality on the part of the Honduran military; and compliance with an agreed code of conduct that provides legal channels for resolving any electoral disputes.
Joining Kaine on the letter are Senators Tom Udall, Jeff Merkley, Barbara Mikulski, Benjamin Cardin, Barbara Boxer, Jeanne Shaheen, Martin Heinrich, Elizabeth Warren, Mark Udall, Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse and Chris Murphy.
A full text of the letter is attached
https://friendshipamericas.org/sites/default/files/Senate letter November 13, 2013.pdf