Honduras Accompaniment Project works to accompany the nonviolent social movement in Honduras in the face of the repression begun by the coup.
Our plan for the day had been to divide our delegation into three groups, with each group joining marches from different directions. At the last minute we were advised that the marchers coming in from the North, from Siguatepeque and La Esperanza, were the smallest group and thus thought to be the most vulnerable. As it turned out, they were also the group that was the farthest away from the city.
The march in Tegucigalpa today was massive and spirited. It would be hard to get an accurate count of how many people participated, but it spread out for blocks and blocks. It left from the Pedagogic University and we walked for several miles to the headquarters of the United Nations. A letter asking for UN accompaniment had been prepared beforehand which was delivered to the representative.
Something unprecedented is occurring in Honduras. Since the military coup which occurred on June 28th, the people of Honduras have mounted 6 weeks of sustained, massive, non-violent resistance to the violent take-over of their country. Perhaps even more astounding, is that this resistance shows no signs of tapering off. On the contrary, the movement continues to build in momentum and numbers despite violent repression on the part of the military.
Last week, hundreds of thousands of people began walking 10-12 miles per day, from all parts of the country, to converge on the cities of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula on Tuesday, August 11. The columns of people, filling two to three lanes of traffic, camp out in towns along the way at night, picking up more marchers at every stop. Reminiscent of Ghandi’s great salt marches, the people of Honduras are writing a new chapter in the history of non-violent struggle in Central America.
Saturday we went to a cultural event in the Central Park of Tegucigalpa, where poets and singers entertained an animated crowd. The event was titled “Youth armed with Culture against Barbarity”. It was a lively and uplifting time.
Part of our group then headed to Sabana Grande, one of the locations where people who are part of the 7-day march are walking into Tegucigalpa. By the time the delegates arrived, people were done walking for the day, and many were already in houses which had offered spaces to sleep. There were at least 2000 people on the walk by then, and about 200 of them were at a school, where they had a spirited encounter. For many on our delegation, this was their most memorable moment. The spirit of resistance bubbled from the crowd, many of whom have walked 10-15 miles a day for almost a week.
Sábado 8 de agosto de 2009
Buenos Días, Gente de la Resistencia!
Le brindamos saludos de parte de todos los pueblos del mundo, especialmente la gente solidaria de los EEUU. Nosotros somos un grupo de estadounidenses que venimos aquí tras la invitación de ustedes, y continuando una presencia internacional representando la Alianza Social Continental, el Centro Quijote, la Búsqueda para la Paz, Enlazando Alternativas y otras delegaciones internacionales de derechos humanos. Venimos aquí como observadores porque sabemos que es sumamente importante la presencia internacional durante este periodo crítico de este pueblo. Los ojos del mundo tienen que quedarse firmes en este país, con este pueblo y sus manifestaciones claras de amplia resistencia.
Yesterday (Thursday), part of our delegation traveled to the department of Olancho, where we met with David Murillo, the father of a young boy, Isis Obed Murillo Mencias, who was shot in the head at the airport the day President Zelaya tried to return to the country in a plane. We visited David in the central penitentiary located outside of the rural town of Juticalpa.
After one week of accompanying Honduran human rights organizations and social movements, the Quixote Center Emergency Delegation of Solidarity, Accompaniment and Witness prepared a letter outlining violations of human rights that urgently need to be addressed. Today, these concerns were presented in a meeting with the Ambassador of the United States and the Attorney General of Honduras. (En Español)
————————
August 7, 2009
Attorney General of Honduras
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Luis Alberto Rubi
Attorney General
As the fourth consecutive International Human Rights delegation present in the country since the coup d’état, we are writing to express our deep concern regarding the grave and rapidly deteriorating situation of human rights in Honduras, beginning with the events which occurred early in the morning of June 28th. In the name of the human rights observation groups which have visited (The Bi-Regional European Network Linking Alternatives in Latin America and the Caribbean, The Human Rights Delegation Headed by Rigoberta Menchu, The Center for Justice and International Law, and the Quixote Center/Quest for Peace), we ask that you provide us information about the following cases, and indicate what your office has been doing regarding the troubling human rights situation in Honduras.
Tegucigalpa
7 de agosto 2009
Abogado Luis Alberto Rubi
Fiscal General
Su despacho
This morning, after preparing our letter to Ambassador Llorens, we rushed off to the US Embassy for a meeting. After a wait, we were greeted by Mike Gorman, the person responsible for ‘human rights’. He was very courteous, but unfortunately used the same double speak that those in the State Department have refined so eloquently.
The situation here continues to deteriorate. For the last week nearly every day there have been reports of police and military attacking unarmed protesters. Our delegation just returned from San Pedro Sula, where there was an unprovoked attack on a peaceful march on Monday. Over 2000 protestors had organized a caravan in San Pedro Sula calling for an end to the coup and the restoration of democracy. When the military cordon began advancing on the caravan, protest leaders called on the people to withdrawal.
