Tegucigalpa.- Police and military threw tear gas bombs at the offices of the Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), which opened its doors to people protesting the privatization of education and health so that they could protect themselves from the brutal repression which they were victims of. The General Coordinator of COFADEH, Berta Oliva, issued a call to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to “come and witness the siege against us for opening our doors for the protestors, for the people that are denouncing this new coup against education and health care.” A tank with soldiers parked a few meters from the COFADEH headquarters, fired tear gas bombs at a group of protestors who took refuge inside the office of the human rights organization. “We are under siege and we will not close our doors. Our doors will be open to people seeking protection,” stated Oliva. “We ask the High Commissioner to intercede so that this organization can freely exercise our work as a human rights organization as we always do, with our doors open, offering protection to people who demand and need it, with just reasons and just determination because the people can’t take anymore,” she said. “The people are submitted to the most cruel, barbaric brutality on the part of the military and the regime. This is what we are up against. We are suffering and enduring. The air is saturated with tear gas bombs that were thrown at the COFADEH office. We are in a state of high alert, trying to continue doing the work we have done for years in support of life and freedom.” “We are not going to close our doors to all of these people who have sought refuge from the repression in the offices of COFADEH because the security forces will pick them up. We will protect them even if we have to go with them, even if we are taken with them. “This is our decision” concluded the human rights defender. Police and military began to repress the social protest announced for this day to condemn new laws privatizing health and education. There are reports of one person wounded by state agents who fired on protestors. The injured person is José Humberto Duarte, a teacher in the department of Yoro. There are also reports of at least 5 people who were detained and taken to the Manchen station, including university students: Josué Farid Aguilar (18), Júnior Omar Zelaya (19) and Kendal Eduardo Zepeda (18). The young people were detained by the preventative police during protests in the center of the city. During the detention they were beaten by agents in the arms, legs and face. The police would not release the youth to COFADEH’s attorneys, accusing them of having hit an official and inciting violence. Ariel Ricardo Moncada, a graphic design student and Javier Ávila, also a student, are detained in the basements of the National Congress. Once again, the regime of the illegal government of Juan Orlando Hernández represses people who take to the streets to defend health and education. http://defensoresenlinea.com/lanzan-bombas-lacrimogenas-en-las-oficinas-…
