Honduras restricts liberties to prevent rebellion

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

Interim government leaders have suspended constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties in a pre-emptive strike against widespread rebellion Monday, three months to the day since they ousted President Manuel Zelaya in a military-backed coup.

Zelaya supporters said they would ignore the decree issued late Sunday and march in the streets as planned. Some already had arrived in the capital, Tegucigalpa, from outlying provinces.

The measures — announced just hours after Zelaya called on his backers to stage mass protest marches in what he called a "final offensive" against the government — are likely to draw harsh criticism from the international community, which has condemned the June 28 coup and urged that Zelaya be reinstated to the presidency and allowed to serve out his term, which ends in January.

Officials also issued an ultimatum to Brazil on Sunday, giving the South American country 10 days to decide whether to turn Zelaya over for arrest or grant him asylum and, presumably, take him out of Honduras. They did not specify what they would do after the 10 days were up.



Honduras declares state of emergency
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/28/2698908.htm?section=justin

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090928/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_honduras_coup

---

Honduras Coup Leader Micheletti Decrees 45-Day Suspension of Constitution
Al Giordano
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/3465/honduras-coup-leader-micheletti-decrees-45-day-suspension-constitution
There really really isn't much editorial comment necessary to explain what this means. Read the decree yourself

[hobbit709]

1. That has always worked out so well in history.

:sarcasm:

[Selatius]

2. Brazil told Honduras' dictatorship that they will use the ultimatum as toilet paper.

Lula is no person to trifle with, and this dictatorship is sorely testing that man.

[L. Coyote]

3. Suspending the Constitutional Rights. Sounds like a Coup to me!

Sort of like Bush and his suspension of the Constitution in the USA, illegal spying and all.

[bertman]

4. If this doesn't spur our President to take some direct and significant action against the

coup leadership we are going to forfeit more of our moral high ground that he says he is trying to reclaim.

Recommend.

[L. Coyote]

5. Tear Gas Kills Boy, Police hunting injured protestors in hospitals ...

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Honduran-Crisis-Explodes--by-Laura-Carlsen-090924-473.html


..... the police are even raiding hospitals to capture wounded demonstrators after beating them:

"I just got back from the hospital where I took my brothers who were arrested by the police after the march and savagely beaten, while the police screamed that this way they would learn not to go around in marches and that Mel couldn't save them from a beating. One of my brothers (21 years old) has bruised lungs from the beating and the other has two broken hands... They also detained several members of Feminists in Resistance who were later released because they were carrying their identification as part of the Women's Human Rights Observatory. What seems incredible to me is that the police are taking people (mostly youths) from the hospital... They are going into the hospitals every two hours, to see who they'll take out. WE CAN'T ALLOW THIS! The Red Cross hasn't done anything, but there are nurses and members of the resistance inside the hospital who helped us a lot."

Reports pour in of persecution by police on motorcycles, hunting down protesters like animals. An eight-year old boy became the latest casualty—not coincidentally, all on the side of the people against the coup—when he died Wednesday of tear gas asphyxiation.

Juan Almendares, of the Honduran Center for Torture Prevention, reports that Honduras has become "the largest prison in the world." He notes, "There is a permanent state of siege here. Human rights organizations and medics are not even allowed to attend to the tortured and wounded. The office of the Committee for Families of the Disappeared was bombed with tear gas... Children and the sick in the hospitals are undernourished since with the curfew, which is a death warrant, they do not receive food and are dying of hypoglycemia."

These facts are not disputed and have been corroborated and denounced in recent days. Amnesty International called the situation "alarming" and called for the de facto regime to "stop the policy of repression and violence and instead respect the rights of freedom of expression and association." The organization added, .....

[cal04]

10. thank you for all the updates L Coyote

:hi:

[L. Coyote]

6. Honduran plea: “Don’t let today be the day democracy dies in Honduras”

Honduran plea: “Don’t let today be the day democracy dies in Honduras”
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/15181
By Judi McLeod Monday, September 28, 2009


Canada Free Press (CFP) sources in Tegucigalpa, Honduras tell CFP that today will be one of “widespread rebellion” in the capitol.
“It’s three months to the day when President Manuel Zelaya was sent packing and the interim government has suspended civil liberties in a desperate attempt to maintain public order.
“Our prayer to the Creator is that that today won’t be the death of democracy in the beautiful country of Honduras,” our source told CFP in a midnight telephone call.

The sources, walked through using Twitter by CFP’s IT chief Brian Thompson, have been keeping in touch with the outside world for the past three months through Tweets.
One of them, a victim of threats on his life from Zelaya supporters, has separated from his family to go into hiding.
“We spent the weekend taking food and water to police officers. We know what is going on in the streets of Tegucigalpa and we are worried.

“There was a protest 12 blocks long by the resistance to Zelaya but very little coverage of it.”

............

[L. Coyote]

7. Travel warning issued for ‘unpredictable’ country

FCO advises against Honduras
Travel warning issued for ‘unpredictable’ country
28/09/2009 - http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/article.php?page_id=2994
San Pedro Sula, Honduras (Intituto Hondureño de Turismo)


The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised against all but essential travel to Honduras.

The FCO says the ‘unpredictable’ situation in the country has led to its advice change. ....

[L. Coyote]

8. McClatchy DC: Micheletti government suspends civil liberties in Honduras

Micheletti government suspends civil liberties in Honduras
McClatchy Washington Bureau - Tyler Bridges - ‎3 minutes ago‎


By Tyler Bridges | McClatchy Newspapers

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The de facto government that took power here three months ago suspended constitutional civil liberties late Sunday ......

...... The decree could allow the government to shut down pro-Zelaya radio and TV stations and arrest his supporters at will. Sunday night's decree indicates a hardening line by the Micheletti government .....

Brazil, the rest of Latin America, the United States and European nations have been calling Zelaya's ouster an illegal "coup" and have been pressing Micheletti to restore him to power.

These nations have said that not restoring Zelaya to power would encourage future coups in the region.

...........

We welcome comments. ............ http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/76150.html

[Odin2005]

9. I can't believe I was dumb enough to have supported the coup at first.

:banghead.

[Peace Patriot]

12. It's great, truly great, that you can admit that you were wrong. It's a hard thing to do.

Forgive yourself! We are all victims of propaganda and brainwashing, one way or another. The important thing is that we learn the skills to wade through the piles of disinformation and psyops that we are fed, and seek out alternative news sources, to try to get an accurate picture of our country, our government and the rest of the world. We have a lot of potential power as US citizens. That is why such extraordinary effort is poured into disinforming and disempowering us. And our government--which is what we are responsible for-has a lot of power for good or for ill. Kudos to you for being open to new information, flexible, creative, intelligent and a person of good will. Those are wonderful qualities needed to save our own democracy and for directing our government toward a peaceful, helpful and positive role in the world.

[L. Coyote]

14. Those who read Spanish know we don't even get the news in English.

Ho can we make good decisions in a democracy if the actual facts are not even available in the dominant language?

[cal04]

11. Troops raid Honduras radio station, Zelaya criticizes de facto leaders

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/09/2009928124228951255.html

Honduran soldiers have raided a radio station aligned with Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president, and shut down its operations.

David Romero, the director of Radio Globo de Tegucigalpa, said on Monday: "Soldiers assaulted the radio this morning, took over the station and took it off the air."

He said that all the staff had managed to "escape" and that no arrests had been made.

Radio Globo has a reporter inside the Brazilian embassy where Zelaya has been staying since he sneaked back into the country.


Ousted Zelaya criticizes de facto leaders
http://english.cctv.com/program/worldwidewatch/20090928/104829.shtml

Spain Will Not Recognize Honduras' De Facto Government
http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=92820090432

[L. Coyote]

13. Decree: Arrest "toda persona que ponga en peligro su propia vida"

Democracy has been suspended in Honduras!
The Junta decree authorized the police to detain anyone who "puts their own life in danger" .....
The Spanish coverage is far more complete than news available in English.

Honduras: el gobierno de facto decreta un estado de sitio encubierto por 45 días

(28/9/2009) Se prohíben las reuniones públicas no autorizadas. Facultan a las Fuerzas Armadas y a la Policía para detener a "toda persona que ponga en peligro su propia vida o la de los demás".

http://www.periodismo.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11260

================================
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/09/28/internacional/1254098968.html

......... decreto que le permite suspender cinco importantes garantías constitucionales durante los próximos 45 días, entre ellas la libertad de circulación, expresión y reunión. Así, aunque el texto no cita en ningún momento la palabra "estado de sitio", las condiciones son las habituales de una medida de estas características.

El decreto permitirá entre otras cosas prohibir manifestaciones y suspender medios de comunicación si "perturban la paz", explicó el gobierno de facto. Según este decreto, fechado ¡el sábado!, el ejecutivo de Micheletti podrá cerrar los medios de comunicación que "inciten a la violencia".

Después de que Zelaya llamara por enésima vez a la "ofensiva final", estos fueron los puntos leídos por radio y televisión a todo el país:

* Prohibir cualquier reunión publica no autorizada. La Policía y las Fuerzas de Seguridad podrán disolver cualquier reunión no autorizada.
* Impedir la emisión por cualquier medio de manifestaciones contra la paz, el orden público o que atenten contra la ley. Las Fuerzas de Seguridad podrán suspender cualquier televisión o emisora de radio que no cumpla con estas disposiciones.
* La Policía podrá detener a cualquier que ponga en peligro su vida o la de los demás.
* El Ejército desalojará las instituciones publicas invadidas por cualquier persona.

===================================
Today, Democracy has been buried in Honduras
The decree, for the next 45 days:

* No public assembly. Police can dissolve any unauthorized meeting.
* No broadcast contrary to peace, public order, or attempt against the law. Security forces can suspend any T-V or radio that does not comply.
* Police can detain any person who places their own life in danger, or endangers any other.
* Army can vacate public institutions invaded by anyone.

[L. Coyote]

15. DECREE: "who for whatever reason is presumed to be suspicious by the police and military..."

BY Executive Decree: Whosoever ambulates after curfew, or who for whatever reason is presumed to be suspicious by the police and military of causing dameage to persons or property may be detained ....and all rights of detained persons are suspended.

It is pro-democracy round-up time in Honduras!!

=========================

La crisis hondureña
Micheletti ordena el cierre de los medios de comunicación afines a Zelaya
La medida se produce horas después de que el Gobierno golpista de Honduras suspendiera cinco derechos fundamentales
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Micheletti...


Roberto Micheletti ha decidido esta madrugada que los militares cierren los medios de comunicación que le resultan hostiles, es decir, Radio Globo y el Canal 36 de televisión, afines al depuesto Manuel Zelaya. Los cinco derechos constitucionales que quedan anulados son tan importantes como el de libertad personal, libre emisión de pensamiento (libertad de expresión), libertad de asociación y de unión, libre circulación y los derechos de los detenidos. .....

=================================================
The five Constitutional guarantees suspended are:

* libertad personal = personal liberty
* libre emisión de pensamiento = freedom of expression
* libertad de asociación y de unión = fredom to assemble and associate
* libre circulación = freedom of movement
* derechos de los detenidos = rights of persons detained

=================================================
.... El decreto ejecutivo PCM-M-016-2009 ocupa sólo dos folios, pero son dos folios que dan miedo. Porque a fin de cuentas lo que vienen a señalar es que la libertad de los ciudadanos queda a partir de ahora, y por un periodo de 45 días, a discreción de militares y policías, a los que Micheletti da carta blanca. Se podrá detener, dice el texto del decreto, "a toda persona que sea encontrada fuera del horario de circulación establecido, o que de alguna manera se presuma como sospechoso por las autoridades policiales y militares de causar daños a las personas o a sus bienes..." Según el artículo 187 de la Constitución de Honduras, el Gobierno tiene la potestad de suspender los derechos citados en los casos de "invasión del territorio nacional, perturbación grave de la paz, de epidemia o de cualquier otra calidad general". El artículo siguiente, el 188, deja muy claro que en el territorio en que fuesen suspendidas las garantías anteriores, "se regirá por la Ley de Estado de Sitio".

Desde su refugio en la Embajada de Brasil, el presidente Manuel Zelaya denunció que el decreto "es una barbaridad que indigna" y volvió a llamar a la resistencia pacífica .....