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Tag Archives: Honduras
Nike Bows to Labor Activists
In a landmark, unprecedented win, students and human rights activists have forced the hand of retail giant Nike to pay $1.54 million to compensate 1,800 laid off workers in Honduras.More… Continue reading
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Tagged Honduras, human rights activists, labor activists, landmark, Nike
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One Year Later: Honduras Resistance Strong Despite US Supported Coup
One Year Later: Honduras Resistance Strong Despite US-Supported CoupBy Bill Quigley and Laura Raymond. Bill and Laura work at the Center for Constitutional Rights. You can contact Bill at quigley77@gmail.com and Laura at lauraraymond21@gmail.comMore… Continue reading
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Tagged center for constitutional rights, com, comMore, Constitutional, coup, gmail, Honduras, lauraraymond, quigley, resistance, Rights, Supported, work, Year
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World Cup Guide-Group H-Spain, Chile, Switzerland, Honduras
Here is an introduction to the four teams in Group H, with their FIFA rankings in parentheses.More… Continue reading
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Tagged Chile, cup, FIFA, fifa rankings, group, guide, H-Spain, Honduras, introduction, parentheses, Spain, Switzerland, world, world cup
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A Real Truth Commission for Honduras
My beloved and troubled country, Honduras, desperately needs a truth commission. On June 28th of last year, a military coup d’etat shattered our fragile democracy and ushered in a period of arbitrary and repressive rule in which those who opposed the coup were subject to violent attacks, illegal detentions and state-imposed media censorship. Though a new government headed by Porfirio Lobo took power on Feb. 27 following highly controversial elections, there has been no real investigation or prosecution of those responsible for the coup and for the many killings, rapes, beatings and illegal detentions that occurred after June 28. In fact, targeted extrajudicial killings and attacks against coup opponents continue to regularly occur with complete impunity.
The Committee for the Families of the Detained and Disappeared of Honduras (COFADEH), which has been documenting forced disappearances and political violence in Honduras since the late ’80s, has registered 47 assassinations of anti-coup activists, 14 of which have occurred since the inauguration of Mr. Lobo. Respected international human rights organizations like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Center for Justice and International Law have also voiced their alarm regarding the ongoing attacks, but Honduras’ state and judicial authorities have failed to address or even recognize the problem.
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Tagged état, cofadeh, commission, country, country honduras, coup, coup d etat, democracy, fragile democracy, Honduras, human rights organizations, judicial authorities, June, media censorship, military coup, Mr. Lobo, Period, political violence, Porfirio Lobo, repressive rule, rule, truth, Year
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Haiti: Public Relations War and Historical Symbolism
Even as Haiti reconstruction efforts proceed apace, the public relations battle is heating up. Juan Forero, a conservative reporter with the Washington Post, remarks that Obama might benefit politically from relief operations. “A successful mission,” he points out, “…could advance U.S. diplomacy in a region long suspicious of U.S. intentions.” Forero quotes Cresencio Arcos, a former U.S. ambassador to Honduras who sees good things in store. “I think that the United States will look very magnanimous,” the diplomat remarked. “Haiti is good for the United States,” he added, “to show its humanitarian side.”
The U.S. is in dire need of an image makeover, and some cynical Washington policymakers may privately share Arcos’ sentiments. Shortly after taking office Obama promised a new beginning with Latin America, emphasizing that there would be “no senior or junior partner” in terms of the U.S. relationship with the wider region. The U.S. president even shook hands with Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and called Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “my man.”
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Tagged apace, Arcos, brazilian president, Forero, Haiti, Honduras, Hugo Chávez, image makeover, inio, Juan, juan forero, junior partner, Latin America, lula da silva, Obama, Post, president, reconstruction, reconstruction efforts, region, relief, relief operations, reporter, successful mission, U.S., United States, Venezuela, Washington, washington policymakers
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The Honduran Dam Controversy and Micheletti’s Legacy
Roberto Micheletti’s de facto government is back in the news. Last week, news broke in Honduras that the official newspaper, La Gaceta, published two different versions with the same number and date in the last days of Micheletti’s time in the Presidential Palace. The major difference? One version contained a controversial dam contract. After many months of Micheletti promoting his de facto government as the clean and honest side of the Liberal Party, the gacetazo (as the Honduran media has deemed the scandal) will further mar the legacy of Micheletti and his supporters.
In their last days in office, presidents often sign controversial decrees that would have proved too controversial earlier in their term. In the United States, for instance, recent presidents have extended pardons to convicts and established vast natural reserves. Presidents must be careful, however, not to over-step in their last days, or else their legacy will be stained by controversy. President Clinton, for instance, went too far when he pardoned Mark Rich, sparking allegations that the wealthy Rich had purchased his freedom with political contributions.
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Tagged controversial dam, date, de facto government, Gaceta, government, Honduras, instance, la gaceta, last week news, legacy, liberal party, Mark Rich, micheletti, natural reserves, News, news last week, newspaper, number, pardons, political contributions, President Clinton, Rich, Roberto Micheletti, time, United States, week
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Impunity on the Prowl, in Honduras and Here
It was a telephone call so urgent that it echoes across borders. In early December, Honduran human rights activist Walter Trochéz was kidnapped while walking near his home in the capital, Tegucigalpa. Since the June 2009 coup in his country, Trochéz had documented a pattern of disappearances and killings of 15 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community leaders. His call to U.S. colleagues was to alert them he had nearly joined the list.
Trochéz escaped the four masked men who abducted him Dec. 4. But just nine days later he was dead. The chain of murders of LGBT activists in Honduras, for which no suspects are in custody, has rattled an already besieged community and raised alarms about police and private vigilantes exploiting the lack of oversight to operate with impunity. For human rights activists in the U.S., outrage at the atrocities should be tinged with concern for a far subtler form of impunity taking root in our own legal system.
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Tagged activist, call, capital, community, community leaders, coup, December, disappearances, home, Honduras, human rights activists, impunity, June, lgbt activists, nine days, taking root, Tegucigalpa, telephone, transgender community, troch, U.S., vigilantes, Walter Trochéz
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Why Washington Cares About Countries Like Haiti and Honduras
When I write about U.S. foreign policy in places like Haiti or Honduras, I often get responses from people who find it difficult to believe that the U.S. government would care enough about these countries to try and control or topple their governments. These are small, poor countries with little in the way of resources or markets. Why should Washington policy-makers care who runs them?
Unfortunately they do care. A lot. They care enough about Haiti to have overthrown the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide not once, but twice. The first time, in 1991, it was done covertly. We only found out after the fact that the people who led the coup were paid by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. And then Emmanuel Constant, the leader of the most notorious death squad there – which killed thousands of Aristide’s supporters after the coup – told CBS News that he too, was funded by the CIA.
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Tagged Aristide, cbs news, central intelligence agency, coup, death squad, Emmanuel, fact, foreign policy, government, governments, Haiti, Honduras, intelligence, Jean, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, lot, policy, poor countries, president jean bertrand aristide, President Jean-Bertrand, s central, time, U.S., U.S. Central, Washington, way
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Central America’s Rule of Law: Guatemala Captures Portillo But Honduras Rewards Micheletti
For decades, impunity has reined in Central America. Dictatorial rule, coups, murder, and genocide have, for the most part, gone unpunished. This month, however, events in Guatemala have suggested a potential turning of the tide. In the last three weeks, Guatemalan authorities have solved the potentially destabilizing Rosenberg case and arrested ex-President Alfonso Portillo for money laundering $70 million when he was in power. Meanwhile, in Honduras, the rule of law appears as in jeopardy as ever, as the Congress has rewarded de facto President Roberto Micheletti and pledged amnesty for all those involved in ousting President Manuel Zelaya. When it comes to the rule of law, Honduras lags as far behind as ever.
Since the Peace Accords brought Guatemala’s 36-year civil war to an end in 1996, Guatemalan activists and international observers have demanded justice for the state-sponsored genocide in the 1980s. For the most part, however–as in most of Latin America–justice has not come. Moreover, since the late 1990s, crime has spiraled out of control, perceptions of corruption are high, and the legal system has proved incapable of apprehending and prosecuting both common criminals and thieving politicians. Pervasive impunity partially explains the horrific practice of lynchings that plagues Guatemala. But the failing of the rule of law in the region also contributes to Guatemalans’ disenchantment with democracy (desencanto democrático).
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Tagged Central America, Dictatorial, dictatorial rule, genocide, Guatemala, Guatemalan, guatemalan authorities, Honduras, horrific practice, impunity, international observers, Latin America, law, manuel zelaya, micheletti, month, murder, part, peace accords, President Alfonso Portillo, President Manuel Zelaya, President Roberto Micheletti, rosenberg case, rule, turning, turning of the tide
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Restoring International Relations With Honduras: A Way Forward
Honduras today is a country divided – both internally and from the international community. Last year’s June 28 coup d’état that ousted President Manuel Zelaya did more than disrupt democratic order; it fractured families, communities and political parties. The coup regime has not been recognized by the Obama Administration because of the upending of the constitutional order. Over these last months the de facto government has spurned all international efforts to negotiate a way forward with the legitimately elected president. In the wake of this disruption and the suspension of legal safeguards, the Honduran people have been subjected to serious and systematic violations of human rights and the curtailment of freedom of expression. Despite this infelicitous circumstance, elections were nevertheless held in November. On January 27, the winner of this election, Porfirio (Pepe) Lobo Sosa, will be inaugurated as the new President of Honduras.
As president of this politically alienated and distrustful country, it is imperative that President Lobo take immediate steps to begin to restore confidence in the government by reaching out to disaffected social groups, promoting reconciliation and seeking to rebuild trust in democratic institutions. In addition it will be imperative for the incoming administration to reassure the international community of his intention to promote the rule of law by restoring civil liberties and investigating past abuses. The international community, for its part, will look for tangible signs that President Lobo is taking steps towards reconciliation and addressing the country’s vexing economic and governance challenges. Before resumption of full diplomatic relations and the resumption of U.S. economic aid, the Obama Administration, with the support of the Congress, should consider imposing the following conditions:
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Tagged administration, community, country, coup, de facto government, democratic institutions, freedom of expression, government, Honduras, incoming administration, legal safeguards, manuel zelaya, Obama, order, Porfirio, president, President Lobo, President Manuel Zelaya, president of honduras, Reconciliation, resumption, systematic violations, tangible signs, U.S., violations of human rights
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