TEGUCIGALPA — The camp of deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya called Tuesday for the cancellation of elections held under the regime which backed his June 28 ouster, and Zelaya's immediate reinstatement.
"The elections have to be cancelled. We're demanding the restoration of democratic order," top Zelaya aide Carlos Reina told journalists shortly after exiting the Brazilian embassy, where he had been for 72 days with the ousted leader.
Both sides in the five-month crisis appeared more determined to stick to their positions after Sunday's controversial polls, in which conservative Porfirio Lobo claimed victory.
Lobo says he will seek to form a national unity government in an attempt to overcome deep rifts in the impoverished and polarized nation.
Reina said Lobo had not made any attempt to talk to Zelaya, who was ousted after critics said he acted against the constitution and tried to illegally extend term limits.
Zelaya "accepts no dialogue with the de facto government which aims to whitewash the coup," Reina added.
Reina said Zelaya sought to complete his four-year term, including the time lost since the military packed him away in his pajamas in June.
Following a crisis agreement, which Zelaya has rejected as invalid, Congress was Wednesday to vote on Zelaya's brief reinstatement until his term expires in January.
Reina called for protests outside the congress and disputed its authority to decide on Zelaya's fate, after having backed his ouster in the first place.
Sunday's vote has bitterly divided the Americas, pitting the United States, which supported it as a first step out of the crisis, against regional powerhouse Brazil.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned Tuesday that cooperating with Lobo would pose a "serious threat" to democracy in Latin America.
Critics see Zelaya's reinstatement as a possible way out of the five-month crisis, and a way to add legitimacy to Lobo's presidency.
Zelaya's bitter rival de facto Roberto Micheletti, who stepped down briefly during the election, has said he will return to the helm of the country on Wednesday.
Hundreds of Zelaya supporters drove across the Honduran capital late Monday in a noisy protest to reject the elections, for which they said turnout figures, of more than 60 percent, had been inflated.
Rights groups said the elections were marred by the lack of international consensus, and slammed a military crackdown on journalists and activists since the coup.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jNfOTp_WuO_XJEkdqKNqpnkxYjsw
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Honduras crisis splits Ibero-American summit
The crisis in Honduras has dominated the Ibero-American summit and exposed deep divisions between those taking part.
Brazil, for example, condemns Sunday’s election, maintaining that recognising it would be tantamount to accepting the coup that took place in June. Colombia and some smaller states support the ballot, won by an opponent of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. So, in a closing statement, summit host Portugal, Spain and Latin American countries avoided passing judgement on the poll. Instead, they settled for condemning the coup, calling for Zelaya to be reinstated and urging national dialogue in Honduras. Evoking “very intense”, last minute negotiations, Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates dared to use the word “consensus.” No country, he stressed, objected to the final declaration. euronews journalist María Piñeiro, speaking from the summit, said: “There was no consensus on Honduras or on climate change, one of the issues that should have been at the heart of discussions between the Ibero-American countries at this summit in Estoril, with just a few days to go until the Copenhagen summit gets underway.” And, highlighting that fact, Greenpeace campaigners scaled the Belém Tower in Lisbon. “Our climate, your decision”, was their message. Their banner did not remain in place for long and nine activists were arrested.
Source:euronews.net
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Ousted Honduran leader urges region to reject vote
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya sent a letter to divided Latin American leaders Tuesday urging them to reject elections held under the coup-installed government and help restore him to power.
"I ask you not to recognize the electoral fraud and for your cooperation so that this coup d'etat does not remain unpunished," the leftist leader said in a letter released from the Brazilian Embassy, where he is holed up under threat of arrest.
Western Hemisphere countries united to condemn Zelaya's June 28 ouster but are divided on whether to recognize Sunday's presidential vote.
The United States, which cut off development aid and anti-drug trafficking cooperation with its impoverished ally after the coup, says Hondurans have the right to choose a new leader regular elections that had been scheduled before the putsch. Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia and Panama share that stance.
But Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and other left-led governments say recognizing the election amounts to legitimizing Central America's first coup in 20 years.
Porfirio Lobo, a wealthy rancher from the opposition National Party, overwhelmingly defeated Elvin Santos of the ruling Liberal Party, which largely turned against Zelaya and supported his ouster. Zelaya, whose single, four-year term ends Jan. 27, was not a candidate.
Lobo and interim President Roberto Micheletti say a large turnout Sunday showed a majority of Hondurans supported the vote and want to put the crisis behind them. Electoral officials say more than 60 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
But Zelaya, who had urged a boycott, insisted Tuesday that 60 percent of voters stayed home.
At least one independent monitoring group also reported a turnout rate much lower than the official one. Hagamos Democracia, the local partner of the U.S. National Democratic Institute, said its count of 1,000 polling stations put turnout at about 48 percent. They said the count had a margin of error of 1.8 percent.
NDI, a U.S. government-funded group that promotes democracy around the world, also sent monitors to Honduras but has not released its own assessment.
NDI president Ken Wollack said he could not comment on the official turnout rate but noted that Hagamos Democracia's count had a low margin of error and successfully projected the vote's outcome: 56 percent for Lobo and 38 percent for Santos.
However, he also said a 48 percent turnout would be consistent with a trend of increasing abstention in Honduras. Turnout was 55 percent in the 2005 election that brought Zelaya to office, 10 percentage points lower than in the previous election.
"In terms of the conduct of the election itself, I think there is a sense that it was a generally, with some exceptions, a peaceful and orderly process," Wollack told The Associated Press.
However, he said campaigning was complicated by curfews, the periodic closures of opposition-aligned media and the arrest of Zelaya supporters.
Marco Aurelio Garcia, foreign adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told reporters Monday night that the elections appeared to show strong "popular participation, and we can't be indifferent to that political fact," Brazil's O Globo newspaper reported Tuesday.
But at a summit in Portugal, Silva maintained Brazil's position against recognizing the election.
"We can't pretend nothing happened," Silva said Tuesday before leaving the gathering of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. "If this state of affairs is allowed to remain, democracy will be at serious risk in Latin and Central America."
Summit participants demanded Zelaya be restored to finish his term, but could not agree on whether to recognize Lobo's incoming government.
The United States is also urging Zelaya's return to power and hopes the two sides will return to the negotiating table before his term ends.
Under a U.S.-brokered pact, Congress must vote on whether Zelaya should be restored to power as head of a unity government. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin that debate Wednesday.
However, Zelaya's chances of returning to office look increasingly slim. In an interview with AP on Sunday, Zelaya said he would not return to the presidency even if Congress votes him back in.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAkMGKIUDg_ngUiZboxQbYj5_DPwD9CAOD5O0
"I ask you not to recognize the electoral fraud and for your cooperation so that this coup d'etat does not remain unpunished," the leftist leader said in a letter released from the Brazilian Embassy, where he is holed up under threat of arrest.
Western Hemisphere countries united to condemn Zelaya's June 28 ouster but are divided on whether to recognize Sunday's presidential vote.
The United States, which cut off development aid and anti-drug trafficking cooperation with its impoverished ally after the coup, says Hondurans have the right to choose a new leader regular elections that had been scheduled before the putsch. Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia and Panama share that stance.
But Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and other left-led governments say recognizing the election amounts to legitimizing Central America's first coup in 20 years.
Porfirio Lobo, a wealthy rancher from the opposition National Party, overwhelmingly defeated Elvin Santos of the ruling Liberal Party, which largely turned against Zelaya and supported his ouster. Zelaya, whose single, four-year term ends Jan. 27, was not a candidate.
Lobo and interim President Roberto Micheletti say a large turnout Sunday showed a majority of Hondurans supported the vote and want to put the crisis behind them. Electoral officials say more than 60 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
But Zelaya, who had urged a boycott, insisted Tuesday that 60 percent of voters stayed home.
At least one independent monitoring group also reported a turnout rate much lower than the official one. Hagamos Democracia, the local partner of the U.S. National Democratic Institute, said its count of 1,000 polling stations put turnout at about 48 percent. They said the count had a margin of error of 1.8 percent.
NDI, a U.S. government-funded group that promotes democracy around the world, also sent monitors to Honduras but has not released its own assessment.
NDI president Ken Wollack said he could not comment on the official turnout rate but noted that Hagamos Democracia's count had a low margin of error and successfully projected the vote's outcome: 56 percent for Lobo and 38 percent for Santos.
However, he also said a 48 percent turnout would be consistent with a trend of increasing abstention in Honduras. Turnout was 55 percent in the 2005 election that brought Zelaya to office, 10 percentage points lower than in the previous election.
"In terms of the conduct of the election itself, I think there is a sense that it was a generally, with some exceptions, a peaceful and orderly process," Wollack told The Associated Press.
However, he said campaigning was complicated by curfews, the periodic closures of opposition-aligned media and the arrest of Zelaya supporters.
Marco Aurelio Garcia, foreign adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told reporters Monday night that the elections appeared to show strong "popular participation, and we can't be indifferent to that political fact," Brazil's O Globo newspaper reported Tuesday.
But at a summit in Portugal, Silva maintained Brazil's position against recognizing the election.
"We can't pretend nothing happened," Silva said Tuesday before leaving the gathering of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. "If this state of affairs is allowed to remain, democracy will be at serious risk in Latin and Central America."
Summit participants demanded Zelaya be restored to finish his term, but could not agree on whether to recognize Lobo's incoming government.
The United States is also urging Zelaya's return to power and hopes the two sides will return to the negotiating table before his term ends.
Under a U.S.-brokered pact, Congress must vote on whether Zelaya should be restored to power as head of a unity government. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin that debate Wednesday.
However, Zelaya's chances of returning to office look increasingly slim. In an interview with AP on Sunday, Zelaya said he would not return to the presidency even if Congress votes him back in.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAkMGKIUDg_ngUiZboxQbYj5_DPwD9CAOD5O0
Honduran activist Jose Lagos dies in Miami
Jose Lagos, a self-styled political activist from Honduras and a longtime fighter in South Florida's myriad immigration causes, died Sunday of cancer at Jackson Memorial Hospital, his family said. He was 45.
``My brother was very special: He was a humane man and a good leader,'' said Burij Muchnik, Lagos' half-brother, 58, a physician assistant.
As director of the nonprofit Honduran Unity, Lagos was visible on South Florida streets and at news conferences -- almost always clad in a classy suit. He sought to advance not just the rights of his fellow Hondurans and other Hispanics. He also expanded his advocacy work to include Haitians.
``He was a unifer,'' said Jean-Robert Lafortune, president of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition. ``His cause was not focused on the Honduran people but on the whole South Florida mosaic of immigrants.''
Lagos was born April 11, 1964 in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa where he attended a Catholic high school. In 1985, Lagos and his family relocated to Miami, and he would soon enroll at Miami-Dade Community College. He left with an associate's degree in business administration.
Lagos and his family did what they had to get by. They sold hotdogs from carts in downtown Miami.
In 1990, Lagos started to focus on immigration-related work, working as the executive director of an association that helped medical school graduates from other countries obtain their physician's license.
Years later, he would focus full-time on helping immigrants. In 1997, Lagos and Muchnik formed Honduran Unity. The nonprofit was the springboard on which they launched their advocacy work. They protested fee hikes for immigrants applying for citizenship or temporary work permits. They alerted immigrants to scams claiming to help applicants secure visas. And they organized charities.
Federal immigration policies were once known for pitting some groups against others in South Florida. But immigration advocates say Lagos was instrumental in showing Hispanic and Haitians the strength in joining forces. In recent years, Lagos teamed up with Haiti advocates in their fight for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
``It's taken a lot of work to bridge that gap but Jose was instrumental in making a lot of gains in that regard,'' said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center in Miami. ``He felt all immigrants should be treated fairly and justly.''
A year ago, doctors diagnosed Lagos with cancer. Therapy followed with radiation and chemotherapy. But he always found time for his cause.
In July, a visibly ill Lagos and scores of others rallied outside a Little Havana church. They protested the imminent suspension of international aid to Honduras, which they argued hurt everyday people. The aid was yanked anyway.
That same cause -- the support for a de facto government that he and many South Florida exiles believed was a symbol that opposed the region's rise of populism -- carried him to the end. Lagos died at 4:27 p.m. Sunday, the same day voters in Honduras and in the United States cast their ballots in hopes of a new beginning for the Central American nation.
Lagos is survived by a sister, Josela, and five half-brothers and -sisters, among them Muchnik.
Funeral services are pending.
Source: miamiherald.com/
``My brother was very special: He was a humane man and a good leader,'' said Burij Muchnik, Lagos' half-brother, 58, a physician assistant.
As director of the nonprofit Honduran Unity, Lagos was visible on South Florida streets and at news conferences -- almost always clad in a classy suit. He sought to advance not just the rights of his fellow Hondurans and other Hispanics. He also expanded his advocacy work to include Haitians.
``He was a unifer,'' said Jean-Robert Lafortune, president of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition. ``His cause was not focused on the Honduran people but on the whole South Florida mosaic of immigrants.''
Lagos was born April 11, 1964 in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa where he attended a Catholic high school. In 1985, Lagos and his family relocated to Miami, and he would soon enroll at Miami-Dade Community College. He left with an associate's degree in business administration.
Lagos and his family did what they had to get by. They sold hotdogs from carts in downtown Miami.
In 1990, Lagos started to focus on immigration-related work, working as the executive director of an association that helped medical school graduates from other countries obtain their physician's license.
Years later, he would focus full-time on helping immigrants. In 1997, Lagos and Muchnik formed Honduran Unity. The nonprofit was the springboard on which they launched their advocacy work. They protested fee hikes for immigrants applying for citizenship or temporary work permits. They alerted immigrants to scams claiming to help applicants secure visas. And they organized charities.
Federal immigration policies were once known for pitting some groups against others in South Florida. But immigration advocates say Lagos was instrumental in showing Hispanic and Haitians the strength in joining forces. In recent years, Lagos teamed up with Haiti advocates in their fight for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
``It's taken a lot of work to bridge that gap but Jose was instrumental in making a lot of gains in that regard,'' said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center in Miami. ``He felt all immigrants should be treated fairly and justly.''
A year ago, doctors diagnosed Lagos with cancer. Therapy followed with radiation and chemotherapy. But he always found time for his cause.
In July, a visibly ill Lagos and scores of others rallied outside a Little Havana church. They protested the imminent suspension of international aid to Honduras, which they argued hurt everyday people. The aid was yanked anyway.
That same cause -- the support for a de facto government that he and many South Florida exiles believed was a symbol that opposed the region's rise of populism -- carried him to the end. Lagos died at 4:27 p.m. Sunday, the same day voters in Honduras and in the United States cast their ballots in hopes of a new beginning for the Central American nation.
Lagos is survived by a sister, Josela, and five half-brothers and -sisters, among them Muchnik.
Funeral services are pending.
Source: miamiherald.com/
China expects early restoration of stability in Honduras
BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- China hoped Honduras could restore stability at an early date, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Tuesday in response to questions on Honduras' presidential election.
Qin said China had noticed related reports on the outcome of the election, which said opposition leader Porfirio Lobo claimed victory on Nov. 29.
"China has not forged diplomatic ties with Honduras, but we pay close attention to its domestic situation," he said.
Qin said China hoped to see an early restoration of stability in Honduras, which would be in the interests of the Honduran people and conducive to peace and stability of Central America and Latin America.
China's principle on developing relations with other countries had been consistent and clear, and China would conduct exchanges and cooperation with others on the basis of the one-China policy, he said.
Source: xinhuanet.com
Qin said China had noticed related reports on the outcome of the election, which said opposition leader Porfirio Lobo claimed victory on Nov. 29.
"China has not forged diplomatic ties with Honduras, but we pay close attention to its domestic situation," he said.
Qin said China hoped to see an early restoration of stability in Honduras, which would be in the interests of the Honduran people and conducive to peace and stability of Central America and Latin America.
China's principle on developing relations with other countries had been consistent and clear, and China would conduct exchanges and cooperation with others on the basis of the one-China policy, he said.
Source: xinhuanet.com
Live From Honduras: Electoral Observations
On the evening of November 29, the Honduran Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced that a technical error had impeded the “second verification of data” in the tallying of the day’s election results. The error had occurred despite repeated TSE claims that the efficiency of its tallying process would enable Honduras and the world to become acquainted with the country’s next president within hours of the closing of the polls; not explained was the reason for urgency, as Honduras and the world already had two Honduran presidents to keep track of—one elected (Mel Zelaya) and the other the product of the June 28 coup (Roberto Micheletti).
In a televised presentation at the Marriott Hotel in Tegucigalpa, TSE President Saúl Escobar declared that, instead of concealing the day’s technical error, the institution had “made the decision to [reveal] exactly what had happened.” Whether this triumph in TSE transparency was intended to serve as compensation for the lack of transparent election results was not clear, nor was why transparency did not extend to a revelation of what exactly the “second verification of data” consisted of or why it was not possible.
Other attempts to pass off failure as victory in the Honduran context included coup regime glorification of elections as the remedy to all political, social, and economic ills. During the Marriott presentation, TSE magistrate Enrique Ortez impassionedly decreed that the elections had been won by the “Honduran people” and that November 29 would be a date “recorded in gold letters.”
As for inferior records, TSE vote tallies for the presidential race were for the moment replaced with results offered by the TSE-approved association Hagamos Democracia, which assigned 55.77 percent of the vote to National Party candidate Porfirio (Pepe) Lobo and 38.58 percent to Liberal Party candidate Elvin Santos. Additional technical failures on the part of the TSE were observed on its website, which I visited the morning following the elections only to find that the link to “VOTE COUNTING AND THE TRANSMISSION OF PRELIMINARY RESULTS” did not exist.
Of the links that did exist, the one entitled “Virtual Observer: Watch the elections online” consisted of three live video options featuring different electoral scenes such as a desk with a scanner. The Virtual Observer had been advertised by the TSE as a way for the international community to witness Honduran democracy; as for non-virtual election observers, these included Israeli Ambassador to Guatemala and non-resident Ambassador to Honduras Eliyahu López and organizations such as the International Republican Institute, which in addition to supporting the 2002 coup against Hugo Chávez happens to have also cooperated in election-related projects in Venezuela and Nicaragua with Hagamos Democracia.
When I initially clicked on the Virtual Observer link I found not only the three videos but also election results for the five presidential candidates, although the figures listed for the total number of votes counted and the overall percentage of voter participation were both 0. A subsequent visit to the site revealed that the tallies had been removed and that only the videos remained; other technical inconsistencies included the TSE’s announcement that voter participation had been over 61 percent despite Hagamos Democracia’s calculation of 47.6.
The Virtual Observer section did not include an option to watch oral cellular phone transmission of electoral data, which was the process that had been hyped by the TSE and the Honduran media as enabling rapid determination of the next president and that was based on the distribution of 20,000 specially-purchased phones to electoral tables around the country. Rapidity was less of a priority among other organs of the Honduran state such as the National Congress, which had postponed consideration of Zelaya’s restitution until December and thus underscored the illegitimacy of the elections; as for the effectiveness of cellular transmissions of critical data, this was called into question by the frequency with which Honduran cell phone communications were reduced to such phrases as: “Can you hear me?”
The system lost further credibility yesterday at one of the electoral tables at the Tegucigalpa polling station of Iglesia Vida Abundante, where the woman in charge of reporting the results to the main TSE computing center proved less than certain as to reporting protocol but agreed that numbers involving multiple digits would probably be reported one digit at a time. She additionally assured me that whatever she reported would be recorded and shrugged at the possibility of a lack of cell phone reception at the time of recording; other technical obstacles were identified at a voting station in the lower-class neighborhood of El Pedregal, where the cell phones at several electoral tables were not functioning.
TSE President Escobar’s declaration that there was “absolutely nothing to doubt about these elections” was aided by Honduran media traditions of obsequiousness, manifestations of which included radio commentators vying to provide the most euphoric fabrication of Honduran hordes descending upon voting centers and the daily El Heraldo’s “minute by minute” election updates such as: “9.41 p.m.: Day of glory. Honduras is one big carnival.” Not explained was whether Honduran carnivals always entailed military and police repression of peaceful election day protests in San Pedro Sula.
A citizen at one of the voting centers claimed that past elections had been more celebratory in nature and cited the current absence of vehicular caravans—an absence that persisted until the following day when the Resistance proved its adeptness at organizing large numbers of like-minded automobiles. As for TSE magistrate Ortez’ proclamation that the countries of the world had the moral obligation to recognize the Honduran electoral process, it would seem that moral obligations might also be assigned to electoral magistrates claiming to speak for 7 million Hondurans.
Source: upsidedownworld.org
Monday, November 30, 2009
Honduras aid trip in doubt
Volunteers of the Vermont Hands to Honduras-Tela program participate in a weekly Spanish class in Essex Junction earlier this month. Ruth Dennis (right) of Burlington and Nicole Gilbert-O’Brien (left) of Hinesburg try to guess a vocabulary word from fellow classmate David Stifler of Essex Junction
ESSEX JUNCTION — A group of volunteers from the Vermont Hands to Honduras-Tela program laughed out loud during their weekly Spanish class on a recent Tuesday evening. Gathered at a small conference room in a pediatric clinic, the group had a good time guessing words and learning new vocabulary. But behind the laughs and camaraderie lay concern.
“For our organizing committee, it is very difficult,” said Linda Gilbert of Charlotte, a student in the language class and a member of the program’s organizing committee. What’s difficult is planning and coordinating a volunteer service trip to a Central American country mired in political turmoil. “And the real loser in all of this are the Honduran children,” she said.
The children Gilbert talks about — and their families — are the ones who have been making use of new latrines, classrooms and playgrounds, and have been receiving rehabilitation and medical treatments for the past six years thanks to the Vermonters who volunteer with the program. Hands to Honduras volunteers travel for one or two weeks every January to the city of Tela to work on several development projects. The volunteers raise all the money to implement the group’s projects and pay all their travel-related expenses, Gilbert said. The 2009 trip included 83 volunteers.
But questions of continuity arose among the program leaders late in June after the president of Honduras was removed from power and an interim military government took control of the country. In July, the U.S State Department issued a travel alert recommending that “American citizens defer all non-essential travel to Honduras due to the unstable political situation.” The travel alert remains in place, and the latest information posted on the State Department Web site warns travelers of potential danger.
“Since that time, there have been frequent demonstrations throughout the country, including roadblocks between cities,” the alert reads. “Since the signing of a political accord on October 29, demonstrations have been limited to Tegucigalpa. On November 4 and 5, there were explosions at three public locations in Tegucigalpa, with minor injuries caused.”
Honduras chooses a new president Sunday, but the election is disputed by many. Meanwhile, a group of Vermonters watch and wait to continue their work.
International politics
Two members of Hands to Honduras organizing committee, Gilbert’s husband, Al Gilbert, and Norm Robinson of Essex Junction, traveled to Tela for two weeks in September to oversee the development of projects. Tela is a small city on the Atlantic coast of Honduras that benefits greatly from tourism. While the men were there, the government imposed a three-day curfew, and the San Pedro Sula International Airport was closed for five days, they said. However, they encountered no dangerous situations.
The hotels were pretty much empty, and nothing was going on in the city, Robinson said, but as members of the organizing committee, the men feel awkward about encouraging volunteers to make travel reservations while the U.S. has a warning in place. Upon the pair’s return to Vermont, the organizing committee decided to delay the group’s 2010 trip.
“While we are totally devoted to our Hands to Honduras-Tela program, our first responsibility is for the safety of our volunteers and fellow committee members,” an October memo sent to volunteers read.
Meanwhile, the organizers worry about the projects the group started on previous trips. Now, when the Honduran people need them the most, they might be unable to complete some of the projects, they said. As a result of the political instability, tourists are not traveling to Honduras, and businesses in Tela are hurting badly.
“This is a political crisis that became a large economic crisis as a result,” Robinson said, “and it’s so hard for us. Our friends are counting on us, and we might not be able to do that.”
Projects and volunteers
Hands to Honduras is responsible for the opening and maintenance of a rehabilitation center; the construction of several schools and a child care center; conducting women’s, pediatric and dental clinics; and the installation of clean-water access and a 911 emergency system in Tela and surrounding areas, among other projects.
The exchange that occurs during the group’s annual trip goes way beyond helping Hondurans. Vermonters gain in cultural appreciation and perspective that make them more grateful for their own lives, Linda Gilbert said. “We are like a big family,” she said.
That big family might shrink dramatically during the next trip as a consequence of the political crisis, so the organizing team is deciding which projects they want to accomplish first. “Our team of 83 may dwindle to a team of 25, so we are being very careful to not over-commit,” Gilbert said.
David Stifler of Essex, a pediatrician who traveled with the group for the past two years conducting pediatric clinics and who also participates in the Spanish classes in Vermont, said he probably will not join the group on the next trip. He needs plenty of time to make plans to leave work and says he does not think the situation is stable to travel, he said.
Ruth Dennis of Burlington, a retired occupational therapist who traveled with the group for the first time last year, said her schedule is flexible but still has not made plane reservations for the 2010 trip. She is watching the development of the political situation and waiting for the team of therapists to make a decision as a group, she said. The therapists raise money to maintain the center and are paying for the center’s director to travel to Vermont in December. “We might not go, but I remain interested in supporting the rehab center,” she said.
Shelburne’s Dave Jonah and his 16-year-old son have been involved in three service trips with Hands to Honduras and are planning to go for one more in 2010. Jonah said the needs are greater than ever, and he is not concerned about safety. “Just keep your eyes open and smile,” he said.
The committee will decide after Sunday’s election whether the service trip will happen in February, later, or if it needs to be canceled. In the meantime, they continue to plan numerous 2010 projects.
“Our support for our Honduran friends remains the same,” Gilbert said. “They need
Aid freeze in post-coup Honduras hurting poor
Soup kitchens close, medicines scarce after aid cut
* Honduras heavily dependent on foreign donors
By Robin Emmott
TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Poor Hondurans are going hungry and their sick children cannot obtain medicines as donors cut aid to the country following a June coup that deposed President Manuel Zelaya, doctors and aid workers say.
Soup kitchens have closed, medicines have become scarce, foreign doctors have canceled trips to Honduras and funding for the poor to run small businesses have dried up, increasing unemployment.
With Honduras already suffering from the global economic crisis, international development banks, the European Union and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close Zelaya ally, froze donor programs after the army-backed coup on June 28.
Honduras relied on around $1 billion a year in foreign loans, humanitarian aid and subsidized fuel from Venezuela, some 20 percent of the national budget.
The United States is still providing humanitarian help, but the European Union has suspended about $97 million in aid and the World Bank in July halted $270 million in loans. The Inter-American Development Bank has held back $50 million.
Zelaya's finance minister Rebeca Santos says about $450 million in credits and assistance is frozen.
"There are no medicines for the parasites in my little boy's stomach, there are no antibiotics, the doctor doesn't even have syringes," said Marlyn Cerrato as she took her pale and silent seven-year-old son to a public clinic in a gang-ridden shantytown above Tegucigalpa.
Funds from Europe for the clinic have been reduced. Shelves once full of bottles and pills stand empty and doctors say they are helpless to combat a rise in dengue and swine flu in the country, where around half of the 7 million population live on $2 or less a day.
The United Nations says the political crisis is "significantly affecting" the country's 3.5 million children.
"At least nine people have died from dengue in Tegucigalpa because they didn't have access to medicine. We are working with our bare hands," said doctor Maria Isabel Villars. She blames the aid cuts for a lack of medicine to fight dengue, a tropical disease transmitted by mosquitoes.
The politically isolated de facto government of Roberto Micheletti, who took power after the army sent leftist Zelaya into exile, denies any impact from the suspension of foreign aid. It says only educational projects have been hurt.
But Santos said a major shock was inevitable because 70 percent of money destined for social programs this year was from foreign donors. "Practically all the public investment was suspended after the coup. They are programs focused on the country's most vulnerable," Santos said from Mexico City.
"SUFFERING FOR ZELAYA"
Dozens of soup kitchens providing a daily meal have closed in Tegucigalpa's tin- and wooden-shack shantytowns, where sewage collects in the gutters and stray dogs and gangs roam.
"Malnourished children have started coming to us looking for food and we're doing our best to feed them," said cook Lucila Garcia, in one of the few kitchens still open and relying on French funds transferred before the coup.
Many aid workers say the cash freeze is too harsh and it punishes the poor in one of Latin America's poorest countries.
Foreign governments are seeking to pressure Micheletti into reinstating Zelaya, who came back to Honduras in September and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy. [ID:nN07201333]
Garcia, a supporter of Zelaya, supports sanctions but is determined to keep her kitchen open, holding raffles to raise cash. "We are suffering but it is our sacrifice for Mel," she said as she stirred a huge pot of pasta and sausages on a wood fire, referring to Zelaya's nickname.
Few in Honduras see a quick return of foreign aid even if the Nov. 29 presidential election resolves the political crisis because many local aid organizations have been unable to lobby European and U.S. donors for new funds for 2010.
Local charities say bans on visits to Honduras by foreign aid workers have hurt their contact with donors and limit their ability to fight for the limited amount of aid on offer.
With a sense that much of Honduras is on hold until the political crisis is resolved, European-backed, microcredit programs are also collapsing as the Honduran economy suffers. Small businesses that rely on small loans cannot make their interest payments, which typically help fund new loans to other businesses.
"There's so much fear in the country right now and people aren't out spending so I can't pay back my loan and that's going to affect others," said hairdresser Orfa Ortiz in her one room salon, a business that relies on microcredit from Spain and Norway. (Additional reporting by Adriana Barrera in Mexico City; Editing by Kieran Murray)
Source:reuters.com
* Honduras heavily dependent on foreign donors
By Robin Emmott
TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Poor Hondurans are going hungry and their sick children cannot obtain medicines as donors cut aid to the country following a June coup that deposed President Manuel Zelaya, doctors and aid workers say.
Soup kitchens have closed, medicines have become scarce, foreign doctors have canceled trips to Honduras and funding for the poor to run small businesses have dried up, increasing unemployment.
With Honduras already suffering from the global economic crisis, international development banks, the European Union and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close Zelaya ally, froze donor programs after the army-backed coup on June 28.
Honduras relied on around $1 billion a year in foreign loans, humanitarian aid and subsidized fuel from Venezuela, some 20 percent of the national budget.
The United States is still providing humanitarian help, but the European Union has suspended about $97 million in aid and the World Bank in July halted $270 million in loans. The Inter-American Development Bank has held back $50 million.
Zelaya's finance minister Rebeca Santos says about $450 million in credits and assistance is frozen.
"There are no medicines for the parasites in my little boy's stomach, there are no antibiotics, the doctor doesn't even have syringes," said Marlyn Cerrato as she took her pale and silent seven-year-old son to a public clinic in a gang-ridden shantytown above Tegucigalpa.
Funds from Europe for the clinic have been reduced. Shelves once full of bottles and pills stand empty and doctors say they are helpless to combat a rise in dengue and swine flu in the country, where around half of the 7 million population live on $2 or less a day.
The United Nations says the political crisis is "significantly affecting" the country's 3.5 million children.
"At least nine people have died from dengue in Tegucigalpa because they didn't have access to medicine. We are working with our bare hands," said doctor Maria Isabel Villars. She blames the aid cuts for a lack of medicine to fight dengue, a tropical disease transmitted by mosquitoes.
The politically isolated de facto government of Roberto Micheletti, who took power after the army sent leftist Zelaya into exile, denies any impact from the suspension of foreign aid. It says only educational projects have been hurt.
But Santos said a major shock was inevitable because 70 percent of money destined for social programs this year was from foreign donors. "Practically all the public investment was suspended after the coup. They are programs focused on the country's most vulnerable," Santos said from Mexico City.
"SUFFERING FOR ZELAYA"
Dozens of soup kitchens providing a daily meal have closed in Tegucigalpa's tin- and wooden-shack shantytowns, where sewage collects in the gutters and stray dogs and gangs roam.
"Malnourished children have started coming to us looking for food and we're doing our best to feed them," said cook Lucila Garcia, in one of the few kitchens still open and relying on French funds transferred before the coup.
Many aid workers say the cash freeze is too harsh and it punishes the poor in one of Latin America's poorest countries.
Foreign governments are seeking to pressure Micheletti into reinstating Zelaya, who came back to Honduras in September and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy. [ID:nN07201333]
Garcia, a supporter of Zelaya, supports sanctions but is determined to keep her kitchen open, holding raffles to raise cash. "We are suffering but it is our sacrifice for Mel," she said as she stirred a huge pot of pasta and sausages on a wood fire, referring to Zelaya's nickname.
Few in Honduras see a quick return of foreign aid even if the Nov. 29 presidential election resolves the political crisis because many local aid organizations have been unable to lobby European and U.S. donors for new funds for 2010.
Local charities say bans on visits to Honduras by foreign aid workers have hurt their contact with donors and limit their ability to fight for the limited amount of aid on offer.
With a sense that much of Honduras is on hold until the political crisis is resolved, European-backed, microcredit programs are also collapsing as the Honduran economy suffers. Small businesses that rely on small loans cannot make their interest payments, which typically help fund new loans to other businesses.
"There's so much fear in the country right now and people aren't out spending so I can't pay back my loan and that's going to affect others," said hairdresser Orfa Ortiz in her one room salon, a business that relies on microcredit from Spain and Norway. (Additional reporting by Adriana Barrera in Mexico City; Editing by Kieran Murray)
Source:reuters.com
Minister of State Kent Calls for Peaceful Elections in Honduras
The Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), today issued the following statement in advance of the presidential and legislative elections to be held Sunday in Honduras:
“Canada is disappointed with the lack of progress on the implementation of the Tegucigalpa-San José Accord, signed by both parties on October 30. Unfortunately, this has meant that Canada could not provide support for the electoral process. Although the elections will be watched closely by the international community and members of civil society, there will be no formal observation missions from the Organization of American States or the UN.
“The peaceful conduct of the November 29 elections will be an important step in moving out of the current political impasse. For the sake of all Hondurans, we urge that they be run freely and fairly, in a safe and secure environment. Although the circumstances under which elections will take place are less than ideal, Canada calls strongly for a peaceful electoral process free from violence.
“Once the elections have taken place, I urge all parties in Honduras to focus anew on the full implementation of the Tegucigalpa-San José Accord to enable Honduras to return to democratic rule and constitutional order.”
Presidential and legislative elections are held every four years in Honduras. The new president is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 27, 2010.
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Eleanor Johnston
Senior Special Assistant (Communications)
Office of the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)
613-947-8981
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
Source:canadaviews.ca
“Canada is disappointed with the lack of progress on the implementation of the Tegucigalpa-San José Accord, signed by both parties on October 30. Unfortunately, this has meant that Canada could not provide support for the electoral process. Although the elections will be watched closely by the international community and members of civil society, there will be no formal observation missions from the Organization of American States or the UN.
“The peaceful conduct of the November 29 elections will be an important step in moving out of the current political impasse. For the sake of all Hondurans, we urge that they be run freely and fairly, in a safe and secure environment. Although the circumstances under which elections will take place are less than ideal, Canada calls strongly for a peaceful electoral process free from violence.
“Once the elections have taken place, I urge all parties in Honduras to focus anew on the full implementation of the Tegucigalpa-San José Accord to enable Honduras to return to democratic rule and constitutional order.”
Presidential and legislative elections are held every four years in Honduras. The new president is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 27, 2010.
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Eleanor Johnston
Senior Special Assistant (Communications)
Office of the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)
613-947-8981
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
Source:canadaviews.ca
Melvin is Spurs’ added Honduras
TOTTENHAM are poised to make a move for Honduras ace Melvin Valladares.
The 25-year-old striker, who plays for Real Espana in his homeland, was recommended to Spurs by fellow countryman Wilson Palacios.
Valladares impressed during a two-week trial and he said: "It was a nice experience for me.
"I feel happy because I think I did a good job. But the last word is with Tottenham."
Source:thesun.co.uk
The 25-year-old striker, who plays for Real Espana in his homeland, was recommended to Spurs by fellow countryman Wilson Palacios.
Valladares impressed during a two-week trial and he said: "It was a nice experience for me.
"I feel happy because I think I did a good job. But the last word is with Tottenham."
Source:thesun.co.uk
Russell shifts course on Honduran union workers
Sports apparel maker Russell Athletic says it will open a new factory in Honduras and rehire ousted union workers after widespread student protests on U.S. college campuses.
The company announced the decision on its Web site this week.
Leaders of the long-running anti-sweatshop movement say the company's move is its biggest victory to date. Nearly 100 colleges and universities had dropped their licensing deals with the company in response to student pressure. The deals allow manufacturers to print clothing with colleges' trademarks.
The factory will reopen in Choloma and be called Jerzees Nuevo Dia (hehr-ZEES' noo-WAY'-voh DEE'-ah). The name means "new day" in Spanish. The company has agreed to rehire 1,200 former workers and abide by collective bargaining agreements.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmjr_zPVgRDUC9XiDQyiz6gqxa-wD9C283VG0
The company announced the decision on its Web site this week.
Leaders of the long-running anti-sweatshop movement say the company's move is its biggest victory to date. Nearly 100 colleges and universities had dropped their licensing deals with the company in response to student pressure. The deals allow manufacturers to print clothing with colleges' trademarks.
The factory will reopen in Choloma and be called Jerzees Nuevo Dia (hehr-ZEES' noo-WAY'-voh DEE'-ah). The name means "new day" in Spanish. The company has agreed to rehire 1,200 former workers and abide by collective bargaining agreements.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmjr_zPVgRDUC9XiDQyiz6gqxa-wD9C283VG0
Weakened Ida Drenches Eastern Honduras
MIAMI – Ida has been downgraded to a tropical depression, although it is expected to drop heavy rain in parts of eastern Honduras on Friday and could strengthen again when it moves out over the warm waters of the Caribbean.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory at 10:00 a.m. that the depression was moving toward the north at 11 kilometers (7 miles) per hour and was packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers (35 miles) per hour, adding that little change in strength in expected Friday but that Ida is expected to re-strengthen as it moves back out over water.
The NHC said the center of Ida should move across eastern Honduras throughout the day on Friday and soak that region with heavy rain before emerging over the northwestern Caribbean Sea later in the night.
The center of Ida, the ninth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was located Friday morning some 85 kilometers (55 miles) west of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua-Honduras border.
Ida made landfall early Thursday on Nicaragua’s central Caribbean coast as a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, authorities in that country said.
The country’s deputy civil defense chief, Lt. Col. Gilberto Narvaez, told Efe that residents were evacuated from fishing villages and other small communities in a thinly populated region of Caribe Sur province.
At the Corn Island tourist center, 800 people were evacuated and at least 40 houses were partially damaged by the storm, according to a preliminary civil defense report.
Government meteorologist Carlos Oporta told Efe that Ida’s eye made landfall between the Caribbean coastal municipalities of Bluefields and Puerto Cabezas shortly before 7 a.m.
The storm caused “destruction” on Corn Island, Mayor Cleaveland Webster told Efe.
The NHC said rainfall associated with Ida may begin to affect eastern portions of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Saturday. EFE
Source:laht.com
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Honduras Twitter
Honduras (Spanish: República de Honduras, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe onˈduɾas]) is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras (now Belize). The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Its size is just over 110,000 km² with an estimated population of almost 7,500,000. Its capital is Tegucigalpa.
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