We know that you are anxious for a resolution of the situation in Honduras and are wondering what is going on. Where is President Zelaya? Will he return? What is the U.S. doing to move the negotiations forward?
With the chaos following the June 28th coup and the shuttering of media outlets, it has been hard to learn about the state of human rights in Honduras. That’s why it’s so important to read the report that the Honduran Association of the Detained and Disappeared, COFADEH, released July 15t on the human rights situation in Honduras since the coup on June 28, 2009.
It’s hard to believe—the Latin America Working Group has completed a quarter-century of campaigning for a just U.S. policy towards Latin America. Right now we’re celebrating this history: our collective work to shift U.S. support from war to peace in Central America; to increase U.S. aid for victims of hurricanes, earthquakes and war; to build U.S. counternarcotics policies that are more humane and effective; to promote border policies that respect the rights of border communities and migrants; and to end, once and for all, the Cuba travel ban.
If you’ve called your member of Congress on these issues, if you’ve
contributed to our cause, if you’ve sent our messages on to your
friends, if you’re a member or supporter of any of the groups in our
coalition—then this is your history, too.
The situation in Honduras has only worsened since the coup on June 28th when the Honduran military rousted President Manuel Zelaya from his bed, and flew him to Costa Rica in his pajamas.
The trial of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori “contributes to the strengthening of the rule of law and democracy in Peru and is a genuine milestone in the struggle against impunity in the region,” according to Jo-Marie Burt of George Mason University and Coletta Youngers of the Washington Office on Latin America. “It is the first time that a democratically elected head of state in Latin America has been found guilty of committing crimes against humanity.”
On June 5th, violence erupted near Bagua, Perú when members of the
country’s security forces confronted indigenous people who were
protesting recent governmental decrees that, if fully enacted, would
allow logging, drilling, and mining on indigenous lands without the
prior consultation of the communities. According to various sources,
the protestors had been blocking roads and waterways peacefully when
ground forces and helicopters were sent in to break up the
demonstration. Many people, both indigenous protestors and members of the security forces,
were killed and wounded in the ensuing clash.
As our country is reflecting upon the use of torture by U.S. interrogators since 9/11, some history and literature from Latin America’s dirty wars offers insights. A new translation of Uruguayan author Mario Benedetti’s play Pedro and the Captain, about to be released by Cadmus Editions, provides an unblinking look into the psychology behind such abuses.
Action Center
