Emily Yozell and Lucy Rodriguez were in Honduras from August 24-30 with our joint delegation with AAJ and IADL. We have posted their Preminary Report in Spanish and will post the English translation when we can. A final report should be available in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, there are important new developments with Zelaya’s return to Honduras, so we ask all NLG members to call the State Department and engage your local media to get the owrd out that there is massive repression occuring against the people who are peacefully resisting the coup regime.
September 21 Communique and Call to Action —
PRESS RELEASE COMUNIQUE PRESS RELEASE COMUNIQUE
September 21, 2009
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) recently carried out a joint observer mission during August 26th – 30th inside Honduras along with the American Association of Jurists (AAJ), the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL-IADL) and the International Association Against Torture (IACT).
We write this communiqué to express our enthusiasm upon receiving the news of President Manuel Zelaya’s return to Honduras. At the same time, having recently met with government officials, diplomats and representatives of various sectors and social movements within Honduras, we are very concerned about the safety of President Zelaya’s government and supporters of his return due to the de facto regime’s recurrence on use of the military forces and national police to enforce their impromptu declaration once again of a “state of siege” and suspension of basic constitutional rights throughout the country.
The Honduran independent radio and television broadcasts were once again taken off the airwaves this afternoon as helicopters flew over the Brazilian Embassy where the president, joined by his family and close associates, stepped out onto the balcony and addressed the Honduran people in a call for peace and dialogue. Radio Globo and Canal 11 broadcast his salutation before being abruptly censured.
We urge the United States government officials to continue to actively support all efforts to return President Zelaya to his legitimate office and to demand that the de facto regime cease from violating the civilian population’s basic human rights. A peaceful and lasting solution to this crisis is only possible if constitutional order is restored and an open dialogue is permitted among all sectors in order to analyze the root causes of the present conflict in a climate of mutual respect.
We call upon the United States government and the international community at large to hold the Micheletti regime and key political and financial backers responsible for any violent acts and continued violations of the civilian population’s rights to peacefully oppose the military coup and clamor for a democratic process of structural reforms and demilitarization of Honduran society.
Contacts: Susan Scott (415) 669-1745; Lucy Rodriguez, andina3@sbcglobal.net Roger Wareham, rwarehamLaw@aol.com Emily Yozell, emyozell@gmail.com Kevin Breslin, kevinelcamino@yahoo.com
To view the Preliminary Report of our August delegation, see: www.nlginternational.org
