Honduran Regime Curtails Freedoms

A few weeks ago, the rich in Honduras used their political puppets to engineer a military coup. They seized power from the democratically elected president, Manuel Zelaya, and installed their own right-wing zealot, Roberto Micheletti. The excuse these right-wing reactionaries used for the coup was that Zelaya was trying to pass constitutional changes that would allow him to stay in power.

They claimed they were trying to protect Honduran democracy by keeping Zelaya from illegally staying in power. Of course, this was nothing but a huge lie. Zelaya has repeatedly denied a desire to stay in the presidency past his elected term of office. Zelaya was about to hold a vote on some constitutional changes, but it was only a non-binding referendum to see if the people would support the changes if they were made.

The truth is that the reactionaries were afraid of the proposed constitutional changes. They knew it would create a society fairer to the poor and disadvantaged, and this might come at the expense of their vast fortunes. No longer would they be able to take advantage of those with less. So, in order to keep their privilege and position in Honduran society (not to mention their ill-gotten wealth), they organized a military coup -- just like the bad old days.

Some of the right-wing in this country has tried to defend the illegal government installed by the coup, but the actions of the Micheletti government make that harder each day. They have surrounded the Brazilian embassy, where Zelaya is staying, and are now threatening to deny Brazil embassy rights in Honduras so they can seize both the embassy and Zelaya.

Now they have gone even further, and shown themselves to be anything but democratic. They have suspended the right to freedom of speech and the right of the people to congregate and demonstrate.

They have also closed a radio station (Radio Globo) and a television station (Channel 36), and seized their equipment (see picture). They did this because these two news outlets were the only ones brave enough to broadcast all of the news, including that from Zelaya and his supporters.

The so-called "democracy" of the coup government has no freedom of the press, no freedom of speech and no right for the people to peaceably assemble. How can that even be jokingly called a democracy? Can a democracy exist without these freedoms?

The illegal coup government says everything will be alright after the November elections, but even the United Nations says the situation in Honduras is not conducive to free and fair elections, and have withdrawn their election aid. There's no way this illegal government will allow the election of anyone except one of their right-wing flunkies.

Democracy is dead in Honduras. It died on the night of the military coup.