Honduras update: one year after the coup, the resistance continues
14 July 2010
It's been over a year since the coup in Honduras, which saw the removal from power of the democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya. In the weeks and months following the coup, numerous human rights violations were committed against the many brave Hondurans who took to the streets to defend their president and their democracy. Over 40 people were killed and an estimated 40,000 were beaten, jailed or fired from their jobs for protesting peacefully.
After a new round of elections on 29 November 2009, which were boycotted by supporters of Honduras' democracy, Pepe Lobo was sworn in as the new president in January 2010. His first act was to sign a decree giving amnesty to the soldiers, politicians and judges who were behind coup.
War on Want partner Codemuh (the Honduran Women's Collective) continues to play an active role in the Popular National Resistance Front (FNRP), a grassroots coalition that arose in response to the coup. The FNRP has rejected the amnesty and is demanding that the perpetrators of the coup be brought to justice.
A demonstration against the coup in San Pedro Sula, August 2009
According to the FNRP, the complete immunity from prosecution enjoyed by those responsible for the hijacking of Honduran democracy has led to grave human rights violations over the last year. On 26 May, the headquarters of the Drinks Industry Workers' Trade Union (STIBIYS), another member of the FNRP, came under attack from masked gunman, leaving four people critically wounded. The increase in violence has also claimed the lives of six journalists in the past two months. No one as yet has been charged for these murders. According to Reporters Without Borders, Honduras is now the most dangerous country in the world for journalists.
In May, the Association of Judges for Democracy began a hunger strike to protest of the dismissal of three judges and a magistrate who had openly criticised the coup. The removal of these judges has been strongly condemned by Codemuh, which expressed its grave concern over the threat to an independent judiciary in Honduras. Codemuh has also denounced the deterioration of working conditions in the maquilas, where workers are now expected to meet higher production targets while working the same number of hours and earning the same pay.
Codemuh is also concerned that the government will introduce measures that would push workers into part-time jobs. This would mean they would no longer be eligible for the same social security benefits they currently enjoy under the National Honduran Labour Code. Moreover, the victory of Pepe Lobo, a wealthy landowner, has dampened hopes for a wage increase in the maquilas. Women workers in the sector continue to earn, on average, a meagre 3,639.60 lempiras per month (approximately £128). Codemuh believes that workers require twice that figure to meet their daily needs. War on Want stands with the collective in its struggle for a living wage for all Honduran workers.
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