The State Department announced last week that it intends to recognizethe results of the upcoming November 29 elections in Honduras with orwithout democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya back in power. (Read the November 6 response statement from Honduran President ManuelZelaya at the end of this alert.) Up until last week the U.S. hadjoined the rest of the international community in condemning the June28 coup that ousted President Zelaya, and calling for his return topower as a prerequisite for recognizing the results of the November 29Presidential elections in Honduras.

For thepeople of Honduras -- who have peacefully protested to restoredemocracy throughout Honduras every single day for four monthsfollowing the coup -- the Department of State’s reversal constitutesnothing short of a slap in the face and a tremendous blow to Hondurandemocracy.

Since the coup, the violent coup regime has leveled more than 4,000 violations of human rights against the Honduran people, including more than 3,000 illegal detentions and 12 political assassinations of members of citizen groups opposed to the coup.  It is in this framework of egregious violations of human rights and the threat of media shutdowns that the coup regime pretends to hold “free and fair” elections.

The National Front of Resistance Against the Coup in Honduras has put forward three clear demands:

• The return to constitutional order with the reinstatement of the legitimate president, Manuel Zelaya Rosales
• Respect for the sovereign right of the Honduran people to establish a National Constituent Assembly for the purpose of refounding their nation
• Punishment for those who have violated human rights.

Take a stand in support of the Honduran resistance to the coup and demand that the State Department and President Obama government end their support for a brutal, repressive and anti-democratic regime!

1. Call the State Department and leave a message for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Assistant Secretary Thomas Shannon: 202-647-4000.

Tell them not to recognize the coup regime’s illegitimate elections that are scheduled for November 29.  President Zelaya must be reinstated as the first step for the restoration of democracy in Honduras!  

2. Then call the White House and leave a second message for President Barack Obama and Dan Restrepo (Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs): 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414.

Members and supporters of the Honduran resistance movement to the de facto Micheletti regime will be protesting the State Department on TUESDAY, November 10 at 12:15.  Tell these government agencies that you support the demonstrators and their message—end the U.S. support for the repressive coup regime! Do not recognize the elections until President Zelaya is reinstated!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Statement by Honduran President Manuel Zelaya:
PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC
From the Desk of the President
Tegucigalpa November 6, 2009

[Translation by Patricia Adams, The Quixote Center. Original Spanish version below.]

DELCARATION

Our weapon are ideas, our struggle is peaceful Agreement Failed because of Micheletti’s Failure to Comply.

In the face of the mockery that Mr. Micheletti has made of the Honduran People and the International Community: boycotting the Tegucigalpa/San Jose Agreement; letting the deadline for the creation of the Government of Unity pass without convening the National Congress, as is within his power and responsibility to do per the written agreement; the lack of a will to fulfill the Agreement in both letter and spirit is clear; ignoring the Plan Arias proposal, as well as the OAS and the UN resolutions; we declare that the Agreement has been a failure, because of the failure of the de facto regime to comply with the commitment to organize and install a government of unity and national reconciliation by this date; a government which should by law be presided over by the President elected by the People, José Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

1. We are not willing to give up the rights of the people by legitimating this Coup d’Etat.
2. We do not accept the militarization of society nor that the President of Honduras be named by the elite of the Armed Forces.
3. Democracy is the highest good of society and is the only path for confronting the problems of the third poorest economy in Latin America, and therefore we are not willing to be cheated nor that our Democracy be robbed from us.
4. The permanent violations of Human Rights, the cancellation of public freedoms, the confiscation of communication media, as well as the status of the President elected by the people who is surrounded by the military inside the Brazilian Embassy and the political witch hunting, is all proof of the preparation of an enormous Political-Electoral fraud on November 29th.
5. We announce that we will completely ignore this electoral process and the results of the aforementioned evils, elections under a dictatorship are a fraud for the people.
6. We invite the Ministers of the OAS to make immediate pronouncements about the actions of the government legitimately elected by the people of Honduras, and to continue to condemn and ignore this de facto regime.
7. On behalf of the people, we thank the International Community, the OAS, Secretary Insulza, the ex- President of Chile Mr Ricardo Lagos Escobar, and the US Labor Secretary Mrs Hilda Solís.

Versión original en español:

PRESIDENCIA DE LA REPUBLICA
Del Escritorio de Señor Presidente
Tegucigalpa 6 de noviembre del 2009

PRONUNCIAMIENTO

Nuestra armas son las ideas, nuestra lucha es pacifica
Fracasa Acuerdo por Incumplimiento de Micheletti.

Ante la burla que el Señor Micheletti ha inferido al pueblo Hondureño y a la Comunidad Internacional, Boicoteando el Acuerdo Tegucigalpa/San José y dejar que se vencieran los plazos para la Organización del Gobierno de Unidad al no convocar al Congreso Nacional de acuerdo a sus facultades y compromisos suscritos, evidentemente se manifiesta la falta de voluntad para cumplir la letra y el espíritu del Acuerdo, desconociendo la propuesta del Plan Arias, la resoluciones de Organización de Estados Americanos de Naciones Unidas, declaramos fracasado el Acuerdo por el incumplimiento del régimen de facto del compromiso de que a esta fecha debía de estar organizado e instalado el gobierno de unidad y de Reconciliación nacional; El que por ley debe de ser presidido por el Presidente Electo por el Pueblo José Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

1. Que no estamos dispuestos a perder los derechos del pueblo legitimando este Golpe de Estado.
2. No aceptamos que se militarice la sociedad y que el Presidente de Honduras sea nombrado en las Cúpulas de las Fuerzas Armadas.
3. La Democracia es un bien supremo de la sociedad y es el único camino para enfrentar los problemas de la tercera economía mas pobre de Latinoamérica por lo que no estamos dispuestos a permitir que nos roben con este tipo de trampas nuestra Democracia.
4. Las violaciones permanentes de los Derechos Humanos, la cancelación de las libertades públicas, y la confiscación de medios de comunicación al igual que la situación del Presidente electo por el pueblo rodeado por militares en la sede Diplomática del Brasil y la persecución Política es la prueba evidente de la preparación de un gran fraude Político-Electoral para el 29 de noviembre.
5. Anunciamos nuestro total desconocimiento a este proceso electoral y a los resultados por los vicios antes mencionados, elecciones bajo dictadura son un fraude para el pueblo.
6. Invitar de manera inmediata a los Cancilleres de la OEA a que se pronuncien sobre lo que acontece en el gobierno legítimamente electo por el pueblo Hondureño y continué la condena y el desconocimiento a este régimen de facto.
7. Agradecemos al pueblo el apoyo brindado por la Comunidad Internacional, a la Organización de Estados Americano, secretario insulsa al ex Presidente de Chile Señor Ricardo Lagos Escobar, a la Ministra de Trabajo del Gobierno de Estados Unidos Señora Hilda Solís.

Thanks to School of the Americas Watch, Alliance for Global Justice and Hondureños por la Democracia for the content of this alert.