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writing for godot

When Republicans yell about illegal immigration, tell them: Don't put death squads in Honduras.

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Written by Robert L Vogel   
Thursday, 10 July 2014 00:46
US corporations (Republicans) have a long history of making Honduras the original banana republic, and have fingerprints all over the coup that removed democratically elected Zelaya.

Five years after the June 28, 2009 School of Americas graduate-led coup d'etat in Honduras, the continued militarization and repression being carried about by the current Honduran regime is resulting in mass migration of children across US borders.

On May 13, the Honduran Military Police and COBRAS attacked opposition LIBRE party Congresspeople with tear gas and batons inside the Congressional chambers, causing several Congresspeople to be taken to the hospital. On May 25, two Rio Blanco residents – where the Lenca people have been resisting a hydroelectric dam in their territory for over a year – were tortured by the police, who brought them to a private home, where they beat them, forced their heads under water so they almost drowned, and then put rubber hoods on them so they couldn't breathe. Then on June 18, three soldiers and a policeman attacked and murdered 62-year old José Husbaldo Guzmán Argueta, throwing him to the ground and firing two shots with an M-16, while he was working on trying to get a potable water project.

The Honduran military and police are contributing to forced migration from Honduras, including the migration of unaccompanied minors, due to their role in illegal land theft, and infiltration by drug cartels. They do not protect the population from violence, but contribute violence by protecting only the interests of large landholders and drug cartels.

Tell Congress to speak out against US military and police aid to Honduras and be vigilant in ensuring that the Leahy Law is enforced, for instance no US aid should be going to the 10th Battalion after the murder of 62 year old José Husbaldo Guzmán Argueta while he was working to get a potable water project.

Congress' action in the Appropriations Bill, which called for 30% of US aid to Honduras to be restricted until the State Department certified that a number of conditions in Honduras had been met. As the repression continues, the situation in Honduras only continues to deteriorate. Oppose any additional security funding to Honduras through CARSI and other initiatives.

Support HR2989, the bill to suspend operations at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly known as the School of the Americas). Until the current regime stops repressing its own people, additional military and security funding will be counterproductive as the human rights crisis will continue.

The Honduran government's criminalization of those who speak out for justice and stand up for their rights. For instance, 36 Indigenous Lenca people have recently been accused of sedition and usurping functions for standing up against fraud in the November elections and excercing their autonomy as Indigenous people. This is just the latest in a series criminal charges levied against those who stand up for their rights. Contact the State Department and ask them to speak out against the criminalization of the Indigenous Lenca people of Opalaca and human rights defenders in Honduras.

When Republicans yell about illegal immigration, tell them: Don't put death squads in Honduras.

http://www.seconnecticut.com/honduras.htm
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