Week Summary, November 16-23

November 23rd, 2009

Last Tuesday the de facto president of Congress, José Alfredo Saavedra, announced that Congress would be called to decide on the restitution of Zelaya on Wednesday 2 – that is three days after the elections:

Decision to Restore Ousted Honduran Leader Is Delayed Until After Vote

Two days later, Micheletti said that he would step down for a week, starting November 25, in order to transfer the focus from the political crisis to the elections. He plans to be back as coup president the same day Congress is going to vote about the future of Zelaya. He assured, however, that if his presence would be needed he would step back immediately:

Micheletti to step down briefly for Honduras vote

Today the OAS held another extraordinary meeting about their position regarding the elections in Honduras, but they did not manage to reach a consensus. The USA and Panama appeal for a recognition of the elections, while the rest of the member countries sustain that they can support neither the elections nor their outcome under the present circumstances.

In the meantime, Honduras is once again turning into a state of emergency with nightly inspections by the police of members of the Resistance’s houses, retention of privately owned weapons, random detentions, obstruction of the broadcasting of canal 36, and the calling in of extra soldiers.  Last week close to 13 million USD were spent on teargas and other military material – imported from USA. All national hospitals are ordered to suspend scheduled surgeries in a two-week period in order to stay ready for emergencies:

Honduras regime seeks to disarm citizens ahead of polls

United States backs illegal elections in Honduras

COFADEH denounces repression plan

During the week a lot of candidates from all parties (even the national party) have redrawn from the electoral process – a fact that has been celebrated by the Resistance. On Saturday the small party UD, that has been in front of the Resistance all along, surprisingly opted for participating in the elections. This has caused division in the party; hence many UD candidates responded the decision by redrawing. At the moment only one presidential candidate has redrawn – Carlos H. Reyes.

Day 149 of Honduras coup resistance

In spite of the de facto government’s campaign of fear, the Resistance has called for a national strike this week. An international Human Rights Observatory is preparing for sending a mission this week to document the ongoing and expected human rights violations. Their report will be send to the UN, the OAS and the European Union.

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