FIfth day under a coup - repression and prophetic voices

There lots of uncertainty and ambiguity but it’s still tranquil here in Santa Rosa de Copán. Wednesday and Thursday night there was a curfew from 10 pm to 5 am. But there is tension in the air. But it could have been worse. Thursday, the deposed President Mel Zelaya was supposed to return to Honduras but – prudently, I think – put his return off to the weekend.

The repression deepens

The Congress approved some restrictions on human rights for a few days, but it doesn't seem to have affected us here.

But there are serious human rights violations throughout the country. Though I have not personally seen repression, I’ve managed to ferret out a few stories. The most striking is about Father Andres Tamayo, an environmental activist in Olancho. On June 29, he and hundreds were on their way to Tegucigalpa to reinforce the anti-coup supporters when military shot out the tires of their buses. They decided to block the highway. About 2 am on July 1 soldiers came and starting beating the demonstrators. He was hidden by his supporters and taken away to safety.

There are reports of a large number of arrests of people who speak out against the government. I have also read of the use of force against anti-coup demonstrators in San Pedro Sula and other places.

Human Rights Watch has written a letter to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States:

"I am writing to share with you our concerns regarding credible reports that we have received of serious abuses committed by Honduran security forces since the coup d'état on June 28. These include the excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, and acts of censorship. We are also very concerned by the emergency decree approved by the Honduran Congress yesterday that suspends fundamental rights and could provide a pretext for further abuses in the coming days."

The Church speaks

Many have been waiting to hear what the Catholic Church would say. Some were claiming that the Church was in favor of the coup. But at last we are beginning to hear strong statements from the Catholic Church in Honduras, especially critical of the interim government of Micheletti.

Wednesday, June 30, in a bulletin from Caritas Honduras, the national office of the Catholic Church’s social development agency, stated that a coup will not resolve Honduras’ problems and was also quite strong in its critique of congress. It described them as “persistent [permanente] violators of the Constitution who were converted overnight into its defenders and promoters of democracy.” Its description of acting president Roberto Micheletti were no less flattering: “…[as president of Congress, he] directed it in an anti-democratic and authoritarian manner and … has had confrontations with various social sectors.”

These statements should be read in the light of other strong statements against the policies of President Mel Zelaya by the director of Caritas Honduras and the persistent disapproval of the bishops of the manner in which he was planning to consult the people.

Today, Monseñor Luis Alfonso Santos, SDB, bishop of Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras, ordained several men as transitional deacons in the cathedral. At the end of Mass the bishop read a long-awaited statement on the present crisis which was the result of the work of the bishops and his priests who had been meeting. The statement was interrupted as several times by the applause of the congregation. After the bishop finished, Father Rudy Mejía, pastoral vicar of the diocese, noted that the statement has the support of the priests as well as the diocesan pastoral council. It was written during a meeting of the bishop with the priests and a meeting with the diocesan pastoral council.

The message identifies the persistent social inequality as the cause of the current crisis. It decries the restrictions on rights that Congress passed yesterday as well as the violations of human rights, including illegal detentions.

In a very pointed paragraph the bishop and his priests and pastoral council call upon the members of Congress who voted in the Micheletti government:

"As the Catholic Church on pilgrimage in the West of Honduras we want to remind the 124 [congressional] deputies of the Liberal Party and the National Party responsible for the Coup d’Etat and presently in power that they are not the owners/masters of Honduras and that no one can be above the law. The present deputies ought to remember that they get their salaries from the people whom they are oppressing. If the plebiscite and referendum had been given institutional status [regulated], as we the bishops of the Honduran Bishops Conference suggested in our communication of June 19, we would not be in this situation. They [the deputies] preferred to be faithful to the economically strong groups, both national and transnational. We hope that in the next elections the People will give them a vote of punishment."

In very passionate words they call for peace and the end of lies, injustice, and repression:

"We Hondurans want PEACE.
"No more lies. We want to be told the truth. No more injustice. We want respect for the integrity of the person and respect for human rights. We want to live in freedom. We do not want repression.
"The call of Jesus is to live in love. Therefore, no more hatred, no more revenge, no more violence, no more spitefulness."

We want peace – but a real peace. That peace will only come through major changes in this society that attack the causes of unrest – injustice, a massive gap between rich and poor, corruption, self-serving politicians (in all parties), lack of political participation, and a lack of respect shown for the campesinos.