Honduran Coup-sponsored Violence Injures Women, Children; Represses Journalists

Excerpted and reposted with permission from Hermano Juancito (originally posted 7/31/2009 at 1:21 PM). Juancito is an American living and working in Honduras:

There have been reports of violence by the military and police in some parts of the country against demonstrators opposed to the coup, as well as arrests and detentions. But it seems to have happened nearby.

There are often demonstrations at a gas station...off the main road to San Pedro Sula. People camp in the streets and prevent traffic from passing through for a few hours.

I stopped at Caritas [B.E.: Roman Catholic assistance agency] this morning and the staff told me, that, according to radio reports, about 11 am this morning, police dislodged the people from the intersection and injured people, including women and some 10 to 11 year old children. Some fled to a restaurant in the gas station; the police broke glass windows; people were also fleeing into the woods.

The folks visiting me saw some soldiers in riot gear in a car in town as well as a police car with police and a number of people, coming away from the demonstration.

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I have a group of people from Iowa here with me. They arrived Wednesday night. To avoid having to walk through road blocks we got a ride back Wednesday night with a Spanish Franciscan sister who lives down the block. The pickup was stopped twice by the army. At one they said she had a light burnt out. She talked with them and avoided a fine (but I wonder if they wanted a bribe.)

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The violence Juancito reports above was predicted and described by Via Campasina, Nicaragua on Thursday, 30 July 2009:

From Via Campasina:

Today July 30 since the early hours of the morning the combined forces of the Police and the Army have been carrying to most violent repression to date against unarmed protestors. There are many injured people, some very severely, and other being pursued at this moment.

The soldiers have orders to repress journalists and other civilians in the areas of conflict.

The state of barbarism continues, especially in the El Durazno part of the highway leaving Tegucigalpa toward the border with Nicaragua.

We need to activate urgent actions and denounce what is going on the Human Rights agencies, as peaceful protestors are being violently beaten at this very moment in various parts of Honduras.

They are launching tear gas from helicopters and aircraft, and shooting rubber and wooden bullets at the people.

Please send protest messages to the dictator: Roberto Micheletti:

robertomicheletti (at) congreso.gob.hn

with cc to the OAS to see if it's possible to give a bad conscience [sic] to José Miguel Insulza: OASWeb (at) oas.org

Please, we must stop these acts of military violence against the people, to avoid more tragic outcomes as the military attacks the civilian population.

Fausto Torrez ATC-Via Campesina Nicaragua