Thursday, March 3, 2016

La Voz de los de Abajo: Statement on the Assassination of Berta Cáceres

A nuestr@s querid@s compañer@s del COPINH,

A la Resistencia Hondureña,

Al pueblo digno hondureño,

A los movimientos populares de todo el mundo

A la comunidad internacional en general,

A tod@s l@s que sueñan con un mundo mejor:

El mundo acaba de perder a una de las grandes luchadoras en la historia, no solo de Honduras, sino del mundo entero. La voz de Berta Cáceres era, es y siempre será una voz que inspire tenacidad, amor al pueblo, y esperanza. Berta siempre usaba su voz para ampliar las voces de l@s demás, de la gente humilde, de la gente pobre, del pueblo Lenca, de todos los pueblos indígenas y afrodescendientes, de las mujeres, de la gente de diversidad sexual, de las obreras y los obreros, de las campesinas y los campesinos, de las explotadas y los explotados, de la juventud, del pueblo en resistencia, de tod@s quienes soñamos con un mundo más justo.

Compartimos en lo más profundo de nuestras almas el dolor inmenso que sienten en estos momentos tan difíciles nuestr@s compañer@s hondureñ@s del COPINH, la familia hermosa y luchadora de Berta y tod@s l@s que tuvieron el gran privilegio de conocerla en algún momento. Berta tocaba corazones en todo el mundo. En cada rincón de este planeta tierra, este planeta que Berta defendía con todo su esfuerzo y, finalmente, con su vida misma, el ejemplo, la voz, la memoria, la inspiración, la enseñanza, el amor de Berta Cáceres están presentes, hoy y siempre.

Como La Voz de los de Abajo, una organización internacional de derechos humanos con sede en Chicago y con más de 15 años de historia de acompañamiento a los movimientos populares hondureños, responsabilizamos al gobierno de Honduras, al gobierno de los Estados Unidos y a la empresa DESA y sus financiadores internacionales por el asesinato de Berta.

El gobierno hondureño es responsable por su falta de voluntad para investigar las constantes amenazas de muerte en contra de Berta, por su indiferencia ante las medidas cautelares otorgadas a Berta por la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, por su participación en la campaña de difamación y satanización que se realizó en contra de Berta en los medios de comunicación, y por su colaboración con y apoyo a la empresa DESA en su proyecto nefasto de construir una represa hidroeléctrica en el Río Gualcarque a pesar de la oposición de las comunidades indígenas Lencas. Somos testigos de esa colaboración, vimos con nuestros propios ojos la gran presencia del ejército hondureño y su cercanía y colaboración con los guardias de la empresa DESA en la comunidad de Río Blanco.

El gobierno estadounidense es responsable por su continuo financiamiento del ejército hondureño, por su historia larga y criminal de entrenar a militares hondureños asesinos en la Escuela de las Américas, por su papel fundamental en financiar, defender y asegurar la consolidación del golpe de estado y el ambiente de represión e impunidad que este conllevó.

La empresa DESA y sus financiadores internacionales son indudablemente responsable por el acto material del asesinato. Sus empleados dijeron descaradamente, en innumerables ocasiones, que iban a asesinar a Berta por su liderazgo en la lucha en contra de la destrucción ambiental y cultural que representaría la construcción del proyecto hidroeléctrico Agua Zarca en Río Blanco.

Berta vivirá no solo en los corazones, sino en las acciones de todos los pueblos en resistencia del mundo y especialmente en su querida Honduras y en su querido pueblo Lenca en particular. Si los malos de arriba piensan que con el asesinato de Berta podrán acabar con la lucha del pueblo Lenca, se equivocan terriblemente. Su voz se multiplicará. Su ejemplo se multiplicará. Su inspiración se multiplicará. Ella sembró miles de semillas con su persistencia, con su risa, con su tenacidad, con su esperanza, con su visión de un mundo sin patriarcado, sin explotación capitalista y racismo, con su sueño de un mundo liberado, con su profunda fe en el triunfo inevitable de la lucha popular. Se profundizará la lucha, se profundizará la solidaridad internacional, se profundizará la ola de indignación, se profundizará la determinación y dedicación del pueblo Lenca, del pueblo hondureño en resistencia y de los pueblos del mundo que los acompañamos.

Estaremos informando sobre los próximos pasos para mostrar solidaridad internacional muy pronto.

¡Berta Cáceres presente!
¡Que viva el COPINH!
¡Que viva la resistencia!
¡Que vivan las luchas populares!
¡Sangre de mártires, semilla de libertad!
Nunca nos olvidaremos de usted, compañera Berta Cáceres.

Desde Chicago, Estados Unidos,
La Voz de los de Abajo

To our dear sisters and brothers of COPINH,

To the Honduran Resistance,

To the dignified people of Honduras,

To the people’s movements around the world,

To the International community in general,

To everyone who dreams of a better world:
The world just lost one of the greatest freedom fighters not just in the history of Honduras but in the whole world. The voice of Berta Cáceres was, is and always will be a voice that inspires tenacity, love for the people, and hope. Berta always used her voice to amplify the voices of others, of the downtrodden, of the poor, of the Lenca people, of all indigenous and afro-descendant peoples, of women, of the LGBT community, of workers and peasants, of the exploited, of the youth, of the people in resistance, of all of us who dream of a more just world.

We share in the depths of our soul the immense pain felt by our Honduran comrades from COPINH, by Berta’s beautiful and resilient family, and by everyone who had the great privilege of meeting her at one time or another. Berta touched hearts around the world. In every corner of this planet earth, the planet that she defended with all of her energy and finally with her life itself, the example, the voice, the memory, the inspiration, the teachings, the love of Berta Cáceres are present today and always.
As La Voz de los de Abajo, an international human rights organization based in Chicago and with more than 15 years of history accompanying Honduran social movements, we hold responsible the government of Honduras, the government of the United States, and the DESA corporation and its financial backers for Berta’s murder.

The Honduran government is responsible for its unwillingness to investigate the constant death threats against Berta, for its indifference regarding the protective measures extended to Berta by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, for its participation in the campaign of defamation and character assassination carried out against Berta in the Honduran press, and for its collaboration with and support for the DESA corporation and its nefarious project of building a hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque River despite the opposition of the indigenous Lenca communities. We are direct witnesses to that collaboration, having seen with our own eyes the tremendous presence of the Honduran army and its closeness and collaboration with DESA’s private security in the Río Blanco community.

The U.S. government is responsible for its continued financing of the Honduran army, for its long and criminal history of training Honduran military assassins at the School of the Americas, for its essential role in financing, defending and assuring the consolidation of the coup d’état in Honduras and the environment of repression and impunity that it ushered in.

The DESA corporation and its financial backers are undoubtedly responsible for the assassination itself. Its employees have said shamelessly and on numerous occasions that they would kill Berta for her leadership in the struggle against the environmental and cultural destruction represented by the building of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam in Río Blanco.

Berta will live not just in the hearts but in the actions of all the peoples in resistance around the world and especially in her beloved Honduras and her beloved Lenca indigenous community. If the powerful and evil think that by killing Berta they can end the struggle of the Lenca people, they are terribly mistaken. Her voice will multiply. Her example will multiply. Her inspiration will multiply. She sowed thousands of seeds with her persistence, with her laughter, with her tenacity, with her hope, with her vision of a world free from patriarchy, capitalist exploitation and racism, with her dream of a liberated world, with her profound faith in the inevitable triumph of the people’s struggle. The struggle will deepen, international solidarity will deepen, the wave of indignation will deepen, the determination and dedication of the Lenca people, of the Honduran resistance and of the people of the world who accompany them will deepen.

We will be releasing information on next steps for demonstrating International solidarity very soon.

Berta Cáceres lives on!
Long live COPINH!
Long live the resistance!
Long live the people’s struggles!
Blood of martyrs, seed of liberation!
We will never forget you, comrade Berta Cáceres.

From Chicago, USA

La Voz de los de Abajo

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Chance for justice-Trial Continues

Chabelo's trial 
October 20
Greg McCain


Osorto's Refusal

Today's hearing began with the possibility of another suspension hanging over it. Police Commissioner Henry Osorto and another witness, known to the court as Protected Witness 2 (PW2), have refused to appear to testify, stating that Trujillo was too unsafe for them. Their rationale being that since their family was killed in Trujillo there are people still plotting to kill them. Nevermind that Osorto is now a Commissioner in the National Police and has the resources to order police from everywhere in the country, there is not enough security in Trujillo for him.

The Defense pointed out that the security concerns weren't credible plus there isn't any proof that Osorto has received threats. In addition, the Defence pointed out that the law stipulates that no one is entitled to preferential treatment including members of the police or military.

Each time that the court has requested their appearence the response from the Prosecutor has changed with Osorto's excuses increasing in intensity. At the beginning of the trial his reason was that he was bothered by the fact that there was a retrial and that he couldn't give a specific date for when he would appear. The hearings were suspended to accomadate his schedule and when reconvened he was now fearful for his safety. When the court didn't capitulate to these blatant manipulations there were suddenly threats against him and the other witness.

The judges weren't buying it. They decided that there would not be another suspension of the trial nor a change of venue. The case would proceed as scheduled.

The morning session concluded after less than an hour and with the decision that after lunch the Defence could present their witnesses.

When the hearing reconvened, three witnesses testified for the Defense collaborating Chabelo's statements that he got to the scene after the deaths had occurred. The first witness was the photographer who had taken the photo that Henry Osorto and the Prosecutor's office had manufactured the case around. His testimony corroborated Chabelo's statements that he was there to retrieve the body of a friend that had been killed by shots fired from the Osorto house. When the witness arrived he saw Chabelo on a bicycle in a crowd of people about 100 km from the Osorto house. The house was already in flames. He snapped the photo of Chabelo just as the dead friend's body was being moved to a car to return to the community.

The other two witnesses corroborated Chabelo's story of being in the community in the late afternoon and went to the scene of the incident when the wife of the friend who had died was pleading for him to help bring the friend home.

This concluded the Defense's evidence. The judges asked the Prosecutor if there had been any changes regarding  Osorto and PW2 appearing. Suddenly, Trujillo wasn't the dangerous place that it had been just this morning as the Prosecutor stated that Osorto and PW2 would appear tomorrow. We'll see.

Whether they do or not, tomorrow should be the last day of the trial as both sides have presented their cases short the testimonies of the no shows. The court has stated that they will not entertain any more manipulations. We shall see.

Friday, May 24, 2013

November Elections Delegation

La Voz de los de Abajo - Chicago

Join Us in November 2013 in Honduras
Human Rights and Election Observer Delegation

On June 28, 2009 there was a coup d’état in Honduras. The coup carried out by the Honduran oligarchy, military, and police was condemned around the world but encouraged by the U.S. government which has continued to work to legitimize the coup governments. Many tens of thousands of Hondurans took to the street in resistance and have maintained their resistance for more than 3 years despite a continuing human rights crises that has left hundreds of activists murdered.

Now a real opposition party born out of the resistance movement is participating in the national elections on November 24, 2013.  The LIBRE Party is running ahead of the traditional pro-coup parties and its candidates and supporters are the targets of violence and intimidation. Honduran social justice activists and human rights defenders are calling for international observers to accompany them during the elections. 

In response to that call La Voz de los de Abajo  is organizing delegations in November 2013.  The delegations will be working in different areas of the country to help provide human rights coverage and election observation where it is most needed.  We are planning to  a 10 day and a 5 day option. 

For more information about the delegation contact us at: lavozchicago@yahoo.com

La Voz de los de Abajo has been organizing delegations in solidarity with Honduras for almost 15 years. Since the 2009 coup we have taken 7 delegations to accompany the social justice organizations and resistance across the country. 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Report Back - Delegation to Honduras September 2012


Video - Music - Conversation and Discussion
20 de Octubre - October 20  -  7pm
Meztli Gallery & Cultural Center - 2005 South Blue Island Avenue (Pilsen)

From September 6-16, 2012 a La Voz de los de Abajo delegation of 9 human rights activists from the United States visited Honduras. We met with campesino and indigenous communities and organizations, with leaders of the Sexual Diversity Movement, the resistance political party LIBRE, independent radio stations and Honduran human rights organizations.  We heard the stories of the hundreds of  political assassinations and violent attacks on people since the coup in June 2009. We saw with our own eyes the effects of the militarization and use of paramilitaries when our delegation was directly threatened by private paramilitary.  Everywhere we went the people asked us to make the United States government stop supporting the Honduran military, police, paramilitary and government. Let us share this reality with you and talk about what we can do here so the Hondurans can refound their country.


Desde el 6 a las 16 de septiembre, 2012 una delegación organizada por La Voz de los de Abajo de nueve activistas de derechos humanos de Estados Unidos visitó Honduras. Nos reunimos con las comunidades campesinas e indígenas y sus organizaciones; con los líderes del Movimiento de la Diversidad Sexual, partido política de la  resistencia, LIBRE;  las estaciones de radio independientes y organizaciones de derechos humanos en Honduras. Escuchamos las historias de los más de 100 asesinatos políticos desde el golpe de Estado en junio de 2009 y también vimos con nuestros propios ojos a los efectos de la militarización y el uso de los paramilitares. De hecho, nuestra delegación fue amenazado directamente por los guardias privados paramilitares. Por todos lados la gente nos pidió que hacemos algo para que el gobierno de Estados Unidos deja de apoyar a los militares, la policía, los paramilitares y el gobierno hondureño. Vamos a compartir esta realidad con usted y hablamos de que podemos hacer aquí, para que los hondureños pueden refundar su país.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Saturday, June 19, 2010

ATTACK ON STIBYS IN SAN PEDRO SULA - COFADEH

MAY 25, 2010
1. COFADEH received the report of this at 4:30 pm, Tuesday, May 25, 2010: armed men dressed in white shirts, with black pants and caps violently entered STIBYS, and immediately fired on Douglas Gomez who is now in surgery at the Social Security Hospital in San Pedro Sula.
2. The action occurred in a synchronized manner with the blocking of the telephone lines, which did not work when the four persons, including Douglas, inside the union facility tried to sound the alert and get help from outside. The unknown assailants did not take anything from STIBYS.
3. COFADEH is concerned with this new repressive action against STIBYS and its leaders Carlos H. Reyes and Porfirio Ponce, who since the coup d’etat have been the victims of constant aggression, surveillance and militarization against the organization by the repressive bodies of the State

Saturday, February 6, 2010

La Voz de los de Abajo Delegation January 24-31 2010


Solidarity and Human Rights Delegation to Honduras - January 24-31, 2010

Seven people travled to Honduras to accompany the resistance as human rights observers in solidarity with the people of Honduras against the coup d'etat. We interviewed individuals, organizations and communities in resistance from San Pedro Sula, El Progreso, Siguatepeque, La Paz, and Tegucigalpa. the delegation presented our findings on the serious and deteriorating human rights situation in Honduras to the US Embassy and held a press conference in Tegucigalpa. The delgation accompanied the grand march of resistance on January 27th, the day that the new coup government of Pepe Lobo assumed power. The march of 300,000 people in resistance went to the Tegucigalp Airport to salute President Mel Zelaya who left the country on the same day. The Resistance remains massive, peaceful and resolute.
See Honduras_Resists blogspot for more detailed reports.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Close the School of the Americas- Honduras Presente!






Honduras Presente!: Report from the Close Down the School of Assassins (SOA) 2009

November 21 and 22, 2009: For the 19th year, anti-war, social justice, solidarity and human rights activists gathered at the gates of the School of Americas (now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) at Fort Benning, Georgia to demand that this military training School of Assassins be shut down once and for all. This year Honduras was strongly represented, because the military officials in command of the coup d’etat of June 28, 2009 were trained at the SOA and the Honduras military has long history of training at the SOA.

The significance of the coup in Honduras as a set back for human rights in Latin America was highlighted by several speakers and a key note speaker during the weekend was Berta Oliva, the founder and director of the Committee for the Families of the Disappeared and Detained In Honduras (COFADEH). Berta spoke at the rally on Saturday and the vigil for the fallen and disappeared on Sunday. She also was the speaker at a standing room only workshop Saturday evening

Berta spoke of the history of human rights violations by the U.S. trained Honduran military going back to the 1980’s and even before, including the case of her husband Tomas Nativi who was disappeared in 1981. She spoke of the disappeared, detained and murdered Honduras since the coup d’etat this year and the situation of a human rights crisis in which the coup government elections on November 29th would take place. She emphasized the concerns of COFADEH that the human rights violations by the government will increase during and after the elections. She called for continued solidarity and action from activists in the United States in support of the Honduran people and the resistance.

In the closing vigil on Sunday, the names of the dead and disappeared in Honduras were joined with the names of hundreds of people from all over Latin America. !Honduras Presente! Close the SOA!

November 29th - Chicago Emergency Action





On Sunday, November 29th, 50 people protested the illegal elections in Honduras and held a vigil for the fallen in the resistance to the coup d'etat in front of the Honduras Consulate in Chicago. (Photos by J.F. Gomez)

The press release for the event is below.

For Immediate Release Emergency Action

Honduras: De Facto Elections Equal a De Facto Government, Not Democracy!

We Are All Honduras - Chicago VIGIL - 3pm to 5pm

Sunday, November 29th

In front of the Honduran Consulate at 4439 West Fullerton

Join us in a vigil to protest the illegal elections organized by the coup government - in the midst of a growing human rights crises - and to honor the assassinated and imprisoned members of the anti-coup resistance.

At 4 pm, there will be a ceremony marking the closing of the polls and the attempted murder of democracy in Honduras.

Sunday, November 29, 2009, the de facto Honduran government installed in power through a military coup on June 28, 2009, will hold its illegal elections under conditions of a human rights crisis in which the army and police forces have murdered more than 30 resistance members, and there are ongoing detentions and repression. The military coup and the military-political dictatorship have been condemned around the globe. The de facto elections have also been declared to be illegitimate by governments and international organizations including the Organization of American States. The resistance movement, which includes organizations representing teachers, workers, community groups, students, women, indigenous people, and more, has called for a boycott of the de facto elections. More than 100 candidates of parties participating in the elections have announced their withdrawal from the elections in protest of the continuation of the coup. Human rights organizations have issued alerts warning of the danger of even more massive and violent violations of human rights by the army and police. [See the attached alert from The Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH).]

Unfortunately, one of the only governments to consider recognizing these elections as legitimate is the United States. However, the on-going violations of human rights clearly show that conditions for free and fair elections do not exist in the country.

November 25 - November 29: Call-In for Honduras

Call the White House: (202)-456-1111 or (202)-456-1414

(to email go to www.whitehouse.gov)

Call the State Department (202) 647-4000 (to email go to www.state.gov)

Contact members of your Congressional delegation:

TELL THEM: “I AM contacting you TO INSIST THAT THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT NOT RECOGNIZE THE MILITARIZED DE FACTO ELECTIONS OF NOVEMBER 29th"

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

Human Rights Alert from COFADEH, Honduras – November 21, 2009

DE FACTO REGIME PREPARES REPRESSION LEADING UP TO ILLEGITIMATE ELECTIONS

The Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared of Honduras (COFADEH) expresses its concern to the national and international community regarding the deterioration of the human rights situation in Honduras, which is deepening each day.

A new wave of violence includes death threats, political persecution, illegal detentions, tortures and the militarization of sectors of principal cities. Of particular concern is the incursion of vehicles without license plates, darkened windows, driven by heavily armed agents with hooded faces into neighborhoods identified as allied with the Resistance against the coup and self declared as “free of political propaganda.” These actions follow the creation of lists profiling leaders of the resistance movement by order of the military and police.

The overall environment that has been created is one of repression and uncertainty. This was reinforced by a statement issued on November 16, 2009 by the Sub-Secretary of the Service Networks of the Ministry of Public Health that orders the preparation of a CONTINGENCY PLAN for provision of health services for 24 hours per day from November 19th thru December 4th, 2009. According to statement No. 1055-09-SSRDS, the plan must include: Anticipated Suspension of Activity without putting the health of patients at risk, Re-scheduling of Surgeries during these dates and supply of medicine and equipment necessary for the plan.

These measures appear to be related to the conduction of the illegal electoral process on November 29, which is proceeding in an irregular manner and reflects the militarization and para-militarization of the country. The military reserves have been mobilized to support the 16,000 members of the armed forces and 14,000 police already mobilized in the distribution of ballot boxes.

In departments in the western part of the country, army reserves distributed fliers to intimidate the population in resistance, characterizing members of the resistance as irrational delinquents and discrediting marches and protests as inhumane and uncivilized behavior. This activity parallels the “anti-communist” campaigns of the 1980’s.

The military control advances and consolidates as Michelleti announces a “strategic departure” from the country between November 25th and December 2, 2009. The security forces equip themselves with new repressive tools. An armored vehicle has been added to the Secretary of Security for dispersing protests. The anti-riot units are equipped with video cameras and high-pressure water cannon and a mechanism that marks anyone who comes in contact with the water for 48 hours. The armed forces have begun conducting selective checks along major roads in the country and departments in the Atlantic zone of the country have experienced military over flights.

COFADEH communicates its concern to all Human Rights institutions and the international community regarding the safety of social activists who struggle for the reestablishment of democratic order.

COFADEH asks the international community to be on alert regarding the human rights situation in Honduras and to demand that the Honduran state guarantee the right to life and integrity of the Honduran population and foreigners living in the country.

COFADEH, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. November 21, 2009

Report from Ceriboya - Delegation to Honduras








Report from the Northern Atlantic Coast Garifuna

La Voz de los de Abajo Delegation to Honduras


We arrived in La Ceiba in the late afternoon on Saturday, October 24 and were met by staff from the Foundation for the Health of the People (Luaga Hatuadi Waduhenu). This foundation, headed by Dr. Luther Harry Castillo, works with the Garifuna communities building and operating the first and only Garifuna hospital in Honduras, located in Ciriboya close to Iriona. They talked about the history and significance of the hospital project for the communities living in the poor region, in particular for the Garifuna communities that make up the majority of population. The hospital serves approximately 30,000 persons and has treated close to 200, 000 adult and pediatric cases, including traumatic accidents, snakebites, complications of chronic illnesses and acute sicknesses of all types. They also serve as an important maternal health resource for pregnant women.

The Foundation staff also talked about the situation at the hospital, as well as in La Ceiba, since the coup. In La Ceiba, the anti-golpe resistance has a smaller percentage of the population than in Tegucigalpa and some other parts of the country. None-the-less, it has mobilized demonstrations and is an active part of the national anti-coup movement. Organizations and individuals in the resistance have received threats, including death threats. After one demonstration, for example, threats were made stating that “some of the people you see here (at the march) will be found with cotton stuffed down their throats” - a reference to the death squad style killing of people by suffocating them. Hospital staff have been threatened and the coup government has attempted to close the facility. We heard more about the defacto government’s repression against the hospital when we travelled to Ciriboya on Sunday, October 25.

Ciriboya is one of many small Garifuna communities on the Atlantic coast in Colon and Miskitia. We reached the hospital there after a 5 hour drive from La Ceiba, including more than two hours on unpaved, rutted road which passes through beautiful countryside full of banana and coconut palms, small creeks, and lush greenery and flowers, often just a very short distance from the sea. Along the road, people walk carrying loads of firewood and water (there is no electricity and shortages of drinking water in most villages).

The hospital is a beautifully constructed, yellow building with a veranda on the second floor, located in a clearing, with its own electrical power and water pumping system for water for cleaning and bathing. We were met at the door by Dr. Wendy Perez and other hospital staff. Dr. Perez, like Dr. Castillo, is one of the Honduran doctors trained in Cuba who along with volunteer Cuban doctors and locally trained nurses’ aides make up the medical team for the hospital.

Our delegation to the hospital had two missions. La Voz de los de Abajo was committed to a mural project at the hospital to be completed in the 3 days we were there (see the photos for the finished project) and we were carrying out the Todos Somos Honduras delegation’s mission of interviewing the community and documenting the situation since the coup. To that end we interviewed hospital staff, members of the community support committee for the hospital, Garifuna activists working to defend the culture and rights of their people, members of women’s organizations, patients from the hospital and other community members.

We were told that the hospital projects originally faced harassment and problems from government officials and regional powers, as well as the Honduran medical elite because of the hospital’s dedication to serving and empowering the Garifuna community and because all care is absolutely free to all its patients, without discrimination of any sort. The situation improved during Mel Zelaya’s presidency and the hospital was formally opened in December of 2007. Zelaya and his Minister of Health visited the hospital before the coup and committed government support for the project. Dr. Castillo was appointed Director of International Cooperation for the Ministry of Health.

Right after the coup, the defacto government began to harass and threaten the hospital and the community. The physician appointed to head the defacto Ministry of Health by Michiletti was previously the head of the Honduran physicians’ organization that attempted to block the Cuban trained Honduran doctors from being licensed to practice medicine in Honduras. The coup government revoked the hospital’s permit and ordered it to close. Dr. Castillo and the Foundation refused and the military came to the hospital and attempted to seize control. The reaction from the local community and from national and international human rights organizations forced the military to withdraw. Dr. Castillo and the other staff began receiving threats right after the coup and human rights organizations in Honduras declared the threats against Dr. Castillo to be credible and serious, including a plan to assassinate the physician. On October 6th the military again sent troops to the hospital, entered it forcibly and searched it. At the same time the coup government has cut Health Ministry operations that were cooperating with hospital staff to extend services to even more remote communities and recently re-wrote an agreement for regional collaboration to eliminate the participation of the Foundation and the hospital.

The community members we interviewed talked about the climate of insecurity and fear in the region due to the military activities and threats, and the feeling of being isolated and vulnerable to any paramilitary or military violence against the community, its leaders and the hospital. The Garifuna organizations we spoke with stated that the coup has set back their progress in health, education and economic services and projects desperately needed for the survival of the people and culture.

Pictures: Meeting with the Foundation staff in La Ceiba; meeting with the community committee in Ceriboya for support of the hospital. Delegation member with community; finished mural with Dr. Perez and community children, mural with Cuban medical personnel; children’s mural painted by local children.

La Voz de los de Abajo Delegation to Honduras Report






From October 24 to October 31, La Voz led a delegation of 14 people from Chicago to Honduras. The participants included members of the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America; Teachers for Social Justice; La Otra Chicago; Producciones EN EL OJO; and La Voz members. Delegation members visited organizations and communities in resistance to the coup in Ceriboya and Gudadalupe Carney, Colon; Siguatepeque; El Progreso; La Paz and Tegucigalpa.
The delegation met with the National Front of Resistance;COFADEH;CNTC, the teachers' unions; COPINH; OFRANEH;Radio Progreso; Radio Realidad; Red Comal and many other individuals and groups and accompanied the marches and public activities of the resistance as human rights observers. After participating in the October 29th resistance march that was brutally repressed by the army and police, the delegation met with the human rights officer of the U.S. Embasy in Tegucigalpa to express our concern for the human rights situation and to insist that the U.S. government take a strong stand against the human rights violations and against the coup itself.
After returning to the Chicago, delegation members have held public "report back" meeting to share our experiences and to provide the facts about the situation in Honduras that are not being published in the mainstream media.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Conferencia de Prensa en Chicago - Stop the attacks against the Brazilian Embassy in Honduras



The message follows in English

Comunicado de Prensa La Voz de los de Abajo y Casa Morazan

A la Comunidad y Medios de Comunicación Nacional e Internacional

A pesar de los arrestos arbitrarios y la represión sistemática las protestas se han incrementado considerablemente, en tomas de carreteras, en los barios, en la capital y en muchas otras ciudades la represión, en vez de atemorizar a los manifestantes, les ha reafirmado su decisión de lucha. Ante eso reafirmamos que TODOS SOMOS HONDURAS.

La Voz de los de Abajo y Casa Morazan los invita a participar en el Acto de Solidaridad

Consulado General de Brasil en Chicago

401 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611

Hora de 4:00pm a 5:00pm


1. Demandando el retorno inmediato a la institucionalidad y la restitución del Presidente José Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

2. Un alto a la represión y violaciones a los derechos humanos. Un respeto a la vida.

3. Alto a la militarización y empleo de armas químicas y electromagnéticas contra civiles.

4. Apoyamos la Resistencia Pacífica del Pueblo hondureño a través de Frente Nacional Contra el golpe de Estado.

5. Rechazamos y condenamos el proceso electoral como producto de un régimen de facto y apoyamos la voluntad soberana del pueblo a decidir su destino por medio de una asamblea nacional constituyente.

Nota: La carta entregada al Consulado de Brazil sigue en el ingles despues del comunicado en ingles.

Press Release: September 29, 2009

La Voz de los de Abajo and Casa Morazan Contact: Alexy J. Lanza (312) 656-8655

For Immediate Release

Honduran Crises Deepens

The Honduran crisis continues. The de facto government of Roberto Micheletti, installed by a military coup on June 28th, is threatening to invade the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa to seize the elected president of Honduras, Manual Zelaya Rosales who has been given sanctuary by the Brazilian government.

On September 27th, Micheletti announced that the Brazilian government has 10 days to surrender Zelaya or he will send in troops. Meanwhile the Honduran military and police are using chemical weapons, high decibel audio weapons and tear and pepper gas against the embassy, endangering the health and lives of its occupants and of the people who live in the surrounding buildings.

On September 27th the Micheletti government also signed a decree revoking the constitutional right to freedom of expression and expression in the country, but despite the arbitrary arrests, violence and repression, the protests continue to grow and the crises deepens daily.

Join La Voz de los de Abajo, Casa Morazan, and other concerned organizations in Chicago in an act of solidarity with the Honduran people and in defense of Brazilian solidarity with democracy in Honduras.

Brazilian Consulate in Chicago

401 North Michigan Avenue

Thursday, October 1st: 4:00pm a 5:00pm

We demand

· The immediate return of constitutionality and the restitution of President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

· An end to the militarization and the use of chemical, electromagnetic, and high decibel weaponry against the Brazilian embassy and the people’s peaceful protests.

· An immediate end to the repression and violations of human rights

We Support

· The peaceful resistance of the Honduran people through the National Front Against the Coup

· The rejection and condemnation by the Honduran resistance of the electoral process controlled by the de facto government and

· The sovereign right of the people to decide its destiny through a national constituent assembly.

Note: Below is a copy of the letter delivered to the Brazilian Consulate on October 1st.

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La Voz de los de Abajo

PO Box 7684, Chicago, IL 60680

lavozchicago@yahoo.com

Chicago, IL

October 1, 2009

To the Consul general for the Government of Brazil in Chicago

Honorable Consul,

The Chicago community members, activists, and organizations present here today would like to express our most sincere appreciation for the honorable actions of your government regarding the current crisis in Honduras. The political support of the Brazilian Government since the day of the coup, against the violations of human rights and international law, for the restoration of the constitutional 9order and the return of President Manuel Zelaya, is invaluable for our brothers and sisters in Honduras, who are in resistance to the violent and illegitimate de facto government.

We also hold in the highest regard the courageous and dignified assistance towards the resolution of the crisis of your government today as President Zelaya finds harbor in our embassy in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, in spite of the threats of the usurper President Roberto Micheletti and the violence of the army and police forces sent by the golpistas against your diplomatic offices. Those inside the facilities have already suffered the effects of the tear gas and other chemicals, as well as other weapons including high frequency noise and cutting the water and electricity. We wish to strongly denounce this aggression against Brazil and against the Honduran people.

We thank you and we are sure the people of Honduras will always remember your help during these dark days. Your help is not only already a historical event but also an example to all the world leaders today.

Please share this letter with your government and with the Brazilian people.

Sincerely,

Signed by representatives of La Voz de los de Abajo; Casa Morazan, Chicago Religious Leadership Network for Latin America, Neighbors for Peace, ChicagOtra, and other community members.