26 days after the military coup

26 days after the military coup

With much difficulty I try to write about the situation in which Honduras finds itself. Impartiality is a very difficult task when the country is polarized to the extent that depending upon where one stands or protests, you´re voice is heard or non-existent. I wanted to share my experiences of living under an oppressive de facto government so that people outside of Honduras can compare this information with that which they receive through the mass media or internet. Secondly, I wanted to give my views of the current political situation and what the future may promise for Honduras. By all means don´t take my word for granted, because after all I am inherently biased, but use this information as another tool for forming your own opinion.

My experiences: Day 5 to Day 26 after the military coup

In the immediate days after the coup the country slowly awoke to the reality of a non-elected government. Against the tide of the propaganda from radio and TV channels, which had long forgotten the ideals of journalism, news filtered around the country via e-mail or text. The only TV channels passing news not in support of the coup were removed from transmission, continually blocked or threatened by the military forces. The buildings of the national phone company were militarized in order for phone calls to be tapped. By the weekend of 4th and 5th July over 300, 000 people had descended upon Tegucigalpa. Trade unions, teachers, native Indians, office workers, garifunas from the Caribbean coast and campesinos marched shoulder by shoulder throughout the city. On Sunday 5th July I was fortunate enough to be involved in what may have been the largest demonstration in Honduras´s recent history. We left from the Universidad Pedagogica chanting in unison “the people united, will never be defeated” “Mel our friend the people are with you” “onward, onward, the fight is constant”. The atmosphere was carnival like with samba bands, music from the speakers of the trucks and a sense of unity which transcended economic well-being, race or political views. We marched along the city ring road, occupying all six lanes and then onto airport, anxiously awaiting the return of the elected President Mel Zelaya. Arriving at the airport, we took turns to stop at the entrance and listen to speeches from church leaders, trade unionist and almost anyone who was willing to grab the microphone. The Honduran national anthem was sung under an enormous military and police presence and then we moved onto the parking area opposite the end of the runway.

Waiting, some patiently, all anxiously we huddled around portable radios, sent and received texts with the latest updates upon Zelaya´s arrival: “he´s in Honduran airspace” “Zelaya´s being interviewed live on the plane” “Kirchner, Correa and Insulza are waiting in El Salvador”. And then over the skies we spotted the Venezuelan jet soar over the green, shanty town slopes of Tegucigalpa. Back it came, roaring low over the crowd, almost close enough to physically touch and close enough to feel the presence of Zelaya. By now, a group of people had cut into the security fence of the airport and stood teasingly close to the runway but closer to the heavily armed military and police. Under the orders of the de facto leader Roberto Micheletti Bain the runway was blocked with tanks so not to permit the landing of Zelaya´s plane and for the final time the jet circled over the crowd and headed back to El Salvador, temporarily defeated.

The calm was broken by the fire of guns and arrival of tear gas. I was sat down on the grass, next to a family with children, chatting with a friend only suddenly to be trampled by hundreds of people escaping the bullets and gas. The braver, madder or angrier demonstrators responded by throwing rocks. The army, paid by the people to protect the people, had fired upon their own.

I was fortunate enough to escape the bullets and the little gas I received in my eyes was to affect me for half an hour. Isis Obed Murillo was not so fortunate. He received a bullet in the head only metres from where I was and died almost instantly. Officially, no one died during those brief moments on Sunday afternoon as the de facto government has as yet to confirm that Isis was shot by the army, preferring to invent stories such as rubber bullets or Isis´s murdered by other demonstrators. However, in the international and alternative methods of communication, and amongst the streets everybody knows that not only was Isis killed, but so were two others.

We remained at the airport defiant that the military force would not crush our spirits and unwilling to submit to the repression of military coup. However finally, the thousands who had marched for hours and kilometers with such expectancy began to walk back. At 5.30pm news flooded through the streets that a curfew had been set for 6pm had been decreed by the coup leaders. Without any possibility of reaching home on time we grouped together and walked through the darkness in nervous expectation of an encounter with the police and if unlucky an uncomfortable night in jail, or at worst an experience we did not wish to even imagine.

For the first week following the coup, no-one in the office had been able to work. Many of our partner organizations had come to Tegucigalpa to protest or were busy organizing the resistance or writing up breaches of humans rights. The views, opinions and misconceptions within the office of the political events surrounding the coup were a microcosm of the nation. The majority of the office condemned the military coup, some supported Mel whole heartedly and others who had not previously support Mel appreciated his efforts to shake up the economic and political powers. On the other side people didn´t want Mel to return under any circumstances and viewed his removal from power as legal or at least justified.

The week following the death of Isis we persisted under a curfew, still unable to view all the TV channels and under the suspicious eyes of the military in most street corners. As we continued to hear the Organization of American States, the United Nations, the European Union, the Alba and civil society organizations denounce the military coup, within Honduras we were bombarded by propaganda justifying “constitutional succession” of the President. Although I was at work I would skip off for long lunches to take part in the marches. By mid week many of the people who had descended upon Tegucigalpa had returned home as they had no money. The commitment of the campesinos, from around the country was humbling and inspiring. To leave home with all their savings in their pocket, the only pair of shoes on their feet and no idea of were they would stay (the street was out of the question due to the curfew) was an act of bravery and solidarity I will never forget. They were the people with the least security taking the biggest risks.

The second weekend of the Resistance was marked by two cultural events. On Saturday, concerts, performances and words at the airport in memory of Isis Obed. The highlights included a ceremony by the Garifunas with singing in their own language, Café Guancaso (our friends´ band) and me being invited, as a foreigner, upon stage to dance La Punta, the traditional Caribbean dance involving a lot of bum and hip shaking from the North coast. For a chele (white person) I defended myself on stage in front of 1000 people. On Sunday there were more concerts, performances in the central park.

By Monday the Resistance was tired. Two weeks of marching and protesting with very little to celebrate except the initiation of doomed talks in San José. During the week I tried to concentrate upon my paid work and didn´t march all week. My activities were restricted to meeting with friends to coordinate activities and support ongoing activities such as the toma in the Universidad Pedagogica, where students of the group University Action had locked themselves in the university grounds forcing the suspension of classes for two days. On the weekend I rested for the first time.

This past week, the fourth week, has seen a resurgence of the Resistance. The teachers attended classes from Monday to Wednesday, but only to discuss and explain why they would strike on Thursday and Friday. By Wednesday, with the talks in San José deemed a failure by all sides and another attempt at a return by Mel imminent the country was once again returning to a standstill. I helped put posters up in the National University and supported the cultural event in the University held on Wednesday. Thursday saw a national strike with roadblocks and marches all around the country.

Today, Friday evening I sit and write trying to recollect where the month since the coup has gone. Today we were dispatched from work at midday as hundreds of people were attempting to move to the Nicaraguan border to support a return of Mel to the country. I spent the afternoon and early evening protesting in the street happy to be involved in the Resistance and committed to working for social justice in Honduras.

I had intended to write a second part, regarding the political situation which I will do so over the weekend. Trying to take a step back from everything that has happened and reflect has taken a little longer than I thought.

I hope that you are all well. Reading some of your e-mails (thank you all – I´m sorry that I have not had time to reply individually) I get the impression that many of you are better informed than many Honduras. This Sunday will mark a month of the coup and Micheletti (or Goriletti as he is now known) along with his partners in crime seen as ever unwilling to give up power. Please do not forget about Honduras and all the breaches of human rights that we are experiencing: freedom of movement, illegal curfews, illegal detentions, restriction of the freedom to think and opinionate, and use of brutal military and police force against unharmed civilians.

Write to you MP´s, sign websites in support of the Resistance to the military coup and think about the larger picture of the struggle to better distribute the economic and political wealth of Honduras for a more just country and a voice for the unheard.

Thanks for reading. Lots of love

Alexis