Faultlines in Honduras : 100 Days of Resistance

Fault Lines — 100 Days of Resistance

One hundred days since the coup d’état that ousted Manuel Zelaya, Fault Lines travels to Honduras to look at polarization and power in the Americas, and finds resistance and repression in the streets. The program includes interviews with Bertha Oliva of the Committee of the Families of the Disappeared-Detained in Honduras and with School of the Americas graduate and military coup leader General Romero Vásquez. It also looks at the elites behind the military coup, the coup plotters connections in the United States and the struggle for real democracy in Honduras.

Click here to see the series of videos.

Honduras and the continuing resistance:
It has historic implications

By Val Liveoak / The Rag Blog / October 22, 2009

This video describes the ongoing resistance to the military coup in Honduras and some of the background to that struggle, one of the most important things going on in the hemisphere this year, I believe.

It offers a number of insights that are important and probably even less-well covered in the U.S. than the coup and the resistance itself. First, both sides (in the video, a spokesperson for the coup leaders says it) see this as a make or break situation, not only for Honduras but for other countries in the region as well.

Second, the objectives of the resistance are not limited to the reinstatement of deposed President Manuel (Mel) Zelaya, but include a continuation of progressive changes, including a re-writing of the Constitution. For this reason, we should be aware that, even if the President is re-instated and the elections scheduled for November are held, they cannot express the legitimate aspirations of the people, and should not be accepted by the world.

I am sure that in that event the resistance will continue its efforts, and it seems likely that the repression that has been in force for the 100 days will continue. I fear that armed insurgency cannot be too far off if these conditions prevail.

Why is this important for the region? This is only the second military coup deposing an elected government since the end of the Cold War and the first in this century. If it succeeds, there’s a likelihood of others following, with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua being likely to feel the domino effect in Central America and with Bolivia, Ecuador, and other South American countries likely to follow.

Equally important is the trend that would be set into motion if a nonviolent people’s resistance could win some of the reforms needed in Honduras, the second or third poorest country in the hemisphere.

I urge everyone to view the video in order to get more information about the situation.

[Texan Val Liveoak is a nonviolent activist, currently living in El Salvador and San Antonio. She coordinates Peacebuilding en las Americas, the Latin American Initiative of Friends Peace Teams that also has programs in the African Great Lakes region and in Indonesia.]

The Rag Blog