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Add an EventAction on Hounduran Coup Urged in Letters to Secretary of State Clinton
From July 11th, we have a letter from a group led the US Chamber of Commerce, which stresses the role of Honduras in CAFTA-DR
(one of the "splinter agreements" made when FTAA failed).
They insist on "the uninterrupted flow of goods to and from Honduras".
With their letter of July 29 NIKE, Adidas, The Gap and Knights Apparel seem to break ranks with their trade groups, and call for mediation between the parties involved.
This is what we will be having soon, according to recent reports. A complete chronology of events is being compiled at wikpedia, dating back to November, when disagreements broke out between Zelaya and representatives of "old wealth" in Honduras.
Just this morning, in an interview with Democracy Now! Zelaya called for freezing the bank accounts of coup supporters, along with a trade embargo:
"The United States needs to show and declare the coup d’état a military coup d’état, call it by that name. With regard to the human rights violations in the last hundred days, those, too, need to be denounced."
Meanwhile, 4 Republican congressman have paid a visit to coup leader Micheletti, ignoring the elected president of Honduras who remains sequestered in the Brazilian embassy, pinned down by various high technology weapons
Full text of the 3 letters follows:
July 9, 2009
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July 9, 2009 The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton Dear Secretary Clinton, We, the undersigned, are concerned by proposals by some in Washington's foreign policy circles to push for early elections as a solution to the crisis instigated by the illegal and anti-democratic coup d'etat in Honduras. Anything less than the urgent restoration of President Manuel Zelaya to office would be an usurpation of the will of the Honduran people. Following resolutions by the United Nations General Assembly and the Organization of American States calling for Zelaya's immediate and unconditional return to office, the U.S. must ensure his prompt restoration by enacting forceful economic sanctions against the regime. Each day that the illegal coup regime remains in office further jeopardizes the capacity for Honduras to enjoy free and fair elections in November, let alone in an earlier time frame. Elections currently would take place under a coup regime that has suspended civil liberties, and where the conditions for free elections do not exist. Such an election would not have international legitimacy. Democracy has to be restored before a legitimate election can take place. It is also important to avoid making concessions of any kind to the coup government, as it would create a terrible precedent, showing other anti-democratically minded and power hungry individuals that it can be worthwhile to carry out a military coup in order to advance their political agendas. Since illegally seizing office by abducting the president at gunpoint and putting him on a plane to Costa Rica, the coup regime has suspended civil liberties and treated the Honduran people as the enemy. They have revoked freedom of the press by imposing a media blackout, assaulted and detained journalists, clamped down on protests, detained hundreds of supporters of President Zelaya, and killed at least two people by firing on demonstrators. The regime claims it acted in order to prevent an unconstitutional move by President Zelaya to extend his term. Yet an examination of the facts reveals this to be a dubious excuse for an assault on democratic institutions and the rule of law. President Zelaya's proposed survey would have been a non-binding poll of public support for an additional ballot - on whether a constitutional assembly should be created- in the November elections. The actual question read: "Do you agree that, during the general elections of November 2009 there should be a fourth ballot to decide whether to hold a Constituent National Assembly that will approve a new political constitution?" Zelaya was not running for reelection in November, nor would he have been able to. Therefore, Zelaya's successor was always slated to be elected in November, to be inaugurated in January. Zelaya had also stated before June 28 that he did not desire reelection. Possible reelection was not the reason the military carried out the coup. They opposed Zelaya's policies, and they have at times been honest about their true motives: "It would be difficult for us, with our training, to have a relationship with a leftist government," Honduran army attorney Col. Herberth Bayardo Inestroza explained following the coup. "That's impossible." There is one legal, just, and democratic solution to Honduras' current crisis: the swift restoration of President Zelaya and the imposition of economic sanctions-trade as well as aid, on the illegal regime. We call on the U.S. to take the lead in ensuring this outcome. Sincerely, Marc Becker Blase Bonpane Michael Brun, PhD
Ron Chilcote Aviva Chomsky Noam Chomsky Jaime Concha
Steve Ellner Professor Raul Fernandez Dana Frank James Goldfarb Devine Greg Grandin Mark Healey
Daniel Hellinger Forrest Hylton
Misha Kokotovic Saul Landau
Jorge Mariscal Luis Martín-Cabrera
Gilda L. Ochoa
Tanalis Padilla
Diana Paton
Hector Perla Deborah Poole
Suyapa G. Portillo Villeda
Gerardo Renique
William I. Robinson Dr. Victor M. Rodriguez
Victor Silverman Steve Striffler Christy Thornton
Miguel Tinker Salas
Mark Weisbrot John Womack, Jr.
Stephen Zunes *Institutional affiliations are listed for identification purposes only. |
July 11, 2009
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We recognize and appreciate that the U.S. Government is taking a leadership role in resolving the political situation in Honduras. During this time, we would like to emphasize the importance of Honduran economic stability to key sectors of the U.S. economy, and to the long-term political stability in that country and the region. Honduras is a valued U.S./Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) partner that is important to U.S. business. Last year, U.S. exports to Honduras totaled nearly $5 billion, with significant and growing sales by a wide range of U.S. industries. Honduras holds particular importance for the U.S. textile and apparel supply chain, and is considered the linchpin to the Western Hemisphere supply chain for this sector.Honduras is the third largest market for U.S. textile mill products (U.S. exports were $1.4 billion in 2008), the fourth largest supplier of apparel to the U.S. market, and the largest CAFTA-DR supplier to the United States. As a result, thousands of U.S. and Honduran jobs are dependent on the uninterrupted flow of goods to and from Honduras, and within the region. Predictability and stability are absolutely critical to U.S. companies, especially in these difficult economic times. Key to that predictability is that the United States maintain a secure bilateral and regional economic relationship with Honduras. As your administration addresses the political situation in Honduras, we urge you to do everything possible to maintain the close commercial ties and economic engagement between the United States and Honduras.” Six Trade Groups: • Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT) • National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) • National Retail Federation (NRF) • Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) • U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA) • U.S. Chamber of Commerce
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/association-news/aafa/newsdetails.aspx?News_id=74836 |
July 29, 2009
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July 27, 2009 The Honorable Hillary R. Clinton Dear Secretary Clinton: As companies that have products made in Honduras, we are deeply concerned about recent events in that country. We understand that serious disagreements exist between the elected President, Congress and the Supreme Court, but these should be resolved through peaceful, democratic dialogue, rather than through military action. While we do not and will not support or endorse the position of any party in this internal dispute, we feel it is necessary in this case to join with the President of the United States, the governments of countries throughout the Americas, the Organization of American States, the UN General Assembly and the European Union in calling for the restoration of democracy in Honduras. We are also very concerned about the continuation of violence if this dispute is not resolved immediately, and with restrictions on civil liberties under the July 1 Emergency Decree. We urge for an immediate resolution to the crisis and that civil liberties, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, and freedom of association be fully respected. We welcome the participation of the contending parties in mediation talks and are hopeful they will achieve a prompt and just solution to all issues in dispute. Sincerely, NIKE, Inc. The adidas Group Gap Inc. Knights Apparel Copy: Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon http://www.nikebiz.com/responsibility/2009SecretaryClintonHondurasLetter.html |
David Roknich,
Editor
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