Murdered Activists in Cantarranas

 From  HSN Election and Observation, Honduras Solidarity Network

Two members of the Carbon Cooperative,  affiliated with the National Council of Rural Workers (CNTC),  were killed last night as they returned from an election training, as both victims had official electoral duties for today’s election. They were ambushed by masked gunmen with high caliper weapons as they returned home on foot. They died immediately from the shootings.
The incident occurred between 7:30 and 8:00 pm, in the community of Carbon, in the Cantarranas Municipality. Maria Amparo Pineda Duarte was the elected President of the Cooperative. Julio Ramon Maradiaga was an active member. The community is the site of an ongoing land struggle in the area, and both victims were active members in the LIBRE party.

Military Presence at Radio Globo

From HSN Election Observation and Human Rights Monitoring, HSN blog:

Reporters at Radio Globo are commenting live on the air (at the time of this post) that the military has established a presence at the site of the station’s transmitter in Cerro de Canto Gallo. Radio Globo is one of the strongest voices on the airwaves. The broadcast on via TV and radio. The original denouncement published by the station is published below…
The announcer is quoted: “We have not requested this [military] presence. They want to use this to pressure us and shut us up, but Radio Globo will be on the air, whatever it takes…”
HSN Note: Radio Globo was one of the few media outlets to refuse to sign the “Media Pact,” in which major media outlets essentially gave up their right to contradict government pronouncements on the election.
For Spanish speakers, take an opportunity to listen live: http://www.radioglobohonduras.com/
Radio Globo denuncia en este momento, al filo de las 6:20 am, que autoridades militares llegaron desde anoche al Cerro de Canta Gallo, donde se instalan los equipos de transmisión de señales de radio Globo y Canal 11, medios que no se sometieron a la mordaza mediática que el TSE pretende imponer en el país

Desde anoche los militares se han tomado las instalaciones donde se ubican las antenas de transmisión de Radio Globo, Globo TV y Canal 11. No podemos callar frente a este nuevo atropello de las Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras.

Un triste recordatorio de como el 28 de junio de 2009 los militares asaltaron las instalaciones, lanzaron ácido, rompieron cables y portones para dejar a Radio Globo fuera del aire.

Este es un nuevo atentado contra la libertad de expresión y una amenaza contra la vida. Se pidieron explicaciones a los voceros militares pero nadie se responsabilizó de semejante abuso.

Pedimos al Presidente que intervenga, llame al jefe de las FFAAH a que explique porqué la militarización de las antenas de radio y televisión ubicadas al oriente de la capital.
 

—
[English translation of Radio Globo's statement]
Radio Globo denounces, that at this time, approxmiately 6:20am, military authorities arrived, since last night, at the antennas of transmission for Radio Globo and Channel 11 , stations which did not submit to the gag order that the TSE (Honduran Supreme Electoral Tribunal) aims to impose on the country.
Since last night the military have occupied the facilities where the antennas are of transmission of Radio Globo, Globo TV and Channel 11. We can not remain silent against this new attack of the armed forces of Honduras.
A sad reminder of how on June 28, 2009 the military raided facilities, they threw acid, smashed cables and gates to take Radio Globo out of the air.
This is a new attack on freedom of expression and a threat to life. Requests for explanation were made to military spokesmen, but nobody has taken responsibility for the abuse.
We call on the President to intervene, call the head of the FFAAH to explain the radio and television antennas located to the East of the capital have been militarized.

Alarming escalation in the intimidation towards International Election Observers and Accompaniers in Honduras

From the Honduras Solidarity Election Observation and Human Rights Monitoring blog

Alarming escalation in the intimidation towards International Election Observers and Accompaniers in Honduras

Today around 10:30-11am in Hotel Suites Aurora in Tegucigalpa 5 men and 1 woman armed civilians dressed men with ski masks offered no identification, another 3 were wearing Immigration t-shirts, who went to reception.

Masked Honduran Immigration Agents who arrived demanding credentials of international electoral observers and accompaniers.

They asked for passports for the people in the lobby who were here, as well as asked for all International Observers to come to the lobby, asked them questions and looked through their passports and took personal records. They took 2 passports from Brazilian international observers without explaining why. When they asked why, they say “because yes we can”.
They explained they were tourists and still they took passports without credible cause.

The Brazilians felt threatened “with fear, they can do whatever they want” they did not go up to the rooms but according to all present they were told that “they could go up to their rooms anytime”. Everyone felt a state of fear and intimidation, and very shaken up.
Later, the two Passports were given to me by an immigration officer, without even asking to return to the right person, whom they took them from.
This is an international outrage that this is happening during this election process and we are concern for what this may foretell for the transparency process tomorrow during elections.
One observer said that when she asked a soldier who he was, he said he could not identify himself, that he was under the command of Manuel Escobar Mejia.
We are extremely concerned for the safety of the International Observers and anyone here to witness the process of the elections.
Please stay tuned to what is going in Honduras and please be aware of the intimidation to International Observers.
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HSN – Northern Zone Statement on Immigration Harrassment of Delegation

At approximately 10 am the morning of 22 of November, 4 people identifying themselves as Honduran Immigration agents, arrived at the offices of ERIC-SJ (Equipo de Reflexión Investigación y Comunicación – Honduras) , asking to see members of the HSN/AGJ delegation of international observers in Honduras for national elections this Sunday.
The delegation, which was not present at the time,  is comprised of 166 persons from the United States, Canada, and El Salvador who have been accredited by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Honduras as official election observers.  Having failed to find their first target, the demanded to see the identification of all the Hondurans present at the offices of ERIC-SJ.
Later at 7 pm this evening (11/22/2013), the same group of agents disrupted an election observer training of the HSN/AGJ delegation at the La Fragua retreat center in Progreso, Honduras.  Without prior warning, the officials intimidated observers by demanding to see everyone’s passports and observer credentials.  Election observer credentials are not needed for proof of legal immigration status. The fact that Agent Reynaldo demanded each person’s observer credentials reveals an interest that exceeds the duties of an immigration agent.

The TSE Trainer Sra. Robles who performed an official election observer training shortly before immigration officials interrupted a later session for delegates.

Ironically only one hour earlier, the delegation completed three hours of formal training in the same room  with official representatives of the Supreme Election Tribunal. In total,  four persons arrived in a grey crew-cab truck without license plates– but with DGME (official Immigration Department) lettering– and drove onto the private property. Their leader was Juan Reynaldo, badge number 066, and his associates were Cesar Medina, badge 086, Walter Ramos, badge 088, and Diana Avila, badge 052.   Originally, Agent Reynaldo said he was responding to complaints from neighbors.  Later, he changed his story to say that General Bernardino Cervantes had sent orders from Tegucigalpa to investigate the group.  The Honduran Government’s Deputy in charge of immigration in Yoro Province, Magdalena Medina, claimed to know nothing of the incident.
Although the Honduran government begrudgingly has permitted international election observers for the tense, high-stakes elections this Sunday, this calculated act of harassment exposes the government’s desire to conduct this election outside the view of the concerned human rights and pro-democracy forces. Delegates consider these actions as a clear and hostile attempt by the Honduran government to intimidate us and to delegitimize the voices of electoral observers who have arrived in good faith to witness Sunday’s historic vote.

Secretary of State John Kerry                                   
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Report from Honduras - November 20th

La Voz de los de Abajo  - November 20th - from Progreso, Yoro

LIBRE Party Closing Rally 

The official election campaign ended as of Monday night and now comes the “period of silence” prior to the voting on November 24th, but the concerns about the general atmosphere and abuses continue. After just a few days in Honduras, we have heard numerous complaints about intimidation and potential fraud in the elections and even more grave concerns about the general human rights atmosphere of intimidation and threats and their effect on the electoral process and on the social justice movements. 

Disenfranchised Campesinos - 

More than 60% of the Honduran population is rural and most of this population is small farmers or landless farmers who live in extreme poverty.  Members of the national leadership of the CNTC  (National Center of Farmworkers) who represent more than 400 campesino communities around the country are indignant about the continuing violence against their members and the deliberate disenfranchisement of thousands of campesinos and campesinas.  As this post is being published we are getting reports of large violent evictions of campesino communities in northern Honduras. More information is not yet available. 

There are currently 3,061 CNTC members who will be unable to vote because of pending legal actions and charges against them related to the  agrarian struggles in the country. In the province of La Paz where there have been several extremely violent evictions of poor farmers  more than 400 CNTC members are in legal processes, two thirds of the charges were filed in the past three months. In the province of Francisco Morazan close to Tegucigalpa 39 CNTC local leaders have been disenfranchised in the same way. Most of the charges around the country  have been filed since the election campaign has intensified; court dates have been postponed repeatedly to occur after the elections. In Santa Barbara, on August 6th, 553 families were evicted as police used tear gas and fired live rounds. One of the campesinos from the community told La Voz members that the ruling National Party congresswoman for that region, Maria Concepcion Figuerero de la Guevara, lent her car to the police for use during the raid and was overheard telling the police that they should “arrest all of them (the campesinos) because that is more than 80 votes that aren’t for us”. 

Concerns about Fraud and Manipulation

Today, November 20th, the media is reporting widespread electricity outages in the capitol city. This was confirmed by a call from the CNTC in Tegucigalpa. The neighborhoods affected by the outages - which are predicted to continue through the elections on Sunday -- are in neighborhoods known to be LIBRE strongholds: The Mercedes, Kennedy, San Francisco, Hato de Medio, Dilbio Paraiso, Nueva Capital, Pantanal, Quesada and other marginalized barrios.  

In order to vote Hondurans must be on the official government registry and have in their possession a national identification card. There are numerous complaints reported in the Honduran press that the  registry has eliminated names of people who are alive and want to vote, and has not eliminated the names of people who are dead, has issued multiple identification cards to the same people while others have not yet been able to get their cards (reported on Globo TV). While much of this confusion is not necessarily deliberate, the concern of many Hondurans is that it allows and facilitates deliberate fraud. Numerous people we talked to shared stories of people being offered money to “lend” their Identification Cards to organizers from the Liberal and National Party and the existence of “black market” Identification cards. 

Residents of the area of Jutiapa near Tegucigalpa state that the National Party is paying people 200 Lempira to get on the National Party buses. There are also complaints from LIBRE members that the National and Liberal Parties have reserved almost all the for-hire buses and vans, not because they need all of them but in order to block LIBRE from being able to provide transportation. They reported that that was what occurred the day of the campaign closure rallies of LIBRE and the National Party in Tegucigalpa, but that thousands of LIBRE supporters walked to the rally site from across the city while many were also picked up and given rides by LIBRE supporters. 

The National Party candidate for President, Juan Orlando Hernandez, is the current president of the National Congress. He is taking full advantage of his position to push the limits of campaigning. The government program of “Bonus 10 Thousand” (Bono 10 mil) was established by and funded by international development banks in 2010 and makes payments to very poor women/mothers who meet requirements like sending their children to school daily. Juan Orlando is distributing these funds just days before the election and  there are numerous complaints in the media by Hondurans  that National Party activists are telling the women they need to vote for Juan Orlando to keep getting the payments and that during the hours spent in the lines waiting for the payments the women are continually being “lobbied” for the National Party. In addition Juan Orlando is distributing prepaid gift cards to people reportedly if they say they will vote for him. (see the photo of the gift card flyer in this posting, Los Cachurecos is the National Party nick name). 

More intimidation and threats against Human Rights Defenders. 

Threats against human rights defenders in Honduras are constant and obviously aimed not only at the defenders but at the people they are protecting. Juan Orlando Hernandez in particular along with other National Party government officials have launched strongly worded attacks in the press against Berta Oliva, Director for COFADEH, since she gave testimony in early October at the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission. Besides the verbal attacks, the COFADEH staff and security report that since November 5th, suspicious cars (SUVs with black tinted glass and no license plates) are surveilling the COFADEH offices and  following Berta Oliva and other staff members.  In the context of the elections the increasingly aggressive propaganda and intimidation also creates an atmosphere of fear that can intimidate  the vote especially for supporters of LIBRE. It also directly affects the work of defenders such as COFADEH who are organizing teams of human rights observers to accompany the population on the day of the election in areas in which there are the most HR violations, and threats. 

La Voz de los de Abajo is participating in the election accompaniment with other groups from the United States and Canada - we will continue to post reports live from Honduras through the elections and after.