Violent clashes throughout the week have left dozens of civilians injured in Honduras. Protests broke after President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the army. On Sunday 28 June, Mr Zelaya was woken in his pyjamas at gunpoint, put on a plane and sent into exile to Costa Rica.
Throughout Honduras, rival crowds have demonstrated for and against the coup, highlighting the deep polarisation in the country. Armoured vehicles have been on the streets and troops have fired tear gas to disperse the crowds. Human rights organisations have reported that soldiers have fired at protesters, that there have been arbitrary arrests and that several indigenous groups have not been allowed to march to the capital.
The interim government has restricted civil liberties, imposed a nightly nationwide curfew and censored the media. IANSA members in Honduras report restrictions on Internet access and that TV stations are mainly broadcasting cartoons and soap operas, instead of reporting the latest events.
In a public statement CLAVE, the Latin American Coalition for Gun Violence Prevention, condemned the coup and said that Honduran armed forces should not have used their weapons to overthrow the democratically elected government that they were supposed to protect. This military coup shows the importance of implementing security sector reform to guarantee that armed forces are fully responsible and accountable.
