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Honduran Resistance Calls for Deepening of Democracy

The history of Bertha Oliva de Nativi is the history of Honduras. If the storyline of the past one hundred years of this continent has been ‘so few with so much, and so many with so little’, then Bertha has been the fearless protagonist racing to rewrite the chapters that will hence come. In 1982 Berta’s husband, Professor Tomas Nativi disappeared. One of hundreds of Hondurans and tens of thousands of Central Americans to lose their lives to state sanctioned violence, Tomas and all of those who have disappeared remain the most terrifying and silencing bootprint of the military regimes of the 1980’s. The stories are all too common: "they came to our door in the middle of the night" or "he just never came home ever again." Their families must find ways to grieve, to cope, and to say goodbye to their loved ones without the benefit of closure or resolution. Some, however, began to demand answers.

Ousted president says U.S. lacks commitment to reinstatement

Less than two weeks after U.S. diplomats announced a historic agreement to reverse a coup in Honduras, the accord is in danger of collapse and both Honduran officials and U.S. lawmakers are blaming American missteps for some of the failure. Ousted president Manuel Zelaya, who was expelled by the military in June, said in a telephone interview that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had assured him as recently as last week that the U.S. government was seeking his return to the presidency. But he said that U.S. pressure had eased in recent days and that he no longer had faith in the agreement.

Honduras: Women Targeted for Resisting Coup

Honduran women continue their resistance to the de facto regime that kidnapped and ousted the democratically elected president in a coup d'état on June 28, 2009. In August an international delegation organized by JASS (www.justassociates.org), Petateras, Radio Feminista and allied organizations traveled to Honduras and accompanied Honduran Feminists in Resistance, an alliance of feminists and women's organizations. The delegation, together with the Feminists in Resistance, documented the impact of the current political crisis on women - in particular, the human rights abuses, sexual harrassment and rape committed against women who are resisting the coup and calling for a return to democracy.

Guinea junta lifts protest ban

Guinea's ruling military junta, facing rising international pressure and mounting internal dissent after a bloody crackdown on protesters last month, has lifted its ban on public demonstrations. The concession to the opposition comes amid a chorus of international condemnation of the leadership in the West African mining powerhouse after gunmen used live rounds against anti-government protesters in a stadium on September 28.Tensions after the violence, which killed 157 people and wounded more than a thousand according to a local rights group, have led to France advising its citizens to leave the country and the United States withdrawing diplomats' families.

Honduras: Stop Blocking Human Rights Inquiries

The international community should strongly back the efforts of prosecutors in the human rights unit of the Honduras Attorney General's office to investigate army and police abuses in Honduras and to overturn a decree by the de facto government that severely restricts freedoms of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said.The organization also called on the international community to oppose any amnesty for human rights violations as part of the transition back to democratic rule. Deposed President Manuel Zelaya and the de facto government of Honduras are now engaged in negotiations about such a transition, and have announced that an agreement may be imminent.

Honduras de facto leader lifts ban on media, protests

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The de facto Honduran government relaxed curbs on protests and opposition media on Monday as crisis talks dragged into a third week with no deal on toppled President Manuel Zelaya's return to power.Zelaya, forced out of the country by soldiers in a June 28 coup, slipped back into Honduras last month and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy. De facto leader Roberto Micheletti responded by deploying soldiers around the embassy, imposing restrictions on press freedoms and banning large marches.Micheletti promised to lift the emergency measures on October 5 after strong international criticism, but the decree was only finally reversed in the official gazette on Monday.

Honduras: Talks Seek Solution to 102-Day Crisis

TEGUCIGALPA, Oct 7 (IPS) - Talks began Wednesday between delegates of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and de facto leader Roberto Micheletti, under international observation, to seek a solution to the crisis triggered by the Jun. 28 coup.At the ceremony to start the talks, which will be overseen by foreign ministers and Organisation of American States (OAS) diplomats, the regional body's Secretary General José Miguel Insulza said "we are not here for mutual recriminations, but to seek concrete solutions." He also said the dialogue should give rise to a solution based on the San José Accord – the agreement proposed in July by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias in failed talks that he brokered.

Diplomats get talks started in Honduras crisis

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Diplomats pushed the two sides of the Honduran political conflict into direct talks for the first time in nearly three months, but left the country Thursday with no commitment from the coup-installed government to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya.Members of the delegation sponsored by the Organization of American States characterized the result of their one-day visit — the establishment of a "table of dialogue" and an agenda — as a positive step even though the rivals appear as far apart as ever.Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno said representatives of Zelaya and the interim government of interim President Roberto Micheletti had agreed to discuss the main international proposal for resolving the crisis and will have "logistical" support from OAS staff left behind.

Honduras suspends civil liberties amid calls for 'rebellion'

Honduras's interim leaders suspended key civil liberties last night in response to "calls for insurrection" by ousted president Manuel Zelaya, empowering police and soldiers to break up "unauthorised" public meetings, arrest people without warrants and restrict the news media.The announcement came just hours after Zelaya called on supporters to stage mass marches today to mark the three-month anniversary of the 28 June coup that ousted him. Zelaya described the marches as "the final offensive" against the interim government.Zelaya, who surprised the world when he sneaked back into the country last Monday and holed up in the Brazilian embassy, is demanding he be reinstated to office, and has said that the government of interim president Roberto Micheletti "has to fall".

Mugabe denies blame for Zimbabwe woes

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, in a rare interview Thursday, depicted himself as an African hero battling imperialism and foreign attempts to oust him rather than the widespread perception of a dictator clinging to power at the expense of the welfare of his people and country. The 85-year-old Mugabe, the only leader of Zimbabwe since it became independent from Britain in 1980, rejected repeated assertions by CNN's Christiane Amanpour that his policies have driven the nation once known as Africa's breadbasket to virtual economic collapse.Instead, Mugabe accused Britain and the United States of seeking to oust him by imposing economic sanctions, the effects of which he said were worsened by years of drought.

Honduras Longest Peaceful Protest

HAVANA TIMES, Sept.20 (IPS) - Shaded from the blazing sun by his straw sombrero, one of the principal leaders of the National Front Against the Coup d’état in Honduras declared, “The only solution to the political crisis is the return of Manuel Zelaya to the presidency before September 30.”“But this also requires the formation of a national constituent assembly to ratify a new Constitution to allow Honduras to be restructured as a progressive Central American nation,” added Rafael Alegría, leader of the Front. Alegria said a new Constitution must contemplate the end of ‘traditional groups of power’ through enacting deep reforms to the system of government, presidential reelections, the extension of that term of office to five years, the breakup of the armed forces and a total reorganization of the police. He spoke just prior to beginning a march through poor neighborhoods on the north side of Tegucigalpa on the 82nd day of protests against the Honduran coup d’état.

Honduras: Vote to Go Ahead Despite Int'l Refusal to Recognize

Although the international community has warned that it will not recognise the results of the November elections in Honduras, the de facto government in power since the Jun. 28 coup d'etat says the vote is going ahead.Costa Rican President Óscar Arias, who mediated the unsuccessful talks between ousted President Manuel Zelaya and the coup government, says the elections scheduled for Nov. 29 could be "a solution to the crisis." Others like prominent Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes have expressed similar views.

U.S. Suspends $30 Million to Honduras

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Thursday that the United States would formally suspend nearly $30 million in aid to the coup-installed government in Honduras. She also suggested for the first time that the United States might not recognize the country’s elections this fall if the ousted president was not returned to power by then.

Zelaya: Honduras election 'a fraud'

Manuel Zelaya, the ousted Honduran president, has said elections is his country due to be held on November 29 will be viewed as a fraud by the international community.Speaking to reporters in Washington, where he has been meeting with representatives from the Organisation of American States (OAS), Zelaya said he had been assured the result of the poll would not be recognised.

Help Honduras with Hillary Clinton : Ousted Honduran Preside

Hillary Clinton's attempts to resolve the crisis in Honduras have failed. It's time for Latin America to take the leadThe mediation effort that US secretary of state Hillary Clinton arranged to try to resolve the crisis in Honduras, which began when a military coup removed Honduran President Mel Zelaya more than four weeks ago, has failed. It is now time – some would say overdue – for the Latin American governments to play their proper role.

EU ambassadors leave Honduras

Four days after Manuel Zelaya was ousted from the Honduran presidency, all EU ambassadors have left the country, say the Spanish and Swedish foreign ministers."I have just spoken to my European colleagues and I can tell you that at this moment, all the European embassies in [the Honduran capital of] Tegucigalpa have decided to withdraw their ambassadors," Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said late Wednesday .All ambassadors have been withdrawn, although the charges d'affaires remain, so "all the European representation in Tegucigalpa will be at a lower level," he told Spanish national radio.

Iran's Ahmadinejad urges prosecution of opposition leaders

Reporting from Beirut - Iran's hard-line president Friday demanded the prosecution of top opposition leaders, raising the political temperature anew just a day and a half after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sought to cool tensions in a conciliatory speech.Meanwhile, the United Nations' atomic monitoring agency delivered a quarterly assessment of Iran's controversial nuclear program, reporting that the Islamic Republic had granted inspectors access to sensitive research sites but has continued to stonewall efforts to examine past nuclear research that is alleged to be weapons-related.

OAS chief still hopes for Honduran settlement

The head of the Organization of American States held out hope Wednesday for a resolution of the Honduran presidential crisis even after the high-level delegation he led to the Central American country failed to arrange for ousted President Manuel Zelaya's return.OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza urged a quick acceptance of compromise accords before campaigning heats up for the Nov. 29 presidential election to pick Zelaya's successor.

Suu Kyi to challenge verdict as global anger grows

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and her US co-defendant are to appeal against their convictions, lawyers said Wednesday as the ruling junta faced a global wave of anger over her extended detention.US President Barack Obama led worldwide outrage at the military regime's decision on Tuesday to give Suu Kyi another 18 months of house arrest, a verdict that shuts the Nobel peace laureate out of elections in 2010.

Tags: Year: 2009 Location: Asia Category: Protest and Persuassion Category: NonCooperation Protest and Persuassion: Declarations by organizations and institutions Protest and Persuassion: Signed public statements Protest and Persuassion: Newspapers and journals Protest and Persuassion: Records, radio, and television Methods of NonCooperation: International trade embargo Methods of NonCooperation: Expulsion from international organizations

Methods

NEWSFLASH

Imagining a world without dictators » A month ago, I was sitting in a restaurant with Srdja Popovic, a democratic activist and leader of the revolution that toppled Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. We had met to discuss the revolutions ricocheting around the Middle East. “It’s been a bad year for bad guys,” he said. In late 2010, he mused, no one would have possibly predicted that six months later, “Ben Ali and Mubarak would be out, Gaddafi and Saleh would be on their knees, and Assad would be seriously challenged. If you would have see...

Ahead of G-20, Protesters Call for New Jobs » PITTSBURGH -- A relatively small and peaceful group of about 500 protesters, most demanding new jobs programs, marched through city streets in the first full day of demonstrations targeting the Group of 20 economic summit later this week.The turnout was less than the 1,500 expected, and some protest groups blamed the city delays in issuing permits and the promised threefold expansion in the city's police force for the small turnout. Protestors were also critical of comments made by President Bar...

G20 Protests on Pittsburgh Streets Sept 2009 » PITTSBURGH Police fired canisters of pepper spray and smoke at marchers protesting the Group of 20 summit Thursday after anarchists responded to calls to disperse by rolling trash bins and throwing rocks.The march turned chaotic at just about the time that President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrived for a meeting with leaders of the world's major economies.The clashes began after hundreds of protesters, many advocating against capitalism, tried to march from an outlying neighbor...

Students Demonstrate in Israel » Israeli Students demonstrate against increase in tuition law.Footage taken from adjacent buildings, shows rough crowd control by Israeli police, Gets very wild at end.

Iran Lawyer Seeks Cash To Spare Young On Death Row » TEHRAN (Reuters) -- An Iranian human rights lawyer has launched an appeal for money to help avert the executions of juvenile offenders in the Islamic republic, saying $200,000 could spare the lives of four young people now on death row.Under Iran's Islamic law, Shari'a, the family of a murder victim can pardon the convicted killer in exchange for financial compensation, so-called blood money, although they can also refuse it and demand the death penalty. For most people in Iran it would be diffi...

Activists, politicians reportedly arrested in Iran » Hadi Ghaemi, director of the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights, said he had spoken with family members and colleagues of people who have been arrested or disappeared and was told that there were at least 200 across the country. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the rights groups' reports because of government restrictions on reporting inside the country. The Iranian government has said that it has arrested a relatively small number of people responsible fo...

Protest in Madagascar » Supporters of former president Marc Ravalomanana demonstrate in the streets of Antananarivo.

Albania Opposition Protests Election Result » Tens of thousands of opposition supporters held a major rally on Friday evening in Tirana, seeking a partial recount of the ballots cast during the 28 June parliamentary elections.The rally, which was organised by the Socialists headed by Tirana's mayor Edi Rama was also supported by smaller opposition parties from the left and right, which accuse the government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha of electoral fraud.The rally. which was extended into a three day marathon by a few hundred opposition s...

Fiji regime denies fresh clampdown on media over licences » SUVA (Radio New Zealand/Pacific Media Watch): The military-led regime in Fiji is rejecting claims it has revoked broadcasting licences to clamp down further on the media.Australia’s Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says the authorities in Suva have made changes to broadcasting arrangements, effectively seizing all licences.Smith says the action has been carried out by decree, which no court or other agency can overturn and the move is an escalation of the regime’s efforts to impose itself on its c...

Honduran resistance goes it alone » 60 days of anti-coup protests show persistence in civil disobedience and little faith in int'l community.As protests against the coup government in Honduras enter their 60th day, the international community has largely turned their attention away from the streets of Tegucigalpa.

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