Day 149 of HONDURAS COUP RESISTANCE – Saying No To The Repressive and Fraudulent Election Process and Election Day
(November 23, 2009, Honduras Coup Alert#94)
FOR INTERVIEWS

HOW TO SUPPORT & WHAT TO DO: see at bottom

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As electoral candidates walked into the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) building today to renounce their participation in the November 29th elections, the resistance movement gathered outside of the TSE building to support them and celebrate their withdrawal.
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Crowd cheering as electoral candidate announces his withdrawal from the elections.
As protesters were encouraged by leaders not to block off the street that ran in between both sides of the crowd, a police water tanks and various military trucks drove between the protesters while military and police stood on the roof and in front of the TSE guarding the building.
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To the surprise of the crowd, people of the resistance movement from San Pedro Sula organized a parade where roughly 25 large black crosses with the names of those that have passed away since the coup were individually carried and placed in front of the TSE building.
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ARRESTS AND MILITARIZATION PRECEDE HONDURAN ELECTIONS
(rough translation)
Tegucigalpa, Nov 21 (Prensa Latina) - News media closures, illegal detentions and militarization increase, portray today’s panorama in Honduras just 8 days from the illegal elections called by the de facto regimen.
In the last hours the television channel 36 was taken off the air, one of the main press elements opposed to the June 28 Coup d’Etat against President Manuel Zelaya. “We hold the regime chief Roberto Micheletti responsible for this new interruption”, the channel’s head, Esdras Amado Lopez said and he specified the signal was substituted by porno and cowboy films.
Meanwhile, Dina Meza from the Committee of Relatives of Missing Prisoners, reported on night arrests by the security forces in capital districts. Several young people playing in the Lempira’s court and others from Bella Vista neighbourhood were arrested and beaten, Meza informed.
Leaders of the National Front against the Coup d’Etat and Human Right defenders warned of the fierce repressions planned by the coup for the elections day.
According to COPINH (Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations), the army sent troops to all departments and 800 mercenaries were dispersed in the southwest with the aim of suppressing any movement. The Armed Forces are scattered all over the country, for this there are 11 military regions and every commander is responsible of the security of his region and they have instructions and ways to operate.
The Armed Forces demanded that Mayors make lists of people who they considered are in opposition to the electoral process, so as to neutralize them; and demanded that the district attorney’s office order the 530 prosecutors in the country to be ready to pursue them.
The democratically-elected President, Manuel Zelaya, who from his returning to the country has stayed in the Brazilian Embassy, inquired the elections to be postponed until the institutional order is restored.
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ACTION NEEDED
TELL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON, SENATOR, THE WHITE HOUSE & THE STATE DEPARTMENT NOT TO RECOGNIZE THE HONDURAN COUP REGIME & THE NOVEMBER 29TH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
The U.S. government announced it will recognize the results of the November 29 presidential “elections” in Honduras with or without democratically-elected President Zelaya back in office and power.  This position is abusive and shameful.
From the Honduran people’s pro-democracy movement and the National Front Against the Coup, to governments across the Americas, to the Organization of American States, everyone and institution recognizes there are no conditions whatsoever in Honduras – under the control of an illegal and repressive military-oligarchic regime - to hold free and fair elections.
Since the June 28 coup, the regime has killed some 2 dozen Hondurans, illegally jailed over 3000 people, tortured (including rape) hundreds of people in illegal detention, and wounded hundreds in protests (due to rubber and live bullets, tear-gas and beatings).  It is in the context of this on-going repression that the illegal regime aims to hold elections as their way of legitimizing and justifying the un-legitimizable and unjustifiable coup.
We urge U.S. citizens to contact your member of congress, senator, the white house and state department, to demand:
The unconditional return of President Zelaya and his government to full constitutional power and authority
No recognition of the November 29 elections
Justice for the plotters and perpetrators of the military coup, and
Reparations for the victims of the regime repression
WRITE TO:

TO DONATE FUNDS
Please continue to financially support the pro-democracy, anti-coup movement in Honduras.  This extraordinary struggle, to defeat the oligarchic-military regime and to remake their constitution and country, will continue well into 2010. Make your tax-deductible check to “rights action” and mail to:
UNITED STATES:  Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
CANADA:  552-351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
CREDIT-CARD DONATIONS:  http://rightsaction.org/contributions.htm
For foundations and institutional donors, Rights Action can provide a report of which organizations and people we are channeling funds to and supporting.
VIEW The Real News:
“Nothing resolved in Honduras: Widely-celebrated, US-brokered agreement looks to have strengthened coup instead of reversing it”: http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=4431
WATCH A 2-PART “FAULT LINES” NEWS REPORT ABOUT HONDURAS: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYY4vj9ROC0&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upMu_oR2YUU&NR=1

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