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Anti-coup demonstrators organise mass protests at Honduras borders
10 July 2009
Thousands of trade union demonstrators formed a ring around Honduras in protest against the coup that ousted the country’s democratically elected president, Manuel Zelaya.
The trade unionists, members of ITF affiliated unions in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua gathered at the borders with Honduras – in El Amatillo, Izabal and Los Tres Pasos de Frontera – on 3 July. They were joined by transport workers from Venezuela and Mexico and by ITF representatives. These included: Francisco Torrealba, Venezuela national coordinator; Arturo Ruiz Tramppe, Central American coordinator and Benito Bahena, Mexico national coordinator. The protests aimed to show solidarity with Honduran trade unionists and called for a restoration of democracy in the country.
It has been reported by unions in Honduras that the group that ousted president Zelaya, led by Roberto Micheletti, serves the economic interests of the few rather than those of civil society. They claim that since the coup on 28 June, people have faced repression; two people have been killed, 1000 injured and several trade union leaders arrested. It has also been reported that press freedom has been curtailed and telephone lines and power cut.
ITF Inter-American regional secretary, Antonio Fritz, who attended the event in Izabal in Guatemala, commented: “These demonstrations are part of the struggle to stop repression and uphold democracy in the region. The union movement as representatives of an organised civil society must be at the forefront of the struggle for freedom, social justice and decent work for all and that includes the fight to end this culture of coups that is crippling the Latin American region.”
Last week the ITF called on the secretary general of the Organization of American States and the president of the Honduran Congress to declare the military’s action illegal and indefensible. It also issued an urgent action alert to its affiliates calling for support for those attempting to restore democracy in Honduras. In addition, the ITF’s European arm, the European Transport Workers’ Federation, issued a statement expressing solidarity with Honduran workers.
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