Petition Against Canada's Recognition of Honduran "elections"

Hondurans demonstrate outside of the Brazilian embassy where President Manuel Zelaya remains exiled within his own country

peeking out from behind this post: democracy in Honduras

**PLEASE FORWARD FAR AND WIDE**

As many of you know, I spent the last week in Honduras, with a human rights observation delegation. It was an emotional and intense experience, to say the least - I documented my time there in daily reports here at the Toronto media co-op and elsewhere.

The democratically elected President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, was overthrown in a military coup on June 28th, interrupting a process towards constitutional reform that gained momentum on the strength of a social movement that was placing enormous pressure on Zelaya. Zelaya was slowly responding to that pressure, but since the coup he has been replaced by a de facto regime that transparently represents the interests of the Honduran oligarchy, primarily comprised of ten-fifteen families, and its North American business partners.

Since that time, Honduras has been converted into what amounts to a police state. 32 people have been killed or disappeared, and hundreds more have been victims of detentions, kidnappings, beatings, rape and the threat of assassination. I sat in kitchens and living rooms while people told me stories about being afraid that the police would break into their home at night and take someone away. I met with people just released from detention with fresh bruises and cuts.

In that context, the regime held 'elections' on Nov. 29th. Any media sources that have been critical of the coup since June 28th have been essentially shut down or made silent. All independent candidates withdrew from the process. The peaceful popular resistance encouraged people to stay home and not legitimate the process. And, indeed, people stayed home - only 1.7 million people voted in a country of nearly 8 million.

Still, our government is rushing to give the 'election' legitimacy, so that the coup and repression can be whitewashed and the post-coup government can go back to ruling Honduras the way it is normally run: by the rich, for the rich. Recognizing these elections 1) is an insult to any legitimate conception of what democracy looks like, 2) justifies and gives impunity to the massive and ruthless campaign of state terror in Honduras, and 3) places the enormous weight of the Canadian state, deeply invested in exploitative mining concessions on that country, up against the popular struggle for reform, again.

Please take a moment to sign this petition calling for the immediate withdrawl of Canada's support for the de facto regime in Honduras and the sham elections with which they hope to consolidate the project that the coup began.

http://www.petitiononline.com/helect/petition.html

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Tyler Shipley (Tyler Shipley)
Toronto
Member since November 2009

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