The Honduran Coup regime rode police state repression into the November 29 elections hoping for clean slate. Only the governments of Taiwan and the United States sent international observers, and the delegation funded by the US State Department arrived at the Electoral Tribunal at the same time the leaders of all six independent human rights monitors in Honduras were delivering their request that the elections be suspended.
Source: Democracy Now!
In Honduras, a prominent supporter of the coup has won the nation’s presidential election. Porfirio Lobo, a rich landowner, received 55 percent of the vote. The election comes five months after the Honduran military ousted the democratically-elected president Manuel Zelaya. The leaders of Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and other Latin American countries say Sunday’s presidential election is invalid because it was backed by the coup leaders and could end any hope of Zelaya returning to power and completing his term, which is due to end in January.But the United States has vowed to recognize the results. No pro-Zelaya candidate ran Sunday due to a boycott of the elections called by Zelaya. Human rights groups reported widespread abuses by the Honduran military and police ahead of Sunday’s vote. In the city of San Pedro Sula, soldiers used water cannons and tear gas to break up a march by 500 unarmed protesters. On Saturday, 50 masked soldiers and police raided a collective of farmers and small scale agricultural producers known as Red Comal.
Diana Block's memoir, Arm the Spirit: A Woman's Journey Underground and Back, is an example of a leftist making sense of the world around her, attempting to act with integrity, and searching for political strategy and home. In prose as engaging as a good novel Block depicts her childhood, her politicization, her coming out, her search for the right political program, her experiences with partnering and parenting, and the day to day details of life underground. At the same time the book offers a wealth of history lessons.
Following the social upheaval in
Source: Foreign Policy in Focus
Resource-rich Angola was once known as the scene of Africa’s longest-running civil war. Today, life expectancy hovers around 44 years – not unlike that of an average Briton living in the 1800s. Over 70% of the population lives in poverty, and the country has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world. And the nation’s lifetime dictator of 30 years, Jose Dos Santos, leader of the liberation-party-turned-permanent-government, the MPLA, does not appear to have lost his lust for the throne.
The Honduran people's refusal to participate in what will be an electoral circus on November 29 is fully justified after getting to know the manoeuvrings of the coup regime led by Roberto Micheletti. The upcoming elections, as they currently stand, undermine the dignity of the Honduran people. It would be unjust and dishonourable to give them legitimacy.
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