Honduran Women Under Siege

23 September 2009

Hours after Honduras' ousted president returned to the country and sought refuge in a foreign embassy, the military-backed regime launched a brutal attack against supporters of the former leader.

"Early this morning, military forces attacked those of us outside the Brazilian embassy. There are no words to describe the brutality of the attack," reported a member of the group Feminists in Resistance. "They chased us, threw bombs, beat us, and now are hunting down everyone who took refuge in the surrounding area."

The women say there are 65 members of their group "under siege," hiding in houses as military squads search the neighborhood. Their reports were sent by email during a brief period when electricity had been turned on.

"We can hear the military movements outside, the cars, helicopters, bombs, shots, clashing of metal, stomping of boots, sirens -- and in a cruel joke on all Honduran citizens they are playing the national anthem at full volume over and over."

The women say they have little water and no food, and tear gas hangs in the air. Some have reportedly been detained and taken to Chochi Sosa stadium on the far eastern edge of the city.

A Severe Crackdown

The violence came as thousands gathered outside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa to show support for Manual Zelaya, the democratically elected president who was kidnapped and expelled from the country in June. Zelaya secretly returned to Honduras yesterday and then appeared on national television from within the Brazilian Embassy.

According to Associated Press (AP) reports, Zelaya said earlier today that he had no plans to leave the embassy and repeatedly asked to speak with Roberto Micheletti, the military-installed leader currently in charge of the country.

Zelaya, his wife, some of their children, Cabinet members, and journalists have spent the day holding hushed conversations, napping on couches, and curling up on the floor beneath travel posters of Brazilian beaches, according to AP reporters.

As many as 70 of Zelaya's friends and family are believed to be trapped inside the embassy without water, electricity, or phones. Police and soldiers have set up a three-mile-wide cordon around the embassy. Heavily armed soldiers are posted on rooftops, and helicopters are monitoring the section of the city, according to the AP.

In addition to sending police and military units to confront Zelaya's supporters with tear gas and water cannons this morning, Micheletti's regime reportedly cut off electricity to two of the most widely used news sources, television's Channel 36 and Radio Globo.

Many cell phones have been blocked, and the airports and border crossings closed, in what's being seen as a move to keep out international diplomats and reporters.

The city of Tegucigalpa has ostensibly been militarized, say observers, with specialized police forces, the army, and masked agents all on patrol. A government-imposed curfew has left city streets deserted.

There are even concerns that Micheletti's regime will take the highly unusual step of storming a foreign embassy to capture Zelaya.

Months of Repression

A four-member delegation of U.S. human rights observers traveled to Honduras in August, finding strong support for Zelaya among the country's working people and reporting on the brutal government repression of pro-democracy demonstrations at that time.

Human Rights Watch and the The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also documented repeated violations by security forces since the June coup. An August report from the Commission noted violations including excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, and attacks on the media, as well as several confirmed deaths and possible "disappearances."

"Given the reports we have received, and the poor track record of the security forces since the coup, we fear that conditions could deteriorate drastically in the coming days," said Human Rights Watch's José Miguel Vivanco today.

U.S. Secretary Clinton Urged to Step In

The Americas Policy Program, a U.S.-based political research and analysis group with correspondents in the region, is calling on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to immediately condemn today's violence in Honduras and "take every peaceful measure possible to avoid a bloodbath in that country."

In a recent commentary, the group's Laura Carlsen pointed out that only the United States has the leverage to force Micheletti's regime to return democratic rule to the country, since the Central American nation's economy is heavily dependent on exports to the United States and remittances from Honduran families living in the United States.

The Americas Policy Program and other human rights groups have been calling on the U.S. State Department since June to officially condemn the coup, which would trigger the immediate blockage of all U.S. aid to the country.

"Sec. of State Hillary Clinton cannot call herself an international advocate of women's rights while ignoring the plight of these Honduran women who are a worldwide inspiration for feminist organizing in the fight for democracy," wrote Carlsen this morning. "She cannot call herself a representative of U.S. values abroad while turning a blind eye to the brutality and illegality of a coup regime crazed by power and isolated among governments for its lack of respect for the rule of law." [Read Carlsen's full situation report and call for action.]

Sep. 22, 2009