5 August 2009 | News | Human rights
“A Halt to Socialism”
General asserts the military coup in Honduras aimed at preventing the advance of progressive ideas.
2:20 minutes
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While hundreds of people are claiming everyday in the Honduran streets an end to the de facto regime led by Roberto Michelett, General Romeo Vásquez, Head of the Armed Forces, repeated yesterday in a TV interview the same argument held by the de facto authoritities: that there wasn´t a coup d´etat in Honduras, but a consitutional succession.
Army Commander, Miguel Angel Garcia, said that what happened in Honduras was a “halt to socialism disguised as democracy”.
“Honduras, the Honduran society and the armed forces stopped the expansion plan of a South American leader to bring to the heart of United States a socialism disguised as democracy," , said Garcia, making reference, although without saying his name, to Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez.
On June 28th, the army kidnapped and deported Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, causing a state of emergency which has resulted in the death of several demonstrators in favour of democracy, in addition to violations to human rights, both individual and collective.
One of these permanent violations has been against the freedom of sppech; most of the stations which did not broadcast positions in agreement with the de facto regime were censored, and this week, the dictatorial government announced the closure of the stations which are still working.
This is the case of Radio Globo, which continued broadcasting in spite of being accused of “promoting insurrection” after the coup d´etat. However, the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), the organization that manages all communication media of the country, announced yesterday the closure of the station.
Conatel has also announced that Channel 8 –which belonged to the state- will be given to a businessman.
Frank la Rue, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to free expression, who is visiting Honduras, referred to the coup regime as a “dictatorial government...which is closing the spaces of the democracy”, according to Democracy Now.
