Honduran President Mel Zelaya Maintains Public Support
Saturday, October 24 2009 17:20
Honduran President Mel Zelaya still maintains considerable public support after almost four months after being dismissed from government by force, according to a new survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.
- By a large margin of 22 points (60 to 38 percent), the public disapproves of the removal of Honduran President Zelaya on 28 October.
- Two-thirds approve of the job he did as President Zelaya. Nineteen percent rated his performance as "excellent" and another 48 percent as "good."
The national survey was conducted door to door interviews among randomly selected 621 of the Honduran 9 to 13 October, shows that Zelaya is considerably more popular than the de facto president Roberto Micheletti. By a margin of 2 to 1 (57 to 28 percent), Hondurans have a negative personal opinion Micheletti. And a small majority negatively describes the work of Micheletti as interim president.
According to this survey, the Hondurans are eager to participate in the elections scheduled for November 28. But there is concern that the elections occur with Micheletti still in power. Eighty-one percent think the election should occur, but only a small majority (54 percent) believe that would be legitimate if they occur under the interim government.
"The international community's refusal to blow reflect the views of the majority of Hondurans," said Mark Feierstein, partner and vice president of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner. Mel Zelaya should not have been ousted from power by force. "
The survey also shows that Hondurans have a relatively positive image of the United States. The Hondurans are divided in their opinion of Barack Obama while 83 percent have an unfavorable impression of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Download full results (English)
- By a large margin of 22 points (60 to 38 percent), the public disapproves of the removal of Honduran President Zelaya on 28 October.
- Two-thirds approve of the job he did as President Zelaya. Nineteen percent rated his performance as "excellent" and another 48 percent as "good."
The national survey was conducted door to door interviews among randomly selected 621 of the Honduran 9 to 13 October, shows that Zelaya is considerably more popular than the de facto president Roberto Micheletti. By a margin of 2 to 1 (57 to 28 percent), Hondurans have a negative personal opinion Micheletti. And a small majority negatively describes the work of Micheletti as interim president.
According to this survey, the Hondurans are eager to participate in the elections scheduled for November 28. But there is concern that the elections occur with Micheletti still in power. Eighty-one percent think the election should occur, but only a small majority (54 percent) believe that would be legitimate if they occur under the interim government.
"The international community's refusal to blow reflect the views of the majority of Hondurans," said Mark Feierstein, partner and vice president of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner. Mel Zelaya should not have been ousted from power by force. "
The survey also shows that Hondurans have a relatively positive image of the United States. The Hondurans are divided in their opinion of Barack Obama while 83 percent have an unfavorable impression of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Download full results (English)
The COFADEH reveals an increase in serious violations of Human Rights in Honduras
Bertha Oliva, accompanied by HR defenders and victims of repression
The report highlights 21 murders, of which 4 are teachers, 4 thousand 234 complaints received for violation of fundamental freedoms and 114 citizens accused of sedition.
To date, there are 5 political prisoners, 4 cases classified as direct persecution towards the youth of several of them have had to leave the country and there are 500 records of complaints filed by citizens to the Access to Justice Area of COFADEH .
In addition there is a discovery of 3 attacks against people and 95 death threats. On the recorded 133 personal integrity cruel that no more than torture, among which are revealed 15 serious injuries and 394 people with injuries and shock, 211 affected more unconventional weapons.
As for the rights to freedom of movement occurred 987 thousand illegal detentions, 2 attempted kidnapping and 114 political prisoners were charged with sedition, they face trial, but now on probation.
Attendees to the presentation of the second report
It reported 10 burglaries, 13 allegations of persecution of social leaders and human rights defenders, as did 4 attacks against organizations, including the COFADEH, Workers and Allied Beverage (STIBYS) and the Union of Workers of the National Children (SITRAPANI).
The first report covered the human rights violations recorded in the period from 28 June to 17 July. And the second one from 16 July to 15 October 2009.
On the issue of freedom of expression, there were 14 violations against media and 12 attacks against journalists. As for freedom of movement, there were 52 military and police checkpoints during curfews ordered the de facto regime.
The General Coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), Bertha Oliva, said that in writing this report I confess that I felt embarrassed, perhaps because I had the idea that in this long process of recent decades, we and made little progress on human rights.
"Cognizant of the effects of military dictatorship we assume that it was an isolated incident but we were facing not a whole strategy to seize and hold power two months later, but to take that long-term power, meaning that the dictatorship has come to stay in the region, "said Oliva.
He said again today, as in the past, are repositories of tears, are repositories of anguish, pain and despair because they say, but even more desperate.
Carlos H Reyes
While the military dictatorship that we live in today has traits similar to the one we experienced during the decade of the eighties, an important difference is that at that time the oppressors of the people hid their faces also concealed their names.
"Today, by contrast, repressors have faces, and we have to name people in blue uniforms, khaki and white. Another of our major concerns is the strategy of the military dictatorship against the magisterial sector that materialize from the illegal and arbitrary detention to retaining teachers' assessments of schools, through the removal of profiles, tax requirements and give them open up trial persecution, until the murder.
According to records of COFADEH, deaths of teachers Roger Abraham Vallejo, Mario Contreras, Felix Hernandez Murillo and Elisha, are related in the context of the coup.
The renowned human rights defender reported that the COFADEH is being pursued by the current regime, because there are intentions to cancel the legal status, that authority to safeguard and protect human rights in the country.
Oliva also denounced the persecution they are suffering the resistance against the military coup by troops of the Tenth Infantry Battalion in the field of Colomoncagua like many fellow in the department of Santa Barbara.
Meanwhile independent presidential candidate and member of the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup, Charles H. Reyes said COFADEH has earned its rightful place, even over those who say, from the state, defending human rights.
Agustina Flores Lopez
"As the case of shame that we have with Ramon Custodio Lopez (National Commissioner for Human Rights). COFADEH it has definitely fulfilled its responsibility and that is why human rights organizations who have come to Honduras have been astonished that has been performing menial Ramon Custodio, a great pity because before man did not, but he did not know what change.
Referring to the de facto government, Reyes said that "dictators in Honduras do not recognize the UN resolutions or of the Organization of American States. The Israelites, primarily the Zionist group, which dominates the country, are charged with murder separately and have been doing for many years to the Arabs, who are denied even the right to live. "
"In Honduras same thing happening as the COFADEH has stated in his report what he is doing the dictatorship and is almost a copy to the tracing, the same mechanism used by the Zionists," denounced the independent presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, Prof. Agustina Flores, who stayed for 20 days in the cells of the Women's Center of Social Adaptation (CEFAS), accused of sedition by the de facto government, thanked the legal support provided to the COFADEH and lawyers and doctors agglutinated in front against the coup, human rights organizations and the media nationally and internationally.
"The experience was not pleasant but let me tell you who say that prison social rehabilitation center, we have worked long and greatly, because there had been gross violations of human rights and believe it or not mates, there are also places of torture ", said Flores.
Leo Valladares Lanza
Anarely Velez, representing the Committee for Free Expression (C-Libre), held that since the occurrence of the coup have been released to the world a series of alerts that are reported in the attacks on media such as Radio Globo, Channel 36, Radio Progreso, Channel 11, Official Time and prosecution of several journalists in the exercise of their profession.
"We have been following up the chase and close companions programs feminist resistance and have raised the alert at the international level in order to draw attention to the brutality and beatings given to freedom of expression among this coup and fascism exercised by the military and Roberto Micheletti is on his head, "said Velez.
"The military-oligarchic regime is violating these rights, we will continue to clear rebellion against this government and as they continue to give these attacks and this violence against the media, journalists and people who have the right and free access to information, we will continue on a war footing, "stressed the representative of C-Libre.
Finally, the executive director and former ACI-Participa National Commissioner for Human Rights, Leo Valladares Lanza, said that all actions of the de facto, have been just another strategy to silence the voices who denounce human rights.
Valladares Lanza condemned the coup and said that a human rights commissioner should be the voice of those who have or are still having it, not being heard.
The event was attended by human rights organizations, youth, workers, peasants, gay and lesbian, educators, universities, writers, poets, artists, representatives of international agencies and national media and international.
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