Honduras: Firings Undercut Judicial Independence

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Human Rights Watch

Honduras: Firings Undercut Judicial Independence
Supreme Court Should Reinstate Judges Immediately
May 19, 2010

(Washington, DC) - The firing of judges who opposed the 2009 coup is a serious blow to judicial independence in Honduras, Human Rights Watch said today.

On May 12, 2010, the Honduran Supreme Court ratified its May 5 vote to dismiss four lower-court judges who are members of Judges for Democracy, a group that has challenged the legality of the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya last year.

"The Honduran judiciary should be working to re-establish the rule of law and remedy the damage done by last year's coup," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "By firing these judges, the Supreme Court is doing precisely the opposite."

Judge Ramón Barrios was removed for publicly criticizing a June 2009 Supreme Court ruling that validated the coup. Barrios issued his critique at an academic conference at the University of San Pedro Sula, where he teaches law. According to the judiciary's personnel office, the reason for dismissing Barrios was that his criticism "undermined the dignity" of the judiciary.

Read more: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/05/19/honduras-firings-undercut-judicial-independence

[Radical Activist]

1. And Hillary made an official public appearance with this government's representative

to help give them legitimacy. I was hoping Obama's Latin American policy would be better than this.

[boppers]

2. That's one powerful supreme court!

First they dump the president, now they're dumping the guys who say that the Supreme Court shouldn't have that power.

Where is their Congress in all of this?

Oh. Wait.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Hunger Strike Against Impunity

Hunger Strike Against Impunity
Posted on May 19, 2010 by murielsoy

The Association of Judges for Democracy (AJD) come before the citizens of Honduras and the international community to manifest the following:

The Judges of the Supreme Court decided May 5, 2010 to arbitrarily dismiss Judges Chévez Luis Alonzo de la Rocha, Ramon Enrique Barrios, Guillermo López Adam Lone, and the Judge’s Tirza Carmen Flores Lanza, and initiated disciplinary proceedings for their condemnation of the coup and to taking on decisions consistent with constitutional guarantees and protection of human rights of dozens of people arrested during the demonstrations after the break in constitutional order.

All judges and the magistrate dismissed are members of the Association of Judges for Democracy, constituting this in an clear attempt by the judicial authorities to break up this associations and expresses their intolerance of freedom of expression, conscience and assembly. These facts clearly origininate in the political structure, are at odds with any legal justification, They demonstrate the deep crisis that Honduran judicial system is in, where constitutional rights have become illusions are human rights non-existent, as the violations of right to life, liberty and dignity continue.

Before a judicial system that does not react or act in protection of the rights of victims, the situation of citizens is one of defenselessness, marking the institutional breakdown leaving impunity and injustice to the victims.

Within this framework of contempt for the law, the Public Ministry has divorced itself from the responsibility to investigate criminal acts and expresses its lack of responsibility to carry out actions to the pursuit and prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations, in particular the cases of thousands of citizens whose rights were violated in the days and months following the coup of June 28, 2009.

There is no discussion with regard to the Judiciary Branch’s lack of independence and impartiality, in particular, in defining publicly – the coup as a “constitutional succession,” and intending thereby to provide legality of the de facto government that was established since 28 June. Under these conditions, their performances are criticized for their docile attitude and submission to the political powers leading them to terminate or declare without merit the allegations that have arisen in cases of human rights violations.

More:
http://hondurashumanrights.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/hunger-strike-against-impunity/

[Judi Lynn]

4. Honduran judges dismissed for political reasons

Honduran judges dismissed for political reasons
24 May 2010

On May 12, the Honduran supreme court ratified its earliar decision to dismiss four lower-court judges who are members of Judges for Democracy, a group that has challenged the legality of the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya last year. Two of the judges, including the president of the group, were removed for participating in public demonstrations calling for Zelaya to be reinstated. The judges have started an indefinite hunger strike as a protest.

http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2010/05/honduran-judges-dismisse/

[Judi Lynn]

5. Two-time Honduran dictator Oswaldo López Arellano dies a free man

Two-time Honduran dictator Oswaldo López Arellano dies a free man

Submitted by WW4 Report on Fri, 05/21/2010 - 13:15. Two-time Honduran dictator Oswaldo López Arellano died over the weekend after being hospitalized for several weeks. He was 89. Born in Danli in eastern Honduras, López Arellano would lead two coups d'état as an army officer. In October 1963, López, then a colonel, ousted President José Ramón Villeda of the Liberal Party, when was just months from finishing his six-year term in office. In 1965, with the backing of the currently ruling National Party, Lopez took office as constitutional president and handed over power in 1971 to Ramón Ernesto Cruz—only to oust him in a second coup in December 1972.

As president, López Arellano oversaw Honduras' short but bloody war with El Salvador in 1969, dubbed the "Football War" because it was sparked by stadium violence in El Salvador-Honduras World Cup play-offs. Thousands died in the brief conflict. But his political and military career ended in April 1975, when he was overthrown in yet another coup after the "Bananagate" scandal, in which it was revealed that he had accepted a $2.5 million bribe from US banana company United Brands to reduce an export tax. Retired from power, López became a businessman with holdings in banks and the now-defunct Honduran airline TAN-SAHSA. (Canadian Press, EFE, May 18)

http://www.ww4report.com/node/8647

(As you may recall, the same monstrous "United Fruit" which has all Latin America countries producing bananas, etc. changed its name to "Chiquita," and has been controlled, directed by many high-ranking U.S. political and CIA figures throughout its history.)