Stock pile of tear gas grenades in Honduras triggers fears of human rights abuses

[Judi Lynn]

Stock pile of tear gas grenades in Honduras triggers fears of human rights abuses
27 November 2009

Amnesty International has learned that the de facto authorities in Honduras have stock piled 10,000 tear gas cans and other crowd control equipment, triggering fears of an increased risk of excessive and disproportionate use of force by security forces around the presidential elections.

An Amnesty International delegation in Honduras to monitor the human rights situation around the presidential elections on 29 November received information of the recent official purchase of 10,000 tear gas grenades; 5,000 projectiles for tear gas grenades and a water spray tank, as well as the deployment of several thousand reservists.

"Since taking power, the de facto authorities have allowed the security forces to use tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to punish demonstrators in Honduras, causing several deaths and serious injuries, and nobody has been held responsible," said Javier Zuniga, Head of Amnesty International's delegation in Honduras.

"The past misuse of tear gas and other crowd control equipment, together with the lack of guarantees that the purchased equipment will not be used to attack demonstrators and the absence of investigations on past abuses paints an extremely worrying picture of what might happen over the next few days," said Javier Zuniga.

More:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/stock-pile-tear-gas-grenades-honduras-triggers-fears-human-rights-abuses-20091127

[flamingdem]

1. Remember that photo showing US made canisters sold to Peru then used in Honduras?

I can't remember the name of the US supplier and how the US govt fit in to that scenario.

[EFerrari]

2. I thought it was an Israeli company.

Maybe I'm just getting my war profiteers mixed up.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Amnesty International denounces intimidation in Honduran elections

Nov 27, 2009, 20:34 GMT
Amnesty International denounces intimidation in Honduran elections

Tegucigalpa - Amnesty International (AI) denounced Friday an atmosphere of intimidation in the run-up to controversial general election in Honduras.

In a statement, AI charged that the de facto government in Honduras has stockpiled anti-riot material such as tear-gas ahead of Sunday's elections.

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has rejected the election results and called upon Hondurans to boycott it. Amnesty International is one of the few nongovernmental organizations

AI delegate in Tegucigalpa Javier Zuniga told the German Press Agency dpa that basic voting guarantees were not being respected, due to the limitations on personal freedoms that were imposed in the Central American country since democratically-elected Zelaya was ousted by a military coup on June 28.

Zuniga noted that freedom of opinion, expression and association, among others, were being violated in Honduras.

'Rights like the right to communicate and receive information, which are fundamental for an electoral process so that people have a perspective on what is happening, are constantly suffering limitations,' Zuniga told dpa.

He said that intimidation is particularly significant in the provinces, while conditions are better in the capital, Tegucigalpa.

AI denounced in a statement that the de facto authorities in Honduras 'have stock piled 10,000 tear gas cans and other crowd control equipment, triggering fears of an increased risk of excessive and disproportionate use of force by security forces around the presidential elections.'

'The past misuse of tear gas and other crowd control equipment, together with the lack of guarantees that the purchased equipment will not be used to attack demonstrators and the absence of investigations on past abuses paints an extremely worrying picture of what might happen over the next few days,' Zuniga said in the statement.

More:
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1515819.php/Amnesty-International-denounces-intimidation-in-Honduran-elections#ixzz0YHDa8R6Z

[Judi Lynn]

4. Honduras: Coup regime prepares massive repression

Honduras: Coup regime prepares massive repression
28 November 2009

Anti-coup resistance is continuing in Honduras, despite ongoing repression. There are strong indications the regime is preparing for greater repression in the lead-up to the November 29 elections, which it is seeking to use to legitimise its rule.

Elected President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown in a military coup on June 28. Since then, mass resistance from the poor majority, led by the National Resistance Front against the Coup (FNRG), has continued unabated. Zelaya and the FNRG are calling for a boycott of the poll and urging other governments and international institutions not to recognise the outcome.

Honduras Resists blog said: “Channel 36, the only television channel that has continued broadcasting the truth about the coup in Honduras, has been taken off the air again in the run-up to the elections.”

On November 26, it said: “The campaign of terror carried out by the dictatorship against the popular sectors is coming … Today is the burial of the body of the teacher Luis Gradis Espinal, a teacher from the resistance of the south of the country.

“His body was found yesterday, tied and executed, after having been reported disappeared by his family. Witnesses are sure that he was detained by the police and military.”

Honduras Resists said: “In the city El Progreso, the police are carrying out intense operations in the homes of the leaders of the Resistance … In the city Danli, several young people were kidnapped by the army causing terror among the population who fears for their lives …

“The police this week imported a huge arsenal of arms including 10,000 tear gas grenades, 5000 rubber bullets and a new anti-riot tank worth $12 million.”

Popular resistance is continuing. Honduras Resists reported: “University students have taken over the National Autonomous University and reached an agreement with the rector for there to be no more classes. The University was to be a center for voting and is now under control of the Resistance.”

Honduras Resists concluded: “The oligarchy needs to eliminate the political opposition to consolidate its new project of domination, that elimination can only occur through terror, killing and genocide.

“Nonetheless, they once again commit the same error that they committed on the eve of the 28th of June.

“They underestimate the creative capacity, the transformational capacity of the struggle, the combativeness of a people that has identified its enemy and understands, this time even more clearly, that a path towards national liberation, towards the re-founding of Honduras, has begun.”

More:
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/820/42161

[rabs]

5. Tear gas fired in SPS

Resistance march was broken up shortly after noon with tear gas and water cannon.

As of 1 p.m. abstention across the country reported very high.

On Salvador border, two truckloads of Salvarorans crossed into Honduras and voted. Report said they were ARENAists trucked in to vote.