The Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras issues an ACTION ALERT to the national and international community on behalf of members of the political and social movement of Honduras who are at high risk due to the militarization of the capital of the republic and declarations made by functionaries of the state of Honduras inciting their supporters into the streets to attack the political opposition that is actively responding to the irresponsibility of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal that has denied the population the right to information about the tabulation of votes from the election on November 26th, 2017.
Background
On November 26, 2017 elections for president, members of Congress and municipal authorities were held in Honduras. At 2 am on November 27 the Electoral Tribunal reported that with 57% of the votes counted the tendency favored candidate Salvador Nasralla with 45,17% of the total votes and the President – candidate Juan Orlando Hernández with 40,21%. This was the first time that a candidate ran for re-election as president through an assault on the Constitution via the Supreme Court of Justice controlled by Hernández.
After releasing those figures, the Tribunal went silent and the electronic counting system crashed several times, creating a security breach for those holding the access codes. This situation raised well-founded suspicions of fraud among the population and collective indignation.
In the midst of this confusion, the President – as Candidate – was the first to declare himself the winner on Sunday at 4:15 pm based on the tendencies of private polls and then, in the early evening Nasrralla also declared himself the winner based on the actual ballots in the Electoral Tribunal.
Events
Honduras is currently in a precarious situation and human rights emergency. As of the afternoon of the 27th members and supporters of the Alliance Against the Dictator have taken to the streets of the principal cities in the country to express repudiation for the manipulation of the results and the delay in declaring the winners, a climate which President Hernández has taken advantage of to assert his triumph which squarely contradicts the logic of the people.
Today, November 30, there are a series of protests and occupations of main streets and population centers.
In protests carried out in the barrios and neighborhoods of Tegucigalpa during the night, three people have been wounded, an 11 year old child named Daniel, two youths, Alfredo, 23 years old and another whose name is not registered. According to information received, they were in a protest in the Colonia El Pedregal, and were fired on by the Military Police, and at least one of them was killed.
The independent candidate for Mayor San Pedro Sula, Fátima Mena, is under surveillance by members of the Armed Forces of Honduras. Tonight in Tegucigalpa, as she returned to her hotel, a military officer reported that he had identified the target and described the way she was dressed. She has been supporting the defense of the vote for the ALIANZA candidate with whom she was a partner in the Anti-corruption Party.
During the day a series of events occured; at 1:00 pm security agents repressed protestors at INFOP again, and extended to Plaza Miraflores, Boulevard Fuerzas Armadas, Boulevard Centro América and Boulevard Suyapa, the geographical area in Tegucigalpa where protestors were present.
The Military surrounded the entire zone peripheral to INFOP, joining the police stationed there to protect the installations.
In the repression two people were injured: José Francisco Valladares (28), with a bullet wound in the right leg was admitted to Hospital Escuela and released two hours later; Mario Reynaldo Betanco (45), with a serious head injury from the impact of a rock thrown by a military officer is being treated in the Hospital Escuela.
A woman, police officer was also injured in the forehead by a rock and a military officer by the last name of Sánchez, was injured in the mouth by the impact of a rock; another military officer collapsed due to the high concentration of gases in the zone. Oslin Josué Soto Godoy, was detained and then released after four hours by Officer Padilla, who released him to members of the International Delegation, La Voz de los de Abajo.
Protests were also repressed in Puente del Rio Danto in la Ceiba, department of Atlántida. In Santa Rita, on the Democracy bridge. In El Progreso and in Olanchito, both in the department of Yoro, one person is reported to be wounded as in la Lima, department of Cortes.
The media outlet UNETV that has transmitted the press conferences of the opposition Alliance and is reporting on the situation in the context of the electoral process, denounced this afternoon that the National Telecommunications Commission threatened to shut down their network.
COFADEH has learned that Marcos Ramiro Lobo Rosales, the Alternate Judge for the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, who gave declarations to the press on November 27th[1] regarding the irreversible tendencies in favor of the opposition has reported that he received death threats and that he has demanded security in recent hours. He is also threatened with being suspended from his position with the Electoral Tribunal.
On November 29 2017, protestors gathered in front of the Institute for Professional Formation (INFOP) in Tegucigalpa, where electoral ballots that have not yet been scrutinized are stored, and the computing station were repressed at 11:30 pm by the police.
The quantity of gas that was launched against the protestors affected neighboring communities of San Ángel and Kennedy.
At 1:00 am, security agents sprayed tear gas again. This time one person was hospitalized with convulsions due to the effects of the gas.
We Alert
The situation in Honduras is precarious in terms of human rights, the country is polarized, practically in flames and authorities have acted in a manner that incites violence, in contrast to the conduct of Hondurans that in a peaceful and massive way turned out to vote on Sunday, confiding in the good will of the electoral authorities.
The situation in major cities of the country and in rural areas is deplorable in terms of individual guarantees to mobilize and exercise the right to social protest.
Since its origin, following its run in 2017, the Alianza has been systematically stigmatized by the State of Honduras. Recent declarations by high ranking functionaries of the republic have linked it to violent gangs and as a consequence, increasing the persecution of those who are part of this Inter – Party Political Movement and supported by broad social movements at the national level.
We hold Responsible
The President of the Republic Juan Orlando Hernández, the Electoral Tribunal Judges, the high command of the Armed Forces and the National Preventative Police and the Military Police for violations of the right to life, security and personal integrity that may be committed against members of the Political Opposition Movement and the popular movement in general.
We Demand
- That the President of the Republic, and contending candidate, guarantee the right of citizens to protest, guarantee the political rights of those who participated in the electoral process, behave as the president of the republic and not as a re-election candidate. A country that has a serious democracy and rights requires that he renounce his office to compete in elections under equal conditions or renounce before the illegality of his pretensions according to the 1982 Constitution.
- Suspend the repression against opposition protests in all of the cities and municipalities of the country. This day, protests have been registered in 17 of the 18 departments that make up Honduras.
- Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all citizens that exercise their political rights.
We also call on the national and international community, solidarity organizations and international media to circulate this URGENT ACTION and to EMIT YOUR STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT sending letters to the following institutions:
President of the Republic.
Juan Orlando Hernández
Casa Presidencial – Centro Cívico Gubernamental
Tegucigalpa, Honduras –
Teléfono: (504) 2221-4545 – Fax: (504) 2221
Correo electrónico: http://www.presidencia.gob.hn/
Facebook: https://es-la.facebook.com/
President of the National Congress
Mauricio Oliva
Correo electrónico: http://congresonacional.hn/
President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal
David Matamoros Watson
Colonia Humuya Frente a SYRE Tel. (504) 22131478 / 22324547 / 22391151
Correo electrónico: https://www.tse.hn/
