Cut aid to illegal Honduran government

7 posts / 0 new

Wed, 2009-07-08 15:29

Lord Palmerston

Details [url=http://barrionuevocanada.blogspot.com/2009/07/cut-aid-to-illegal-hondura...

Quote:
Call the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), Peter Kent, to demand that the Canadian government immediately suspend aid to the de facto government of Honduras.

Democratically elected Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was overthrown in a military coup on June 28th, and the de facto government has categorically refused to allow his return to power, threatening instead to arrest him if he sets foot on Honduran soil. Zelaya attempted to return to his country on Sunday, but his plane was unable to land after the Honduran military placed vehicles on the runways of the international airport. Meanwhile, at least two peaceful protestors have been killed and others injured, civil liberties have been suspended, and journalists have been harassed and detained by the current authorities.

The Canadian government has denounced the coup. However, its position remains ambiguous. Canada has not cut aid, including military aid, to the illegal government that assumed power following the early morning kidnapping of President Zelaya ten days ago. Honduras is the largest recipient of Canadian aid in the Central American region.

he suspension of aid would further isolate the illegal regime that has taken power in Honduras. Already, the United Nations, Organization of American States (OAS), European Union and others have condemned the coup and called for Zelaya's return. The OAS has expelled Honduras, European and Latin American nations have withdrawn their ambassadors, and multilateral financial institutions including the World Bank have frozen loan payments.

We stand in solidarity with the thousands of Hondurans risking their lives in the streets to demand that their voices and their votes be respected. We join the Honduran and other Latin American communities in Canada in demanding that the Canadian government move beyond words in this urgent situation and take strong action against the illegal government that has taken over in Honduras. Call Minister Kent today!

Take Action!

Call, fax, or email Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), Peter Kent at Tel: 613-992-0253, Fax: 613-992-0887, Email: [email protected]. Use the call script below.

Call, fax, or email your MP (click here to contact your MP using your postal code) to demand that the Canadian government:

unequivocally denounce the military coup

refuse to recognise any ‘de facto’ government in Honduras

insist on the unconditional reinstatement of the legitimate Honduran President, Manuel Zelaya

cut aid to the illegal Honduran government

demand respect for safety and human rights of all Hondurans

demand justice and reparations for the illegal actions and rights violations committed during this illegal coup

Note: Please send copies of all email correspondence to the Latin American Solidarity Network at [email protected]

Wed, 2009-07-08 15:48

Snert

Interesting, in light of the much hullaballoo over cutting aid to North Korea in [url=http://www.rabble.ca/babble/canadian-politics/iggy-let-north-koreans-sta... thread[/url]

Is it or isn't it OK to starve the people over the actions of the state? I'm assuming, since the petition takes care to specify "including military aid", that we're also talking about non-military aid.

Wed, 2009-07-08 16:06

M. Spector M. Spector's picture

Lord Palmerston wrote:

The Canadian government has denounced the coup. However, its position remains ambiguous.

Ambiguous is putting it nicely. What kind of denunciation of a coup d'état does not also call for the reinstatement of the person deposed by the coup?

Here's the "denunciation": "Canada condemns the coup d'etat that took place over the weekend in Honduras, and calls on all parties to show restraint and to seek a peaceful resolution to the present political crisis, which respects democratic norms and the rule of law, including the Honduran Constitution."

Note the mealy-mouthed wording that shows this is designed to appear as a denunciation without actually taking sides in the conflict: "all parties to show restraint" - "peaceful resolution" (not reinstatement) - "respects...the Honduran Constitution" (the one that was imposed on Honduras to ensure the perpetual rule of the oligarchy; the one that Zelaya was ousted for trying to amend).

Peter Kent hasn't changed his position from the one he took a few days ago:

Quote:
In the OAS, Peter Kent, Canada's minister of foreign affairs, is insisting this is not a simple one-sided problem, "that Mr. Zelaya was a highly polarizing figure who clashed with the Supreme Court, Congress and army. There has to be an appreciation of the events that led up to the coup."

Canada will not lift a finger to get Zelaya reinstated, no matter how many phone calls and emails we send to Kent.

Wed, 2009-07-08 16:40

Unionist

What about Snert's point - that we should support the military dictatorship so that that the Honduran people don't starve? It's a wonderful idea, so very humanitarian.

Wed, 2009-07-08 16:51

Snert

I'm not at all suggesting that we should continue military aid, and I pointed out that it would appear that we're talking about both military and non-military aid.

If you're pretty certain the petition is ONLY to stop military aid then I stand corrected, but it really doesn't look that way to me. How are you reading the petition?

Wed, 2009-07-08 16:57

Unionist

I think we should stop all aid.

Wed, 2009-07-08 17:06

M. Spector M. Spector's picture

Quote:
Ottawa's hostility towards Zelaya is likely motivated by particular corporate interests and his support for the social transformation taking place across Latin America.

From 1996-2006 Canadian companies were the second-biggest investors in the Central American country. It is unlikely that Zelaya won brownie points from the large Canadian mining sector -- including Breakwater Resources, Yamana Gold and [url=http://rabble.ca/babble/international-news-and-politics/canadas-goldcorp... that are active in Honduras -- when he announced that no new mining concessions would be granted.

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