Action Alert – Support Democracy in Honduras

July 24, 2009

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In a show of solidarity with Honduran Feminists in Resistance, women throughout the Americas are mobilizing to pressure the US government and international organizations to take a stronger stand against the June 28 coup in Honduras.

On July 22nd, Nobel Women’s Initiative partners Just Associates (JASS), Las Petateras, Feminist International Radio Endeavor (FIRE), and other feminist allies organized and participated in simultaneous demonstrations in front of U.S. government institutions throughout the Americas demanding the Obama administration firmly condemn the coup and demand the reinstatement of the democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya.

Rallies took place in 10 cities including Tegucigalpa, Honduras, San Jose, Costa Rica, Mexico City, and Washington, DC.

U.S.-backed talks led by Nobel Peace Laureate and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias broke down last week when argentina_embassy_1 Honduras’ interim government said it won’t allow the ousted President Zelaya to return as president under any circumstances. It has vowed to arrest him if he sets foot in his homeland on four charges of violating the constitution.

Zelaya made a brief, symbolic trip a few yards into Honduran territory on July 24th. The Honduran military thwarted Zelaya’s first attempt to return home July 5th by blocking his airplane from landing at the airport in the capital, Tegucigalpa. Zelaya has encamped his government-in-exile in a Nicaraguan mountain town near the Honduran border to launch his return to power.

The Nobel Women’s Initiative stands in solidarity with Honduran Feminists in Resistance and their allies around the world to call on the Obama Administration to stand firm against the coup in Honduras and on the side of democracy and the rule of law.

“No one owes allegiance to an usurping government nor those who assume public office via force of arms or utilizing means and procedures that violate or circumvent what is in the Constitution and established by law. The acts taken by such authorities are null. The people have the right to recur to insurrection in order to defend the constitutional order.” ~ Honduran Constitution, Article 3

TAKE ACTION

Organize or attend a rally in your local area.

Read & share the Demands of Feminists in Resistance from Honduras with your family, friends, and colleagues.

Send a letter to your elected representative using our sample letter or write your own.

Pressure local, national and international media to bring awareness to the situation of violence in opposition to the coup in Honduras.

Continue to spread awareness to anyone and everyone in creative ways, including art, to garner as much international support and attention as possible.