[URBANTH-L]Violence against Universities and Research Centers in
Honduras
Adrienne Pine
pine at american.edu
Tue Aug 11 11:48:47 EDT 2009
Dear Colleagues,
Following the military coup that ousted constitutional president
Manuel Zelaya on June 28th, 2009, the de facto regime has committed
countless violations of human rights, including assassinations,
torture, and disappearances. Facing near-universal international
condemnation as well as a growing internal movement of Hondurans
demanding democracy, the de facto regime has turned increasingly
repressive. On Wednesday, August 5th, riot police attacked students
peacefully protesting at the national university (UNAH) with teargas,
gunshots, and batons, and beat faculty and administrators who
attempted to negotiate, including Rector (Chancellor) Julieta
Castellanos. Pictures can be seen here: http://quotha.net/node/192
Please consider signing on to the below petition at http://honduraspetitionagainstviolence.blogspot.com/
Sincerely,
Adrienne Pine
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
American University
Friday, August 7, 2009
Petition Against Violence Directed at Universities and Research
Centers in Honduras
The undersigned, researchers, university faculty, administrators, and
students, from a wide range of US universities and institutions, write
to urgently ask the US government to sanction the de facto regime in
Honduras for escalated violence directed at our counterparts in
universities and research centers in Honduras.
Already we have seen deaths and unwarranted manhandling of respected
scholars. The violence initiated by police yesterday at the national
university in Tegucigalpa led directly to elevated confrontations with
students exercising free speech and engaging in civil disobedience,
confrontations endangering the wider community.
The responsibility for this violence rests directly with the de facto
regime, which a week ago declared an escalation in its already harsh
repression of civil rights.
Unfortunately, US foreign policy has failed to clearly indicate that
we condemn these repressive policies and has demonstrably emboldened
the de facto regime, discouraging supporters of democracy in Honduras
and the region.
We call on you to reassert US support for the rights of the people to
assemble, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech.
Our national interest in Central America is ill-served by mixed
messages that encourage authoritarian rule.
With the repression practiced on university students, we see the next
generation of potential leaders of Honduran civil society losing faith
in the US as a source of support, and we urge policy decisions to
consider wider interests, not the narrow and short-term goals that
appear to be dictating United States’ inactivity.
The signatories below represent the first wave of those endorsing this
appeal. Updated lists of signatures will be posted with the original
petition online. But the need for action is urgent, and we
respectfully ask for your intervention now.
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