It was the 107th day of resistance against the coup regime in Honduras: on Monday, the "Resistencia" organized a rally in the neighborhood of Kennedy in the capital Tegucigalpa. Because of the massive presence of police and soldiers, the roughly 400 demonstrators were forced to remain on the sidewalk. But they remained combative. They not only demanded the return of the deposed President Manuel Zelaya but also the convening of a constituent assembly to replace the constitution of 1982, which the coup-makers claim to base themselves on.
The state of emergency that began on September 28 isn't over yet yet, despite reports to the contrary: Even though the coup President Roberto Micheletti announced the annulment of the decree last week, that announcement has not been published in the government gazette and is therefore not in force - supposedly there are ongoing printing problems. The prohibition of assemblies contained in the decree was used by the police as a pretext to dissolve the rally in Kennedy at 12 o'clock.
Since the state of emergency began, the resistance has not been able to mobilize much more than its hard core of several hundred activists. In the population, of whom up to 75% continue to reject the dictatorship, there is a mixture of fear and fatigue. The leadership of the resistance calls for protests every day, but this rhythm is simply impossible for working people. Above all, it is clear that these daily, peaceful protests are aimed at building pressure for negotiations between the coup-makers and Zelaya - people who want to overthrow the coup regime, need very different other forms of resistance.
Against this backdrop, the resistance has moved into the neighborhoods. Also on Monday, there were demonstrations at 8 o'clock in the evening in the different neighborhoods. For example, in Villa Adela in the west of the capital, about 200 people gathered and shouted: "If there is no solution, then there will be a revolution!" The people, including many children and young people, made a lot of noise with trumpets, pots and plastic bottles. (At the same time, there were also demonstrations in different neighborhoods: for example in the neighborhood of Pedregal in the south, over 1,000 people demonstrated in the evening. But because of the ongoing censorship, it is very difficult to get an overview.)
"For a week we have had a demonstration like this every evening," said Berta Dimo, a nurse from the district. The police arrived with pickup trucks and motorcycles, but limited themselves to driving behind the demonstration. "Sometimes they shoot into the air, but they still haven't dared to attack our rallies," said Jorge Hernandez, a student. "But in other neighborhoods, they have fired into the crowd. It is impressive that the people here have no fear," he continued.
On Tuesday, another round in the "Guaymara dialogue" between the coup regime and the deposed President Zelaya began. Representatives of both sides asserted that 60 or 70% of points had already been clarified. But Juan Barahona, who is sitting in the negotiating team of Zelaya but sees himself as a representative of the "Resistencia", commented to the press: "We have not even talked about the main point, the reinstatement of the president. So this dialogue is still at zero."
Zelaya has set a deadline for October 15 (this Thursday) for an outcome of the dialogue. The coup-makers are only playing for time before their elections on November 29. It is not clear whether the two sides will decide to extend the dialogue or whether they will declare it to have failed, in which case the slogan of the demonstrators in Villa Adela could be translated into reality: if the coup-makers continue to reject any concession, tens of thousands of people could go back onto the streets, such as happened in July and September. Because even a bourgeois politician and son of the oligarchy like Zelaya, who fears nothing more than a mass movement, must sometimes call forth large movements of the oppressed to save his own skin.
The so-called "international community" - ie, the imperialist powers that have dominated Honduras for centuries - and Zelaya want a negotiated solution at any price. "Mel" is prepared to make pretty much any concession to the coup-makers as long as he can return to power. This leads to discontent among the activists of "Resistencia", which will "not for a minute renounce the demand for a Constituent Assembly" (according to their spokesman).
Unfortunately, the base activists have no structures with which they can articulate their demands. The leadership of the resistance front is in the hands of a clique of trade union bureaucrats who are are pretty close to Zelaya and share his strategy of "dialogue". In this situation, Zelaya has, from the Brazilian embassy, an uncontested leadership position: The protesters on the streets love him, even if he holds back their protests. In order for this situation to change, the resistance needs to organize itself via assemblies in the neighborhoods, workplaces, schools and universities to develop an alternative, democratic leadership and finally drive out the copyists with a general strike.
by Wladek Flakin, Tegucigalpa, 12 October 2009 - independent youth organization REVOLUTION - www.onesolutionrevolution.org
Photos from the morning (Kennedy):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onesolutionrevolution/sets/72157622454717973/
Photos from the evening (Villa Adela): http://www.flickr.com/photos/onesolutionrevolution/sets/72157622386226255/
Two short video clips from the evening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p28VCOp1aYc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzrJQazA5TI
The state of emergency that began on September 28 isn't over yet yet, despite reports to the contrary: Even though the coup President Roberto Micheletti announced the annulment of the decree last week, that announcement has not been published in the government gazette and is therefore not in force - supposedly there are ongoing printing problems. The prohibition of assemblies contained in the decree was used by the police as a pretext to dissolve the rally in Kennedy at 12 o'clock.
Since the state of emergency began, the resistance has not been able to mobilize much more than its hard core of several hundred activists. In the population, of whom up to 75% continue to reject the dictatorship, there is a mixture of fear and fatigue. The leadership of the resistance calls for protests every day, but this rhythm is simply impossible for working people. Above all, it is clear that these daily, peaceful protests are aimed at building pressure for negotiations between the coup-makers and Zelaya - people who want to overthrow the coup regime, need very different other forms of resistance.
Against this backdrop, the resistance has moved into the neighborhoods. Also on Monday, there were demonstrations at 8 o'clock in the evening in the different neighborhoods. For example, in Villa Adela in the west of the capital, about 200 people gathered and shouted: "If there is no solution, then there will be a revolution!" The people, including many children and young people, made a lot of noise with trumpets, pots and plastic bottles. (At the same time, there were also demonstrations in different neighborhoods: for example in the neighborhood of Pedregal in the south, over 1,000 people demonstrated in the evening. But because of the ongoing censorship, it is very difficult to get an overview.)
"For a week we have had a demonstration like this every evening," said Berta Dimo, a nurse from the district. The police arrived with pickup trucks and motorcycles, but limited themselves to driving behind the demonstration. "Sometimes they shoot into the air, but they still haven't dared to attack our rallies," said Jorge Hernandez, a student. "But in other neighborhoods, they have fired into the crowd. It is impressive that the people here have no fear," he continued.
On Tuesday, another round in the "Guaymara dialogue" between the coup regime and the deposed President Zelaya began. Representatives of both sides asserted that 60 or 70% of points had already been clarified. But Juan Barahona, who is sitting in the negotiating team of Zelaya but sees himself as a representative of the "Resistencia", commented to the press: "We have not even talked about the main point, the reinstatement of the president. So this dialogue is still at zero."
Zelaya has set a deadline for October 15 (this Thursday) for an outcome of the dialogue. The coup-makers are only playing for time before their elections on November 29. It is not clear whether the two sides will decide to extend the dialogue or whether they will declare it to have failed, in which case the slogan of the demonstrators in Villa Adela could be translated into reality: if the coup-makers continue to reject any concession, tens of thousands of people could go back onto the streets, such as happened in July and September. Because even a bourgeois politician and son of the oligarchy like Zelaya, who fears nothing more than a mass movement, must sometimes call forth large movements of the oppressed to save his own skin.
The so-called "international community" - ie, the imperialist powers that have dominated Honduras for centuries - and Zelaya want a negotiated solution at any price. "Mel" is prepared to make pretty much any concession to the coup-makers as long as he can return to power. This leads to discontent among the activists of "Resistencia", which will "not for a minute renounce the demand for a Constituent Assembly" (according to their spokesman).
Unfortunately, the base activists have no structures with which they can articulate their demands. The leadership of the resistance front is in the hands of a clique of trade union bureaucrats who are are pretty close to Zelaya and share his strategy of "dialogue". In this situation, Zelaya has, from the Brazilian embassy, an uncontested leadership position: The protesters on the streets love him, even if he holds back their protests. In order for this situation to change, the resistance needs to organize itself via assemblies in the neighborhoods, workplaces, schools and universities to develop an alternative, democratic leadership and finally drive out the copyists with a general strike.
by Wladek Flakin, Tegucigalpa, 12 October 2009 - independent youth organization REVOLUTION - www.onesolutionrevolution.org
Photos from the morning (Kennedy):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onesolutionrevolution/sets/72157622454717973/ Photos from the evening (Villa Adela):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onesolutionrevolution/sets/72157622386226255/ Two short video clips from the evening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p28VCOp1aYc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzrJQazA5TI
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