Rally in Support of the People of Honduras and Haiti
Wednesday, January 27th, 6 P.M.
Percival Landing, 4th and Water, Olympia
For more info on what you can do, call Peter Bohmer, 867-6431; email, bohmerp@evergreen.edu,
This Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 there are two major protests in Honduras against the illegitimate inauguration as President of Porfirio Lobo and smaller protests throughout Latin America and the United States. In Olympia, we are rallying with our sisters and brothers in the Americas in support of the people of Honduras and Haiti.
Last June 28th, a military coup overthrew the democratically elected President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. No country in the world has recognized the government of the Honduran elites. Working with the growing social movements in Honduras, Zelaya had raised the minimum wage, made education free, had joined the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) and had called for a referendum on whether a new constitution should be written by the people beginning in 2010. For this, he was overthrown. The leaders of the military coup organized an election on November 29th, 2009 that the large majority of the population did not take part in and the major unions, student groups, community organizations and women’s groups boycotted. The protests in Honduras and ours in Olympia are calling for the non-recognition of the government that will try to take power, today, Jan. 27th; and for the restoration of Zelaya as President of Honduras in order to organize fair elections and a referendum on whether there should be a popular assembly to propose a new constitution. Although victims of assassinations and major repression, the National Resistance Front of Honduras, which is organized throughout Honduras and consists of 40 organizations that are leading the protests there today, and have organized protests of millions of Hondurans. We call for the end of repression against them.
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake has recently struck Haiti and put this country already in crisis into further turmoil. The people of Haiti have long been disadvantaged by extreme inequality, lack of available public services, exploitative neoliberal policies, and the U.S. sponsored coup government. The U.S. has sent 12,000 troops in response to the earthquake. We want to ensure these troops are there to support the people of Haiti and not there for permanent military occupation. We call for support of the Haitian people, by giving generously to groups such as Partners in Health, http://www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti, who are effectively delivering health care in an efficient and respectful manner.
Come join us this Wed. January 27th at 6 P.M. at Percival Landing, downtown Olympia!
We stand in solidarity with the people of Honduras and Haiti and their popular movements such as the National Resistance Front of Honduras.
We call for the U.S. to not recognize the illegal and illegitimate inauguration in Honduras of Porfirio Lobo and to not support it.
We call for the U.S. to close its large military base in Honduras, Palmerola.
We support the call by the National Resistance Front of Honduras for a Constitutional Assembly to restore and deepen democracy and economic and social justice there.
We call for much more U.S. government aid to go to the people of Haiti with no strings attached!