If It Walks and Talks Like a Coup …

The Honduran military may have the best democratic intentions for the country, but their brutality in defence of an unfair constitution cannot be justified.

It’s a strange thing about militaries, the further you are from them, the gentler they look. When they have you in their sights, however, there is nothing tame about them. Poverty and social inequity behave the same way. They may seem manageable from afar, but they are not so cuddly up close. Especially when both unfold together, as they do, in a coup in Honduras.

Last week at The Mark, David Mader suggested that we shouldn’t call the events in Honduras a coup because it falls outside of the Oxford Dictionary’s definitions. But it looks like a coup, acts like a coup, and smells like a coup.

But let’s consider the broad picture in Honduras, the hemisphere’s third poorest country with its democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya tossed out by the military. The country has 75 per cent of the rural population living below the poverty line, no democratically elected head of state, four out of five children suffering from chronic hunger, closed radio and television stations, one out of 38 who won’t see their fifth birthday, suspension of individual rights, 12 per cent of all deaths under five caused by diarrhoea, and no assigned government office that one could complain to about it all.

For Honduras, a country ripe with social inequality, a discussion of democracy cannot be divorced from dialogue on social justice. From this point of view, from the point of view of the 32 per cent of the population who cannot read or the 20 per cent who are under-nourished, the Honduran constitution forgot all about them. And for the 11 social activists who have been killed since the June 28 coup by authorities determined to keep that constitution in place, their opinions were more inconvenient than they were important.

Mr. Mader and I agree that the military measures are unwise and unnecessary. However, Mr. Mader supports the unfolding process, because there are no intentions to impose a military government. Even if the golpistas wanted to establish a prize-winning example of Modern Democracy, their actions, and the reasons for their actions, are not justified.

We cannot grow accustomed to militaries acting as the agents that uphold constitutional order by squashing protests and social movements. Nor can we continue to gaze at democracy as solely a product of the ballot. It’s very good of Mr. Mader to offer to support improved public transport to get Hondurans to the ballot box at election time, but bringing democracy to Honduras will take much more than that.

The activism and social mobilization that continues in the streets of Tegucigalpa is not a descent into revolution or chaos. It is a passionate expression of the voice of the people, and a foundation for a healthy democracy. Indeed, for Honduras a just constitution would see the creation of institutions that would normatively embrace popular will, and not need to lean on military authority.

Let’s not forget when the Honduran constitution was put together: in 1982. Sure, there have been amendments throughout the years, but the origin of this document stems from an era when Honduras received more military aid than development assistance. It was a time when the country lost control of its economic resources, while allowing a U.S. presence in the country to wage the Contra War against Nicaragua.

Now, let’s be clear. The current crisis is not a repeat of the Ronald McReaganism that waged war in Central America in the 1980s, but it is important to understand the context in which the constitution was established; in an era that had little interest in meeting the needs of the poor and vulnerable.

We should also not forget that military authority is ugly business. People tend to get dead when militaries take to the streets. Mr. Mader correctly pointed out that I didn’t include any sources in a previous submission to The Mark that painted a “disturbing picture” of Honduran society. Fair enough. So I will include them now.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have not said much since early July, but El Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH) has said plenty. They have registered 11 direct deaths from bullets and military violence. Some were shot through the eye. Others didn’t even see it coming. There are also questions around the attempted assassination of UD party candidate, and Zelaya supporter, Fabio Evelio Ochoa before the coup. On June 23, armed assassins fired 27 bullets at Ochoa. Five hit him but he pulled through.

The army has ordered the arrest of social leaders like Dr. Luther Castillo, who established a community health centre in the Garifuna region. Other social leaders in Honduras have reported threats and intimidations as well, for which COFADEH has taken account.

Nine radio and television stations have been ordered to stop broadcasting. Two hundred soldiers have surrounded the small community of Guadalupe Carney in Trujillo. They’re not there for good company and conversation, as much as they are to quell any “social unrest” before it spreads to the capital.

Those are the direct actions. What about the indirect ones? Now that the interim government has threatened to take control of Dr. Castillo’s clinic, fire the staff, and cut off incoming supplies, what will become of persons who desperately need medical attention and care? And consider food security? Has the military or the interim government done much to ensure that food and medicines make it to those in need during this time of economic isolation? Nope.

I hope that considering this, Mr. Mader would join me to condemn the regime.