Workers Uniting condemns military coup in Honduras
2 July 2009
Union urges suspension
of all military aid
Workers Uniting, the international union, has condemned the
military coup that has resulted in the illegal ousting of
democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya. Workers Uniting has
issued the attached statement condemning this coup d’etat (the full
statement can be viewed in notes to editors).
Workers Uniting is comprised of the North American based
United Steelworkers (USW) and UK-based Unite the union (Unite) and
representing 3.5 million workers, stands in solidarity with our
fellow unions in Honduras, including the Unitary Central of
Honduran Workers (CUTH), the Confederation of Honduran Workers
(CTH) and the General Workers Central (CGT), as well as with the
Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), in condemning the
military coup.
“This coup represents a huge step backward for this Hemisphere
and simply cannot be tolerated" said USW International President
Leo W. Gerard. “We call upon the U.S. government to take all
peaceful steps, including the withdrawal of all assistance to the
military which carried out this coup, to ensure the safe return of
President Zelaya to Honduras and to his rightful place as
President.”
Ken Neumann, the USW Canadian National Director said, “We are
shocked by the violent and unlawful seizure of power by the
military in Honduras and unite with those around the world calling
for the peaceful return of constitutional democracy and civilian
rule to that country. This can only be accomplished by the
return of President Zelaya without conditions.”
“We condemn the violent retribution, including tear gassing and
arrests, carried out by the Honduran military against the thousands
of people from civil society organizations, including trade unions,
who assembled to demand that democratic order be restored and the
president returned” stated Unite joint general secretary Derek
Simpson.
Workers Uniting calls upon the United Nations, Organization of
American States and the U.S., Canada, UK and Ireland to take all
measures within their diplomatic powers to ensure that all Honduran
civilians, and particularly trade unionists and social activists
denouncing the coup, are safe and secure and will not be victimized
by violence and repression.
“This is a critical moment in the history of Latin America,”
said Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite. “We cannot
return to a time when military coups were common-place events in
the region.
“The only way to ensure that we will not return to this
time is for people of good will around the world to stand with the
working people of Honduras in calling for a return of President
Zelaya to power, and for the Honduran military to respect the human
rights of those protesting against the illegal coup,” Woodley
added.
- Ends –
For more information contact: Dan Kovalik (US) 412-335-6442,
Saba Mozakka (UK) +447768 693 953
- Notes to editors -
The official statement is below:
Workers Uniting Statement Condemning Coup in
Honduras
Workers Uniting, representing 3.5 million workers in North
America, the UK and Ireland, unequivocally condemns the military
coup and kidnapping of the democratically elected President of
Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. President Zelaya was working to free
his country from decades of hunger and poverty until he was
abruptly thwarted in these efforts by the Honduran
military.
This military coup is an illegal attempt to use armed force to
overturn the course of democracy and social progress chosen by the
Honduran people at the polls, and we call upon the nations of the
world, and especially the U.S., UK and Canada, to officially
declare the seizure of power by the military in Honduras a
“military coup” and to act accordingly. In the case of the
U.S., this means withholding all military assistance unless and
until President Zelaya is returned to power.
Meanwhile, the military and coup conspirators are trying to
suppress popular demonstrations by unions and other social groups
by violence and arrests; are illegally shutting down critical news
outlets; establishing a blanket military presence and setting
illegal curfews. We condemn these acts as well, and call upon
the Honduran military to respect the human rights of all, including
those demonstrating for a peaceful return to civilian and
constitutional rule.
We join the OAS and UN in condemning the military seizure of
power in Honduras as a giant step backward for the Western
Hemisphere, and an act which simply cannot be
tolerated. We therefore call upon our respective
governments to take all peaceful, diplomatic measures to ensure the
return of President Zelaya to his rightful place as President of
Honduras. We further support the efforts of the OAS, UN and
other Latin American leaders to accompany President Zelaya back to
Honduras on Thursday, July 2, 2009, and call upon others to join
them in this effort.
Leo W. Gerard, USW International President
Ken Neumann, USW Canadian National Director
Derek Simpson, Unite the Union Joint General Secretary
Tony Woodley, United the Union Joint General Secretary
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