GUE/NGL delegation in Honduras: "Effective pressure by the European Union is urgent"
"Effective pressure by the European Union on the de facto government of Honduras is urgent," said GUE/NGL Member of the European Parliament João Ferreira in Tegucigalpa. "This should include, for example, the suspension of trade facilities."
On Monday 24 August, the day a delegation from the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament arrived in Tegucigalpa, Jonathan Noé Castañada, a member of the youth section of the Democratic Unification Party, was assassinated not far from his home, thereby increasing further the list of this de facto government's victims. The day before, a commando of strongly armed and masked men damaged the antennae of Globo Radio and of the Television 36 channel, two of the rare media which did not censure the statements made by the opposition on the coup d'état.
"These violations of press freedom show that the de facto government of Honduras does not wish the events taking place in the country to be known and in particular the fact that two months after the coup d'état, resistance is not weakening," said GUE/NGL MEP João Ferreira, who considers that "Regarding the obstinate refusal of the de facto government to restore democratic legitimacy, the European Union should adopt effective means of pressure such as, for example, the suspension of the GSP+ trade facilities".
The GUE/NGL delegation went to Honduras to express its solidarity with the organisations opposing the coup d'état, and has collected extensive documentation from the various organisations and people on the ground on the current situation in the country. It has taken part in the daily marches organised by opponents of the coup d'état, which bring together thousands people in Tegucigalpa every day. The delegation has also met with members of the Front opposing the coup d'état, some progressive political parties, and other organisations opposed to the coup d'état.
The delegation also met the representative of the United Nations in Tegucigalpa to ask for explanations about participation of the UNDP programme in the organisation of the elections. In this connection and as opposition parties had already stated, MEP Ferreira declared: "The return of President Zelaya to power and the return to a state of law must be demanded. Moreover, no election can be considered valid if it is held in a situation in which repression, violations of human rights and violation of freedom of speech exists".