From: Melissa Schweisguth (melissa@globalexchange.org)
Date: Thu Aug 22 2002 - 21:03:51 EDT
Thanks to all who contacted the embassy about this- your letters count!!
Melissa Schweisguth
Fair Trade Coordinator, Global Exchange
------ Forwarded Message
From: "Embassy of Honduras" <embassy@hondurasemb.org>
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 17:43:28 -0400
To: <melissa@globalexchange.org>
Subject: Re: Please protect the human rights and economic stability of
The Embassy of Honduras acknowledges receipt of your message dated, August
15, 2002.
Due to the regrettable incident between coffee producers (affiliated to the
National Association of Coffee Producers, ANACAFE, and the Central of
Honduran Coffee Producers) and members of the National Police that took
place on Tuesday August 13, 2002, attached please find the original press
release in Spanish from the Presidency of the Republic of Honduras, with the
proper translation. In addition, all detainees were freed ever since August
14th.
The Republic of Honduras reiterates to the world that the".National Police,
as in any other country, complied with its legal duty to maintain public
order and to preserve the right of free traffic of goods and people as
established in the Constitution of the Republic and the secondary laws of
the State. Furthermore, the " government.respects the individual guarantees
to which every person has a right, just as those who were arrested."
Should you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us by
phone, 202 966 7702, fax, 202 966 9751, email embassy@hondurasemb.org.
Thank you for your time and interested in Honduras
Ramon Custodio
Minister for Political Affairs
Embassy of Honduras
3007 Tilden Street NW POD-4M
Washington DC 20016
Tel. 202 966 7702
Fax 202 966 9751
e-mail: embassy@hondurasemb.org
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 13:16:37 -0700
Subject: Please protect the human rights and economic stability of
Honduran coffee farmers
From: Melissa Schweisguth <melissa@globalexchange.org>
To: <embassy@hondurasemb.org>
Message-ID: <B982ABB5.AFF8%melissa@globalexchange.org>
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Status:
Embassy of Honduras
3007 Tilden Street, NW
Suite 4M
Washington, DC 20008
Fax: (202) 966-9751
16 August 2002
Dear Ambassador,
I am writing from Global Exchange, an international human rights
organization, to express concern that more than 500 Honduran coffee growers
were arrested and 24 were injured on 13 August in El Zamorano, and to ask
that you ensure that this situation is handled with justice. The coffee
farmers, representing over 110,000 coffee growers in Honduras, were en rout=
e
to Tegucigalpa to demand that the government make good on promises of $20
million in interest-free loans to Honduran coffee growers.
The farmers, traveling by bus, were blockaded by police in El Zamorano. As
the farmers attempted to get through the blockade, they were violently
attacked with tear gas. The police have alleged that the farmers threw
rocks at them, but this has not been substantiated.
=20
Global Exchange is concerned for three main reasons. First, as you must
know, coffee farmers are in the midst of a severe crisis, facing dire
poverty, starvation, and loss of their lands. They are in desperate need o=
f
the financial assistance promised by your government. Second, the actions
of the Honduran authorities violated rights guaranteed by the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by the government of Honduras. The
blockade set up by the police violated the farmers=B9 rights of expression
(Article 19), peaceful assembly (Article 20), and movement within their
country (Article 13). The government=B9s retraction of the promised
interest-free loans would violate the farmers=B9 right to an adequate
standar=
d
of living (Article 25). Third, it is not yet clear whether the strong
actions taken by the police were warranted and whether the arrests were
appropriate. Until this is determined, we cannot be sure that the
farmers=B9
rights regarding inhuman/degrading punishment (Article 5) and arbitrary
arrest (Article 9) have been upheld as specified in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
As such, Global Exchange is asking that the Honduran government take the
following actions:
1) Undertake a full investigation to determine why the blockade was
instituted and whether it was indeed a violation of the farmers=B9 rights of
expression, peaceful assembly, and movement within their country.
2) Undertake a full investigation of the police=B9s actions to determine
whether they were warranted, and then censure police staff as necessary.
3) Undertake a full investigation to determine whether the arrests were
warranted and ensure that every farmer receives a fair and impartial trial
with valid charges.
4) Promptly provide Honduran coffee farmers with the loans as promised:
totaling $20 million and bearing no interest. Reinstating the loans would
allow the government to support the right to an adequate standard of living=
..
5) Ensure that the rights to peaceful expression are preserved in Honduras.
I await a reply regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Melissa Schweisguth, Fair Trade Coordinator
Global Exchange
melissa@globalexchange.org
415.575.5538
415.255.7498 fax
2017 Mission Street #303, San Francisco, CA 94110
http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/coffee
http://www.globalexchange.org/cocoa
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