Danger continues for Honduran protestors

[Judi Lynn]

Danger continues for Honduran protestors
By Rick Kearns, Today correspondent

Story Published: Jun 14, 2010

Many indigenous Hondurans and others who oppose the de facto government of Honduras are still in danger according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which conducted another series of interviews and investigations in the country from May 15 – 18. The IACHR has visited Honduras on three occasions after the forced removal of President Manuel Zelaya on June 28, 2009.

The new findings support its earlier observations and recent reports from indigenous rights and other human rights organizations.

“… the Commission expresses its deep concern over the continuation of human rights violations in the context of the coup d’état that took place in Honduras on June 28, 2009. Without prejudice to the progress made toward the restoration of democratic institutions, the IACHR and the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression have received information about the murders of a number of persons, including journalists and human rights defenders,” reads an IACHR press release issued May 19.

“The IACHR and the Office of the Special Rapporteur have expressed their deep concern over the absence of effective investigations that could lead to the clarification of these events. Without prejudice to the high rate of criminality that in general exists in Honduras, the IACHR believes that the complaints received could correspond to the same pattern of violence that the IACHR reported in ‘Honduras: Human Rights and the Coup d’État,’ published Jan. 20, 2010.”

In the January report, the IACHR found more evidence of severe human rights violations including murder, arbitrary detention, attacks on media equipment and journalists, harassment and rape, among other crimes. Among those who were targeted, as noted in the first report, were indigenous protestors. This assertion is repeated in the new findings.

“… the IACHR would like to state that human rights violations particularly affect those sectors of the population that have been marginalized historically and are most vulnerable, such as. … indigenous and Garifuna people,” according to the statement. The Garifuna are descendants of escaped African slaves and the indigenous Caliponan people.

More:
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/global/96138824.html