HONDURAS UPDATE AUGUST 8 2009

HONDURAS UPDATE AUGUST 8 2009

1. MASS MARCHES CONVERGE ON SAN PEDRO SULA, TEGUCIGALPA. The Honduran resistance to the coup is increasing the pressure and activity on the eve of a visit of regional foreign ministers on Tuesday. The delegation of ministers, headed by OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza is going to Tegulcigalpa in a last ditch effort to get the Micheletti coup regime to see reason and accept the proposals for a settlement presented by Oscar Arias, President of Costa Rica. Large numbers of workers, farmers, students etc. are converging on Honduras’ two largest cities from all corners of the country.

2. HONDURAN RESISTANCE GROUPS REFUSE TO GIVE UP ON REFERENDUM IDEA. Resistance organizations are distancing themselves from the position of President Zelaya and criticizing the idea in the Arias proposals that the referendum to ask whether voters want to vote in November on a constitutional convention to be held in 2010 be abandoned. The efforts by Zelaya and his allies to carry out such a referendum were a major factor in setting off the coup on June 28, when the referendum was supposed to take place. Honduran peasant leader Rafael Alegria, of Via Campesina, told the Mexico City daily “La Jornada” that “We are not in agreement that in San Jose [Costa Rica] the giving up of a national constituent assembly be given up”. Labor leader Juan Barahona has on several occasions pointed out that the idea of an referendum and a mass assembly to re-do the constitutions came from the mass base, not Zelaya.

3. H RES 630: WHO TO GO AFTER TO GET MORE SIGN ONS. I have been saying that H RES 630 so far has attracted cosponsors mostly from the Progressive, Black and Hispanic Congressional caucuses, and that there is an urgent need to broaden this out. Actually a great many members of those three caucuses have not yet signed on, and certainly should be lobbied to do so. Here are some of them; please do all you can to contact them right away to ask them to become cosponsors. Congress is in recess so your best bet may be to try to reach them in their districts. Go to www.thomas.loc.gov for contact information.

Alabama: Arthur Davis

Arizona: Ed Pastor

California: Pete Stark, Henry Waxman, Xavier Becerra, Judy Chu, Dianne Watson, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Laura Richardson, Linda Sanchez, Joe Baca, Xavier Becerra, Jim Costa, Dennis Cardoza, Grace Napolitano, Mell Watt

Colorado: Jared Polis, John Salazar

Florida: Corrine Brown, Alan Grayson, Robert Wexler, Kenrick Meeks,

Georgia: Hank Johnson, David Scott

Illinois: Phil Hare

Indiana: Andre Carson

Iowa: Dave Loebsack

Maryland: Elijah Cummings

Minnesota: Keith Ellison

Mississippi: Bennie Thompson

Missouri: William Clay, Emmanuel Cleaver

New Jersey: Donald Payne
Frank Pallone

New Mexico: Ben Lujan

New York: Jerry Nadler, Yvette Clarke, Nydia Velazquez, Carolyn Maloney, Charles Rangel, John Hall, Louise Slaughter, Gregory Meeks,

North Carolina: Mel Watt, G.K. Butterfield, Edolphus Towns,

Ohio: Dennis Kucinich, Marcia Fudge

Oregon: Peter DeFazio

Tennessee: Steve Cohen

Texas: Eddie Bernice Johnson, Charles Gonzalez, Ruben Hinjosa, Henry Cuellar, Solomon Ortiz, Silvestre Reyes.

Vermont: Peter Welch

Virginia: Bobby Scott

Washington: Jim McDermott

Wisconson: Gwen Moore

Non voting: Donna Christensen, Eleanor Homes-Norton