The Global Union representing workers in the garment and footwear industry has urged US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to take the strongest possible action against Honduras, including reviewing its trade links with the country, in order to force the defacto government to resolve the crisis and allow the return of President Zelaya.
Says Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the Brussels-based International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation: “Three and a half months after the coup, there appears to be no progress on returning President Zelaya to power. Fourteen opponents of the coup have been murdered and a clampdown on civil liberties has resulted in mass arbitrary arrests, the physical abuse of journalists, the closure of independent media outlets and severe limitations on the right of assembly.
“Demonstrators who took to the streets after President Zelaya returned to Honduras in September were beaten by police and several hundred were detained in unauthorised detention centres. Many were reported to be held in soccer stadiums, evoking Chile in 1973. Amnesty International has reported that detainees openly opposing the defacto government have been subjected to ill-treatment.
“Two media outlets, Radio Globo and the Canal 36 TV station have been closed since 28 September. The order was verbally revoked on 5 October but Honduran security forces continue to hold their equipment, and both remain closed.
“The curfew imposed following President Zelaya’s return has now been lifted but an emergency decree still allows the army and police to break up protests. The trade union movement has been living under a state of siege, prevented from holding public meetings of more than five people.
“An example of the impossibility of maintaining decent work in an undemocratic and unlawful state occurred late last month when workers in the garment export industry in San Pedro Sula were forced to work for two days without pay to make up for the days lost during the 48-hour curfew. With the trade union movement unable to operate freely and the Minstry of Labour remaining silent, the majority of workers, who earn wages below subsistence level, had no choice but to work for no pay.
“The situation in Honduras is totally unacceptable and the US government must take the strongest possible action in order to force a resolution to the crisis”, concluded Mr. Kearney.
