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Demand Fair Reporting on Honduras

While the Obama administration's previous round of targeted sanctions demonstrated great promise in helping to reverse the coup in Honduras, the administration has since appeared to back down from its position of active support for the reinstatement of President Zelaya. This may be at least in part due to the outspoken opinions of a few Senators and Congressmen who wish to allow the coup to stand.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International released a report on August 19 documenting the extent of the suppression taking place.

One reason there hasn’t been more public pressure on the Obama Administration to continue to help Latin America reverse the coup is that repression in Honduras and opposition in the U.S. Congress have been under-reported in the U.S. press.

While the Miami Herald – a very influential newspaper in its reporting on U.S. policy in Latin America – and McClatchy News, the Herald's parent company, have reported on Congressional support for the coup, they haven't reported either of these key facts.

Could you urge the Miami Herald and McClatchy News to report on repression in Honduras since the coup and calls in Congress for the Obama Administration to take further measures against the coup regime?

Subject:

Your Letter:

To the editor:

In your reporting on Honduras, I urge you to take note of the repression  that has been perpetrated by the coup regime since the ouster of President Zelaya  and the opposition to the coup that exists among Members of the U.S. Congress.

Human rights observers and international media have documented the killings of at least ten people - mostly of supporters of ousted president Manuel Zelaya, and all apparently politically motivated - since the coup. [1] Amnesty International released a report on August 19 that shows the extent of police violence in suppressing opposition to the coup regime. [2]

This week, Rep. Raul Grijalva and 15 other Congressmen wrote to President Obama, asking him to speak up about the repression in Honduras, and to cancel U.S. visas and freeze U.S. bank accounts of leaders of the coup regime. [3]

Thank you for considering my request.

References:

1) “Obama Administration Should Demand an End to Coup Regime's Killings in Honduras, CEPR Co-Director Urges,” Center for Economic and Policy Research, August 13, 2009, http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/obama-administration-should-demand-an-end-to-coup-regimes-killings/. 
2) "Honduras Photos and Protestor Testimonies Show Extent of Police Violence", Amnesty International, Wednesday August 19, 2009, http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/Honduras-photos-and-protestor-testimonies-show-extent-of-police-violence-20090819
3) “Grijalva, Members of Congress call on President Obama to take further measures against Honduran coup regime,” Tuesday August 11, 2009, http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13§iontree=5,13&itemid=413

John Yearwood

World Editor, Miami Herald

Jim Asher

Foreign Desk, McClatchy News