sábado, 2 de diciembre de 2017

ODECO PRESS RELEASE BEFORE THE LAST EVENTS SUSTAINED IN HONDURAS

Emergency Press Release


The Community Ethnic Development Organization (ODECO, by its Spanish acronym) exercising the right to free expression of thought guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Honduras, upon observing the development of the electoral process on November 26, in which over half of the population of the entire country came together decidedly, enthusiastically and patriotically to exercise their legitimate right to suffrage, showing a clear capacity for civic discernment and maturity, and thinking that they found themselves facing a true electoral celebration to elect the people in whom they had placed their trust and who would take on the public duties for which they were elected with honesty, wisdom, uprightness and commitment to the destinies of the Honduran people, worthy of better opportunities and yearning for a future where the rule of law is respected, where there is equality of opportunity for men and women regardless of social class, ethnic or religious origin, political party or other social conditions, that far from dividing Honduranness, should form a part of the strengths that enrich the all well-formed and God- and rights-respecting nations, we feel it is our institutional duty to communicate to the Honduran people, to the Garifuna and Indigenous and Afrohonduran communities in general, to human rights defense organizations, to finance organizations and to international cooperation, the following:

That under the all-too-abused Constitution of the Republic, Honduras is established as a country constituted as a republic, free, democratic and independent to ensure its inhabitants the enjoyment of justice, liberty and economic and social wellbeing; but under the current circumstances and over the course of the post-electoral events, a climate of social and political instability has been created that eats away at the pillars of popular sovereignty expressed in the multiple protests rejecting the actions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal that has maintained an unprofessional attitude and has not guaranteed the pure and perfect democracy wished for by Hondurans who have been waiting anxiously since 7:00 p.m. of Sunday the 26th of November for the results of the presidential vote, which remains in the air even now, and who wait expectantly in the streets hoping that there be respect and a declaration at once for all of who will be the leader who will rule the destinies of the Honduran nation for the next four years.

We denounce that, despite the use of information and communications technology in the electoral process, Hondurans inside and outside the country do not know the results, which feeds the suspicion that we may be confronting a GRAND ELECTORAL FRAUD.

We demand of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal sufficient guarantees of transparency in the counting of votes, as well as promptness in making known the decision of the people as expressed at the ballot boxes through their votes, which is something that should be done without further delay, if we wish for democracy to continue being the pathway to dialogue and the building of sustainable processes of national consensus, as a mechanism to avoid a lack of trust in the authority of the Tribunal and other agencies to guarantee respect for the elections.

ODECO joins the collective call for transparency, the struggle against institutionalized corruption, and demands that the Tribunal take a posture that demonstrates its commitment to Honduras, avoiding a deepening of polarization, the confrontations that stain the streets of our country with blood, results of the irresponsibility of some officials who have found their modus vivendi in government at the expense of the dignity and life of people impoverished by the lack of effective public policies that seek to reduce poverty, marginalization, exclusion and racism in any and all of its historic and current manifestations.

We call on the international community to pay attention and act in solidarity with the Honduran People, strengthening the mechanisms of oversight and social supervision in this stage of the process in order to strengthen democracy in Honduras.

We alert the Honduran people to remain poised for the struggle to defend democracy, their fundamental rights, and the votes they placed in the ballot boxes, and to not allow the will of the few to go before the will of the sovereign Honduran people. We must defend the legacy of our Ancestors and the Forefathers of the Homeland. We must continue our struggle and our resistance for a better country where justice, peace and common welfare reign, where government is for the majority and there is a state of respect for rights that offers and guarantees citizen and legal security.

We condemn the sacking and vandalism of which some private and public businesses have been the object in various parts of the country, since that does not contribute to peaceful protest.

We declare ourselves in permanent session to make known our position throughout the course of the events.

In memory of Lempira, Morazán, Walumugu and Celeo Alvarez Casildo, we carry on the fight.


ODECO CENTRAL DIRECTIVE COMMITTEE



WE SEEK THE VOICES THAT END THE SILENCE…