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…
