We heard about a music festival, with artists from across Latin America, organised in protest against the military coup in Honduras. It sounded like fun and we wanted to find out more about the situation there so we set off with a group of friends representing Nicaragua, the UK, the US, Taiwan, China and Sierra Leone, in solidarity with the Honduran people.Briefly, for those interested but uninformed, on June 28th the Honduran military arrested the president, Manuel 'Mel' Zelaya, sent him off in his pyjamas to Costa Rica, and won't let him go back. From outside, it is hard to know what to think as huge sums of money are being spent by unknown big businesses to pay for lobbyists and to ensure media coverage is scewed. It has been implied that Zelaya wants to be 'another Chavez' (which might not actually be such a bad thing in the eyes of people who can see beyond a strongly pro-capitalist western media) and that he was ousted because he was illegally looking to be re-elected. That angle, which was accepted by mainstream media, is a huge exageration and distortion of the truth. In fact Zelaya is a moderate reformist who was asking for the country's opinion on future amendments to the constitution which was written in 1982 by the military and could not possibly have allowed him to stand in the elections this coming November. The main reasons for the coup are of course money and very rich people, as is the case with nearly all state coups. Zelaya wanted some state ownership in a totally right-wing owned media and importantly, he achieved a significant increase in the basic wage (can't find hard figures but around $5 per day). In 2005 the president of Haiti was overthrown for supporting an increase in the minimum wage. Since then the military have assumed power (illegally) and looked to control opposition to the leadership by shutting down media, removing freedom of speech, resricting movement in the country and violently disrupting peaceful protests. Of course, the lobbying happens in the United States which is where all the trade flows on the back of a poorly paid workforce. And while Obama speaks out in support of democracy, Hilary Clinton bad-mouths Zelaya, US aid continues to flow and the US military happily carry on as normal in their Honduran bases.
Enough with the politics for now; this is what we got up to in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, last Sunday.
It was nearly a six hour journey each way from Leon in the north of Nicaragua to Tegucigalpa but it's not too arduous when travelling in the back of a pick-up though some lovely scenery from the coastal flats, past great volcanoes and up into forrested hills.
We were half expecting to be turned back at the border or at one of the military checkpoints on the Honduran main roads, so were pleasantly surprised to make it all the way to the capital and find a well-organised festival underway on a sports field of the University (which importantly is autonomous from the government).
The festival was flying under the banner of Voices against the Coup.
There was already a healthy crowd around by early afternoon, despite the fact that poorer people from outside the capital cannot travel in the country and an increasing fear of the police and military. Luckily, this peaceful protest had been allowed to go ahead, although radio coverage of the event was pulled halfway through.
No festival is complete without a bit of merchandising. This man had optimistically turned up with leather hats, Honduran flags and some random ankle supports- presumably just because he had some lying around in a box at home, rather than specifically targeting people injured by military beatings.
There was lots of talking to be done with the good people of Honduras. In the middle of things in this picture are 2 Rachels, Nick and Albert, making connections and getting the low-down. Several spokespersons for the movement against the coup are dotted about, and on the right is a man with a mightily impressive belly. Apart from news of human rights violations, there were more positive messages also. Mant citizens of Honduras have been fairly docile for years, happy to believe what they were told in the media, but now realise they have been reading gross lies compared to what they have witnessed with their own eyes, and it's leading towards a new age of awareness. As was very evident at the festival, the middle classes are joining the movement against the coup in great numbers as the truth becomes obvious that Zelaya was representing the majority while the current leadership serves only a very small and very rich majority.
Umbrella-ella-ella. Not Rhiana and no sign of rain either, but there was plenty of fierce sun to be avoided.
A more impressive merchandising venture was offered by students. Rachel joined hundreds of others in buying her blank t-shirt from a big pile for about £1.30 and then taking it to be silk-screen printed right there and then with a fetching design.
Voila! A blury t-shirt. Actually a blury photo of a clear t-shirt- it must be pointed out that our photos were mostly taken on my phone as we didn't risk taking our camera in case it was confiscated and that it was accidently on low-resolution. Some of the better pictures were taken by friends..
The crowds built up and everything passed smoothly. There were some good bands so we managed a bit of a dance, mainly to professional, traditional folk groups in the afternoon. There were also some inspiring speeches, which Rachel had to mostly translate for me, and an impressive turn on guitar by Zelaya's daughter. As the evening drew in, the crowd were also addressed by the man himself, desposed president Zelaya, by a telephone link facilitated by the radio station, which may well have been the moment the transmissions were pulled.
We had an enjoyable and fascinating day out and were sad to be leaving while the concert was still in full flow, although the Argentinean hard rock band that were hitting the stage were not quite to our taste. Still, a six hour journey awaited, which again passed painlessly, with a clear starry night, some singing and a good splash of rum.
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