Sunday, February 19, 2012

Memorial to Comayagua prisoners

Grieving family members have created this memorial for their beloved brothers, husbands, sons who died in the Comayagua prison fire in Honduras. Families are waiting for the incinerated remains to be identified & believe the men were deliberately torched to death. “Justicia por todos los que murieron en la granja penal de Comayagua” written next to the red star means “Justice for all who died in the prison farm of Comayagua”. This is not just a memorial; in the words of the prisoners at Attica, it is the “the sound before the fury of those who are oppressed.” This memorial & this crime will come back to haunt the Honduran government & its US backers in the form of justicia. (Photo by Esteban Felix)
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7 comments:

  1. MaracatuFebruary 20, 2012 at 2:20 AM

    <span><span>The connection to land is a critical link to life for women and their families in the Aguan region of northern Honduras, but this right and many others are under violent siege by wealthy landowners, supported by heavily armed soldiers, police, and private security forces who are determined to confiscate the land. Women, who bear the brunt of caring for families under constant threats and attacks, are also active participants in the popular land movement by campesinos (small farmers) determined to resist and defend their rights.</span></span>

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  2. MaracatuFebruary 20, 2012 at 2:26 AM

    Although this isn't about Honduras, I'm posting it because it is a case where our two "worlds" intersect.  The following, by the way, is from a blogger who does not sympathize with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez:
    Over the past several years there have been persistent reports of nefarious Iranian schemes in Venezuela supposedly aided and abetted by President Chavez.(...)Why is some of the information about the Chavez regime that is coming from private sources in Washington, DC demonstrably or arguably false? Who or what is behind what appears to be a sophisticated disinformation campaign? What is the campaign's purpose, and who is the target audience?

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  3. MaracatuFebruary 20, 2012 at 2:33 AM

    Anyway, back to the topic at hand...
    COFADEH Statement:

    In July 2010, more for the financial benefit of national and <span>Israeli</span> contractors than out of any true interest in solving the prison problem, the President declared a state of emergency in 9 of the country's 24 prisons, but failed to establish security and prevention mechanisms, nor mechanisms for controlling and operating them.In the face of this latest national tragedy, which has horrified the entire world, COFADEH supports the decision by the Inter-American Commission to request an urgent independent investigation into the causes of the fire in Comayagua and more generally into the human rights situation for the country's prisoners. We also applaud the IACHR's decision to convene a hearing on this situation during its next period of sessions, from 19 to 30 March 2012.

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  4. Mary ScullyFebruary 20, 2012 at 5:40 AM

    Maracatu, thank you for this useful information since I am formulating a petition to the Honduran government demanding an independent investigation. What is your reference to "national and Israeli contractors" concern?

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  5. MaracatuFebruary 20, 2012 at 5:49 AM

    I'm not knowledgable of their role beyond what was expressed in the link.  I have come to accept that in most of the more notorious events of our hemisphere, they always seem to be lurking somewhere in the shadows.  The history is there.

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  6. MaracatuFebruary 20, 2012 at 5:53 AM

    Israel also benefited from the fits and starts with which Honduras assented to serve as a US “aircraft carrier.” In October, 1986, in an effort to get Honduras to agree to tolerate U.S. training of Contras on its soil, the U.S. revived the notion of selling Hondurans advanced aircraft. Emblematic of Israel's in-touch status with Honduras, before Washington could prepare the papers for the F-5E's it was offering, Israel had the Tegucigalpa government's signature on a preliminary agreement to buy 24 Kfir combat aircraft – a deal that could be worth as much as $200 million. To coax their quick agreement, Israel had assured the Hondurans that Washington would finance the deal. An incredulous State Department official said no approval had been given. At the time, the Jerusalem Post said the National Security Council would have final say on the arrangements. Later it would be revealed that the Kfir sale was one side of a quid pro quo which would have sent Israeli advisors to the Contras. Still later, the Kfir sale fell through.

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  7. MaracatuFebruary 21, 2012 at 4:51 PM

    As the flames of the Honduran fire die down, it is not a phoenix that is arising from the ashes of Comayagua prison, but Israel.

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