Hunger Strike Against Impunity

Hunger Strike Against Impunity
Posted on May 19, 2010 by murielsoy

The Association of Judges for Democracy (AJD) come before the citizens of Honduras and the international community to manifest the following:

The Judges of the Supreme Court decided May 5, 2010 to arbitrarily dismiss Judges Chévez Luis Alonzo de la Rocha, Ramon Enrique Barrios, Guillermo López Adam Lone, and the Judge’s Tirza Carmen Flores Lanza, and initiated disciplinary proceedings for their condemnation of the coup and to taking on decisions consistent with constitutional guarantees and protection of human rights of dozens of people arrested during the demonstrations after the break in constitutional order.

All judges and the magistrate dismissed are members of the Association of Judges for Democracy, constituting this in an clear attempt by the judicial authorities to break up this associations and expresses their intolerance of freedom of expression, conscience and assembly. These facts clearly origininate in the political structure, are at odds with any legal justification, They demonstrate the deep crisis that Honduran judicial system is in, where constitutional rights have become illusions are human rights non-existent, as the violations of right to life, liberty and dignity continue.

Before a judicial system that does not react or act in protection of the rights of victims, the situation of citizens is one of defenselessness, marking the institutional breakdown leaving impunity and injustice to the victims.

Within this framework of contempt for the law, the Public Ministry has divorced itself from the responsibility to investigate criminal acts and expresses its lack of responsibility to carry out actions to the pursuit and prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations, in particular the cases of thousands of citizens whose rights were violated in the days and months following the coup of June 28, 2009.

There is no discussion with regard to the Judiciary Branch’s lack of independence and impartiality, in particular, in defining publicly – the coup as a “constitutional succession,” and intending thereby to provide legality of the de facto government that was established since 28 June. Under these conditions, their performances are criticized for their docile attitude and submission to the political powers leading them to terminate or declare without merit the allegations that have arisen in cases of human rights violations.

More:
http://hondurashumanrights.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/hunger-strike-against-impunity/

"Before a judicial system that does not react or act in protection of the rights of victims, the situation of citizens is one of defenselessness, marking the institutional breakdown leaving impunity and injustice to the victims."

im·pu·ni·ty    Show IPA
–noun
1.
exemption from punishment.
2.
immunity from detrimental effects, as of an action.


I don't get it, what do they mean?

Honduran Judges Fight Back
Posted on May 22, 2010

Remember that coup in Honduras last year? Well, a group of judges who were fired after making legal decisions against the widely-accepted-as-illegal coup have launched a hunger strike against their dismissal.

The judges say their dismissal was a political maneuver, claiming the high court in Honduras is defending the interests of the coup government and not justice or national interest. —JCL

(leads to video)

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/hungry_for_justicia_20100522/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Truthdig+Truthdig%3A+Drilling+Beneath+the+Headlines

Inter-American Human Rights Report Riles Government
By Thelma Mejía

TEGUCIGALPA, May 21, 2010 (IPS) - On a fact-finding mission to Honduras this week, an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) delegation took aim at the dismissal of several judges who expressed their opposition to the Jun. 28 ouster of president Manuel Zelaya.

"These reports always make people uncomfortable, but they help point out to the state, and the government in particular, that monitoring of respect for human rights is and will always be ongoing," Bertha Oliva of the Human Rights Platform, a coalition of NGOs, told IPS.

The statement issued by the IACHR, a Washington-based Organisation of American States (OAS) body, is a "quite faithful" reflection of the human rights abuses that have been committed in this Central American country, according to the Platform.

On its second visit to Honduras in nine months, the IACHR expressed "deep concern over the continuation of human rights violations" since the coup, and over "the absence of effective investigations that could lead to the clarification" of the murders of "a number of persons, including journalists and human rights defenders" during and after Zelaya's overthrow.

The delegation, which visited from May 15 to 18, was made up of IACHR chair Felipe González, first vice-chair Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, executive secretary Santiago Canton, and Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression Catalina Botero.

They met with officials from all three branches of the state, human rights defenders, journalists, members of the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup and members of the truth commission set up to investigate the events surrounding the coup.

The mission did not meet with government human rights commissioner Ramón Custodio, who accused them Thursday of being "biased" and of taking a "political and ideological stance in line with the interests of the group of countries led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez."

Custodio told the press that over two months ago he asked the IACHR to order precautionary measures for journalists, in response to the murders of seven reporters in the space of just a few weeks. "But they never responded," he complained.

"They talk about defending the rule of law and the country's institutions, but they are the first to undermine them by failing to meet with the human rights commissioner…to find out about the complaints we have received and the legal action and investigations we have undertaken; we are serious officials, we are not desk-bound bureaucrats," Custodio said.

The IACHR press release says, however, that since the coup, the Commission "has granted precautionary measures to protect the lives and integrity of many individuals" who are at risk, but that during the visit it received information "indicating that the inter-institutional coordination mechanism for the implementation of the precautionary measures is ineffective."

One of the reporters killed was protected by precautionary measures issued by the IACHR after the coup.

Police spokesman Leonel Sauceda called the report "subjective."

"We are carrying out rigorous investigations, we even have foreign support, and we were very open with them, sharing details of the investigations into the deaths of the journalists, which are confidential," he told IPS.

The IACHR said it had received information on continuing threats and harassment targeting human rights activists, reporters, teachers and members of the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup.

The report also said that "of particular concern" is the harassment of judges "who participated in activities against the coup d’état."

The delegation was referring to four appeals court judges, founders of the Association of Judges for Democracy, who were dismissed from their posts two weeks ago on the grounds that they violated rules prohibiting judicial employees from participating in politics or strikes.

"It is unacceptable that those persons in charge of administering justice who were opposed to the democratic rupture would face accusations and dismissals for defending democracy. The IACHR urgently calls for a reversal of this situation that seriously undermines the rule of law," the statement says.

The four judges, Luis Alonso Chévez, Ramón Enrique Barrios, Guillermo López Lone and Tirza Flores Lanza, began a hunger strike Monday to demand their reinstatement.

More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51535

Honduran judges dismissed for political reasons
24 May 2010

On May 12, the Honduran supreme court ratified its earliar decision to dismiss four lower-court judges who are members of Judges for Democracy, a group that has challenged the legality of the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya last year. Two of the judges, including the president of the group, were removed for participating in public demonstrations calling for Zelaya to be reinstated. The judges have started an indefinite hunger strike as a protest.

http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2010/05/honduran-judges-dismisse/