Tegucigalpa, 1 July, ABN — The mobilization of Hondurans against the coup d’état, which started this morning from the vicinity of the government palace, overflowed Plaza Morazán, in the central park of Tegucigalpa, where on Tuesday a small number of coup supporters rallied.
The demonstration in which the principal social groupings of Honduras participated traveled three kilometers, passing by the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the capital, located on John Paul II Boulevard, according to the report by the special correspondent of the Bolivarian News Agency (ABN), Freddy Fernández.
The march started with about 4,000 people, but throughout the day numerous people arrived from other parts of the city and the rest of the country, despite the fact that the highways remain blocked either by the army or the demonstrators themselves.
Since last Sunday, popular movements have been demanding the restoration of the government headed by Manuel Zelaya, the legitimate president of Honduras, and they vow to advance the call for a Constituent Assembly to reorganize the various branches and institutions of the country which have been devastated following the coup d’état.
With respect to the period of 72 hours given by the OAS before President Zelaya’s return to the country, the movements said that, although they considered the measure reasonable, it is not necessary to wait till the exact deadline, and the de facto government must relinquish power by Saturday so the constitutional president may return to his office.
Meanwhile, the media are conveying news about people abandoning the capital and the second largest city in the country, San Pedro Sula, which is believed to be an orchestrated campaign aimed to disperse the multitude from the major cities in the nation in order to fragment the protests and diminish their impact.
The levels of repression remain high, especially in San Pedro Sula, whose mayor was ousted by the coup regime.
Many people who are relatives of the young officers of the Honduran armed forces have informed the popular movements of discontent within the armed forces regarding the stance taken by the pro-coup officers and soldiers, but so far the rumor of an attempted uprising against the ringleaders of the coup has not been confirmed.
As of this writing, the de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, has not been able to appoint all members of his cabinet, as many of his close associates rejected the offer, which demonstrates that the actions of the putschists have found little acceptance in the Honduran political circle.
The original article “Movilización contra el golpe de Estado desbordó Plaza Morazán de Tegucigalpa” was published by Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias on 1 July 2009. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com).