In Honduras, the International Criminal Court May Be the Last Hope

[Judi Lynn]

In Honduras, the International Criminal Court May Be the Last Hope
Saturday, 27 October 2012 09:35 By Baher Azmy, Truthout | Report

It was killings like that of 19-year-old activist Isis Murillo at the hands of the Honduran military after the 2009 coup that first led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate evidence of state-sponsored violence and repression in Honduras. It is now two years since the investigation was opened, and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) submitted new documentation showing that the human rights violations continue along with the impunity for crimes like Murillo's murder.

With hundreds of people, including journalists, trade unionists, land activists and human rights lawyers being killed or disappeared since the coup, and mounting calls for action from the Honduran people and international human rights groups, will the new ICC Chief Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, take action to help stem the tide of violence and prevent more lives being lost?

It was only a few days after the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya when thousands of Hondurans took to the streets to protest Murillo's killing - the first of many casualties of the new regime - and demand a return to democracy. Three years later, it is hard to overestimate the gravity of the situation in Honduras or the courage of those who still dare to resist the status quo.

Honduran activists and human rights defenders are overwhelmed with the ever-mounting threats and violence and talk about feeling under siege and abandoned. Since taking on Murillo's case, we at CCR hear constantly from partners and friends on the ground about the continued police and military involvement in targeted assassinations, arbitrary detentions, kidnappings, political persecution and violent crackdowns on peaceful protesters. Their plight is made all the more difficult by the false narrative repeatedly asserted by the United States, Honduras' closest ally, that things are improving.

More:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/12359-in-honduras-the-international-criminal-court-may-be-the-last-hope

[ocpagu]

1. It's really sad the situation of Honduras.

And some people who call themselves "progressive" still want to pretend that there's nothing going on and that the despicable coup d'état was "Constitutional". So much "Constitutional" that it brought the country to the edge of a civil war.

Let's hope the International Criminal Court takes the right decision.