International Liaison Committee of Workers & Peoples
P.O. Box 40009, San Francisco, CA 94140.
Tel. (415) 641-8616; fax: (415) 626-1217.
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website: www.owcinfo.org
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Dear Sisters and Brothers:
The 9-million-member Unified Workers Central (CUT), the main trade union federation in Brazil, endorsed today the International Appeal to the Workers' Movement issued jointly earlier in the day by Joao Batista Gomes, the CUT delegate on a solidarity tour in Honduras, and Carlos H. Reyes, the general secretary of the Bottle Industry Workers Union and leader of the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup.
The CUT leadership posted a statement to its website that endorses the call to mobilize trade unionists and working people in a Continental Day of Action in Support of the Honduran People. Next August 3 and 4, the CUT will hold a two-day International Seminar immediately prior to its 10th National Convention. This proposal will be submitted to the trade union delegates from around the world with the goal of adopting a common day for a Continental Day of Action.
The statement below -- by Joao Antonio Felicio, the director of international relations of the CUT, and Artur Henrique, president of the CUT -- was posted to the CUT's website as an introduction to the International Appeal.
In solidarity,
Alan Benjamin and Rodrigo Ibarra
For the ILC Committee, United States
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STATEMENT BY NATIONAL CUT
August 31, 2009
Solidarity and Mobilizations in Support of the Struggle of the Honduran People
Presentation
The Unified Workers Central of Brazil (Central Única dos Trabalhadores / CUT-Brasil), received at its International Relations bureau the following statement from its representative on a solidarity mission in Honduras.
It is an Appeal for International Labor Solidarity with the struggle of the workers and people of Honduras against the coup d'etat that took place in that Central American country.
We endorse the call in this Appeal for an International Day of Solidarity and Mobilizations in support of the Honduran people's struggle for democracy.
São Paulo -- July 31, 2009
João Antonio Felício
Secretary of International Relations, CUT
Artur Henrique
President, CUT
* * * * *
Appeal to the International Workers' Movement,
To the Trade Union Federations on the Continent and Internationally,
To all Trade Unions in the Americas
Dear sister and brother unionists and workers in the Americas and around the world:
Honduras has been witnessing for the past 33 days horrors, repression, state-of-emergency suppression of basic democratic rights -- all of which are the result of the coup d'etat that was organized by the high military command at the behest of the large landowners and the transnational corporations.
This coup d'etat has put in place a de-facto dictatorial regime that has broken with the institutional rule of law; deposed the legitimate president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya Rosales; and interrupted the process of consulting the people via a popular referendum on the proposal to convene a National Constituent Assembly to draft a new Constitution.
The labor federations in Honduras -- together with the grassroots, human rights, peasant, indigenous, youth, and women's organizations -- have formed the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup.
Over the past two days, on July 30 and 31, the National Strike of Public Sector Workers has taken place.
On July 30, the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup carried out its protest actions, with road-blocks. The response of the police and army was to attack the thousands of peaceful protesters with firearms, wood and rubber bullets, and toxic tear gas shot down in canisters from helicopters.
We have reports that many of the protesters were seriously injured and that one teacher, Roger Abraham Villegas, received a bullet to his head and is in critical condition.
Among those injured are Carlos H. Reyes, who is co-coordinator of the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup, general secretary of the Union of Bottling Industries (STIBYS) and a leader of the Popular Bloc. Juan Barahona, also co-coordinator of the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup, remains in detention.
We issue this appeal to our sisters and brothers the world over, but particularly to those on our continent:
It is in the interest of working people and democracy across the Americas to defeat this coup d'etat.
We cannot accept "solutions" that would have us place on equal footing the legitimate government of Honduras and the perpetrators of the coup d'etat.
We cannot accept the duplicity of the U.S. administration, which condemns the coup, on the one hand, while supporting the perpetrators of the coup, on the other.
The defense of democracy in each and every country, the defense of workers' rights and of the very possibility to forge processes of Constituent Assemblies requires that across the continent workers and peoples support unconditionally the resistance struggle that we are waging in Honduras.
That is why we believe that it is necessary to carry out a campaign directed at every government and at the embassies with demonstrations and/or sit-down occupations, as well as a CONTINENTAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY AND MOBILIZATIONS. Together we can thus promote the interests of workers on the continent and around the world.
We call most particularly on the dock-worker unions internationally so that they can organize the boycott of ships bringing cargo to Honduras.
Sisters and brothers on the continent and worldwide:
Let us join forces to demand:
* Freedom for all the detained unionists and activists!
* Down with the military coup!
* Immediate and unconditional return and reinstatement of Manuel Zelaya Rosales, Honduras' legitimate president!
* Onward toward the Constituent Assembly in Honduras!
signed by:
Joao Batista Gomes
CUT - Brazil
Carlos H. Reyes
General Secretary,
Union of Bottling Industries (STIBYS)
Honduras
Excerpted from a report by Joao Batista Gomes published July 31 on the CUT website:
A march and road-block of about 2,000 people in the northern sector of the capital city of Tegucigalpa was violently repressed by the policy and army of Honduras.
The march began at 8:30 a.m.; the repression occurred two hours later. The National Guard, or police, reacted with extreme violence. Two helicopters overhead threw down cannisters with toxic tear gas while police and troops fired heavy firearms as well as wooden and rubber bullets.
Later in the the day it was announced that 88 people were injured and that one person, a teacher, had died. But we later learned that the teacher was in critical condition fighting for his life, but had not died. Trade union leader Carlos H. Reyes was beat up badly and taken to the hospital with a broken arm. Another trade union and resistance leader, Juan Barahona, was arrested and remains in detention today.
The march was reinforced by a massively followed strike of the public sector workers and teachers, all of whom remain on strike today [July 31]. The National Front of Resistance Against the Coup will be meeting again today to outline new strategies for the fight-back.
The repression targeted the trade union leaders who are the main leaders of the Popular Bloc and National Front Against the Coup.
[The statement by the CUT ends with the following three demands:]
* Respect the right to demonstrate and associate freely!
* Freedom for all political prisoners!
* Out with the coup perpetrators, down with the coup!
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