AKEL, Cyprus, Statement on Honduras

Nicosia 1 July 2009

AKEL condemns the recent military coup in Honduras which led to the overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya and his expulsion to Costa Rica.

This barbarian and condemnable action by officials of the armed forces and reactionary forces in Honduras recalls in our memory the fascist coups and dictatorships that for decades existed in a number of Latin American countries.

We also condemn the attack by the coupists against the Ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua in Honduras, as well as against the Foreign Minister of Honduras Patricia Rodas. This action represents a flagrant violation of International Law and the principles of the United Nations and reveals the real intentions, reactionary character and ideological orientation of the coupist forces in Honduras.

It is evident that the motives of the coupists are guided by their opposition to the policies followed by President Manuel Zelaya in relation to the initiation of changes in the Constitution, as well as to the participation of the country in the policies of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americans (ALBA), which Honduras had become a member of under the government of Zelaya. Moreover, it is not by chance that the coup took place just a few days after the Summit meeting of ALBA.

Subsequently, we consider every form of foreign interventions in support of the coupists as condemnable and we demand the immediate reinstatement of democratic legality in Honduras, with the restoration of the constitutionally-elected government of M. Zelaya.

Finally, we express our solidarity with the people of Honduras and its struggles to reinstate democratic legality in the country.