Today (Thursday) is a National Day of Action Against Repression in Honduras! Join Witness for Peace, as part of the Honduras Solidarity Network, in demanding the US Congress and State Department take immediate action to address the repression and state violence, as well as electoral irregularities probably amounting to fraud, during and since the November 26th elections in Honduras. If the US is truly committed to democracy, now is the time to show it.

What you can do TODAY:

1) Call (or write, using this form) your Representative and Senators, and tell them to contact the State Department demanding a fair election and an end to the Honduran government's repression of protesters. Additionally, ask your Representative in the House to support the Berta Cáceres Act [HR 1299], which calls for the suspension all US police and military aid to Honduras. Ask your Senators to pursue companion legislation to the bill.

Here is a sample script you can use for a call:

Dear Sen. (or Rep). ____________                                                                                                                                                                                                  

I am very concerned about the human rights situation in Honduras in the aftermath of the Nov. 26 election. Due to the massive fraud observed by international observer missions from the Organization of American States, the European Union, and others, no official winner for president has yet been announced. The Honduran Supreme Electoral Tribunal has lost all credibility with the people of Honduras. Honduran security forces, which are funded and trained by the US, are repressing people who are demanding that there be an internationally monitored recount of all ballots or that the election be held over again.

In light of this ongoing repression and probably massive fraud, I ask you in your official capacity to take steps to:

1) An immediate suspension of military and police aid to Honduras.

-In the House of Representatives, please sponsor the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act (HR 1299) if you have not. If you have sponsored, please call for the immediate passage of the legislation.

-In the Senate, please work to define leadership for and then draft a companion Senate bill.

-In both Houses, please contact and/or tweet at the Embassy to hold it accountable for its weak and ultimately harmful rhetoric on the Honduran crisis. Please tell the Embassy to rightly denounce the repression and disregard for human rights and democracy that we've seem demonstrated by the Honduran government.

2) Revocation of the State Department's certification that the Honduran government is meeting human rights and anti-corruption conditions: the circumstances around the election and beyond demonstrate clearly that the Honduran government is not at all meeting those conditions.

3) An immediate suspension of diplomatic relations with the Honduran government, including recalling our Charge D'Affaires/acting Ambassador, until the rule of law has been re-established, constitutional guarantees are fulfilled, and democratic processes and institutions are actually respected.

4) No recognition of a regime imposed by fraud and repression, which is what we fear we're seeing occur right now

Thank you for your time, and I will continue to monitor these issues.

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You can also share this sign-on letter with any organizations that want to join the call demanding action from the US Congress and State Department.

Our concerns and outrage continue about the opaque Honduran electoral process and delay of democracy, and especially about the repression by state security forces of protests of probable fraud, particularly as the US Embassy's statements do not seem to take this state violence seriously. Even prior to the election, Witness for Peace's November delegations heard testimony of the ongoing intimidation through use of security forces including US-funded Honduran National Police and TIGRES unit, incidents of fraud and violence at polling places, and a total lack of transparency about the electoral process. Since the election, US munitions that have been used against protestors, and partners throughout Honduras continue to report to us about massive militarization around the country. Live ammunition has been fired at protesters. 14 people have been killed and 51 injured as a result of the repression of protests, a majority of them by Honduran state security forces, which, whether they receive US aid or not, regularly operate (including since the Nov. 26th election day) with forces the US does train and arm. We have to stop the US complicity in this crisis.