[HNA] Minutes/ Notes from previous meeting

[Kaveri Rajaraman]

I hope everyone the last meeting is on this list. If not, we should add them
to the list!
paz
Kaveri

-----------------------------

Notes:

Meeting 31 July


1. Intro

People present:

Sergio (Boston Mayday Committee), Matthew (STWC, CISPES), Julie, Praveen,
Michelle Fuentes (Proyecto Hondureno, SIM, ... more), Tito (Proyecto
Hondureno), Simon, Kaveri (STWC, Mayday, South Asian orgs), Juan Carlos (?
didn't catch affiliation), Jorge Marin (Bolivarian Circle), David Keil
(STWC, NEU, National Assembly), David Grosser (CISPES), Dario Zapata
(Colombia Vive?).


2. Update on Honduras:

- Simon: On 30 July, Attack on road block in Honduras, 1 teacher shot
through the head; Carlos Reyes from Bloque Popular, an independent
candidate, his arm and ear were wounded; Juan Baraona from the Bloque also
injured.

- Sergio: rare coverage in English newspapers. Michelletti says he will not
discuss return in Zelaya because the business people have told him it's not
viable.

- Matthew: Is there a united resistance in Honduras?

- Tito: There's a Bloque Popular, also the UD, Unidas Democraticas is a left
party that came out of hiding in the mountains to participate in the
resistance; also the liberal party are contributing.

- Juan Carlos: Forces getting organized are mostly peasants, some unions
(not all because some are government run). Shootings are happening where the
people come up against barriers of soldiers at the border with Nicaragua.
Latest news is that some people are trying to take up arms, but the movement
is kind of scattered.

- Julie has two question: Is there a strike on going? What are living
conditions like in terms of electricity water - have they changed with the
coup?

- Tito: 3 federations are striking, one teacher's union, one
public/municipal workers' union. They called off a strike but might resume;
the strikers are facing lost pay, lost benefits and jail. There's a curfew
from 6 am to 6 pm. People aren't able to refridgerate food.

- Juan Carlos: It's the universal struggle of the haves vs. have-nots. The
media played a very important rule, and are privately owned by four rich
families who have business deals with all the former governments. When
Zelaya distanced himself from these families, the daily attacks began. These
families who also own the largest publications, La Prensa, used to get
no-bid contracts to supply public medicines, and arms to the Honduran army.
When Zelaya contested the no bid contracts in favor of cheap generic
medicines from Cuba, the attacks in the media upon him commenced.

- Kaveri: Worrying that Michelletti argued that the business interests are
the ones preventing Zelaya's return, and that not only the coup-making
government has a right to negotiate Zelaya's return, but also the business
interests should be separately negotiated with. The US has revoked visas,
but...

- David Keil: Is the Frente Contra el Golpe an authoritative source of
information?

- Tito: Negroponte, one of the advisors of Hilary Clinton, has had a very
destructive influence in the history of Latin America. Hugo Llorens played a
role in the coup of 2002 of Venezuela.

- Jorge: Sammy Davis, consul for Clinton, is hired by the coup to do PR in
DC.

- Simon: wrote to his representative, Paul Hodes, and Paul Hodes' response
was that Zelaya was trying to increase his term limits, which is the
standard lie.

- Jorge: This is a lie, he was only trying for a non-binding referendum
whose results would not affect his presidency.

- Juan Carlos: The same lies were attempted by the right in Ecuador and
Venezuela

- Kaveri: Difference between Bloque Popular and Frente Contra el Golpe.
Frente has all the groups, unions, and political parties

- Jorge: Venezuela's embassador was asked to leave, but Venezuela doesn't
recognize that government's right to kick them out. People from Honduras are
protecting the embassy.

- Tito: people are also taking turns protecting Radio Globo, a progressive
radio source, and Venezuelan embassy.

- David Keil: How is the US' stance viewed in Honduras?

- Tito: The golpistas aren't sure of the changes in Obama's policy, but the
people hoped Obama would do more. People doubt him because of the new
developments of negotiations in Costa Rica which went nowhere. Golpistas are
getting really aggressive, violent. This is weakening them now.

- juan Carlos: Honduras viewed the country government as slaves or puppets
of the US. US is playing an unsatisfactory role as far as the people are
concerned, and being two-faced.  When Honduras joined ALBA, the US got very
upset.

- Simon: the Canadian government has condemned the coup, but has been
supportive of the coup in other ways.

- David Grosser: things happening in other parts of the US?

- Tito: There's an active group holding demos and press conferences in
Washington DC. CISPES and the Bolivarian Circles and School of Americas
Watch are active also.


3. Delegation

Centro Presente and Proyecto Hondureno are bringing a delegation led by Dr.
Juan Almendares, also Oscar Chackon, and a person from UD will be there.
They have a good analysis of what is going on in Honduras. They are going to
Washington, New York, Boston. Here there will be a visit to Boston Globe,
visit to Kerry who's the head of the foreign affair relations committee,
community meeting in Chelsea on the night of Aug 5, a talk at 10 am in Tufts
University on Thursday, and then they will speak to a Latino Radio Station,
1600 AM, all day they should be broadcast at different times, including on a
show supporting the golpe. 111 from Haymarket and 117 from Maverick will
reach the location in Chelsea on the night of August 5.

- David Grosser: What are the goals of the tour?

- Tito: To bring awareness to the US.

- Sergio: We have to inject more goals, we have to build solidarity,
formalize the committee, open the committee to all who can join, and work on
the many solidarity tasks, together with this group. We should have a
sign-up sheet at each event.


4. -Julie: Who are we in solidarity with? Or a particular statement?

-Sergio: We should express in the name of the committee, Committee in
Solidarity with the Resistance in Honduras.

-David Keil: He's organizing the NEU meeting tomorrow, and he'll go in with
a motion to call for the breaking of all US ties with the coup makers. He
thinks the support of the resistance would be hard motion to make

- David Grosser: Thinks this is an amazing opportunity to have people who
are in the movement, we should really bring everyone to an event.

- Michelle: We should just make sure we don't alienate anyone.

- Kaveri: Proposal: A sign up sheet at the event should be enough.

- Jorge: suggests taking a proposal to NEU that is in solidarity with our
committee, but focusses on US actions.

- David Keil: Can try that

- Dario: Uribe in Colombia is the only Latin American president to support
the coup. There's a group in Boston organizing with the people of Colombia
against its government and in support of the Hondurans.

5. Name of group: agreed on Committee in Solidarity with the Resistance in
Honduras.

6. - Simon: This space is available for a future event the next two
weekends, if we want to decide this now.

- Jorge: It would be good to decide now to publicize then.

- Julie: Perhaps do the event the week after this delegation

- Simon: Friday 14th August. Here at 1 pm, there will be an anti war
meeting.

- Jorge: we could do a flyer.

- Michelle: she can modify the old flyer

- Sergio: We could perhaps add to the postcard, to update its demands.

- Tito: Work on a subcommittee. with Sergio, Simon, David Keil, Kaveri

- Simon: Webpage: Could put up a daily update on the webpage or email the
list-serve.

- Sergio: Hired a domain called Honduras Resists.org. Anyone can contribute,
if they create a username and password. We need to discuss whether or how to
restrict access, perhaps by just restricting knowledge of the username and
password to the group.We need to decide on a definite look for the next
meeting, even if we go with the current look for now.

- Tito: Another demonstration at City Hall?

- Juan Carlos: Wants to stress the sense of urgency.

- Julie: which organization needs money? Is this for humanitarian
resistance? Will the orgs there be responsible for transparency?

- Tito: Bloque Popular and UD are orgs he is close to. We should also ask
Prof. Almendares. Perhaps we can fundraise at the Chelsea event. Does the
group agree to try?

- Kaveri: Should we sell food?

- Tito: Perhaps not, just pass the hat, because there's a group in the
building that usually sells food.


- Sergio: Next meeting:

- Tito: subcommittee on structure, webpage: david Keil, Michelle, Tito,
Sergio, Simon, Kaveri. 5pm Subcommittee, Friday Aug 7. 6 pm general meeting.
e5.

- Tito: Should discuss an event at City Hall that Dario proposed, at next
meeting.

- Michelle: Perhaps time this along with the visit to

- Kaveri: sell shirts? Non sweatshop plain shirts @ $6 a shirt, to which
artists will contribute effort for free, to make shirts we sell for $15?
Group agrees.


- Tito: The US is building up a presence in Colombia.
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