[HNA] Fwd: [act-ma] 12/15/09 RFM recording of Chomsky on Honduras

[Kaveri Rajaraman]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Roger Leisner <rleisnerrfm at yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 21, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Subject: [act-ma] 12/15/09 RFM recording of Chomsky on Honduras
To: Boston List <act-ma at act-ma.org>


Radio Free Maine

presents

Chomsky on Honduras

The Coup and Its Impact on Democracy Here and in Latin America


On November 29, 2009, elections were carried out amidst defacto military
rule in Honduras.  For four and a half months the country has suffered media
censorship, widespread human rights violations, brutality against women and
the LGBT community, and targeted assassinations of resistance leaders.
Though Barack Obama initially condemned the coup which ousted
democratically-elected president Manuel Zelaya, his administration expressed
no qualms with these abuses, and has recognized the farce elections.  With
this we witness the inauguration of a new model: overturn the leftist and
replace him with the oligarch.  So long as elections are realized,
regardless of the conditions, the US will support you.  This is a betrayal
of the sovereignty of Latin American, proving to the world that the
superpower, even under Obama, will support military coups and mass brutality
so long as they bolster US interests.


Noam Chomsky introduced by Vistiting Professor at Harvard and Honduras
Minister of Culture in Exile Rodolfo Pastor

In his introduction, Pastor acknowledges Chomsky’s great assistance and
empathy with the people of Honduras, and poses four questions for Chomsky to
address:

1. Claiming that the Poll scheduled for June 28th was “a vote” or was “a
referendum” and that its purpose was to allow President Zelaya to extend his
term or be reelected is a lie.

2. It’s a lie that the President’s forceful removal was not a coup because
various

“Independent institutions” in Honduras backed this organized conspiracy and
that it constitutes a peaceful “Constitutional Succession”.


3. Whoever claims that the November 29th elections were legitimate because
they had been “called for” before the Crisis, and its results “express the
will of the people”, lies. The U.S. State Department has embraced this lie
in the name of pragmatism, because supposedly it helps solve the problem.

4. Finally, there is the consummate lie. U.S. Undersecretary of State
Valenzuela declared last week that, “since June 28, the U.S, has been
consistently principled” with respect to Honduras, it has worked with
multilateral organizations, condemned the Coup, continued to recognize
Zelaya as President throughout the crisis and that it would have wanted
to have him restored and was “disappointed” by the Congress’s decision
against restoration.


During Q&A, Radio Free Maine told of how citizens influenced the Governors
of Maine, Massachusetts and Colorado to refuse to send their state’s National
Guard units to Honduras during the mid 80s due to the widespread belief that
Reagan was going to use the National Guard soldiers as pawns to start a US
war in Central America.  In response, Chomsky noted that many of the peace
and justice movements started at that time are still in existence.  In
response to a question about Columbia, Chomsky delivered a long critique of
America’s War on Drugs.


Pastor speaks for 20 minutes, Chomsky speaks for 45 minutes and the Q&A
period is 54 minutes.


Sponsored by the Committee in Solidarity with the Honduran Resistance and
the Western Hemisphere Project


Recorded by Roger Leisner on December 15, 2009 at M.I.T in Cambridge, MA


For information on how to order a copy of this recording, please contact
rleisnerrfm at yahoo.com

or call 207-242-0643

Roger Leisner
Radio Free Maine
P.O. Box 2705
Augusta, Maine 04338


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