On the morning of March 30, the oppressive regime of Porfirio Lobo stepped up its savage attacks on the population with the aim of preventing the mass mobilizations that were spreading throughout the country under the National Civic Strike called by the FNRP (National Popular Resistance Front). The repressive actions have involved a violent raid against the headquarters of STIBYS, police forces opening fire on demonstrators in Bajo Aguán, and dozens of protesters wounded across the country.

On the morning of March 30, Hondurans woke to a virtually paralyzed nation, with roads blocked throughout the country. Reports of various mobilizations that were stopping national and international traffic started coming in since the break of dawn.

In the capital, Tegucigalpa, protesters marched in several districts of the city, taking over major avenues and bridges.

Meanwhile, hundreds of teachers, who are fighting against the privatization of education and standing up to the brutal repression unleashed over the last two weeks, gathered in front of the Supreme Court of Justice to demand the release of 20 teachers arrested on charges of staging illegal demonstrations and insurrection.

In reaction to this new display of strength and mobilizing capacity by the Honduran people, the regime that succeeded the coup revealed once again its true face, repressing the resistance for the second week in a row.

“There are repressive actions throughout the country, but people are still resisting in Progreso, San Pedro Sula, Santa Rosa de Copán, Olancho, Colón, and here in the capital, and in many other places. Roads are being blocked again and the struggle continues,” Bertha Cáceres, coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), told Sirel.

“The situation is worse than it was during the first days following the coup, but we’ve learned a lot and are now better prepared to respond to repression.”

“We are defending our rights, our territory, and our gains. We’re confident that nothing can stop this ongoing mobilization,” Cáceres said.

The member of the steering committee of COPINH also spoke against the hypocritical policy of the United States, which continues to provide funding for the state’s repressive bodies and deploys its troops in Honduran soil.

STIBYS under fire

During the brutal repression ordered by the Honduran regime, the headquarters of the combative Union of Beverage and Related Industry Workers of Honduras (STIBYS) was violently raided, leaving several people injured and others arrested by the police.

“Starting at 6:30 a.m, the roads across from STIBYS’ headquarters were blocked by labor and popular organizations. At 10:30, hundreds of police and military officers came at us with tear gas and water cannon trucks loaded with stinging liquid. They started savagely beating the people gathered there, and chasing them down the neighborhoods surrounding our headquarters,” Porfirio Ponce, vice president of STIBYS, told Sirel.

“Many people ran for cover in STIBYS’ headquarters. But that didn’t stop their criminal violence.”

“They began throwing tear gas bombs into our offices from the street. It got so we couldn’t breathe anymore, many people had to be taken to the hospital, and some were arrested.

These repressive actions are not going to intimidate us; we won’t be stopped. We’re going to continue with this struggle, the struggle of the Honduran people for the rights of workers, in defense of social gains, education and public health, and against neoliberal policies.

This regime was spawned by a flawed process and represents the continuation of the coup,” Ponce continued. “There are no valid government institutions in Honduras, and the de facto powers that control the country won’t be stopped.”

“But our people will not be silenced. We have been constantly repressed for two weeks now, and we’re still resisting in the streets. Tomorrow we plan to mobilize again and we’re calling on international solidarity to denounce what is happening,” the STIBYS leader concluded.

As this report was being written, Wilfredo Paz, a teachers’ union leader and FNRP member, informed SIREL that the police had opened fired against protestors in Bajo Aguán, leaving several wounded.

“The police dispersed us violently, chasing us with gunfire. Some of us regrouped and tried to block the road in the Sonaguera area again.”

“There are dozens of people wounded across the country, the police open fire on teachers, peasants, and members of the Resistance.”

“The police also attacked the Universidad Autónoma de Honduras, acting with the same brutality. The students are resisting, but the police are closing in,” Paz concluded.