marching on, twenty by ten

Over the past week the scene of protests in favor of ousted President Mel Zelaya can only be described as frightening. The national police, twenty wide and ten deep marching on women with their umbrellas, men in baseball caps and youth wearing black and red t-shirts with images of Che. To watch people flee from a force they can't see completely, looking for an exit that doesn't exist is harrowing. Several media outlets (though probably using the same source) are quick to mention these protesters hold hand-made weapons such as picks and large sticks. Provocation is a poor argument for a strategy that pits professionally trained individuals with weapons (some graduates of the School of Americas) against protesters with farming tools.

For everything I've recorded on this blog what's been omitted is the absolute control of the state (read: partly under the duress of Honduran business elite)  on its citizenry, and the bludgeons are not discrete. Curfews, military road blocks and bus checks, message control through print, radio and television. The same soldiers protecting citizens gathered in support of the new government march on the opposition and are responsible for at least one death this past weekend. 

Rep. George McGovern is a Congressional Representative I respect. He's supporting legislative efforts that would tighten the pursestrings, for one, of folks who led the coup. Read more here. This isn't an endorsement but a consideration - how do we, as US funders to foreign militaries and corrupt governments, act on our role in this and other conflicts? 

On a personal note, the government isn't alone in its suppression of information. Zamorano, the agricultural school where I hold an office and enjoy access to a swimming pool, tennis courts, riding stables and two coffee shops, has blocked internet access to several liberal news outlets including Upside World. Business as usual for the silent, deadly business elite.