Day 88, September 23, 2009 from Oscar (my translation)

[translator's note: from this morning- so much is happening that this is already somewhat outdated]
I began this note as the day approached marking the end of the dark night, and a new Honduras was about to awaken, full of anxiety and hope that what seems to be the climax of the crisis is the prelude of its demise. The dictatorship has certainly awoken a giant and to put him back to sleep they'll have to beat him with force or dye trying.

The neighborhoods and districts of the city have grown silent for the moment. At the end of the pre-dawn hours we could hear sporadic gunshots coming from an amorphous darkness in contrast with what mere hours before seemed to be a city in combat. Nobody knows what is happening, our channels of information and media have been restricted, even if we have filled every available space.

Dozens of neighborhoods and districts have risen up against this dictatorship, confronting the police that has not been able to cope with controlling a slum that has always been the nightmare of the middle class and the bourgeois of this country. The poor people, the poorest of Honduras have said "enough!" and are making their shouts be heard, reaching the farthest corners of this chaotic land.

The curfew has been extended by two additional hours and we still don't have a trustworthy death count in this unequal confrontation. The information we are hearing is confusing. We are under the impression that each neighborhood now has at least one martyr at the hands of the police. The screams and cries for help are mixed with the gunshots that no one can trace.

Anywhere and everywhere, the news of police abuses are harrowing. The markets and corner stores have shut down as their supplies have run out, and people demand food, water, dignity. If we were to imagine a pre-revolutionary setting in Honduras, this would be it.

The Front is trying to call for a march in the vicinity of the Universidad Pedagógica. The police has warned that they will not tolerate this. The "whites" have called for their own march to condemn the UN for the "injustice" that they have committed on refusing to recognize their "democratic qualities" and the government has partially suspended the curfew so that they can feel free to move. They seek to impose a false reality on the world, for six hours, because they know that when the night comes the confrontations will arise again.

On radio and television the foreign minister López Contreras gave a press conference, representing the disappeard "president" Micheletti, announcing their interest in a pseudo-"dialogue," since they don't recognize the Resistance as a political force, nor do they recognize Mel as an interlocutor. We are open to dialogue, said López Tonteras [transl. note: a mockery of his last name], reaffirming that that would only happen once Mel had turned himself in to be tried and never as president.

The announcement of the meeting of the UN Security Council scared the de facto government which immediately gave up on its plan to attack the diplomatic headquarters. Nonetheless the attacks continued the whole night. They used high energy radio frequency microwave weapons and chemical weapons trying to force Mel and the people accompanying him to leave. Military helicopters fly overhead making the windows rattle. The dictatorship is falling but we know that there is still much sacrifice to come.

¡NO PASARÁN!

Original:
Día ochenta y ocho, 23 de septiembre de 2009
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Today at 11:37
Inicié esta nota mientras se acercaba el día dando fin a la oscura noche, una Honduras nueva estaba pronta a amanecer cargada de ansiedad y esperanza que lo que parece ser el clímax de la crisis preludie el fin de la misma. Lo cierto es que la dictadura ha despertado a un gigante y para volver a dormirlo tendrán que golpear con fuerza o morir.

Los barrios y colonias de la ciudad se han silenciado por el momento, al final de la madrugada se escuchaban esporádicas detonaciones que llegaban desde una oscuridad amorfa contrastando con lo que horas antes parecía ser una ciudad en combate. Nadie sabe lo que está pasando, nuestros canales han sido limitados, si bien hemos llenado cada espacio disponible.

Decenas de barrios y colonias se han levantado en contra de esta dictadura enfrentando a la policía que no se ha dado abasto para controlar una barriada que siempre fue la pesadilla de la clase media y burguesa de este país. Los pobres, los más pobres de Honduras han dicho basta y hacen oír su grito que contagia cada rincón de esta caótica tierra.

Se ha extendido el toque de queda doce horas más y aun no hay un conteo confiable de las muertes en este enfrentamiento desigual. La información que nos llega es confusa. Da la impresión que cada barrio cuenta por lo menos un mártir a manos de la policía. Los gritos y llamados de auxilio se mezclan con las ráfagas que nadie puede constatar.

Por doquier, las noticias de los abusos policiales son desgarradoras. Los mercados y tiendas comunales han cerrado desabastecidos y la gente reclama comida, agua, dignidad. Si hemos de imaginarnos un escenario pre revolucionario para Honduras, este es.

El frente intenta convocar una marcha a inmediaciones de la Universidad Pedagógica. La policía advirtió que no tolerará dicha concentración. Los blancos han convocado su propia marcha para reclamar a la ONU por la “injusticia” que comete al no reconocer sus “cualidades demócratas” y el gobierno suspende parcialmente el toque de queda para que sientan seguridad al moverse. Buscan aparentar al mundo una falsa realidad, por seis horas, porque saben por la noche los enfrentamientos volverán a surgir.

En cadena de radio y televisión el canciller López Contreras dio conferencia de prensa, en representación del desaparecido “presidente” Micheletti, anunciando el interés por diálogo falso, pues no reconocen ni a la Resistencia como fuerza política, ni a Mel como interlocutor. Estamos abiertos al diálogo, dijo López Tonteras, remarcando que sería siempre y cuando Mel se entregue a la justicia y nunca como presidente.

El anuncio de la reunión del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU asustó al gobierno de facto que inmediatamente renunció a su plan de invadir la sede diplomática. Sin embargo el hostigamiento se dio toda la noche. Hicieron uso de armas de micro honda sonora y bombas químicas buscando obligar salir a Mel y las personas que le acompañan. Helicópteros militares sobrevuelan la zona estremeciendo las ventanas. La dictarura está cayendo pero sabemos aun falta mucho sacrificio.

¡NO PASARÁN!