The Partido Lakas ng Masa, Philippines, adds its voice in strong condemnation of the coup-attempt by the Honduran military hierarchy, the elite and other vested interests, to oust the legitimately elected President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras. We also condemn the attack on democratic and human rights by the coup-leaders, including the killing, arrests and intimidation of our Honduran comrades, leading the mass movements and social movements against elite interests, now protesting in the streets against the coup-leaders.

We are extremely concerned about reports that the coup government in Honduras has passed a decree indefinitely suspending all constitutional rights in the country. We understand that this means the coup forces can enter homes without warrants, detain anyone with no notice or justification, prohibit all public gatherings, such as marches, rallies, protests or meetings, and maintain censorship of independent media.

This is the declaration and imposition of martial law in Honduras.

The imposition of martial law further confirms that the coup is anti-people and was engineered by elite interests in Honduras. The coup took place as the Honduran people were preparing to exercise their right to vote for the first time in a consultative referendum on the future convening of a constitutional assembly to reform Honduras’ constitution, a process similar to that which took place in Venezuela, paving the way for the Bolivarian revolution in that country. It was also in response to several progressive measures taken by the Zelaya government, such as a significant raise in the minimum wage, measures to re-nationalise energy generation plants and telecommunications, signing a bill to greatly improve labour conditions for teachers and joining the regional formation ALBA spearheaded by Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia.

The coup also represents a desperate attempt to stop the rise of the revolutionary and progressive movements in Latin America, a trend that US imperialism has been desperately trying to reverse. A coup against the Zelaya government can only serve elite and US imperialist interests in the region.

We applaud the solidarity demonstrated by the governments of Latin America, such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador and others, who have mobilised against the coup, demanding the reinstatement of President Zelaya.

The Venezuelan revolution has shown the way of how to defeat elite-managed, pro-imperialist coups, when the masses mobilised and re-instated Hugo Chavez in a matter of 48 hours. The Honduran masses know this lesson well and have taken to the streets in defence of their rights.

We stand as one with this mass movement in the streets, demanding the reinstatement of President Zelaya. We demand the immediate lifting of martial law imposed by the coup regime, an end to the violation of human rights and the release of all political prisoners. The coup-leaders and plotters must also be brought to trial for crimes against the people.

Only the masses, mobilized and united, can defeat the coup plotters.