National Resistance Front (Honduras)
Encyclopedia
The National Popular Resistance Front or National People's Resistance Front (Spanish
: Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular, FNRP), frequently referred to as the National Resistance Front, is a wide coalition of Honduran
grassroots
organisations and political parties and movements that aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya
and hold a constituent assembly
to draw up a new constitution. The Front originated as a popular social movement
which used massive civil disobedience
to support the restoration of Zelaya in replacement of the de facto President Roberto Micheletti
, whose government was perceived as a dictatorship
existing since the 28 June 2009 2009 Honduran coup d'état
. The National Resistance Front pointed to Article 3 of the 1982 Constitution as a legal basis for opposing the de facto government, and argued that it constituted the organised expression of Hondurans' right, under that article, to resist a government imposed by armed force.
After the Honduran general election, 2009
saw Porfirio Lobo Sosa elected President, the FNRP continued to press for a constituent assembly, and to oppose the government's human rights abuses
. Human Rights Watch
reported in July 2010 that under Lobo Sosa "at least eight journalists and ten members of the National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP)" had been killed. By August 2010 the FNRP had collected half of its target of 1.2m signatures in support of a constituent assembly.
' organisations and other grassroots
organisations, together with centrist/left-wing political parties and movements that have stated their opposition to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état
. The FNRP supports a process of participatory democracy
that should lead to a national constituent assembly
.
situation since the coup d'état occurred are made by the National Resistance Front and redistributed by many of the participating or supporting groups, e.g. the women's rights group
Centro de Derechos de Mujeres de Tegucigalpa.
In response to the San Jose mediation meeting in Costa Rica, the National Resistance Front stated its opposition to immunity for those who had carried out the coup d'état. It also stated that it "strongly [supports] the continuation of processes for participatory democracy
, which will eventually lead to the convocation of the National Constituent Assembly
and the prior definition of the criteria and requirements for the women and men who will be its members."
In early August 2009, the National Resistance Front organised a convergent national march, composed of many individual marches from different parts of Honduras, with the intent to converge in marches in San Pedro Sula
and Tegucigalpa
on 11 August. As of 9 August, about five thousand marchers who had left the departments Colón
and Atlántida
on 4 August arrived in El Progreso, Yoro
, the town from which de facto President Roberto Micheletti
originates, and about eight thousand marchers from the departments Ocotepeque
, Lempira
, Copán
and Santa Bárbara
were expected to join with these marchers in San Pedro Sula on 11 August. Thousands of other marchers were expected for the Tegucigalpa convergence. The marchers declared their aims to be the restoration of elected President Manuel Zelaya
and the establishment of a national constituent assembly
.
Also in August 2009, TeleSUR
attributed the "paralysis" of major sectors of the Honduran economy, including health, education, and electricity services and the closing of the four main Honduran airports, to the National Resistance Front.
Over 30 members of the National Resistance Front have been allegedly killed since Zelaya was ousted on June 28, 2009. The first alleged death occurred on July 5, 2009 at the Toncontin Airport when 19-year-old Isis Obed Murillo was shot and killed by the military. Over 4,000 have been allegedly detained. Some have allegedly disappeared and not been found. One teacher disappeared after a union meeting with witnesses saying he was captured by the police. He later appeared dead in a field with cuts all over his body. Several alleged killings took place in the middle of the night, including that of union leader and Democratic Unification Party member Roger Bados. A number of people have allegedly suffered injuries from police and military beatings and have been poisoned by tear-gassing. Some organizations around the world have warned that the human rights situation in Honduras continues to rapidly deteriorate.
Under the Presidency of Porfirio Lobo Sosa, human rights in Honduras
have continued to suffer. According to Human Rights Watch
in July 2010, "at least eight journalists and ten members of the National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP) ... have been killed since President Lobo assumed power on January 27, 2010."
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular, FNRP), frequently referred to as the National Resistance Front, is a wide coalition of Honduran
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organisations and political parties and movements that aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
and hold a constituent assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
to draw up a new constitution. The Front originated as a popular social movement
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
which used massive civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
to support the restoration of Zelaya in replacement of the de facto President Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...
, whose government was perceived as a dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
existing since the 28 June 2009 2009 Honduran coup d'état
2009 Honduran coup d'état
The 2009 Honduran coup d'état, part of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred when the Honduran Army ousted President Manuel Zelaya and sent him into exile on June 28, 2009. It was prompted by his attempts to schedule a non binding poll on holding a referendum about convening a...
. The National Resistance Front pointed to Article 3 of the 1982 Constitution as a legal basis for opposing the de facto government, and argued that it constituted the organised expression of Hondurans' right, under that article, to resist a government imposed by armed force.
After the Honduran general election, 2009
Honduran general election, 2009
The Honduran general election, 2009 was held in Honduras on 29 November 2009, including presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Voters went to the polls to elect:*A new President of Honduras to serve a four-year term starting January 27, 2010....
saw Porfirio Lobo Sosa elected President, the FNRP continued to press for a constituent assembly, and to oppose the government's human rights abuses
Human rights in Honduras
-pre-1979:During much of the twentieth century, Honduras did not have civilian governments. Military leaders frequently became presidents, either through elections or by coups d'état. General Tiburcio Carías Andino was elected in 1932, he later on called a constituent assembly that allowed him to...
. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
reported in July 2010 that under Lobo Sosa "at least eight journalists and ten members of the National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP)" had been killed. By August 2010 the FNRP had collected half of its target of 1.2m signatures in support of a constituent assembly.
Aims and composition
The Front was originally known by a number of variants of its name - National Resistance Front against the Coup d'État in Honduras (Frente Nacional contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras, Frente Nacional de Resistencia Contra el Golpe de Estado - FNGE) or simply the National Resistance Front (Frente Nacional de la Resistencia). The Front is a wide coalition of workers' organisations, campesinosPeasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
' organisations and other grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organisations, together with centrist/left-wing political parties and movements that have stated their opposition to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état
2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis was a political dispute over plans to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras, which culminated in a coup d'état against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military...
. The FNRP supports a process of participatory democracy
Participatory democracy
Participatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
that should lead to a national constituent assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
.
Policies and actions
Frequent public statements regarding the political and human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
situation since the coup d'état occurred are made by the National Resistance Front and redistributed by many of the participating or supporting groups, e.g. the women's rights group
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
Centro de Derechos de Mujeres de Tegucigalpa.
In response to the San Jose mediation meeting in Costa Rica, the National Resistance Front stated its opposition to immunity for those who had carried out the coup d'état. It also stated that it "strongly [supports] the continuation of processes for participatory democracy
Participatory democracy
Participatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
, which will eventually lead to the convocation of the National Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
and the prior definition of the criteria and requirements for the women and men who will be its members."
In early August 2009, the National Resistance Front organised a convergent national march, composed of many individual marches from different parts of Honduras, with the intent to converge in marches in San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
and Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
on 11 August. As of 9 August, about five thousand marchers who had left the departments Colón
Colón (department)
Colón is one of the 18 departments into which the Central American nation of Honduras is divided. It was created in 1881. The departmental capital is Trujillo, and the other main city is Tocoa...
and Atlántida
Atlántida (department)
Atlántida is a department located on the north Caribbean shore of Honduras, Central America. The capital is the port city of La Ceiba.In the past decades the tourism took over to become the most important legitimate economic source for the coastal area. In 2005 it had an estimated population of...
on 4 August arrived in El Progreso, Yoro
El Progreso
The municipality of El Progreso is located in the Honduran department of Yoro. Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport of San Pedro Sula is located west of the city. To the east of the city is the mountain range of Mico Quemado ....
, the town from which de facto President Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...
originates, and about eight thousand marchers from the departments Ocotepeque
Ocotepeque (department)
Ocotepeque is one of the 18 departments of Honduras, Central America, located in the West and bordering both El Salvador and Guatemala. It was formed in 1906 from part of Copán department...
, Lempira
Lempira (department)
Lempira is one of the 18 departments of Honduras Central America, located in the western part of the country with borders with El Salvador. It was named Gracias department until 1943, and the departmental capital is Gracias....
, Copán
Copán (department)
Copán is one of the departments in the western part of Honduras. The departmental capital is the town of Santa Rosa de Copán. The department is well-known for its tobacco and fine cigars....
and Santa Bárbara
Santa Bárbara (department)
Santa Bárbara is one of the 18 departments into which the Central American nation of Honduras is divided.The departmental capital is Santa Bárbara.The department covers a total surface area of 5,115...
were expected to join with these marchers in San Pedro Sula on 11 August. Thousands of other marchers were expected for the Tegucigalpa convergence. The marchers declared their aims to be the restoration of elected President Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
and the establishment of a national constituent assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
.
Also in August 2009, TeleSUR
TeleSUR
La Nueva Televisora del Sur is a pan-Latin American terrestrial and satellite television network headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela. TeleSUR was launched with the objective of providing information to promote the integration of Latin America....
attributed the "paralysis" of major sectors of the Honduran economy, including health, education, and electricity services and the closing of the four main Honduran airports, to the National Resistance Front.
Attempt by the FNRP to purchase weapons
The FNRP has always represented itself as a peaceful, nonviolent resistance movement, but a diplomatic cable released in June 2011 revealed that members of the Front had attempted to purchase arms from the Nicaraguan government in September 2009, conciding with Zelaya's attempt to return to Honduras. It has been speculated that the FNRP sought to resort to armed struggle to oust the interim government of Micheletti.Attacks against the group
Two of the leaders of the National Resistance Front, Juan Barahona and Rafael Alegría, were briefly detained and later released by police during a demonstration against the coup d'état on 31 July 2009.Over 30 members of the National Resistance Front have been allegedly killed since Zelaya was ousted on June 28, 2009. The first alleged death occurred on July 5, 2009 at the Toncontin Airport when 19-year-old Isis Obed Murillo was shot and killed by the military. Over 4,000 have been allegedly detained. Some have allegedly disappeared and not been found. One teacher disappeared after a union meeting with witnesses saying he was captured by the police. He later appeared dead in a field with cuts all over his body. Several alleged killings took place in the middle of the night, including that of union leader and Democratic Unification Party member Roger Bados. A number of people have allegedly suffered injuries from police and military beatings and have been poisoned by tear-gassing. Some organizations around the world have warned that the human rights situation in Honduras continues to rapidly deteriorate.
Under the Presidency of Porfirio Lobo Sosa, human rights in Honduras
Human rights in Honduras
-pre-1979:During much of the twentieth century, Honduras did not have civilian governments. Military leaders frequently became presidents, either through elections or by coups d'état. General Tiburcio Carías Andino was elected in 1932, he later on called a constituent assembly that allowed him to...
have continued to suffer. According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
in July 2010, "at least eight journalists and ten members of the National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP) ... have been killed since President Lobo assumed power on January 27, 2010."