Friday, July 10, 2009 1:08 PM
Time to pipe down (almost)
Douglas Bell
Okay I absolutely promise this is the last time I write about Canada's (non) involvement in Honduras. Notwithstanding the fact that neither the Liberals or the NDP have stood up to denounce in any real sense this obvious diminution of democracy in our hemisphere; and notwithstanding the fact that once again Canadians are behind the progressive American curve, Democratic representatives McGovern and Delahunt already having put in train a resolution on the floor of the House unequivocally condemning the coup and calling for Zelaya's reinstatement; here's what really gets my goat. The coverage of the Honduran situation in certain quarters of the Canadian press has been laughable. I speak here of the otherwise clever Chris Selley at the National Post who wrote lately:
On his Globe blog, Douglas Bell accuses the Harper governmentand the NDP and the Liberals for that matterof toadying up to both Washington and the gold industry in refusing to condemn the coup in Honduras. But Adam Radwanski, on his Globe blog, suggests "it might be reasonable to try to find some middle ground, rather than solemnly defending a [deposed president] who seems to have put himself at odds with his entire country." Radwanski says that now, but just wait until Peter Munk's goons get to him. Hell fall in line, just like the rest of them.
Leave aside that the executive in question is Goldcorp's Ian Telfer not Munk, Selley's sarcastic contempt is rooted in misunderstanding if not outright prevarication. Canadian human rights lawyer Graeme Russell is on the ground in Honduras and he reports on behalf of his NGO Rights Action the following:
Since the June 28 coup, the private sector - grouped in an umbrella group the Movement of Peace and Democracy - has been organizing pro-coup marches. Some Hondurans have recently given public information that buses are coming into poorer neighborhoods and that Movement organizers are paying people between 100 and 200 lempiras ($5 - $10) to participate in the pro-coup rallies.
Since 2003, Rights Action has been involved in work to document and denounce the environmental and health harms and human rights violations being caused by Goldcorp open pit, cyanide leeching "San Martin" mine, in the Siria Valley, department of Francisco Morazan, an hour and a half north of Tegucigalpa.
From our partner group, the Committee for the Defense of the Environment in the Siria Valley, Rights Action has learned that Entremares employees (Entremares being Goldcorps wholly owned subsidiary) from the San Martin mine have been taken, on a number of occasions since the June 28 coup, to participate in pro-coup regime marches in Tegucigalpa organized by the Movement for Peace and Democracy. Goldcorp (Entremares) pays for the transportation and at least one meal for the workers to attend.
Furthering the train of misinformation is the Financial Post's Peter Koven who wrote on July 1st:
Canadian miners say it is business as usual in Honduras despite a military coup that caught the international community off guard and was widely condemned.
... Each company said the situation on the ground has not changed, and that the mines continue to have the support of local communities. None of them showed any desire to engage in the changing politics of the country, where parliamentary speaker Roberto Micheletti was sworn in as the new president.
Again, not even close. My guess is that Honduras will continue to haunt the Gringos' democratic conscience for some time to come. Here's hoping that Canadian pols who claim to share in that sensibility gather their wits about them and speak out on this issue. As for me I suspect its time to pipe down.
