Honduran Electoral Observers Launch Verbal Attack

Honduran "Electoral Observers" Launch Verbal Attack on Americas Program Director

On the evening of Nov. 29, Laura Carlsen, director of the Americas Program, gave a television interview to an international agency at the headquarters of the Honduran Supreme Electoral Tribunal. A group of credentialed elections observers gathered around and immediately began yelling insults at Carlsen when the filming was finished.

In a letter written to the U.S. Embassy in Honduras, Carlsen states:

"When asked by the interviewer my opinion of the elections, I stated that I did not think that the elections could resolve the deep political crisis in the country, that many people were not satisfied with the process since democratic order was not restored prior to the elections and that many countries were not recognizing the process... As soon as we were off the air, the people gathered around pressed in on me and began to scream 'liar,' 'why do you lie to the world?,' etc..."

"I am profoundly upset by the attitude of these national and international observers who are supposed to be impartial but are unable to accept an opinion different from their own, and have demanded that I be thrown out of the country for expressing my opinions... I have seen many heated elections in my life but never been the victim of a verbal lynching like the one I experienced last night, and much less from individuals charged with validating the fairness and openness of the electoral process."

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Laura Carlsen (lcarlsen(a)ciponline.org) is the director of the Americas Program (www.americaspolicy.org) for the Center for International Policy in Mexico City.

Further coverage of the coup in Honduras on the Americas Blog:

Coup Security Forces Raid Campesino Organization Day Before the Elections
http://americasmexico.blogspot.com/2009/11/coup-security-forces-raid-campesino.html

Violence and Tension, Prelude to Honduran Elections
http://americasmexico.blogspot.com/2009/11/violence-and-tension-prelude-to.html

AFL-CIO Letter to Clinton Opposing Honduran Elections
http://americasmexico.blogspot.com/2009/11/afl-cio-letter-to-clinton-opposing.html

ENDS

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