Elections today in the Honduras while the junta kills

The blackout of the main stream media here relating to what is going in the Honduras continues. Well, today there are (supposedly free) elections in the Honduras. Such elections are apparently happening in the absence of international monitors, while the legally elected president of that country remains in the Brazilian embassy surrounded by the troops of the junta.

What kind of elections are those? How can there be elections when the legally elected president of the country is surrounded by troops ready to arrest him if he moves out. Such elections are reminiscent of "elections" done by other military regimes in Europe and South America in the 70s and 80s to legitimize such dictatorships.

But it gets more worrisome with recent new developments that show that the junta is willing to kill to establish its rule. Amnesty International USA has called for an immediate investigation of an incident in which the military shot at civilians.

Amnesty International today said it was deeply worried about the safety of victims of and witnesses to a shooting at a military blockade that took place in Tegucigalpa last night. The organization called on the Human Rights Prosecutor to urgently investigate the incident.

According to eye witnesses interviewed by Amnesty International, last night, four men were on their way back home when they saw a military blockade moved from its normal position, close to the Estado Mayor (military compound). They were not given any indication to stop or request to slow down so they drove past.

Immediately after, shots were fired by the military at the car. The men drove on and as they went into a new road, one bullet hit the driver, 32-year-old Angel Salgado, in the head. He lost control of the vehicle which then crashed into a taxi and injured several bystanders, including 45-year-old woman, who was also hit by a stray bullet. She is now in a serious condition in hospital.

That is the climate under which the military junta in the Honduras carries on "elections". Such elections are obviously flawed and not free. These elections should not be recognized by the Obama administration. In fact, the leaders of countries in Latin America have warned the Obama administration that it risks isolation if they recognize such elections.

The United States risks souring relations with much of Latin America if it recognizes upcoming elections in Honduras, the foreign policy adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in an interview on Wednesday.

What is going on in the Honduras is sad. It is an attack on democracy by a military junta, reminiscent of what went on many years ago in other countries in South America in the 70s and 80s. The elections today are not free and any elected leader out of such elections can not and should not be recognized by the US.

Cross-posted in Daily Kos .