Suspension of 5.000 Honduran Teachers Announced
Source: InsideCostaRica.com (via Quotha.net)
15 April 2011.
Honduras Ministry of Education suspended 5.000 teachers who participated in the protests in March against the privatization of public education. According to the General Secretary of Education Anibal Delgado, teachers failed to comply with a controversial emergency decree which obliges them to return to the schools.
The measure signed by President Porfirio Lobo was published in the Official Gazette after five weeks of continuous demonstrations in which teachers opposed to a law that supports the privatization of education and human rights violations in Honduras.
Despite teacher's pressure the law was passed by Congress and the government responded to their demands suppressing the protests. The Constitutional Court received on April 11 several protection applications against the suspension of 305 teachers.
On Tuesday hundreds of students, peasants, indigenous people and members of the People's National Resistance Front took some cities in the country in support of the teachers punished, but the protests were broken up by police. The police repression in March caused the death of a female teacher and dozens of people injured and detained.
Analysts and union leaders believe that the announcement of the suspension of other 5.000 teachers will aggravate the crisis and will move away the possibility of dialogue with the government.
