Major sports brands call for Honduras solution - sportstextiles: Lea SportsTextiles

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Major sports brands call for Honduras solution

31/07/2009
Apparel brands with production units in Honduras, including adidas, Nike and Gap have written a joint letter to US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, calling for the restoration of democracy in Honduras following the June 28 military coup. The brands urged "an immediate resolution to the crisis" and asked that "civil liberties, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, and freedom of association be fully respected”.

Lynda Yanz, executive director of workers’ rights group Maquila Solidarity Network, says: "Until now, businesses and business associations—including those in the textile and apparel industries, which account for the majority of Honduras' exports—have publicly supported the coup, lobbied against trade sanctions, or remained silent and carried on business as usual under the military-imposed regime.

"This letter from major sportswear and apparel brands breaks that silence and calls unequivocally for the restoration of democracy in Honduras. These international brands are not taking sides on internal politics in the country. They are saying that political differences must be resolved democratically."

She adds: "Unless companies doing business in Honduras speak out in favour of democracy, we can only assume that they agree with the position of the business associations to which they belong that have either supported the coup or called for business as usual."

"Business as usual is not an option," says Ms Yanz. "Honduras is a country where the democratically elected president has been removed from office, civil society leaders have been assassinated, journalists are being detained, offices of trade union and civil society organisations are being broken into and robbed, legal demonstrations have been tear-gassed and broken up, and media critical of the new regime is being silenced."

"Thankfully," says Yanz, "the brands that signed this statement are taking seriously their responsibility to Honduran workers and their rights and civil liberties."

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