"Within hours of President [Manuel] Zelaya being seized and expelled by the coup plotters [in June this year], the Honduran people went into the streets to support his return. They have been mobilising ever since to demand the restoration of democracy in my country", Santiago Reyes, from the Honduran National Resistance Front, told a rally of around 50 people in the Latin American Plaza on September 24.
The rally was organised by the Latin American Social Forum (LASF) and supported by the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN). The rally was in protest against the military coup regime in Honduras, and demanded Zelaya's return to power.
Sydney AVSN coordinator John Gauci said in a September 23 statement: "The situation in Honduras is dire, with the illegitimate coup regime imposing a curfew, cutting electricity, tear-gassing and firing on Zelaya supporters assembled outside the Brazilian embassy.
"Democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya returned to Honduras yesterday, and sought refuge inside the Brazilian embassy. There are frightening reports of democracy protesters now being rounded up into stadiums.
"The Honduras resistance is calling for emergency protests to be held around the world in defence of human rights and democracy in Honduras. We in Australia have a responsibility to insist that democracy is peacefully restored to the people of Honduras.
"We call on the Rudd government to condemn the coup and cut all political and economic ties with Honduras until democracy is restored."
Speakers at the Sydney rally included Giovanni Ortiz from the FMLN (Farubandi Marti National Liberation Front of El Salvador), Lisa Macdonald from AVSN, Jim McIlroy from the Socialist Alliance, Denis Doherty from the Communist Party of Australia and Marce Cameron from the Revolutionary Socialist Party.
On September 26, 20 people staged a protest in solidarity with the Honduran people at Melbourne's GPO.