Manuel Zelaya Should Be Returned To Power, Say Latin American Leaders

ESTORIL, Portugal — Honduras should return ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power, leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal said at a summit Tuesday.

Calling the June coup that forced Zelaya out "unacceptable," they said reinstating him was "a fundamental step" the Central American country needed to take to return to constitutional normality.

The coup in Honduras was Central America's first in 20 years.

The statement – released at the end of a three-day Iberoamerican summit in Estoril, Portugal – also said leaders at the annual meeting had analyzed Honduras' weekend election won by Porfirio Lobo, but they did not elaborate.

The final statement on Honduras seemed to reflect a clear victory for regional heavyweights Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, who had opposed any recognition of Sunday's elections in Honduras.

Summit participants also discussed the global financial crisis and climate change, though the talks were overshadowed by efforts to reach a united stance on the Honduras crisis.

"Respect for a democratic way of life has, especially in the Latin American region, a tragic history and because of that we have to defend democracy unconditionally," Argentine President Cristina Kirchner told a press conference.

The leaders of Colombia, Peru and Costa Rica, however, had individually endorsed the election.

"Some will say (the statement) goes too far, others will say it doesn't go far enough," Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said.

His Spanish counterpart Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said all leaders opposed the coup but that "differences centered on how we evaluated the elections and their consequences."

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said those behind the Honduran coup had no legitimacy to call elections.

"Honduras hasn't respected the most elementary principle of a return to democratic normality," he said before leaving Portugal for a state visit to Ukraine. "They could have done things normally: the president returns, calls elections and Honduras returns to normal."

Silva said accepting Honduras' current situation would encourage anyone planning a coup.

"We can't pretend nothing happened," Silva said. "If this state of affairs is allowed to remain, democracy will be at serious risk in Latin and Central America."

The summit statement also made an "energetic appeal" for Honduran authorities to ensure the safety of Zelaya, who has been staying at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa for two months.

___

Associated Press Writer Barry Hatton contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS spelling of Brazilian president's name, graf 11.)

Comments

[elcojonu]

11:06 PM on 01/16/2010

El guajiro se quedó fuera; nada que hacer.
Hay que acerle la vida dificil al proximo que venga; para ún HP, otro.

El Cojonú

[DemocraticStraits]

11:08 PM on 12/04/2009

111 out of 125 senators voted AGAINST reinstating Zelaya. That includes the majority of senators from his own party.

Seriously, when has the US Congress ever had THAT kind of unity? I wonder if Zelaya can take the hint yet. I wonder why there's no rioting in the streets or mayhem with the 'coup' and all.

http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/internacional/2009/11/49/laments-Honduras-decision-not-reinstate-Zelaya,9da7aedb-52f4-4792-b415-434d69396858.html

[wereeverywhere]

04:29 PM on 12/03/2009

The coup has an awful record on civil liberties and human rights.Latest from Amnesty International, showing what the atmosphere in the election was like:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/honduras-security-forces-must-held-accountable-human-rights-abuses

On its 10-day visit to Honduras during the presidential elections in November, Amnesty International documented numerous cases of human rights abuses carried out by the security forces since last June, when President Manuel Zelaya was forced into exile.

These included killings following excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests of demonstrators by police and military, indiscriminate and unnecessary use of tear gas, ill treatment of detainees in custody, violence against women, harassment of activists, journalists, lawyers and judges.

Amnesty International found that members of the military assigned to law enforcement duties were involved in committing serious human rights violations such as killings following excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests and illegal raids.

[Andywashere]

12:27 PM on 12/02/2009

The Honduran government had to take Zelaya out because he was committing treason by violating their constitution just so he could be stay in power. He was trying to do so with the aid of Hugo Chavez. Bet you didn't here that in American news. The past elections were completely democratic and if anything saved democracy in Honduras.
I don't believe that foreign powers have the right to interpret another country's constitution. And if Pepe Lobos was democratically voted on serving as the next Honduran President so be it. It is the Honduran people that must live with him not the people of Spain or any other nation.

[wereeverywhere]

02:22 PM on 12/02/2009

They had to destroy the democracy in order to save it. What heroes.

[SueLaFontain]

04:03 PM on 12/02/2009

What are you talking about wereeverywhere? You obviously don't understand the politics of Honduras or any other democratic nation, for that matter. The only one trying to destroy democracy was Zelaya. Thank goodness, the Supreme Court gave orders to take him out of office so he wouldn't extend his term thus violating the citizen's right to vote for the next term. Open your eyes or get your news from a different outlet.

[cadacabezaunmundo]

06:40 PM on 12/02/2009

Democracy was not destroyed. It was preserved. Everything was done in accordance with the constitution. Why would you advocate leaving a criminal in office?

[FortBliss]

12:57 PM on 12/03/2009

Honduras won. Democracy triumphed.
.
Should be a lesson for any future wannabe *presidents-for-life*.

[thrdr]

11:58 PM on 12/03/2009

Should be a lesson for any future presidents who care even a little about justice and human decency: That the U.S. government under the charge of either of the status quo political parties will smile and shake your hand and then leave you to the wolves when Big Money calls.

[Ira7]

11:49 AM on 12/02/2009

1) Mel calls for a boycott of the elections.

2) There is no boycott, and he contests the administration's claims as to participation, saying that true participation was lower.

3) He claims the police prevented his supporters from going to the polls, those very same supporters whom he told to boycott the election anyway. He also never explains how the police know who to keep from the polls. (I hear he's going to say that the Israelis gave the Honduran soldiers special mind-reading devices.)

4) Santos, from his own liberal party, gets creamed.

If legal removal from office and a fair election aren't good enough for some people, what is?

[sticksnstones]

11:57 AM on 12/02/2009

How about your advocacy of the rape of Honduran women by golpista police, Ira ??

[cadacabezaunmundo]

06:32 PM on 12/02/2009

Who is advocating rape? That is a serious allegation and without evidence you should not be throwing that around.

[minigun]

10:48 AM on 12/02/2009

How could anyone want Saddam in a Cowboy Hat to be leader of Honduras?

[Ira7]

10:34 AM on 12/02/2009

For those of you applauding Chavez's "accomplishments," there's no point in continuing the debate. You have no IDEA what he's done to destroy Venezuela, and as a matter of fact, their state oil company PDVSA could collapse any day now.

Viva Honduras for refusing to go down this same despotic, undemocratic, socialist path.

[sticksnstones]

11:29 AM on 12/02/2009

This, coming from a guy who thinks the rape of Honduran women by uniformed police is an acceptable means of quelling dissent.

[Ira7]

11:36 AM on 12/02/2009

You guys have GOT to stop making things up! You're pitiful!

[laceibahonduras]

04:41 PM on 12/02/2009

Haha. I am POSITIVE that if it was a police officer raping a Honduran woman, it had nothing to do with him being "golpista police". It was a MAN raping a WOMAN. You know that happens everywhere every couple minutes right? Or is it just in "Goplista Honduras"...this must be an order given by Micheletti, "RAPE HONDURAN RESISTANCE!" Pick your battles sticksnstones, that was weak.

[Billy Hell]

10:03 AM on 12/02/2009

I still have some hope that the Resistance will organize fully and that democracy will be restored for Hondurans.

[petera63]

10:14 AM on 12/02/2009

El que vive esperando, muere cagando.

[Peter007]

08:03 AM on 12/02/2009

Rather than listening to what the leaders of Spain , Portugal, and Brazil have to say, I would rather hear from the countries of Vietnam, Haiti , China, and India. How do THOSE countries FEEL about the new elections in Honduras?

The fact is that Honduras has only one major trading partner and that is the US. Even with the US, there is not much of an economy down there. Spain, and Brazil are voicing their opinion because the microphone is turned on. Turn the mic off and everything will remain the same.

[rodrigo72]

07:51 AM on 12/02/2009

Glad to help the government of Brazil has not ruined everything.

You know what was Brazil's performance in relation to Honduras? Here in Brazil nobody knows. It was very confusing. Brazil does not read very well international problems. Brazil does not read very well with their own problems.

Glad everything is seemingly in order in Honduras. I think ...

[thrdr]

06:59 AM on 12/02/2009

Lula et al are right. Obama et al are wrong.

As for those Latin American countries which have chosen to play it safe and unethical along with the U.S. government--they are foolishly reopening the doors to the violation and abuse of democracy which has historically plagued much of Latin America.

[bardimf]

08:47 AM on 12/02/2009

Are you seriously arguing that Lula et al... Argentina, CUBA, Venezuela are right?
Are you seriously arguing that the doors to the violation and abuse of democracy in Latin America has already been closed and that the coup in Honduras re-opened?

I mean no offense to anyone but those doors were never closed. Just the fact the Cuban regime is still present is a serious impediment to the "democratic progress" in the region. Venezuela, Nicaragua et al. are not the most democratic of nations. How about Guatemala where all the indigenous nations have a very little participation in their country's democracy, even though they are a large percentage of the population (not to mention Peru and Ecuador)?

All I am saying is that in Honduras, as well as in the rest of the Latin American Region, human rights have been abused for a very long time, democracy has been raped (for lack of better term) for a very long time and corruption has been rampant for a very long time. Saying that Honduras has re-opened a door, which was never closed in the first place, to 'the violation and abuse of democracy', is to ignore the many victims that have fallen in recent years figthing for a better Latin America; and yes, many of these victims were attacked, harrased and killed by the Zelaya regime.

[thrdr]

11:17 PM on 12/02/2009

If you paid any attention to what your are saying then you might realize that the worst examples you point to of dubious governance and long-standing oppression and suppression of democracy and freedom . . . are in fact among those countries which have recognized the coup that illegally kidnapped and deported Zelaya. Yes I'm serious.

[PRONESE]

04:46 AM on 12/02/2009

It is expected that Despots
*
*
Have a desire to have another Despot in their ranks in their region.
*
Posish!
*
R/ PRONESE

[cadacabezaunmundo]

04:31 AM on 12/02/2009

Had Zelaya gotten his way Honduras would today be ruled by an omnipotent "constituent assembly" headed by him. Honduras would be totalitarian. Democracy in Honduras was saved by the courageous actions of most of its leaders.

[thrdr]

06:53 AM on 12/02/2009

Deluded nonsense.

[Billy Hell]

09:54 AM on 12/02/2009

Constituent Assemblies don't rule Golpista, they write a Constitution, in terms of which a government is elected and a parliament established.

[FortBliss]

01:54 PM on 12/02/2009

You are right, constitutent assemblies don't rule. Poor Mel Zelaya would be *forced* to remain as president while they wrote up the new constitution. How long do you think it would take them?
.
Two years? Four years? Sixteen years?

[wereeverywhere]

02:46 AM on 12/02/2009

From Democracy Now, Sergio Moncada of Hondurans for Democracy. Though this is hardly the first time protesters have been flagrantly harassed, it's chilling this would happen while such attention is on Honduras:

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/1/hondurans_divided_after_coup_backer_wins

"As was mentioned before, on the day of the elections around 500-1000 protesters took to the streets peacefully and they were violently repressed by the military and police. In addition to that, the day prior to that we had many instances, one of the most visible of repression was the ransacking of the offices of an agricultural co-op in central Honduras and on the day of the election the group that I lead with other Hondurans here in the Washington area staged a protest in front of the D.C. voting site, one of five voting sites in the U.S. One of the protesters that joined us had her sister arrested by the military the day prior to the elections simply for participating in a protest."

[laceibahonduras]

09:15 AM on 12/02/2009

Your peaceful protestors were taking over roads in Honduras that led to the voting sites. Have you seen these protestors? Or do you only read about them? Because I have marched the streets of Honduras in PEACEFUL protest against Zelaya and have seen your resistance. There is nothing peaceful about them, they carry stones and man-made weapons. They are aggressive. And you got this from democracynow.org? Thats like me arguing a point and using Fox news as my reference. Its ridiculous, its not news, its marketing to their audience, and democracynow.org is no better. Did you know that the constitution of Honduras states that boycotting and/or intent of stopping an election process strips you of your citizenship?

[wereeverywhere]

12:07 PM on 12/02/2009

Democracy Now is an amazing news source that has excellent investigative articles despite their smallish budget. To compare them to Fox News would be an insult if it weren't so obviously wrong.

If boycotting an election strips you of your citizenship, I'm waiting to see what the consequences of instigating a coup are.

[FortBliss]

01:56 PM on 12/02/2009

I went to democracynow's website. Definitely slanted and constructed to make everything fit into their interpretation of events.

[cadacabezaunmundo]

06:37 PM on 12/02/2009

It;s against the law to campaign on election day, but I guess Zelayistas don't worry about obeying laws.

[wereeverywhere]

02:32 AM on 12/02/2009

Thank you Argentina, who knows what it's like to come out from under a repressive regime, for your leadership. But Costa Rica going along with this ruse? WTF??

[thrdr]

07:00 AM on 12/02/2009

They are playing it safe. And being foolish.