Honduras' Coup Congress Erases Five Basic Liberties

Despite the best efforts of what I call "the Oligarch Diaspora" to flood the Internet with near identical messages that the Honduran coup "is not a coup" and that was a "constitutional succession" (cough, cough) dressed in the blue-and-white flag of Honduran democracy, the coup regime bared its fangs today. And like any vampire, it's coming out at nightfall.

The same Congress that, after the military had kidnapped, beaten and dumped President Manuel Zelaya in Costa Rica, had declared one of its own, Roberto Micheletti as the coup "president" today passed an emergency law stripping Hondurans of the following rights from the country's constitution:

1. The right to protest.
2. Freedom in one's home from unwarranted search, seizure and arrest.
3. Freedom of association.
4. Guarantees of rights of due process while under arrest.
5. Freedom of transit in the country.

Tomorrow morning's papers are already out across the ocean in Europe, and correspondent Pablo Ordaz of the Madrid daily El Pais has reported from Tegucigalpa about the Coup Congress' decree:

"Minute by minute, step by step, Honduras moves farther from its freedoms..."

Read the defenders of the coup and they are united by one powerful feeling: fear. They're afraid of the growing demonstrations in the streets, like the in the capital city this afternoon captured in the video above, where despite the brutal repressions against the people, each day the opposition crowds grow larger, more emboldened, and better organized. In the defiant but smiling faces of the Hondurans opposing the coup you can see the palpable difference between their passion and the lack of it from the passive bumps on a log that attended yesterday's pro coup rally.

The Congressional decree specified that only at night may those five freedoms be disappeared. And so tonight, a new reign of terror begins.

The coup defenders are afraid, they say, of Honduras becoming another another Cuba, or Venezuela, or Nicaragua, of losing their "freedoms" and their "democracy." But today, in one fell swoop their leaders erased those very freedoms, atop all the other ones they've already burned alive - freedom of the press, freedom to elect their own president, among them - and buried democracy with it.

For democracy is not possible unless a people has freedom to protest, freedom from unwarranted invasion of their homes, freedom of association, rights of due process under law, and freedom of travel in its own country.

That's over now, and will be as long as the coup regime remains in power.

The Oligarch Diaspora will not likely blink, comforting themselves with the Kool-Aid that this attack on civil rights and freedoms is not (well, not yet) aimed at them, but, rather, at "those people," the workers, the poor, the farmers, the indigenous, the rebel students and youth, their social organizations, organizer priests, defense attorneys, human rights observers and authentic journalists, the ones that want their democracy back so much that they risk life and limb now each time they say it.

The Oligarch Diaspora will continue spamming the Internet with their hysterical claims that the rest of the world "just doesn't understand," that the coup was "legal" (attorney Alberto Valiente Thorensen made mincemeat of that claim today), that they represent a majority (unsaid is that they are afraid to let that majority vote on a non-binding referendum, revealing that even they know they are not), that "Honduras wants the coup." But if the opposition were so small would the Coup Congress really have needed to enact the State of Siege and its repeal of those five basic freedoms?

But what they don't tell you is that they don't want those freedoms for all Hondurans, just for the ones with money and property and political power and privilege: themselves. The rest must be subordinated to them and controlled, by force if necessary.

And so today, Honduras said goodbye to the following articles of its Constitution:

Article 69: "A persons liberty is inviolable and can only be restricted or suspended temporarily through process of law."

Article 71: "No person can be arrested nor kept incommunicado for more than 24 hours without being placed before a competent authority to be judged. Judicial detention during an investigation must not exceed six consecutive days from the moment that the same is ordered."

Article 78: "Freedoms of association and meeting are always guaranteed when they are not contrary to public order and good customs.

Article 79: "All persons have the right to meet with others, peacefully and without weapons, in public demonstration or transitory assembly, in relation to their common interests of any type, without necessity of notice or special permission."

Article 81: "All persons have the right to circulate freely, leave, enter, and remain in national territory. No one can be obligated to change home or residence except in special cases and with those requirements that the Law establishes."

The Oligarch Diaspora says that the democratically elected president was removed by force because he supposedly "violated the Constitution" by proposing a nonbinding referendum to ask all Hondurans if they wanted the chance to vote about whether they wanted to rewrite it through a Constitutional Convention.
But the coup leaders the Oligarch Diaspora defends just rewrote that same constitution today without any formal process of consulting the people at all.

They claim they're fighting for their constitution, but they just ripped it apart.

Gone. All gone. Everything they claim to be defending is gone now, destroyed and in tatters at the hands of the very political class that claimed it was protecting them.

And now, with the Congress' invitation to enter the people's door, the vampires begin to come out... tonight.

(Crossposted from The Field.)

Follow Al Giordano on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AlGiordano

Comments

[MarsAmbassador]

It's not too different from what Bush did, but we like to put a friendly face on our on coups and reduction in civil liberties, acting like it's not that bad and CERTAINLY not on the level of all these evil, corrupt Third World dictators. But it's not too far off. Our rights aren't even rights, they're imaginary and can be taken away any time someone in power deems it necessary. Like George Carlin says, "We've never had rights in this country. Only temporary privileges."

[johanakstjon]

i am a honduran citizen living in Honduras and fyi the rights you mention in your article we still have them. And please if you are going to mention the constitution please notice the reason why this rights can be "suspended". The reason we are on a curfew is because Zelaya´s followers have threatened our safety placing bombs at night and vandalizing the whole city!! Please open your eyes... every honduran citizen is moving on to their normal life. The only thing we fear is our safety but not because the government or the military are threatening us.. Zelaya´s followers are making Tegucigalpa a complete chaos and a proof to that their are several videos on youtube where u can see the damage they have caused. So please if you are going to inform something do it right!!

[Caliwoman]

Honduras is locked down at 6:30 pm, that is NOT moving on in normal life. Zelayas followers are Honduran citizens too. I do not believe you see campesinos and indigenous peoples as such and that racismo is the source of your bias. You the urban elite with your blinders, so quick to not see the buses with their tires shot out preventing Honduran citizens from peacefully traveling to their capital city unarmed, the body of a defensless teen with a bullet ripped through his skull, the bodies in oil drums, the dead reporter in La Cieba... Would you want Pinochet, would you want Somoza, would you want Duarte? That is fascismo, and might make you comfortable in your aquiescence to its latest military puppet in Micheletti, so quick to defend against poor and starving mothers and children and honorable men who wish tonly o feed their families0n a new minimum wage of $1.15 day, but then the blood of the people would be on your hands as well. If everyone opposes Zelaya, you had no reason to stop the referendum The problem is many of those who you think matters, wealthy elites with light skin in the capital,may oppose him but you are not Honduras. Honduras is Copin, is Almendares, is la mujer indigena. You are an overly inflated and distorted image of your worth who has disregarded your fellow countrymen. The rest of the world sees it, but in your bubble you fail to see.

[hafsb73]

as a honduras citizen i must tell you you are totally in favor for the leftist you should also show the thousands even more that opposed mel zelaya or the charges that mr zelaya is being accused like 40 million lps he withdrew from the bank to finance his 4th ballot that is money from the people or how he violated the constitution or the law continiously socialist like chavez or zelaya are just such hipocrits or please go ahead and have them sell all their things and distribute them among the people no can do that is the kind of goverments they love take away what people have and give it to poor NO KEEP IT TO THEMSELFS

[Jeffry House]

I like the way you're willing to pretend that anyone knowledgeable about Honduras must belong to "the oligarch diaspora." No need for facts, just a sneer.

But much of the propaganda for deposed President Zelaya, which you reproduce, systematically underestimates the danger he posed. President Zelaya became totally unaccountable in the last days of his rule. Latin Americans are used to Presidents who place themselves above the law; who spurn the Supreme Court, and prate about democracy while doing everything to undermine it.

When the Congress of Honduras--every single one elected--U­NANIMOUSLY called for President Zelaya's ouster, he can hardly claim to be representing democracy.

No, Zelaya represents the Latin American caudillo tradition of strongmen who impose themselves on their nation. He is much more like Peron, Trujillo, or Anastasio Somoza than he is a democrat.

[vagabond78666]

I agree. His own party was against him. Congress and the Supreme court were against him. The Constitution was upheld. End of story.

[islandsox]

For everyone's information, there is an article posted 11 minutes ago by the A.P. that Zelaya flew into the capital of Honduras' airport (Tegus we call it) on a Venezuelan jet. today (Sunday). He was denied landing. He had several Latin American leaders with him and his closest allies. There were protests at the airport for him and protests at the airport against him. There were lots of pictures also. I couldn't post the link here, but you can check through the AP; I believe it was the AP from Tegucigalpa. And, our phones, televisions, cable, DIRECT TV, internet, gas stations, grocery stores are all business as usual. Nothing has been shut down in Honduras. I also believe the cruise ships are coming this week again; they understand there is no reason to not visit Honduras. It will be interesting to see the spin coming on his attempted landing today. I'm sure I'll hear about bullets flying (LOL).

[Caliwoman]

YOur airport is shut down, your roads are blocked, my colleagues in the islands are locked in their hotel rooms at 6:30 pm or threatened with guns and sticks. Telivision stationsa re off the air. Radio station in Progreso shot up and la Cieba reporters killed. Buses tires shot out to prevent citizens from traveling to their own capital. Did you see the bodies in the 1980s in the mass graves, or ignored that reality too?

[islandsox]

Part II. I am so disappointed in our State Department for they do not know who the good guys are in Honduras. And they have to know that he was ousted legally and the Supreme Court and Congress were following the Constitution. Which leads me to ask myself the question, Why? Why support wannabe dictators and not democratic governments? I think I may know the answer finally. I believe that the American administration jumped the gun before they had all of the facts and could not retract what they had said. Hillary and her staff should have done more research, but not being cloaked in enough foreign policy, it became a mistake. The second thing is had Obama and Hillary supported Zelaya's ouster, they run the risk of lots of small Central American countries also ousting their presidents. After all, if the USA supports the ouster, then some, like Guatemala, could also follow suit. If that were to happen, there would be absolute mayhem here in C.A. And many countries here despise their leaders. I think the support was given to avoid a potential country-wide opposition to existing leaderships. One thing I want everyone to know is if Honduras is under military control, then what would us Americans living here have to gain? I would never live in a control under military control.

[islandsox]

Part I:

Giordano's post about Honduras is filled with multiple unsubstantiated opinions. I don't know where people are getting your information, but it's not from the events that transpired in Honduras. Sensationalizing things that never happened especially since you aren't here and aren't privy to the events that transpired, should be illegal. The thing that Hondurans and all of us Americans living here know is this: this little country just exercised its most democratic act that we have ever experienced. They actually removed an official who was performing illegal acts, period. We know this and you don't want to know it. I'm not sure why that is except that you thrive on negative fodder. The choices were to arrest/jail him, exile him, or remove his citizenship. Any or a combination of those things could have been implemented. The govt obviously felt he deserved a plane ride out of the country so he could live out his days elsewhere vs. arresting him, trying him, and putting him in the slammer for years. They chose the kind option in my opinion. I would have preferred him live in the substandard prisons here, similar to most in Central America. Part II coming next.

[Caliwoman]

You could have tried him for a crime if you had the evidence. What you did not want was a referendum to find that a majority of the people of Honduras support Zelaya and that the oligarchy was threatened. So easily you throw away rule of law to a coup and martial law. I would and have stood in the paths of bullets to say no to military rule, and they do rule your streets, look out your window. YOu may not walk tonight down your avenue. You would be beaten. Do not tell me you are liberated. You would prefer fascism to allowing the poor of your nation to have an income to feed themselves.

[AliMB]

Part I

Mr. Giordano's defense of Mel Zelaya is full of factual inaccuracies and unsubstantiated conjectures.

First, the idea that Hondurans have been "stripped" of 5 basic rights is flagrantly wrong. The Congress suspended these rights in conjunction with the duration of a toque de queda.

http://www.elnuevoherald.com/ultimas-noticias/story/488296.html

Second, Giordano's term "Oligarchy Diaspora" derives from neo-marxist 80's nomenclature designed to categorize those against a leftist as a small wealthy elite. But this conclusion does not correspond to the evidence.

I've seen a plethora public of opinion polls and Mel's approval ratings consistently crash at 30% or under. Giordano would surely respond with his 'poor, farmers, and indigenous' canard. However, the calculus that poverty equates support for Zelaya is flagrantly false.
.
Given that almost 70% of Hondurans can be classified as impoverished (according to the reliable CEPAL), and knowing that only around 30% of the populace approves of Mel, remedial math indicates that the majority of the 'poor' are ostensibly against Zelaya's policies (and that's assuming that the aforementioned 30% are all poor).

Third, Giordano repeats the 'non-binding' narrative as if Zelaya's statements should intrinsically be taken at face-value. Unfortunately, there were hallmark indicators of Mel's desire to extend political power with subterfuge. One such indicator was Zelaya's last Presidential Decree, PCM-020-2009.

Published June 27 in the Gaceta, this decree ordered all institutions of the State to execute the survey in what Zelaya declared "an official activity".

[AliMB]

Part II

The decree shows Zelaya brazenly changing his official position; altering the scope of the 'survey project' from the inclusion of an extra ballot box vis-à-vis a Constitutional Assembly to literally calling (convocatoria) for said Assembly.

Honduras' Proceso Digital has a good summary:

"Pero en la publicación del decreto, ahora dice otra cosa: en vez de llamarse decreto proyecto "Encuesta de Opinión Pública para instalar una Cuarta Urna", ahora se llama proyecto "Encuesta de Opinión Pública Convocatoria a Asamblea Nacional Constituyente". Dos términos distintos que en lenguaje jurídico no son lo mismo"

"Teóricamente, el gobierno estaría convocando a una consulta para instalar una Cuarta Urna, pero en la práctica, en la legalidad del decreto publicado, el gobierno estaría convocando para instalar una Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, la cual la puede hacer en cualquier momento, dependiendo de los resultados de la consulta. Así, está rompiendo prácticamente el orden institucional y constitucional."

http://www.noticierodigital.com/?p=39520

For the record, I disapprove of the golpe; it was legally dubious and did not respect the spirit of due process. More importantly, it was horrible policy.

Honduras' political institutions have turned Zelaya (a man with an abysmal level of public support) into some kind of an innocent victim; bizarrely uniting the likes of Chavez, Obama, and Uribe in universal condemnation. Zelaya was politically weak and could have been dealt with in a more sagacious manner.

[EmanuelWazar]

"For the record, I disapprove of the golpe; it was legally dubious and did not respect the spirit of due process. More importantly, it was horrible policy."

We are in agreement.

The coup, or golpe, is a clear abridgment of due process, the rule of law, and long established traditions democratic traditions within the region. It was a VERY stone head move to act in such an outrageous manner when far less controversial methods were available.

That Zelaya should face and response to charges once in Honduras, whether he was in fact attempt to assume unlawful power,... that should be for the courts to deiced.

In the mean time, he must be returned to power, allowed to finish his term, and very likely face charges, and potentially be re-deposed and jailed.... lawfully. I would be fine with this.

[Rule Of Law]

I really want to know where all the guys are from Dan Taylor's post yesterday--

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-taylor/following-the-rule-of-law_b_224202.html?page=2&show_comment_id=26488424#comment_26488424

Who were arguing that this coup was following the laws of Honduras and removing another wannabe dictator in the mold of all those lefty reds who hate Ameeerika???

Where are you guys?

And while I'm at it, I want to say that I will never again try to post to any article written by Taylor--NOT after seeing the widespread censorship that was used against anyone who took the view opposite his, that this was a lawful and necessary move by Honduran Military.

Now as the truth begins to come out, we hear silence from that camp, and see that, here at least, freedom of speech is still respected!

[GhiaccioPronto]

"I will never again try to post to any article written by Taylor"

yes, I too will avoid freerepublic in future, when they manage to hack their way on.

[Rule Of Law]

Thanks for the head's up about free republic.

[EmanuelWazar]

Indeed. Where are they? You should of heard them go on about that this was a "legitimate constitutional process".

Really now?

[Rule Of Law]

Thanks, Emanuel--nice to know it wasn't just me.

[Portnoy]

The peoples of the world are finally waking up and supporting True socialist democracies. The radical totalitarian war machines are being challened by the free workers of society. Bravo to our President for choosing the side of the people. The republicans would have sided against the Honduran President, Chavez, and the rest of the COA.

[JohnHKennedy]

Make sure this doesn't happen to America.

Get out in the street and protest every assault on our Constitution and Rule of Law

And SIGN THE PETITION
to Prosecute Bush's Torturers

http://ANGRYVOTERS.ORG
.

[Rule Of Law]

Let's begin by repealing the Patriot, Military Commissions, and Home Grown Terrorist acts that both sides of the house voted to approve! Then let's throw out any of those who did vote for that nonsense, regardless of party!

We are a nation of laws, not of men, and those 3 bills fly in the face of our Constitutional protections.

[Ergon]

from your lips...

[simply18]

This coup reminds me how the United State of America, under the bush administration, removed President Aristide in Haiti. A President democratically elected a few years ago.

[EmanuelWazar]

As a Dominican with understanding of that time, yes,... I very strongly agree.

[holeybuybull]

It looks like the Honduran usurpers, led by a graduate of the school of the americas - where we teach military leaders the abc's of deposing democratically elected leaders of central and south american countries - have contracted a case of bushitis. In an effort to better emulate the US, they've introduced their version of the patriot act and have outlawed dissent. Has anyone seen Negroponte or Kissinger lately?

[Rule Of Law]

Here's a partial list--rest at site, below: COL Amílcar Zelaya
LTC Luis Alonso Villatoro Villeda
COL Guillermo Thuman Cordon
*COL Manuel Enrique Suarez Benavides
CABO Aquilino Sorto González *
GEN José Wilfredo Sanchez Valladares
Subtte Juan Blas Salazar Meza
COL Thomas Said Speer
*COL Leonel Riera Lunati
*LTC Alvaro Reyes Lopez
*Guadalupe Reithal Caballero
LTC Rigoberto Regalado Lara
GEN Humberto Regalado Hernández
*CPT Carlos Quezada Aguilar
COL Guillermo Pinel Calix
Juan Ramón Peña Paz
GEN Policarpo Paz García

Top heavy with Brass, I'd say, and each one has a list of crimes long as your arm--and there are dozens more, all highly placed military.

Watch this film and learn about the School for Assassins.

[Rule Of Law]

Here's the link for all the Honduran grads of the School--

http://www.derechos.org/soa/ho-grads.html

[Rule Of Law]

Sorry, forgot the film link--here it is:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13436.htm

[souroil]

I suggest the United nations step in immediately and take down this rougue governement that has over stepped its bounds. There is nothing to debate here. This was a coup...make no mistake about it. Zelaya needs to be reinstated asap.