Patiently Awaiting the U.S. Media's Honduran Solidarity Movement

The contested election in Iran received widespread attention from both the traditional U.S. media and new media sources including blogs and micro-blogs such as Twitter. Americans wishing to show solidarity with the Iranian people tinted their Twitter avatars green and also wore the trademark color of resistance. The media told us this was all part of a new digital form of solidarity.

And yet this solidarity movement starts and stops with this specific Iranian election. There was no such media-led solidarity movement during the 2003 contested election in Azerbaijan or Egypt's contested 2006 election.

Likewise, there is no solidarity movement in the U.S. media for the people of Honduras where President Manuel Zelaya has just been ousted during a military coup. The media has not aggressively pursued this story despite the fact that the US is highly influential in Honduras, and the coup was led by General Romeo Vasquez, who is himself a graduate of the US Army School of the Americas. Independent journalist Jeremy Scahill reports that the School of America graduates "maintain ties to the U.S. military as they climb the military career ladders in their respective countries."

There is little media interest in the Honduras story even though it seems the US government had advance knowledge of the coup. The New York Times reports that "[U.S. government] officials began in the last few days to talk with Honduran government and military officials in an effort to head off a possible coup," but stopped short of closing the US-funded Joint Task Force-Bravo base where Honduran military forces are trained.

There is little media interest in the Honduras story even though it seems Zelaya fell out of favor because he failed to dance to the United State's favorite tune: Free Trade, Counterpunch's Nikolas Kozloff writes

Officially, the military removed Zelaya from power on the grounds that the Honduran President had abused his authority. On Sunday Zelaya hoped to hold a constitutional referendum which could have allowed him to run for reelection for another four year term, a move which Honduras' Supreme Court and Congress declared illegal. But while the controversy over Zelaya's constitutional referendum certainly provided the excuse for military intervention, it's no secret that the President was at odds politically with the Honduran elite for the past few years and had become one of Washington's fiercest critics in the region.

Zelaya committed his first sin when he began to criticize the media and owners of sweatshops which "produced goods for export in industrial free zones." Kozloff reports that Zelaya began to adopt some socially progressive policies that included a minimum wage, drug legalization, and bilateral relations with Cuba. Zelaya sealed his fate when he joined the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, an alliance of leftist Latin American and Caribbean nations headed by Venezuela's Hugo Chávez.

The Hondurans have reacted to this coup with as much gusto as the Iranians did during their supposed election fraud. The military has shut down public transportation and put up roadblocks to prevent protesters from reaching the capital. ¡Presente!'s Kristin Bricker writes that unknown numbers of citizens have taken to the streets, and she even includes photos in her report that are available for the taking by any network (CNN, MSNBC, FOX).

Somehow, the U.S. media isn't picking up on these details. A democratically elected president has been ousted by a military strongly supported and trained by the US government as apparent punishment for his adoption of progressive ideals. Where is the outrage, or at the least, the intrigue? Where are the solidarity movements?

The hashtag #Honduras quickly disappeared from Twitter's Trending Topics. It was replaced by Wimbledon, Michael Jackson, and Iran. Since Twitter siphons news from traditional media sources, it's only logical to assume that the focus on Honduras has diminished in the micro-blogging world because it has vanished from the U.S. media.

The media is highly selective in its pursuit of solidarity movements. Iran: good, Honduras: bad. Surely, the media can take five minutes off from obsessively reporting every macabre detail of Michael Jackson's death to cover a military coup.

Cross-posted from Allison Kilkenny's blog. Also available on Facebook and Twitter.

Follow Allison Kilkenny on Twitter: www.twitter.com/allisonkilkenny

Comments

[bx1935]

What military coup? What happened in the supreme court and the Honduras congress? Why are you in favor of a thug who ought to be in jail (or worse) for all the drugs he brought into the USA. Further, since he wants to turn Honduras and it's neighbors into another Venezuela, good riddance

[Karl Reitz]

I don't understand what is so threatening about a non-binding referendum. Let the people decide. It seems to me that all parts of a democratic government would want to know what the people think. I remember how unhappy California voters were when the Supreme Court said that capital punishment was unconstitutional. The authors of that decision were quickly voted off the court. So why can't the people of Honduras decide what kind of constitution they want. I have a feeling that the elites of Honduras don't want a government they don't agree with regardless if they are in the minority.

[Halbert Priday]

I live in Honduras. It is unbelievable and incredibly disappointing how the US and the media are supporting the oppresors and abusers of power.

THIS IS NOT A MILITARY COUPE! Zelaya was legally destituted from the presidency for breaking the law and abusing of the Constitution. The military was ordered by the civilian government to keep order and carry out the arrest warrant. The people of Honduras support the actions taken by the civilian government!

As of Monday morning, we have access to ALL news channels our cable company provided before the destitution of former president Zelaya. The channel that was closed was a government owned tv channel.

Zelaya blackmailed government employees into gathering signatures for his illegal referendum (which he called an opinion poll) at the expense of being fired and bribed thousands with L 500 just so they supported him.

The reason some protests have been dispersed is because a few hundred supporters of Zelaya have been blocking streets, attacking commercial facilities, stopping patients from entering psychiatric hospital, attacking reporters, and attacking military and police.

His "achievements" knowingly ended up hurting the poor he championed creating a greater rift between classes with the objective to stimulate a class war and polarize our people.

The fact that he turned the opinion poll into a referendum and stealthy changed the resolution about the referendum on "La Gaceta" to call an Asamblea Constituyente on Sunday shows it was binding.

Please be informed about what you write!

[GhiaccioPronto]

So, Zelaya deliberately hurt the poor so they would support him more, and the protesters were trying to stop mental patients from entering psychiatric hospitals, take several Pridays off, you make even less sense than most of our right wingers,

[Halbert Priday]

Oh wow.

1. I'm not even a "rightist".
2. His supporters had taken control of one of the psychiatric hospitals here and were not allowing patients in to the Hospital nor where they allowing the doctors out.
3. WHen you irresponsibly raise the minimum wage (pleasing syndicalists) to levels that business could not afford especially during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, businesses end up closing or firing employees. That's common sense. Now you have thousands and thousands of unhappy unemployed middle and lower class citizens angry. Then the former president blamed the "elite" for the problem (he has given them the blame for EVERYTHING).

You know absolutely nothing about what goes on here. So i suggest, along with the UN and OAS, that you get informed before you make ANY comment. And by informed I mean looking to something other than the radically biased CNN. The civilian government and the people have expelled the president (not the elite, not the military). This is why we had almost 50,000 in the capital's central park peacefully supporting government while a few hundred rioters persecuted opponents, looted stores, and blocked streets in San Pedro Sula.

[santa rosa mark]

This article paints a very distorted picture of what is happening.
The reason why there hasn't been much U.S. media coverage of Hondurans protesting this, (as they are in Iran), is because they AREN'T! I am currently in Honduras right now. I have previously lived in Honduras full time and am now married to a Honduran woman. We have been here the past week and a half visiting our family. 90% of the people here (not just the "elite") agree with this because Zelaya was trampling on the Constitution with his ILLEGAL referendum. You can use whatever word choice you want to describe it, (opinion poll, etc...), but it was an attempt by Zelaya to go against the constitution and stay in power like his other Leftist cronies. The very ballets that were to be used for Zelaya's "opinion poll" came from Venezuela!! Furthermore, another blog on this site states that Honduras wasn't following the specified succession of power because Micheletti succeeded in power instead of the Vice President. Well, anyone that is really informed on this issue knows Zelaya already forced out his VP.
The U.S. media needs to stop painting Zelaya as an innocent victim that was betrayed by a few military strongmen. Even the use of the word “coup” is a misnomer. For all of those calling for solidarity with the Honduran people, you should show solidarity with the 90% of the country that oppose Zelaya and want him out for breaking the law.

[wadingo]

Again. If 90% of the population wanted Zelaya out office, why not vote him out? The election was to come in a few months. You and the 90% would have had your chance to vote him out of office.

To have the military kick him out, and then to have you and the 90% supporting such an action, shows that this supposed 90% of Hondurans doesn't know anything about democracy. Or if they do, they only care for it when it suits their needs. If it doesn't, then to hell with it, right?

[huffino]

This event exposes the nature of the "objective" corporate media, no doubt.

Also note that Hondurans cannot currently obtain news from their media, specially the TV.

The hipocrisy of the USA corporate media must continue to be exposed, as it is here in this very instructive case.

Meanwhile, citizens everywhere must act without allowing the corporate media to brainwash them. A hard task! We will see if the people of Honduras are up to the challenge this time. As for the people of the USA, well, they need *time*, they are extra special in their TV dependency; but events like this, that expose the hipocrisy so clearly, can be very educational. This article by Ms. Kilkenny is spot on in that regard.

[Zapatista]

The 1954 CIA / United Fruit Co. coup of Guatemala's democratically elected leader Arbenz - 'created' Che Guevara who was living there at that time. I wonder what this one will give us?

[piul05]

Allison, you'd better find yourself a comfortable chair while you wait...

Ah, and maybe postpone buying that blue armband as well...

[Nudalhade]

Let's see:

Iran=Oil (we need oil)
Honduras=Bananas (we have plenty of bananas)

Who should we report on?

[PR one]

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras has shut down television and radio stations since an army coup over the weekend, in a media blackout than has drawn condemnation from an international press freedom group.
Shortly after the Honduran military seized President Manuel Zelaya and flew him to Costa Rica on Sunday, soldiers stormed a popular radio station and cut off local broadcasts of international television networks CNN en Espanol and Venezuelan-based Telesur, which is sponsored by leftist governments in South America.
A pro-Zelaya channel also was shut down.
The few television and radio stations still operating on Monday played tropical music or aired soap operas and cooking shows.

[cobblepot]

Gosh, allison; they apparently either can't afford the time to cover honduras, or lack the simple curiosity to discover any of the (possibly) important issues around the coup. Whew, at least the President had something to say; they can report that jig-quick (someday).

[yankees]

You're right about the coverage but there was virtually none on the Venezuelan protests concerning the shutdown of an opposition Media outlet last week. Certainly the main stream newspapers and media didn't cover it. I missed it in the Huffington Post as well, but I admit I might not have seen it.
Remember that the main stream media didn't pick up on the Iranian protest either in the early stages and they were criticized for it as well.
Let's face it these stories are not what America wants to hear and read about. Now Jackson, Madoff, the NBA draft and who is doing what to who on Reality Shows, now that NEWS.

[mountainweb]

And a most excellent observation Allison, however, you must remember what the media is all about these days. Journalism as died, mostly due to reporters substituting politically oriented opinion in the place of truthful news. A large percent of the current media is like Hollywood, it is all about "curb appeal", what is going catch the eye of the public and Honduras has no such "glamor". They think Jackson (Hollywood) is the glamor of the moment and will improve "ratings". If it cannot improve ratings then it deserves no space on the table...

[Avery Castille]

You are correct!

[PR one]

I have to disagreed with you somewhat. The mass media reports as to what is going to be news each and every day. They are carbon copy of each other. Even during commercial break. When one goes to commercial, notice how they all do the same. They do decide as to what is to become news. This is the reason why we as a nation are in such a sorry state. I believe that 1984 came upon us and we didn't even notice. Wonder who was our president at that time.

[SilviaMaria]

More:

Police using violence against Zelaya supporters:

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/policia/carga/partidarios/Zelaya/elpepuintlat/20090630elpepuint_8/Tes

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/nuevo/presidente/Honduras/decreta/toque/queda/elpepuintlat/20090629elpepuint_2/Tes

[SilviaMaria]

You have a point and I have been wondering about it since it happened. I have read comments on the fact and it is sad to read that some people have a cold war state of mind still. Let's start justifying a military coup because the President was a lefty or was aligning with Chavez. A military coup is a military coup no matter what.

Zelaya was not liked by the Honduran elite. He has a social program, like giving decent wages to workers on "sweatshops" that are making goods for us (let's be honest - the reason these places exists is because it provides cheap products for American consumer.

It was a military coup. The referendum was non-binding. People had the choice to vote YES or NO. President Zelaya threatened the status quo.

[Nudalhade]

Allison,

Honduras doesn't have Neda.

And the Military coup leaders in Honduras are not nearly as sinister looking as the Ayatollahs and Amininnjabad.

It's all about photogenics.

[Palemoon]

Sadly, Honduras has neither diamonds, nor oil. So our media and government will not even spend 5 seconds worrying about Honduras.