The Urgency of Restoring Democracy to Honduras -- and What You Can Do to Help*

I just returned from a trip to Honduras where I was part of a delegation of seven U.S. citizens, including two Catholic priests, concerned about the coup in Honduras and its aftermath. While in Honduras, we met with numerous civic groups, including unions, human rights groups and peasant associations. As the press has reported, the ousted President, Manual Zelaya, who was kidnapped from his home and forced into exile, has great support among the poor, the unions and the indigenous groups of Honduras -- that is, the most under-represented and repressed portion of the society.

And, given that, according to U.S. AID, over 65 percent of the population of Honduras fall below the poverty level, on average making $750 a year or less, this means that President Zelaya has broad support in his country. And, indeed, a Gallup poll taken in recent days shows that Zelaya has much broader support in Honduras than the coup president.

President Zelaya, or Presidente "Mel" as he is affectionately known, was engaged in a process of democratization and social change when he was violently removed from office by the military. Once a rich rancher, President Zelaya was elected as a candidate from the Liberal Party (despite its name, a very conservative party aligned with the elites in Honduras). At first, Zelaya turned to the elites to ask for help in making modest policy changes. However, he found that they were not interested in any change at all.

So, he turned to the groups who were willing to lend a hand -- the unions, human rights groups, indigenous groups and peasant associations. He began to regularly consult these groups on the issues affecting the working and poor people of Honduras. As a consequence, he began to make changes which improved their lives -- for example, raising the minimum wage by 60 percent, providing free school lunches, lowering the price of public transportation and passing legislation to protect the forests from logging.

Zelaya also began to address long-standing human rights issues, such as the problem of those disappeared by the prior military regime of the 1980's. In consultation with the human rights group representing the families of the disappeared (COFADEH), he passed a decree pursuant to which the government promised to help find these disappeared. Quite tellingly, the chief security adviser to the coup government which deposed Zelaya is Billy Hoya -- an infamous human rights abuser responsible for many of the disappearances of the 1980's.

While in Honduras, we spent a lot of time with Bertha Olivia, the founder of COFADEH. She founded this group after her own husband was disappeared in 1981. At the time of the disappearance, Bertha went to her priest to ask for help in locating her husband. The priest refused, telling Bertha that, as a Christian, she should just resign herself to her loss. That priest is now the Cardinal who is siding with the coup in Honduras. However, the Cardinal is in opposition to much of the rank-in-file of the Catholic Church in Honduras who are demanding the return of President Zelaya, including the Dominican, Claretian, Jesuit and Maryknoll orders. Meanwhile, the Lutheran, Presbyterian and Methodist churches of Honduras are also calling for Zelaya's return.

Bertha now fears that, if this coup is not overturned, Honduras will return to a period when disappearances and arbitrary arrests of those willing to speak out against injustice were common place. Her fears are not unwarranted.

Thus, the coup government, confronting the non-violent movement calling for the return of Zelaya with violence, has been responsible for the targeted killing of at least four individuals, including two trade union leaders. Meanwhile, 86 people have been assaulted or beaten by the armed forces and over 1,000 people, most associated with the social movements, have been illegally detained. In addition, numerous press and media outlets have been shut down, while journalists have been arrested and detained. One journalist openly opposed to the coup, Gabriel Fino Noriega, was among those murdered.

Close to home here in Pittsburgh is the case of Dr. Luther Castillo, an altruistic doctor who runs a clinic in the poor community of Ciriboya, and who is assisted in this project by Pittsburgh-based Global Links which regularly sends his clinic medical supplies (as it does to clinics in eight other Latin American and Caribbean countries).

Like many others who have been outspoken against injustice in Honduras, Dr. Castillo is now on a long list of people for whom the new regime has issued arrest warrants. Dr. Castillo has been on the run as a consequence. Yet, he continues to minister to the sick and to those injured by military assaults. He has communicated to Global Links that he desperately needs supplies and medicines to continue his work in Ciriboya, and Global Links is seeking monetary donations to answer this call. If you wish to donate to this effort, you can go to Global Links and make a donation, specifying "Honduran Emergency Aid." To support the non-violent, anti-coup movement in Honduras, go to Rights Action.

Finally, we need to call upon our own government to do more to pressure the Honduran de facto regime to allow President Zelaya to return to his office as president. Specifically, the U.S. must remove the 500 to 600 U.S. troops from Honduras -- troops who continue to be located alongside the Honduran military forces on a Honduran air force base; cease the ongoing training of Honduran troops at the School of the Americas in Georgia (two of the key generals involved in the coup were trained at that facility); freeze the assets of the coup leaders who seized power in Honduras and of their supporters in the Honduran oligarchy; revoke the visas of the coup leaders; and withdraw the U.S. Ambassador just as all of the EU nations have.

Quite tellingly, what the supporters of Zelaya and indeed Zelaya's diplomatic corps itself, are not calling for is the cessation of purely economic and development aid to Honduras. As Honduran Ambassador Eduardo Enrique Reina explained in a meeting I participated in yesterday, if that aid is cut off the only people who will suffer are the poor, and they don't want them to suffer. In short, even in exile, the Zelaya administration continues to try to operate in the interest of Honduras' poor. That says much about what that administration is about.

*A version of this story originally appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Comments

[luling]

We shall see. This a problem for Honduras and Honduras politicians. It is all very well for people to give advice and wisdom. But, no one here will have to live with the consequences. Honduras will; not the USA, OAS, Venezuela. I suggest that posters keep that in mind.

I especially remind the author of this article.

[brainfood1984]

Castro’s scheme, implemented by Chavez, Morales, Correa, Zelaya, etc. works along these lines:

1.   Select a wannabe dictator -- a “charismatic” and depraved megalomaniac who is ready to sell out his country (like Chavez, Morales, Correa, Zelaya). Help him run for president of the country.

2.   Invest millions in a “professional” campaign demonizing the opposition and promising CHANGE to help the poor, end corruption, improve schools… whatever people want to hear.

3.   Commit as much fraud as possible to make sure the wannabe dictator wins.

4.   Have “protectors of human rights” like Insulza (OAS) -- who have really been trampling on human rights by promoting communism for years -- declare that the elections were “legal and transparent.” Carter has also been used to do this dirty job.
(cont.)

[AuburnDoc]

You are right -- on all 4 counts -- I do not trust either gov't fully, and not ours and definitely not Chavez ... that said, I will not deny that some changes are needed in the constitution, but only by constitutional means -- anyone that does not see that Mel is trying to pull the wool over the poor peoples' eyes are themselves blind --

[brainfood1984]

(cont.)
5.   Make sure that, once in power, the wannabe dictator takes over the Legislative and Judicial branches of power, destroys the country’s institutions, intimidates and controls the media, and demonizes, intimidates and even kills anyone trying to defend the country.

6.   Have a referendum to approve a new constitution. Representatives of the people are supposed to write that constitution. In reality, people don’t even know what’s in the new constitution, which is written by Castro/Chavez's agents before the wannabe dictator even “runs” for office.

7.   Have Insulza (OAS) and others who pretend to “protect human rights” declare that the referendum is perfectly “legal and transparent.” .

The goal of the new constitution is to help the wannabe dictator become a full-blown dictator for life (like Castro in Cuba), prevent people from defending themselves, and create a network of tyrants that protect each other.

[AliMB]

Part I

Mr. Kovalik's ideologica­lly-driven defense of Mel Zelaya is both paltry and perfidious. It is clear his recent trip to the country served as a Disneyland ride where he mingled with people that shared his political inclinations (a hallmark indicator of intellectual dishonesty and superficial analyses).

Discussion Points:

-Zelaya is not a 'man of the poor'; he is wealthy rancher from Olancho who incrementally used the 'poverty' card as a means to compensate for his leaking political support. While the majority of his current base can be categorized as 'poor', the calculus that poverty equates support for Mel is not supported by the evidence.

-I've seen a plethora of pre-coup polls and Mel's job ratings consistently crashed at 30% (confirmed by many sources). Given that almost 70% of Hondurans can be classified as impoverished (according to CEPAL), and knowing that only around 30% of the populace approved of Mel's governance, remedial math indicates that a majority of the 'poor' were likewise against Zelaya's policies (and that's assuming that the aforementioned 30% are all poor, which is impossible)

-Kovalik's statement that "Zelaya has much broader support in Honduras than the coup president" is flagrantly misleading. He is referring to a CID-Gallup poll which showed Zelaya with a 46-44% favorable-­unfavorabl­e split (as opposed to Micheletti, who had a 30-49 output). However, favorability is NOT synonymous with support. The Gallup dichotomy between 'job approval' (which more accurately correlates to 'support') and 'favorability' is well-documented.

[AliMB]

Part II

-Regardless, even this 'favorability' yardstick exposes a shift in public opinion. According to the AP, a similar CID-Gallup survey in February "showed Zelaya with 53 percent favorable and 36 unfavorable". That is negative-seven deterioration for Zelaya.

-Kovalik's 'support' conjecture is also misleading because this political crisis is not a Zelaya-Micheletti debate. Anyone with knowledge of contemporaneous Honduras knows that Micheletti is similarly an unpopular politician. Micheletti ascended to the Presidency because the government is adhering to constitutional succession. However, Micheletti is an ad interim executive; he IS NOT competing in the November election (he lost his party's primary to Elvin Santos) and will turn over power to new administration come January (or earlier). He has even offered to resign his cargo as captación of international recognition for the new government.

-The same CID-Gallup survey produced information that directly contradicts Kovalik's assertion. A plurality (Yes-41, No-28, Don't Know/No Answer-31) of Hondurans believe that Zelaya's actions with respect to the 'Fourth Ballot Box' JUSTIFIED his removal from office. Furthermore, the survey found that a vast majority of Hondurans (Yes-63, No-22, Don't Know/No Answer-15) were against the planned 'Public Opinion' Survey vis-à-vis a Constituent Assembly. This indicates that if the full spectrum of the electorate would have voted on the aforementioned issue (Sunday's vote was being boycotted by all major political parties and much of civil society), Zelaya's Curta Urna pet-project would have been crushed.

[AliMB]

Part III

- There has been only one death in the Golpe's aftermath that can be accurately attributed to the Government (at the airport); the circumstances surrounding the murders of Roger Bados and Ramon Garcia remain unclear. Kovalik's conclusion that they were "targeted" by the government is politicized speculation that not even the UD (the leftwing party to which the pair pertained to) has certified as factual. FYI: Honduras is a violent country with a high crime rate, and the UD and its affiliates have plenty of enemies that are not necessarily associated with government institutions.

-Our government may 'pressure' the "de facto regime" (Kovalik comically using Zelaya's terminology), but it may not be what the fellow travelers hope for. So far the Obama Administration has refused to push the Golpe Government into reinstating Zelaya WITHOUT substantive conditions or compromise. This is expected considering that Mel has progressively become a foot solider in the Chavez camp, supporting policies that work against US interests.

-The goal now is to find a compromise that allows Zelaya to return to office while simultaneously stripping some powers and trashing his Cuarta Urna agenda. The Micheletti-led government will have to make serious concessions in order to realize this denouement. The ideal situation would be reaching an internatio­nally-back­ed compromise that allows the restitution of Zelaya with amnesty, but one which Mel (or Chavez) ultimately rejects because of its strict conditions. This would expose Zelaya's agenda for what it was: classic continuismo.

[johnashman]

Fortunately, there is no reasonable way for Zelaya to return to power. Once he has been deemed to have broken the 'no go' rule by the highest legal authorities, he is unable to resume his presidency. He can really only return to face the other charges, whether he is found guilty or not. In the mean time, the world should SUPPORT the legal removal of Zelaya, insist that he be allowed to return to face trial and act as watchdogs to ensure that elections do indeed take place in November as scheduled. Or maybe our president can say that the Honduran military 'acted stupidly [for detaining my other friend] and move on.

[yatista]

I've just returned to the US after spending 3 months traveling around Honduras. I am outraged by the one-sided coverage I see in the US media. Everyone I talked to about the situation, from taxi and bus drivers to people in the grocery stores were in favor of the new, duly elected by congress President. The media terminology stinks. It is not a coup, Zelaya is not the President in exile and he was not deposed by the military, though they did, on orders from the government, take Zelaya out of the country.

As someone stated above, and the vast majority of Hondurans agreee with, this is a matter for the Honduran people to resolve. One oft repeated analogy refers to the removal of Nixon as president of the US. True, he resigned first, but had he not he would have been impeached and removed from office in accordance with the constitution of the US. Just like Zelaya was removed by the Supreme Court of Honduras and in accordance with the constitution of Honduras. And something not often reported, Micheletti is a member of the same party as Zelaya and was endorsed by him for the next presidential election. If Zelaya was content to relinquish the presidency as required by the constitution of Honduras, none of this would have happened. It is apparent that Zelaya is modeling himself after Castro and Chavez and wants to become president (read dictator) for life.

[crush2496]

Chronology of events

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maMA3PTYoZE

[zaz33]

Honduras: Mass resistance to military coup grows.

This is news we have not been getting.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/803/41340

[zaz33]

The cardinal supports the ruling class coup leaders while the rank and file are opposed, and want Zelaya to return.

Sound familiar ?

[jast]

Sogaze, honduras23, dirkaloha, zassink and johnashman what is your purpose other than to spread disinformation and pro-coup propaganda. Are all of you members of the "Micheletti hasbra brigade"?

[zaz33]

jast - It's obvious.

[dirkaloha]

No one is spreading anything. If what you seek is truth then read up on the Honduran constitution. No ruler should get away with changing the laws at the expense of the citizen's trust in their elected official. Not in Honduras or in the US. Of course if you consider yourself a rebel, then the laws of the land do not apply to you either.

[johnashman]

Please demonstrate any knowledge of the Honduran constitution. I took a college course on Latin government and constitutional law and speak spanish. There was no coup. There was a legal action to remove a president for violating the constitution, an act that causes the violator to immediately lose his office. This is not debatable. Or do you want to explain the Honduran constitution to me?

http://www.honduras.net/honduras_constitution2.html

[tekilo]

John,

Show me where in the Honduras constitution it is written that an unconstitutional act by a legitimately elected president is dealt with by kidnapping at gunpoint, shipping to a foreign country and then reading a fake resignation letter in congress? THAT IS A COUP!!!

[johnashman]

I think it's a shame that people become so blinded by ideology that they become convenient tools for dictators, drug runners, drug dealers, assassins. All you have to do is say "but I care about the poor" and you can get away with anything. Democracy doesn't exist without law. To say that "you voted for him, therefore he can do whatever he wants and that is democracy in action" is insanity. "Mel" still must follow the law. He refused. The Supreme Court did *exactly* what they should have done and followed the law. The military was overzealous in kicking him out of the country, but it was that or be put in jail. He should be thankful. It amazes me how gullible 'intellectual' dogooders are. The only possible resolution is that democracy remains upheld by elections in November. If George Bush decided to try to run for office for a 3rd term illegally, I'd have expected him to be arrested as well. Democracy is not an 'ends justify the means' process. Zelaya is a Chavez/Castro wannabe dictator. Hondurans acted to *save* democracy and we should support the interim government in words and deeds so long as they continue with upcoming elections.

[sticksnstones]

The Honduran Supreme court had ruled that Zelaya's attempt to hold a non-binding poll about rewriting the Constitution was illegal.

Yet, for three weeks now, not one poster has cone up with a single citation of ANY law Zelaya has broken.

Your OPINION that Zelaya is involved in drug trafficing, death squads, etc, etc are without factual merit. They're opinions and nothing more. Or to be more precise, they're propaganda.

[dirkaloha]

The Honduran constitution doesn't allow for more than one term. It also does not allow for the president to initiate a vote to change the constitution especially in regards to term lengths. The citizens of Honduras are fully aware of Zelaya's attempts to change the term length. I have been to Honduras back in April and June. Both times, I saw many ads on the TV to confince the public that a vote was needed to allow for a second term. He is lying to the international community that his intentions was not to extend his presidency. It's easy to say it's propaganda but it works both ways....always.

[johnashman]

Here you go. Learn spanish.

ARTICULO 374.- No podrán reformarse, en ningún caso, el artículo anterior, el presente artículo, los artículos constitucionales que se refieren a la forma de gobierno, al territorio nacional, al período presidencial, a la prohibición para ser nuevamente Presidente de la República, el ciudadano que lo haya desempeñado bajo cualquier título y el referente a quienes no pueden ser Presidentes de la República por el período subsiguiente.

To sum up - any government official who tries to change the 1-term limit (or certain other aspects) immediately loses his job. He was warned of the consequences, he ignored it, consequences were meted out. Get educated if you wish to opine.

I never sald that Zelaya was involved in drug trafficking (though there have been accusations) or death squads. I'm saying that Kovalik is a willing tool of these types of people. So unless you want to be 'assistant tool', do some research.

[zassink]

"he began to make changes which improved their lives -- for example, raising the minimum wage by 60 percent, providing free school lunches, lowering the price of public transportation and passing legislation to protect the forests from logging."
-Now let's look at the actual consequences of these laws that he passed. In Copan (where I lived) people ignored the minimum wage because nobody could pay it. Cleaning ladies around the city make around $100/month. If they were paid more ($250 like the "new minimum wage") then over half the staff would have to be laid off in order to keep overhead low enough and leaving half the staff to do the same amount of work.
-Providing free school lunches...where? Maybe in Teguc in some parts, but I've never heard of a single student in Copan ever receiving a free lunch at school. Classes run for 5 hours per day and student take turns bringing in snacks each day or people bring in their own food.
-Lowering the price of public transporta­tion...wha­t is public transportation? Just about every bus that I know of in Copan and San Pedro Sula is either a private company or privately owned by a person. Prices have increased about 10-15% in the past two years...where's the decrease in price?
-Protecting the forests from logging...ok...I don't know anything about this one, I admit, and it may very well be true. In which case I applaud Zelaya on that one thing.

[calxex]

You got it right! We all need to take stronger action to restore President Zelaya as the head of government in Honduras. All the countries of north and south America agree he is the constitutional president. The de facto post coup government is illegal and no legitimacy. Even Colombia who is the most right wing, anti-communist, and anti-Chavez government has called on the reinstatement of Zelaya as the constitutional president of Honduras!

[yatista]

All the countries in the world can agree that Zelaya (the former president) is the legitimate president. But what counts is what the people and the legally constituted govenment of Honduras agree upon: Zelaya was removed in accordance with the Honduran constitution, has outstanding warrents, issued by the Supreme Court for his arrest and has NO claim to legitimacy.

PS: I just returned from 3 months in Honduras and know whereof I speak.

[dirkaloha]

Mel wanted to stay longer as president knowing he is only allowed one term of 4 years. It's true he made positive changes for the poor that are under represented. Any politician interested in becoming a socialist dictator needs to have the massive support of the poor. If Mel had military support, he would have another term and change the laws to justify his dictatorship. His buddies have done this. They follow their mentor Fidel Castro. If Mel really cared about "His" people, he would acknowledge that he went against the constitution. He'd offer his resignation to stop leading his people into a civil war. Instead he tells them to fight against the current government. His attempts to return has caused more damage to "His" people in the form of demonstrations and financial aid being cut off. Honduran's are paying for his unwillingness to admit he has done the country wrong for trying to change the constitution for his own benefit.. He's done what every dictator has done to "their" people, he's fooled them. He's led them to believe he has their interest at heart but he only has own interest. He wanted a crowd at the airport to protect him because he broke the law. The US military in Honduras is the big stick that keeps others from thinking they can just walk in and establish a dictatorship. Honduran's don't want a dictatorship and the evidence is in their constitution. Mel should have paid more attention to that fact.

[honduras23]

Yes we ask the people in America who value freedom and liberty- whose ancestors have died fighting for freedom to understand the Honduran people who have had the courage to stand against a dictator and a man (Chavez) who is creating an organization called ALBA who are following his teachings of becoming dictators. Just watch the news and find out about the ideals and what is being said about some presidents who belong to this organization. We do not want Zelaya back and many are very sorry we voted for someone who has betrayed his country!