Following the Rule of Law in Honduras

In accordance with the laws of Honduras as understood by the legislature and the Supreme Court, the Honduran military followed lawful civilian orders to exile President Zelaya to Costa Rica. Zelaya had aligned himself with regional leaders such as Chavez and Castro and was moving his country in the same direction as Venezuela. He started making agreements with Leftist governments without congressional approval and wouldn't listen to the judicial or legislative branches of the government who opposed such things. The government, both parties, and business tolerated his abuse of power, believing that that it would stop at the end of his elected term in November 2009. The final straw, however, came when he decided to change the constitution. One of the items he wanted to change was the provision limiting the president to a single term. In addition, he had voiced support for nationalization and wealth redistribution as in Venezuela.

He decided to hold a referendum to garner support for his changes to the constitution. Both his party and the national party were amenable to constitutional amendment, but not simply to perpetuate those in power. Zelaya took actions that were opposed by the Supreme Court and also by the Congress. He believed that he had personal control of the military, and with a supply of funds from Chavez in Venezuela could do as he wished. When he told the military that he wanted them to help in the referendum that had been deemed illegal by the Legislative and Judicial branches of government, he was in effect telling his military leaders to break the law. They had vowed to protect and defend the constitution against all enemies and felt that they were not required to comply with an illegal order in conflict with the constitution. Zelaya fired the military Chief of Staff and the Secretary of Defense after which the other senior officers resigned in support of the position of the Chief of Staff. The Supreme Court told Zelaya that there were reasons that he could fire the Chief but not for failure to obey an illegal order and told Zelaya to reinstate him. When Zelaya refused to follow legal directives of the Supreme Court and the legislature, the lawful government decided to expel Zelaya, which they did on Sunday.

The Constitution describes the order of succession that takes place when a leader is no longer able to perform his duties. This order was followed and the President of the Congress was designated to fulfill the duties of President until the regularly scheduled elections in November.

There was no military coup, the military was the tool of government and there was a peaceful transition of government. CNN and other news outlets were quick to describe the action as a grasp for power, which is a story that fits the picture that many hold when they think of Latin American governments. This was anything but that. This was a government, all parties and branches working together, trying to prevent a tyrannical ruler from running roughshod over the constitution for his own purposes -- trying to prevent a ruler from taking the country down the Venezuela road. This issue is so important to the nation of Honduras that for the first time in its history both major parties and other minor parties were galvanized in support of this necessary change. In a country of over 7 million people with 4.5 million voters, the overwhelming majority is in support of the government action. There have been only a few hundreds of Zelaya supporters seen on TV, but they are a tiny minority and not representative of the country.

In reality, what has happened in Honduras has been a triumph for the rule of law and responsible action on the parts of those from both major parties who were adamantly opposed to Zelaya's march towards becoming an old-style caudillo. The government and people of Honduras should be receiving plaudits, not condemnations from the civilized world. It is especially baffling as to why the USG would have moved so quickly to align itself with leaders who are distinctly unfriendly to it and are taking Latin America on a road that does not lead to freedom and democracy.

Comments

[expathonduras]

finally..someone who gets it right.

Honduras beer on the house!!1

[islandsox]

It's obvious to me that most people do not want to believe that what Honduras did was legal via their Constitution. I'm not sure why that is except that it is make-believe negative fodder and people with heavy hearts thrive on such things. Instead of applauding this little country for ousting a man who was in power and broke the law, the government is the recipient of negative attacks. A lot of it might be because it was Obama who first called it a "coup." When the military in Honduras exiled Zelaya, it was not a coup. The military is not in power here; we have an interim government; the same party Zelaya belonged to.

But I suppose people would rather believe a wannabe-dictator than many of us who live here in Honduras, are living through this event, and have nothing to gain by feeding untruths. We are proud that illegal actions in Honduras on this high of a level have been punished. That says so much for a country trying to stay democratic. So feel free to keep slinging those arrows, the people of this country know that a very great event just took place and they are hopeful for a less-corrupt future. They are proud of their interim government. Shame on any of you for believing the bloggers and writers who know nothing about what they are writing; they see an opportunity to sensationalize a good experience into utter untruths because "negative" sells.

[islandsox]

Dan, I want to thank you for writing the truth about Zelaya's removal. I have been trying to get the truth out to the public, but many refuse to consider that Zelaya did anything illegal. You and I and all of us in Honduras know better. Zelaya broke the law. I am discovering that most educated people do not know what a military coup is; to them, it is when the military removes a person from power; you and I know that it is when the military removes a person from power and takes that power. This never happened in Honduras as we have an interim govt. I also have read that people were shot and killed and that Zelaya was brutally attacked. More untruths due to the photos you and I are privy to see.

This forum is pro-dictatorship, thus why so many say Zelaya did nothing wrong. To them, he didn't because they, too, are not pro-democracy. I have sent many of the pictures from all of the peace marches and parades to multiple news organizations. I want them to see that there is no violence and that there is massive support for Honduras upholding its Constitution. Cruise ships are still coming in with tourists and we still have five flights a day of tourists pouring in. They "get" it.

Again, because we are close to the events, we know the untruths being reported by people who aren't even here.

[SeesBeyond]

Thank you islandsox for your calm recitation of the facts and well reasoned analysis of the situation.

[S1m0n]

What the junta has done SINCE expelling Zelaya, however, shows its true colors. That constitution that the president was allegely expelled 'to protect' has been shredded, with the military declaring the right to summary search, arrest and jail Hondurans as well as declaring that any kind of political protest is now illegal.

In any case, nothing in Honduran law prevents the president from asking the public in a referendum whether it wants to initate a constitutional amendment process. The military's reaction shows it's fear that if the President was allowed to ask such a question, the public was very likely to vote 'yes!'

If the public supported the coup plotters, there'd have been no need to have a coup at all.

[islandsox]

There's a little more to it than what you wrote. Zelaya ordered all govt employees to participate in the illegal referendum and threatened them with being fired. He even ordered the military and the Supreme Court knew this was not legal. This was the tipping point. I sure wish many of you here would research the events better. You are missing so much information and believing people who don't even live or work here and they don't know anything about it. Just get curious and do more research if you don't want to believe those of us who live here and have experienced it all.

[Ira7]

THANK YOU MR. TAYLOR!

And I wish I could have written that in 128 point Helvetica Extra Bold.

[julessiegel]

So what's happening with the constitution today?

[Rule Of Law]

Suspension of the right to assemble.

[VeggieVeal]

Well, it appears Obama is making a major screw-up in our foreign policy. He's an amateur though, just like his predecessor who got us into Iraq, so we'll just back the wrong horse again like we seem to have a penchant for.

[SeesBeyond]

Agreed. Obama's knee jerk reaction here in backing "democracy" without regard to the facts indicates he is, as you say, an amateur. And his Secretary of State is equally as clueless as he is about foreign policy and geopolitics, which means he is adrift and without sound advice. The fact that Venezuela's Chavez, Bolivia's Morales, Nicaragua's Ortega and Cuba's Castro all agree with Obama ought to be a tip off to Obama that he's on the wrong side of this.

[Tasies]

Taylor must have gotten the devil's advocate assignment on this issue. Maybe the democratically elected president of Honduras was right in amending the constitution. I suppose the Honduran constitution allows for their president to be awakened in the middle of the night and dragged to a foreign country without due process.

All we have on Taylor's behalf is innuendo and propaganda. Referendums are a common occurrence in LA. in an array of issues. I wonder if there would've been a coup in Honduras if Zelaya was right winger and protector of the economic elite.

Incidentally, the new faux gov't of Honduras has suspended the rights of it's citizens to peacefully protest. That Micheletti fellow sure does love him some democracy.

[souroil]

Coup. Plain and simple. Not one blogger has presented any fact that makes this anything other than a coup. Just read the Honduras Constitution.

[Rule Of Law]

Like I said earlier, I checked out Dan Taylor's bio.

[Rule Of Law]

His background is in construction.

[Rule Of Law]

Not politics, diplomacy, history, political science, or even investigative journalism.

[antropologo]

Thank you, Mr. Taylor for posting a well thought out rebuttal to the hundreds of articles that are against the Honduran action to defend their democracy. The Honduran people used legal mechanisms defined by their own constitution to remove Zelaya, an apparent would-be dictator, from office.

I find it very disappointing that the United States has chosen to throw Honduras under the bus so that it can make friends with the likes of Chavez. While Honduras is following a principled action to maintain their freedom and democracy, the US is condoning acts that undermine democratic institutions by supporting regimes and individuals who seek to reform their way into a dictatorship.

[marlojohn]

I agree with you completely. However, in retrospect perhaps it would have been better to just arrest Zelaya and follow due process. Then he wouldn't be able to make the trouble that the country currently finds itself in. Looks like they may be able to correct that problem this weekend.

[Ginger5]

If Zelaya is that incompetent and unpopular then he should easily be subject to defeat on the ultimate battlefield The Ballot Box.

[catracha]

He could not run again. Presidents (presidentitos) have only four years to leave their indelible marks in our history. The political classes ( including the electorate) have not been able to come out with a national plan. What gets accomplished is the product of serendipity. They know each other very well but their world wide egos does not allow for a consensus of what and how the country should be run. That is why donor countries and international financial institutions should required good governance before giving money. Zelaya is just one of the worst of the current crop of past and aspirant presidentes.

[marlojohn]

Just like in Iran?

[Mares]

Sorry, but even the foreign press are reporting what Dan Taylor has. It's offensive to read so called "progressives" who are allowing themselves to be informed by the same MSM propaganda pieces they would have eschewed when they served the Bush administration's agenda.

What the European press have published have been interviews with laborers, real farmers (not wealthy ranchers like Zelaya who have abused power), and ordinary citizens who have spoken out against the corruption of the Zelaya administration, and approve of the legislative and judicial branches of their government honoring their constitutional democracy's principles and protections.

Toss out there meaningless phrases like "redistribution of wealth" and the mindless stooges of the radical left envision, "utopia". In reality, what that and nationalism in Venezuela and other countries who have adopted such policies has been corruption and banana republic fascism. Hugo Chavez used his country's money to purchase a fleet of yachts and luxury jets, he has lived like a prince, while the streets of the cities run with mud, people starve. He appropriated billions from the labor of the poor, claiming he was going to build a model city, yet aside from jungle being ripped up, and some very minor beginnings made, he abandoned the project years ago so he could exploit his country's wealth for politicial opportunism.

What happens when governments embrace communism/socialism is exactly the same as a slave labor dependent plantation society. A small cadre of elites, feeding parasitically off the enslavement of the people.

[Tasies]

Pure vile typical Cold War propaganda on behalf of this poster. I've lived in Central America and Venezuela, and for someone to point out Hugo Chavez or Zelaya as corrupt without mentioning the other hundred and one corrupt pro-American and pro-business elite presidents that have ruined Latin America is simply dishonest.

I suppose this poster believes Latin America was a bastion of equality and prosperity until big bad Chavez came along and ruined everything.

[islandsox]

"Lived in Central America and Venezuela" past tense. Central America is known for corruption, everyone knows that. At least many of the ex-pats here, Americans, are hiring Hondurans and training them to better themselves. Some even build them their own homes for their families. We are showing them we care. But I'm sure you just don't want to recognize that any American does anything good for any other country's people. I am sorry you are so unhappy with life that you only see the epitome of the worst of the worst. Things have changed since you left; Honduras just proved that it is not willing to cater to a President who breaks the law. The most democratic Central American move I've seen in years.

[SophieAmrain]

Dan,
your text is hopeless. You probably do not believe yourself that beating, kidnapping and exiling a democratically elected President is a legal procedure. So the President made policies which the rich, white elite did not like, like increasing the minimal wage substantially. Tough luck, policy is something the Executive does, not the legislature. Zelaya got elected on his policies, not inspite of them.

Also he did not break any laws concerning the non-binding poll, which the army sabotaged. The poll was meant to gauge public support, which is perfectly legal, see:

http://counterpunch.com/thorensen07012009.html

The poll was meant to gauge public support for convening a Constitutional Assembly, which is again perfectly legal.

http://counterpunch.com/thorensen07012009.html
This process would circumvent the widely cited restrictions placed on REFORMING the current constitution, because it would not reform it, but rewrite it.

[HelloFunnyWorld]

Re: "Dan, your text is hopeless. You probably do not believe yourself that beating, kidnapping and exiling a democratically elected President is a legal procedure."

Thanks for the reminder - Most of us seem to have forgotten about this point. It's so important.

[Berettasskeeter]

Wow, for a man that was beaten, he looked remarkably healthy during his appearsnce at the UN, didn't he?!
Semper fi

[Rule Of Law]

You would have been more professional about it, no doubt.

[marlojohn]

In our country when there is a disagreement on the interpretation of the constitution it is settled by the Supreme Court. In this case the Supreme Court made it plain that what Zelaya was attempting to do was illegal. You may disagree with the Supreme Court but they have the final say. He broke into the building holding the ballots and that was what caused his arrest. Unfortunately instead of throwing him in jail, he was given the option of resigning and leaving the country (which he now denies.) I think the fact that we find ourselves on the same side as Chavez, the Castro brothers and Ortega tells us a lot the facts of the situation.
I say let him return and face the rule of law.

[natturnerx]

in other words zelaya wanted to do in honduras what bloomberg did in new york, change the law on term limits. it seems that the position of the ppl behind the coup is that a proposal to democratically amend the constitution is itself an unconstitutional act. wow! so one generation of hondurans instituted a law that all future generations of hondurans for ever & ever cannot change? why isnt bloomberg in exile?

[Alcove-One]

It must be changed with legal limits according to their laws. That is what Bloomberg did in NYC.