Manuel Zelaya's Nightime Return to Honduras

In a bold move, the democratically elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, -- ousted in a military coup in June -- has returned to Tegucigalpa, entering the country in secret, traveling overland with a small group of advisers. He is currently in the Brazilian embassy, and crowds of supporters are gathering around the building to demand the restoration of Honduran democracy. That Zelaya traveled at night, crossing "rivers and mountains," as he put it, all the while managing to evade Honduran intelligence -- largely funded, trained, and provisioned by the US military -- is quite a feat -- and also a hint that Zelaya still commands the loyalty of some sectors of the military and police.

It's unclear what will happen next. Roberto Micheletti, the president installed by the coup, has imposed a fifteen-hour curfew, reminding reporters that there is a standing order for Zelaya's arrest. Yet Zelaya's return is sure to galvanize those opposed to the coup, whose protests over the last three months have prevented Micheletti from consolidating power. It has become increasingly clear that Micheletti's strategy of trying to hold out until scheduled presidential elections in late November was not working, with a movement within Honduras for a boycott of the vote gaining steam and most Latin American nations saying they would not recognize its results. Since the prospect of holding elections with Zelaya in prison -- or perhaps still rallying supporters from his Brazilian refuge -- would only underscore the illegitimacy of the coup government, it seems that it will have no choice but to negotiate directly with Zelaya his return to power. Those backing the coup perhaps sense that their game is up; a communiqué issued by the National Front Against the Coup reports that some businessmen and military leaders who supported Zelaya's overthrow are leaving the country.

If this is a moment of truth for Honduras, it is also one for Washington. Since his ouster, Washington has sent mixed messages, refusing to condemn the coup with the same force as the Organization of American States and the European Union, and refusing to apply as much pressure as it could -- freezing the foreign bank accounts, for instance, of those behind the overthrow -- that could force the restoration of democracy.

But Zelaya's dramatic return takes place on the eve of this Wednesday's meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, where he had been scheduled to speak as Honduras' legitimate leader. That the UN will probably issue a statement demanding his restoration on the eve of US president Barack Obama's inaugural address to that body will place pressure on the US to take a clear stand.

Zelaya's return, says Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, "will finally force the US to "choose sides." With the Organization of American States convening an emergency meeting Monday night in which it will undoubtedly voice strong support for Zelaya, it is, as Weisbrot notes, "pretty clear that the rest of the world will stand with Zelaya, for his return to the presidency, and for the restoration of democracy in Honduras."

And sure enough, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, acknowledging that Zelaya's gambit has indeed changed the terms of the debate, issued a statement saying that the time was "opportune" to restore Zelaya to the presidency. Better late than never.

 

 

Comments

[piul05]

The US administration's stand on the Honduras coup has been shameful, reinforcing the idea that, for all the talk about change, policies such as the Monroe doctrine are still firmly in place.

Thankfully, the Brazilian government, in a impressive display of leadership, did the right, moral thing and actively helped President Zelaya return . Brazil itself suffered a CIA-backed coup back in 1964 and, together with the vast majority of LA countries, it's sending a clear message that it's not going to allow foreign interests and fifth columnists to re-enact the School of Americas' golden era.

Different times, different geopolitical alignments, different strengths - Washington has some catching up to do.

[Carmencita]

Zelaya's story is nothing but exaggerated fantasy. Here are the facts which have actually been documented: he landed in El Salvador at 10pm on Sunday, September 20. He didn't leave El Salvador right away because he was not authorized to land, so he had to deal with the authorities until leaders of the FMLN met with him. There are no official records about the time at which Zelaya left El Salvador, but his next appearance was at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa at 3 am on Monday, September 21.
According to Mel, he traveled “in car trunks and even aboard tractors to cross into Honduras by land." Well, for anyone familiar the Honduran terrain, it is clear he couldn't have made it to Tegucigalpa from any of the three borders in just 5 hours (and that is, if you ignore the time it took him to deal with the immigration authorities and to meet with the FMLN ppl). The only way in which the hours add up is if he landed in Palmerola, a military base controlled by the US, about an hour away from Tegucigalpa. Unless the rules for arithmetical computations have changed, it is mathematically impossible for this man to have traveled by land given the timing between his stay in El Salvador and his entry to the Brasilian embassy (or even the time at which the media started to disseminate the news about his return (i.e., 9am).

[liberty101g]

It's funny how the left throws around the word "democracy" when in fact what they mean is mob-rule and the overthrow of current laws. This was NO Coup by the interim government but an act well within the powers of their Constitution and Rule of Law which explicitly states that the president can ONLY serve for one term, AND explicitly states that anyone attempting to change the term limits would forfiet their position immediately. This is to protect the government and NOT allow a de facto dictator to be established. However, Zelaya is a student and benefactor of Chavez who in his country eliminated term limits by replacing the justices and forcing thru a referendum to allow him to be "president for life". This is dictatorship and facsim under the disquise of a democracy. The Honduran Gov't could see this coming and put a stop to it. Why it is that Obama is supporting Zelaya? Is it because of honoring Hondurian soverienty, their laws or their Constitution? I think not! It's also a violation of Honduran soverienty for Brazil to allow Zelaya to be held up in their embassy.

Viva Honduras and Support for the interim government!!

[av2ts]

No coup eh? Even the military's own lawyers admit that removing the President from the country against his will was an illegal, un-Constitutional act. Then the Congress (who has no power to appoint a President) voted to "transition" from Zelaya to Micheletti based on a fabricated resignation letter. No coup, eh?

Your "evidence" is that the Constitution says a President can only serve one term. Well that is all Zelaya intended to do. The election was set for November, with the candidates already known. Zelaya was not running. He was ineligable to run. He never said a word about running. There is not one piece of evidence that he intended to run. This is all lies to excuse a coup - quite sad that the right-wing is back to that old trick.

And Chavez did not "force through" a referendum on ending term limits in that country. It was voted on by the majority of Venzuelan people through a free and fair election with much higher participation than we've had here in the US for quite some time.

[moncho]

Its a sad day for democracy...I am sure that Chavez and the Castro brothers are very happy today..These true bilievers in democracy.....Chavez and Castro do know a thing about coups....as I am sure you condemned these as well..

[Snowball]

You mean the failed 2002 coup in Venezuela that briefly installed oil industry oligarch and head of the Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce Pedro Carmona.

I'm sure you condemn that one as well.

[av2ts]

It is worth remembering that Hillary and the State Department have been consistent about very little in this case. The only thing they HAVE been consistent about was keeping Zelaya away from Honduras. They claimed this would be "dangerous" and an unnecessary "provocation."

Given the pressure the coup regime is under right now, it seems clear Zelaya should have done this a long time ago. The spotlight is now squarely where it should be - on the repression (closing media, cutting electricity, shutting cel phone networks, internet connections, etc) and international isolation of this despicable right-wing coup regime.

[Snowball]

That may because Lanny Davis has Clinton's ear.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-grandin/fact-checking-lanny-davis_b_255900.html