Thousands of Hondurans are now in the streets to protest the coup d'etat in their country. They have been met with tear gas, anti-riot rubber bullets, tanks firing water mixed with chemicals, and clubs. Police have moved in to break down barricades and soldiers used violence to push back protesters at the presidential residence, leaving an unknown number wounded.
If the coup leaders were desperate when they decided to forcibly depose the elected president, they are even more desperate now. Stripped of its pretense of legality by universal repudiation and faced with a popular uprising, the coup has turned to more violent means.
The scoreboard in the battle for Honduras shows the coup losing badly. It has not gained a single point in the international diplomatic arena, it has no serious legal points, and the Honduran people are mobilizing against it. As the military and coup leaders resort to brute force, they rack up even more points against them in human rights and common decency.
Only one factor brought the coup to power and only one factor has enabled it to hold on for these few days -- control of the armed forces. Now even that seems to be eroding.
Cracks in Army Loyalty to the Coup?
Reports are coming in that several battalions -- specifically the Fourth and Tenth -- have rebelled against coup leadership. Both Zelaya and his supporters have been very conscious that within the armed forces there are fractures. Instead of insulting the army, outside the heavily guarded presidential residence many protesters chant, "Soldiers, you are part of the people."
Pres. Zelaya has been remarkably respectful in calling on the army to "correct its actions." It is likely the coup will continue to lose its grip on the army as intensifying mobilizations force it to confront its own people.
International Community Imposes Sanctions
In the diplomatic arena, it's not that the coup is losing its grip -- it never even got a foothold. The meeting of the Central American Integration System in Managua Monday became a forum for pronouncements from one after another of the major diplomatic groups in the region. Latin America is a region where diplomatic recombinations have proliferated in recent years, so the alphabet soup of solidarity statements just keeps on growing.
The Bolivarian Alliance (ALBA) issued a resolution, announcing the withdrawal of its ambassadors while continuing the member countries' international cooperation programs in Honduras. The group urged other nations to do the same -- a growing list including Brazil and Mexico has already followed suit.
The ALBA group cited the Honduran constitution, which states in Art. 3:
No-one owes obedience to a government that has usurped power or to those who assume functions or public posts by the force of arms or using means or procedures that rupture or deny what the Constitution and the laws establish. The verified acts by such authorities are null. The people have the right to recur to insurrection in defense of the constitutional order.
Putting teeth behind the words has already begun. The Central American countries agreed to close off their land borders to all commerce with Honduras for the next 48 hours. The Central American Bank for Economic Integration has cut off all lending until the president is restored to power.
It also called for sanctions in multilateral organizations: "We propose that exemplary sanctions be applied in all multilateral organizations and integration groups, to contribute to bringing about the immediate restitution of the constitutional order in Honduras, and to make good on the principle of action that Jose Marti taught us when he said: 'If each one does his duty, no-one can overcome us.'"
The Rio Group of Latin American and Caribbean nations also met in Managua and issued a statement condemning the coup and supporting Zelaya. Organization of American States Sec. General Jose Insulza was there too. President Zelaya received a standing ovation following his closing speech.
The U.S. government has been unambiguous in its condemnation of the coup and support of President Zelaya. President Obama stated today, "We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the democratically elected president there." He added,"It would be a terrible precedent if we start moving backwards into the era in which we are seeing military coups as a means of political transition rather than democratic elections."
After years of the Bush administration, when the commitment to democracy abroad was decided more on the basis of ideological affinities than democratic practice, some sectors have trouble accepting that the U.S. government is condemning the overthrow of a president who espouses left-wing causes. Note the obstinacy of reporters at today's State Department press conference:
QUESTION: So Ian, I'm sorry, just to confirm -- so you're not calling it a coup, is that correct? Legally, you're not considering it a coup?
MR. KELLY: Well, I think you all saw the OAS statement last night, which called it a coup d'état, and you heard what the Secretary just said... [Clinton explicitly called it a coup].
This discussion and another drawn-out discussion in which reporters attempted to open up a window of doubt over support for reinstatement of Zelaya went on quite a while. Ian Kelly, the Dept. spokesperson, held fast as reporters tried to equate supposed violations of law by Zelaya with a military coup in an fantasy "everyone's-at-fault" scenario. Kelly reiterated that the coup is indeed an illegal coup and the only solution is return of the elected president.
The "coup question" is more than semantics and has implications beyond conservative media's political agenda to justify the coup leaders. When a legal definition of coup is established, most U.S. aid to Honduras must be cut off.
Here's the relevant part of the foreign operations bill:
Sec. 7008. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant to titles III through VI of this Act shall be obligated or expended to finance directly any assistance to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree.
So far, the Obama administration has focused on diplomatic efforts and is waiting to see how long the Honduran stand-off will last before looking to specific sanctions. The probability that the coup's days are numbered make that a reasonable strategy for the time being.
Attack on Freedom of Expression
The military coup has also launched an all-out attack on freedom of expression in the country. Venezuela's Telesur reports that its team was detained and military personnel threatened to confiscate its video equipment if it continued to broadcast.
The ALBA declaration notes the use of censorship as a tool of the coup: "This silence was meant to impose the dictatorship by closing the government channel and cutting off electricity, seeking to hide and justify the coup before the people and the international community, and demonstrating an attitude that recalls the worst era of dictatorships that we've suffered in the twentieth century in our continent."
Grassroots organizations that support President Zelaya have faced an uphill battle against the media, which alternates between scaring people about the risk to keep them out of the streets and denying the existence of those who do go out. A message from Via Campesina Honduras warns people that information is controlled by the coup to hide opposition, cut off communications on many channels and only allowed information that favors them. They have now organized to open up contact with reporters throughout the world.
An increasingly organized opposition, and independent media on the scene and on the net are breaking through the information blockade. A third source is Twitter. A major player in the Iranian uprising, Twitter has become the pulse of, if not the body politic, at least some bodies of that politic.
All this means that the information black-out designed by the coup is riddled with points of light. It's still hard to get statistical information like crowd numbers or figures of killed and wounded, but Honduras is certainly not the isolated and insignificant "banana republic" it once was.
The Return of the President
Zelaya now leaves for New York City where he will speak before the General Assembly of the United Nations to further outpourings of support. In Managua, he announced that from there he will return, accompanied by Insulza, to Honduras.
In an interview with CNN a coup leader said that Zelaya "can return to Honduras -- as long as he leaves his presidency behind."
The Honduran ambassador the the UN, Jorge Reina, said that although the coup leaders have asked to address the UN, "the UN does not recognize them...They have made a serious mistake, those who think that countries can be led through coups."
"That history has passed."
Follow Laura Carlsen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tortuga7
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0702/p09s03-coop.html
What occurred was not a coup, but the application of justice towards a person who continually violated the law despite the fact that he was cautioned by the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, Congress, the Human Rights Commission and the Honduran Armed Forces, on numerous occasions to desist from the illegal actions he was promoting.
So finally, on a day when Mr. Zelaya Rosales and his entire cabinet were committing the aforementioned felony and after disregarding all due legal processes, the Armed Forces, with the support of Honduran Law, proceeded in detaining him.
The international community does not know the fear and tension we hondurans have been living under. Mr. Zelaya, with his Chavez-like aspirations (Zelaya wants to become Honduras like a little Venezuela), has plunged this country into the worst political and economical crisis it has ever faced. Our freedom of speech and basic liberties were being threatened. He has plundered the treasury for his own political aspirations and he ignored the poor people he had sworn to protect.
The international community gives us two very bleak choices: accept Zelaya and his new Venezuelan Constitution, or be cut off completely from the rest of the world and be threatened by Hugo Chavez. Do 5 million innocent people really deserve such a fate?
Long Live Honduras! Long live Democracy!
I spent some time in Honduras last year and have been interviewing Hondurans. The generalization about living in fear is just that--a generalization that attempts to impose your personal perspective on an entire population. This is, in effect, what the coup is doing, but with the use of military power to overcome political dissent from its views. It is not right. As to the choice of accepting a Venezuelan Constitution or isolation, I would be happy to review the evidence that a Venezuelan constitution will be imposed by fiat if Zelaya returns to rightful power. I somehow doubt that you will be sending that, since it does not exist.
There were many wounded and the military pushed some others back alright, that is what you expect when a protest turns violent.
Also, my friends have been part of the peace protests and after that they go to work or the bank. The only ones insulting, throwing things and covering their faces are the Zelaya followers. Last night a bomb exploded at the KFC by the airport by Zelaya followers. They are violent don't try to justify their actions. Who is feeding you this information. Wait Venezuelan tv stations and the ALBA spokeperson. HMMM
I agree with you a year ago people was in peace knowing that this will end soon. However the last 6 months were very stressfull for everyone on both sides of the country.
The Honduran constitution, enacted in 1982, has 378 articles. 6 of these articles are
“cast in stone”, meaning that they can NOT be changed. These 6 articles deal
with defining the type of government, territory claims, and presidential
term limits. They are the basis of the Honduran democracy.
Article 42, Section 5 says that anyone who is found to “incite, promote, or aid in the continuation or
re-election of the President” would face loss of citizenship and be charged with treason.
Also, no changes to the constitution can be done by the Executive Branch (the President); only the Legislative Branch. Since Mel knew this, he decided to do a poll with ballot boxes. Congress and S.C. said that that was illegal also. So Mel had his buddy Hugo Chavez bring ballot boxes filled with votes from Venezuela. This is when the Congress and SC issued an order for his exile. He was not taken in his PJ's either; he was dressed and ready to go to the ballot boxes for counting. Our pictures are more recent than yours.
Obama has it all wrong; he's on the wrong side of this issue. This is where his lack of world affairs is troubling.
Keep up on world affairs do you? Say goodbye to the OAS, the french and spanish ambassadors, the rest of the Americas, and say hello to UN sanctions and your new status as the rouge state that EVERYBODY, yes EVERYBODY can agree on,
You're like the kid in the marching band who can't keep in step with the other marchers. His mom says, "son, they were all out of step but you."
Whatever violations of the Honduran constitution Zalaya is guilty of, a military coup is hardly the answer. Let's not return to those bad old days when most Latin American nations were ruled by some tinpot general we called a "strong man."
A year ago, Zelaya wanted to pass ALBA, a sort of alliance with Chavez and other socialistic Latin countries. The Congress voted it down. Congress then went on recess and Zelaya went behind the Congress and paid his cronies to vote for ALBA. The issue was Zelaya passed ALBA illegally because the "real" Congress had not re-convened. There has been battle over ALBA ever since. And in March, he wanted to change the constitution so he could have another term which has led to his ouster. It was illegal what he tried to do and the government did the right thing in ousting him. Most Hondurans are very happy with this move.
It doesn't make it NOT a military coup because you or some people like it.
It doesn't make it NOT a military coup because spokespersons and media articles assure us that important court rulings which haven't been published and no legal process vetted allegedly authorized the military to carry out a coup which therefore wasn't really a coup.
There's a really good reason why every other government in the hemisphere recognized this as a military coup -- it's because it was quite obviously a military coup.
By the same death squad military leaders of the Honduran military who have been in since the good old death squad days of Battalion 316 and Reagan and John Negroponte since the early 1980s, yet another time period in which the military agreed to let a civilian government front for their power.
Again, let's see these rulings which allowed the President to be shot and thrown out of office and a guy from the legislature who was not in the line of succession to be made the new President. Let's see them.
Population is about 7 1/2 million. About the same as New Jersey.
GDP is is about 12.6 billion. Vermont's GDP is 24 billion.
The navy has 31 small patrol boats and the air force has planes purchased from the US.
This analysis reads like a classic ode to Central American leftist advocacy; citation of politicized organizations as if they were credible, selective use of wire reports, and insinuations of massive discontent over the destitution a people's Presidente. Like Depeche Mode, this song sounds a lot better in the 80's!
What Ms. Carlsen conveniently forgets to mention is that Mel Zelaya was unpopular among diverse sections of his country's population; from the taxistas cruising the Bulevar Morazán to the business elite in SPS. I've seen a plethora public opinion polls and Mel's ratings consistently fall at 30% or under.
Furthermore, all the political institutions in Honduras had turned against Zelaya and are ostensibly supporting the 'technical' golpe de estado; the Congress, the Supreme Court (5-0 vote authorizing his removal), the Military Brass (alienated after politicized sackings), the Catholic Church, the main opposition National Party, and even Zelaya's own Liberal party.
For example, the man who would serve out Zelaya's term is Roberto Michelleti, a Liberal party grand elder turned anti-Zelaya, and the Liberal candidate who is competing in November's election (Elvin Santos) is now a political enemy of Mel (despite at one point being his Vice President).
The planned 'public opinion' vote was viewed as a flagrant abuse of presidential power. This vote (with its non-binding subterfuge) was declared illegal by both the Supreme Court and the Electoral tribunal.
WHERE IS BATTALION ATLATL & THE CIA WHEN YOU NEED THEM?
Zelaya's brazen behavior in pushing a 'support-gauging' referendum vis-à-vis the inclusion of a "Fourth Ballot Box" was creating palpable fears of a political power grab. According to Title VII of the Honduras Constitution, amendments may only occur after a two-thirds vote by the Congress in two consecutive regular annual sessions.
The Democratically-elected Congress even had to pass a law preventing the holding of referendums or plebiscites 180 days before or after general elections; subsequently naming a commission to investigate Zelaya.
The reason why the US has criticized this 'coup' is because due process was not followed, and as such, violates the Inter-American Democratic Charter. De rigueur of our western hemisphere policy, the State Department has to pay lip service to the charter and thus its commentary should be seen in this context.
However, it is unlikely that the Obama Administration will put real 'pressure' on the government to reinstate Zelaya without substantive conditions or compromise. After all, Mel has progressively become a foot solider in the Chavez camp, supporting policies that work against US interests.
Clearly the political establishment overreached, and it is likely that Zelaya will return to the Presidency. Nonetheless, this should not be seen as your garden-variety golpe.
There is a dichotomy that ide0logical fellow-travelers who forage this forum need to understand: 'un-democratic' vs. 'anti-democratic'. Zelaya's hasty destitution may have been un-democratic, but this quasi-coup was by no means anti-democratic.
I've read the constitution.
From my post:
"The reason why the US has criticized this 'coup' is because due process was not followed, and as such, violates the Inter-American Democratic Charter"
"Clearly the political establishment overreached..."
The government must be based on the principle of participatory democracy which is at the heart of national integration, which involves participation of all political sectors in government to ensure and enhance the progress of Honduras based on political stability and national reconciliation.
In order to strengthen and institute participatory democracy the referendum and the plebiscite operate as a mechanism for consulting the public on issues of fundamental importance in national life
This is the constitution President Zelaya wants to change.
I think maybe the word should be restore.
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/16198/