Time for President Zelaya to Return to Honduras
It's been almost a month since the military rousted Honduran President Zelaya from his bed at gunpoint and whisked him away--in his pajamas--to Costa Rica. It's been almost a month since the Organization of American States called for Zelaya's unconditional return. The efforts at mediation by Costa Rican President Arias have come to naught. It's time for Zelaya to go home and get back to the job he was elected to do: President of Honduras. And the U.S. government should help him do that.
Oscar Arias' first proposal, unveiled on Saturday, July 18, called for the return of Zelaya as President, limited amnesty for all parties, moving up elections by a month (from November to October), forming a government of national unity, new procedures to ensure the upcoming vote is free and fair, guaranteeing the personal safety of both sides, renouncing any attempt to carry out a referendum to amend the constitution and allowing an international body to monitor implementation of the agreement.
The Zelaya supporters I spoke to in Honduras were opposed to the plan. They did not even sanction the idea of talking to the coup leaders, they didn't trust Arias and they didn't want Zelaya to make concessions. "The Organization of American States called for Zelaya's unconditional return, unconditional; that's what we want," said campesino organizer Carlos Zepeda.
To the shock of many both in Honduras and the international community, however, Zelaya agreed to the proposal. But it was rejected by the coup leaders.
Arias then asked for another 72 hours. Again, to the amazement of many, Zelaya agreed.
The international community began putting the screws on the leader of the coup government, Roberto Micheletti. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called him on Sunday, stressing "the potential consequences of the failure to take advantage of this mediation." The European Union announced that it had suspended about $90 million in aid. In addition, the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank suspended $400 million in aid.
On Wednesday, July 22, when the time ran out, Arias announced another proposal. Like the previous one, it contained the basic premise that Zelaya would return to his duly-elected position as president. The Micheletti government stood firm, vowing that Zelaya will never return as president. And while the peace plan posited that for at least six months, there would be no political prosecutions for people on both sides of the coup, the Honduran Supreme Court said it would not offer amnesty to Zelaya. (The Court had ruled that Zelaya's attempt to hold a non-binding poll about rewriting the Constitution was illegal.)
Micheletti's negotiators asked for more time, but Zelaya, for good reason, has had enough. He insists that he will return this weekend. His last attempt to return home, by plane, was met with military tanks blocking the runway. This time, it appears he will return by land. While he has not said whether he will enter via Guatemala, El Salvador or Nicaragua, he has asked his supporters to amass at the borders to receive him. Zelaya's supporters are ready for his return. Every day since the coup, thousands upon thousands of them have taken the streets. They have been risking their lives confronting the military and powerful elite who have derailed their democracy.
The U.S. government, instead of working with Zelaya to ensure his safe return (the U.S. has 400 soldiers stationed at the Palmerola base in Honduras), warned him not to go back because it could lead to violence. This is, unfortunately, consistent with the U.S. position of talking a good line but doing little.
"The Obama administration has condemned the coup and cut off military aid, but that's not enough," said Honduran women's rights leader Sara Elisa Rosales. "The U.S. could have recalled its ambassador, as the European and Latin American governments did. It could have frozen the assets of the coup leaders and denied them U.S. visas. It could have cut all financial aid. And it could have imposed a trade embargo. In fact, if the U.S. cut commercial ties with Honduras, the coup would fall in a day."
It's time for the U.S. government to stop coddling the thugs who have taken over the Presidential Palace at gunpoint. It's time to cut all ties with coup leaders and help President Zelaya return home immediately. No more mediation. No more compromises. We must make it clear that in the 21st century, the world will not tolerate coup d'etats. We should be standing shoulder to shoulder with Zelaya's supporters to welcome him home.
Medea Benjamin (medea@globalexchange.org) is co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace. She is author of Don't Be Afraid Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart.
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It is obvious that, like most journalists who have written about the removal of Zelaya, you do not understand what is going on in Honduras. Zelaya's administration has been a pure disaster for that suffering country since he first assumed office, and his removal was an act of desperation. Among other things, Zelaya turned a blind eye to the nation's rising crime; there are roughly 10 murders per day and so far there have been around 60 kidnappings this year. There are many areas of Tegucigalpa that no longer have bus service because of the criminal extortion rackets that he has permitted to flourish. He wasted millions of dollars on his effort to stay in power through the "fourth urn" and did nothing to address the country's budget or infrastructure problems.
I have worked in Honduras for a year, and I can tell you there is not one person I know who wants him back. Quite the contrary, the Honduras are baffled by the fact the world is so desperate to impose such a vile person as Mel Zelaya on their country. Before you and your colleagues whine about "democracy" I'd suggest you take a closer look at what Zelaya actually did while in office.
Also, check out the demonstrations that have taken place in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula; not the handful of paid thugs and Chavistas who have demonstrated for Zelaya, but the tens of thousands of people who have demonstrated against him to keep him in exile.
small problem with this blog post--Zelaya was fired from his post by the Supreme Court at the request of the Attorney General. It was followed by the constitutionally approved succession.
End of story.
If Zelaya is willing to come back and stand trial for his malfeasance he's welcome to surrender himself to the authorities at any border crossing.
I'd change the name of the blog to "Time for Ex-President Zelaya to take a permanent vacation"
I just can't help but notice that you and the other pro-coup d'etat sycophants have gone from citing Honduran Constitutional law yesterday ( major flaws !! in your arguments ) to the stock-in-trade of all authoritarian ultra-conservatives .... the dismissive derisive quip.
But, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. Keep in mind, however, that neither the United Nations, nor the Organization of American States, nor any sovereign nation on earth, nor the average Honduran agrees with you.
Well, only 200 of your "average Hondurans" showed up to meet him at the border. And half of those were Nicaraguans.
Keep repeating the lie that the majority of Hondurans want Zelaya back. It may make you yourself feel better believing it, but no one else does.
only if the US could get the HECK out of the Honduran way...
obama half-heartedly pretends to care and support zelaya
while clinton double-speaks about whether "we can prejudge the situation" and
lenny davis, the clontons' longtime advisor, has been advising the guy who stole zelaya's presidency.
riiiiiiiiiiiight, the US will help zelaya......
Why should the USA support a leader of a country that was blatently trying to amend his nation's constitution so that he could remain in power longer than the law allowed? Would we tolerate this? No, and we should not support this behavior either by insisting on his return. Latin American countries despise us for intervening in their affairs when it is inconveniant for them, but ironically we are being cast as the "evil yankee empire" for not intervening when it suits their purposes. Let them settle their issues. We have enough of our own and don't get me started on that waste of skin Daniel Ortega.....
he broke the constitution of his country and tried to set up a dictatorship. no we dont need to do anything
ZALAYA WAS A FOOL WHO PAID FOR HIS FOLLY
Zalaya paid the price of getting too close to Benito Chavez and alarming the Congress, Supreme Court, Attorney General and military that he was planning a Chavez type dictatorship for Honduras. He overestimated his support and underestimated the fierce opposition he would cause from his folly. Zalaya has no one to blame but himself for his removal from office. Maybe he can land a job in Chavez's government or be appointed Czar of Latin American relations in the Obama administration.
Honduras: human rights tally for the day
One protester, Pedro Munoz Salvador, 24 years old, was found dead this morning with 42 stab wounds. He had been detained by the honduran national police the day before at 4 pm.
22 members of COPINH, an indigenous organization of Lencas located in northwestern Honduras, have been detained and are being subjected to torture. Among those detained are elder spiritual leaders up to 80 years old.
Rafael Alegria, leader of Via Campesina, has been detained and is being held at a police station in El Calvario, Paraiso.
Clearly, a victory for democracy.
Sabocat did you know that Rafael Alegria pretended to be a reporter so he can cross the border>? Wonder why?
That's ok crush. He and 53 others have already been released due to internal and international pressure. There are many, many more still being detained. Radio La Primerisma (your favorite nica radio station) reports the honduran military is preparing a stadium to house detainees. Kind of reminds me of Chile in 1973.
BTW, your response to the human rights abuses is pretty lame, to say the least.
Article 373 of the constitution states that the constitution can be modified by a two-thirds majority of the National Congress. Article 374, however, specifies that several articles are entrenched; that is, they cannot be modified under any circumstances.[41] The entrenched clauses include those on the system of government that is permitted, and the process of presidential succession.[31] Attention has been focused on article 239 by forbidding presidents from serving multiple terms with immediate eviction for even trying to change its limits.[3]
On March 25, the Attorney General's office formally notified President Zelaya that he would face criminal charges of abusing power if he proceeded with the referendum.
Honduras’ Supreme Electoral Tribunal ruled that such a poll would be illegal.[42] The poll was also ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.[43] In late June the intended consultative poll was also rejected by Congress.[44] In late May, the contentious-administrative court ruled Zelaya's plan illegal. On June 23, 2009 the National Congress passed a law forbidding holding referenda and plebiscites less than 180 days before the next general election; as the next elections are set for 29 November 2009 this would have made the 28 June 2009 poll illegal.
From Wikipedia:
In the crisis, President Manuel Zelaya's was removed from office by military force on the 28th of June after the Supreme Court of Honduras had issued an order on June 26 for his detention, which had been replaced in January 2009. Afterwards the court published a Communication explaining its actions. The Court determined that the president had violated Article 239 of the Constitution, which forbids a president from seeking to serve more than to one term in office and provides that any president seeking to amend or alter this constitutional limitation is to be removed from office. The validity of the court's ruling has been challenged.[10] Some have complained that the court is partisan. Larry Birns, director off the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, has described the Honduran Supreme Court as "one of the most corrupt institutions in Latin America."[11] The national Congress claims to have affirmed the Supreme Court's ruling by a vote of 125 to 3, in a show of hands on the day of the coup, 28 June 2009.[12] The Unión Democrática members, however, say they were not there, and some Liberal Party members have since said they did not vote for the motion.[citation needed]
President Zelaya disputes[13] that he was seeking to extend his term in office, arguing that he wanted to conduct a public opinion poll on whether a constitutional convention should be convened to consider various constitutional changes including allowing successive terms in office for the president.
This is an extremely selective interpretation of events. First, president Zelaya was taken by force at the hands of the military at 5:00 am. This is a violation. Any arrest order has to be presented and carried out by the national police, not the military. Secondly, any arrest order must be carried out after 6:00 am, not before. Third, it was a violation to escort the president forcibly out of the country. If indeed he had violated the law, he deserved the right to a trial.
Backing up, president Zelaya had initiated an informal poll, not a non-binding referendum. The corrupt supreme court's interpretation of a violation in this case is, to put it mildly, open to dispute.
Finally, given these violations, as well as the massive violations of human rights in the country, including 1,100 illegal detentions, repression against the mass media, the murder of several leaders and participants of the popular movement, the people have the right to the following:
ARTICLE 3. No one owes obedience to a usurping government or to those who assume public functions or posts by force of arms or procedures that violate or ignore what this Constitution and the law establish. The acts carried out by such authorities are void. The people have the right to recur to insurrection in defense of the constitutional order.
my little liberal ass doesn't get "it"....this isn't our business.
BUT the way I see it..the rule of law prevailed,the supreme court held up the constitution of Honduras.
Sure the elite love it..but so what?
I applaud the military for not following Zelayas orders to break the law.
I admire his own party for condemning his actions.
I celebrate the supreme court for upholding the constitution.
I laugh at Chavez for his foiled attempt to impose HIS dictatorship.(and I respected Chavez a wee bit at one point)
I
The US help restore a democratically elected President back to power? Sorry, I'm not holding my breath.
When the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls his return "reckless" and "not conducive to the broader effort to restore constitutional order", you know it's business as usual.
I'll second that.
Obama should ask for Clinton's resignation asap. But he won't. The USA should use its muscle to restore Zelaya to power, unconditionally. But they won't. The US mainstream media should report on the human rights abuses committed by Micheletti and the coup mongers, but they won't.
The more interesting question is why not?
Maybe because US plutocrats have more in common with the honduran oligarchs than with the democratic aspirations of the people of either country.
Hello Medea,
Did you see the other piece on the Honduras today Friday July 24th? There are some interesting links there re Chiquita /Dole/and the Fruit we get.... Checked the links out and feel really upset and concerned....
Our conscience is now bothering us. And we are going to look for more information on said subjects to confirm.
Take care.
Thank you.
And I object to categorizing the entire Honduras Supreme Court and Legislature as "thugs."
It's not ony ignorant and innacurate, but shows ridiculous bias.
I say it's time to arrest Zelaya when he crosses the border, put him on trial for his crimes, and for once stop the rise of leftist dictators who get to power under the guise of democracy.
Gallup poll - July 20, 2009
Zelaya 46 % favorable
Micheletti 30 % favorable -
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/33831/deposed_zelaya_outranks_successor_in_honduras
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