Obama Has the Power and Responsibility to Help Restore Democracy in Honduras

Viewed from a distance, the streets of Honduras look, smell and sound like those of Iran: expressions of popular anger - burning vehicles, large marches and calls for justice in a non-English language - aimed at a constitutional violation of the people's will (the coup took place on the eve of a poll of voters asking if the President's term should be extended); protests repressed by a small, but powerful elite backed by military force; those holding power trying to cut off communications in and out of the country.

These and other similarities between the political situation in Iran and the situation in Honduras, where military and economic and political elites ousted democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya in a military coup condemned around the world, are obvious.

But when viewed from the closer physical (Miami is just 800 miles from Honduras) and historical proximity of the United States, the differences between Iran and Honduras are marked and clear in important ways: the M-16's pointing at this very moment at the thousands of peaceful protesters are paid for with U.S. tax dollars and still carry a "Made in America" label; the military airplane in which they kidnapped and exiled President Zelaya was purchased with the hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid the Honduran government has been the benefactor of since the Cold War military build-up that began in 1980's; the leader of the coup, General Romeo Vasquez, and many other military leaders repressing the populace received "counterinsurgency" training at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the infamous "School of the Americas," responsible for training those who perpetrated the greatest atrocities in the Americas.

The big difference between Iran and Honduras? President Obama and the U.S. can actually do something about a military crackdown that our tax dollars are helping pay for. That Vasquez and other coup leaders were trained at the WHINSEC, which also trained Agusto Pinochet and other military dictators responsible for the deaths, disappearances, tortures of hundreds of thousands in Latin America, sends profound chills throughout a region still trying to overcome decades U.S.-backed militarism.

Hemispheric concerns about the coup were expressed in the rapid, historic and almost universal condemnation of the plot by almost all Latin American governments. Such concerns in the region represent an opportunity for the United States. But, while the Honduran coup represents a major opportunity for Obama to make real his recent and repeated calls for a "new" relationship to the Americas, failure to take actions that send a rapid and unequivocal denunciation of the coup will be devastating to the Honduran people -- and to the still-fragile U.S. image in the region.

Recent declarations by the Administration -- expressions of "concern" by the President and statements by Secretary of State Clinton recognizing Zelaya as the only legitimate, elected leader of Honduras -- appear to indicate preliminary disapproval of the putsch. Yet, the even more unequivocal statements of condemnation from U.N. President Miguel D'Escoto, the Organization of American States, the European Union, and the Presidents of Argentina, Costa Rica and many other governments raise greatly the bar of expectation before the Obama Administration.

As a leader of the global chorus condemning the Iranian government and as one of the primary backers of the Honduran military, the Obama Administration will feel increasing pressure to do much more.

Beyond immediate calls to continue demanding that Zelaya and democratic order be reinstated, protesters in Honduras, Latin America and across the United States will also pressure the Obama Administration to take a number of tougher measures including: cutting off of U.S. military aid, demanding that Hondurans and others kidnapped, jailed and detained be released and accounted for immediately, bringing Vasquez and coup leaders to justice, investigating what U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, did or didn't know about the coup.

With the bad taste left by the widely alleged U.S. involvement in recent coup attempts in Venezuela (2002) and Bolivia (2008), countries led by Zelaya allies Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales, the Obama Administration faces a skeptical Latin American audience.

Latin American skepticism of U.S. intentions is not unfounded. Throughout his administration, Zelaya has increasingly moved left, critiquing certain U.S. actions and building stronger ties to countries like Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, according to the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. COHA, a non-profit research organization, wrote in 2005:

While Honduras signed onto the U.S.-led Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in 2004, and the U.S. currently is Honduras' primary trading partner and the source of approximately two-thirds of the country's foreign direct investment (FDI), Zelaya has, within the past year, joined Petrocaribe, Chavez's oil-subsidy initiative, as well as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), the Venezuelan-led trade bloc. Honduras' Congress ratified its membership in Petrocaribe on March 13, by 69 votes, and Zelaya signed ALBA membership documents on August 22.

The Honduran president has said that apathy on the part of the U.S. as well as by the international lending institutions toward rising food prices and deepening poverty in his country -- one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, with per capita income around $1,600 -- compelled him to turn to Caracas."

Obama's meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Monday, whose government has been condemned by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other international organizations as one of the worst human rights violators in the hemisphere, both complicates and will be complicated by Sunday's' resurgence of militarism in Honduras.

Zelaya, who continues denouncing the coup from Costa Rica, outlined the long term threat to Honduran and U.S. interests in the region, "I think this is a vicious plot planned by elites. Elite who only want to keep the country isolated and in extreme poverty," he said adding that, "A usurper government cannot be recognized by absolutely anybody."

This article appeared originally on Alternet: www.alternet.org.

 

 

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Comments

[AlinaM]

You may want to read this article before you judge:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0702/p09s03-coop.html

[spreadlove59]

I won't go into the extensive details but simply, On June 25th Zelaya published executive order PCM-020-2009, titled "Survey of Public Opinion Convene National Constituent Assembly," which instructs all government employees to ask Honduran citizens "Do you agree that in the general elections of 2009 a fourth ballot box be installed through which the people can decide to convene a National Constituent Assembly?" Since then, the Constitution (article 239) AUTOMATICALLY removed him from his duties as Honduran President, without need for an impeachment trial. (This measure was put into Constitution to guard against any dictator-wannabees) Read the text below:
Article 239 of the Honduran Constitution: "The citizen that has held the office of head of the executive branch may not become President or Presidential designate. Whoever breaks this disposition or proposes its reform, as well as his/her collaborators, shall be immediately removed from office and rendered unable to hold office again for ten years."
Because the Honduran Constitution can be reformed LEGALLY by a 2/3 vote in Congress except for 7 articles (Art. 239 being one of them) Zelaya's desire to convene a Constituent Assembly (they write new constitutions) shows he wanted to reform those 7 articles PROTECTED by Constitution.

[sdatty83]

I just wonder why Mr. Lovato speaks about situation in Honduras without even addressing Mel Zelaya's unconstitutional actions. Even though he was initially democratically elected, Mel Zelaya took steps to undermine Honduran law, democracy and the Constitution. In fact, Mel Zelaya:
(1) called a referendum less than 180 days prior to a Presidential election, in violation of bi-partisan Honduran law;
(2) called a referendum despite a provision of the Constitution which grants Congress the exclusive prerogative to call referenda;
(3) called a referendum to amend the Constitution, allowing the President (himself) to run for re-election despite a provision of the Constitution limiting the President to one-term, and another provision forbidding the amendment of the Constitution to extend the one-term limit;
(4) called the referendum despite bi-partisan Congressional action to prevent it;
(5) attempted to stage the referendum despite the Supreme Court's prohibition;
(6) flying illegal ballots in from Venezuela; and
(7) staging a siege of a military compound to seize and distribute the illegal ballots.
After these illegal actions, Congress and the Supreme Court acted within the Constitutional to order the military to remove Mel Zelaya. Once he was on a plane, the democratically elected president of Congress (a member of Zelaya's party) was sworn in as President (the Constitutional succession). Elections will occur on schedule in 2009. A new popularly elected President will be sworn in in 2010.

Why can't this aspect be covered too???

[sbelaire]

I only had to read the first few lines of this article to make me angry. Like you say "from a distance." I am an embarrased American that lives and works in Honduras now for 8 years. I am embarrassed because our President is actually turning his back on Democracy. If they are questioning what happened, at least get facts and investigate, but don't force a people to have a President that they don't want. Sure he was elected 3 yrs ago. That doesn't mean the same people still want him. Are Presidents above the law. There is some protesting going on now to reinstate Zelaya but very minimal. The larger protests started when the World Powers demanded they reinstate Zelaya because that is when the Proconstitutional Group started protesting. It will get worse if he does come back. Then we can thank our all powerful elite World leaders for real unrest. Right now I live in San Pedro Sula. I have been going to work everyday without incident. The only violence is the Pro Zelaya group. The most Pro Zelaya groups I have seen at any given time number about 100 to 500. There has been several thousand against Zelaya coming back. I just can't believe our US Government is siding for somoene who wants unlimited power. The Media should also be ashamed. Do you ever consider what you do to people....or are you only interested in printing what you think will attract more veiwers?

[huffino]

Obama has a chance to demonstrate to the world that change has, indeed, come to Washington. In particular, the long history of promoting military coups in Latin America can be reversed with a firm, unequivocal condemnation of the military coup, followed by concrete actions.

These military coups, backed by the usual upper crust, collapse when popular support and international condemnation combine.

The astonishingly large proportion of USA commentators that choose to look the other way on this blatant assault on democracy--often using ridiculous, transparently ahistorical arguments-­-continues to disappoint. This is where Obama can provide real leadership and channel the opinions of all those in his country that believe in democracy for all, and not merely for the "correct" electoral result.

Then perhaps we can move on to establishing democracy... in the USA as well.

[Zapatista]

The 1954 CIA / United Fruit Co. coup of Guatemala's democratically elected leader Arbenz - 'created' Che Guevara who was living there at that time. I wonder what this one will give us?

[BeeOplentee]

He was legally forced out of office. No one backs him but some bumpkin peasantry who don't know a communist from the Cisco Kid.

[expathonduras]

Mel is arriving on Thursday to the airbase in Comayagua... gonna get interesting...

[elefante]

The US shouldn't meddle in the Honduran transfer of power. BTW. the Honduran Supreme Court ordered the military to remove Zelaya from power. Zelaya is a communist attempting to set up a socialist dictatorship.

[PurplePeon]

Exactly.

It's truly baffling that Obama is siding with Zelaya.

[rich in brooklyn]

Mr. Lovato be more careful with the facts when he writes, "WHINSEC, which also trained Agusto Pinochet and other military dictators..." Pinochet was never trained at the SOA - only his officers were.

This is stated on "School of Americas Watch"'s web site: "Although Pinochet himself was not an SOA graduate, his influence is clearly held in high esteem."
http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=1579

[research]

Yeah, we'll get right to that,

Once the USA becomes a democracy again.

The USA, the DLC, the GOP and Obama are owned by the bankers.

the USA is a plutocracy.

[JustifiablyParanoid]

Yet again, we run into the problem that the U.S. has lost all credibility with the evidence of torture and a war of aggression and other numerous human rights and civil liberties violations having come to light. How can the U.S. be taken seriously when it urges democracy and liberty throughout the world; when it condemns the breaking of international and state laws--yet does worse itself?

The hypocrisy has risen to such a stifling level, it's a wonder we aren't choking on our own bile.

[expathonduras]

Guatemala, El salvador and Nicaragua are pushing hard on the Honduras government... closing the borders and halting commercial trade.

Except that El Salvador and Nicaragua use Puerto Cortes in Honduras as their port of discharge for containers on the Atlantic Coast.

meanwhile Honduras does depend on the Acajutla port in El Salvador for the container shipments coming from West Coast USA/ South America and Asia....

Not sure that the Government is going to be able to withstand all the pressure from the outside countries...

[expathonduras]

Looks like reporter didnt bother to much research on what actually happened. Expat living in Honduras the last 5 years..

Mel Zeyala was not acting as a President should have..... he insulted Congress, Supreme Court and the Military..... he had very limited support and continued to press on the special election despite the fact that it was ruled illegal... and even the attorney general was enforcing that.

Mel was alone and thats why this "coup" was swift and non-violent. Sure there will be some protests but those are the diehards...

The country replaced presidents... but the same party is in the power..... the Liberal Party.... there is not much violence because its not a radical shift in power. There is no Vice Preident now... because by law Elvin Santos can not run for President and be the Vice President at the same time... he was also against Mel. The next in line is the Speaker of Congress.... another liberal party member....

Its like if Nancy Pelosi took over if Obama was kicked out..... not a major shift in power....

Obama/US is tough spot here because they can not back the coup --- but they gotta love that Mel is out of power and the ALBA just got alittle weaker..

Im willing to bet in a few days most countries will accept that what happened was a legal transition of power... the Military only got involved to oust the president from the country... thats it.

[RoloTomassi]

"...the Military only got involved to oust the president from the country... thats it."

And...that would be acceptable in which other country that is technically defined as a democracy?

[expathonduras]

If Congress voted to impeach Obama/Bush... and he didnt leave office.... the military would move in and force him out.

2 Branches of the Government were involved... to me that a democracy in action.....

[GreatNews27]

If he won't restore democracy and the rule of law in this country, why would he try to do it in Hondouras? Geeze.........