06-07-2009, 04:21 PM
I thought now would be a good time to give a summary of the Honduran events till now. All or most references are in the previous post here.
This is, as most of these things are, a class issue. The elite cannot bear to have their exclusive power distributed to the people of Honduras.
Through out all these events President Zelaya has conducted himself with integrity and in accordance with the law. He certainly has the high moral ground and truth, justice and the people on his side. The Honduran people should be proud that he is their President.
Well, what is touted by the elites and coup mongers as Zelaya's power grab is not one at all but a desperate grab to keep power in the hands of the Honduran elite and to keep the Honduran people from getting involved in any political and policy decisions. The Honduran Supreme Court of Justice, Attorney General, National Congress, Armed Forces and Supreme Electoral Tribunal have all falsely accused Manuel Zelaya of attempting a referendum to extend his term in office. What President Zelaya intended to perform was a non-binding public consultation, about the conformation of an elected National Constituent Assembly. This is perfectly legal under article 5 of the Honduran “Civil Participation Act” of 2006. It allows all public functionaries to be able to perform non-binding public consultations to inquire what the population thinks about policy measures.
The Honduran Congress and the courts ruled against holding the poll. The rulings sparked a crisis when the head of the armed forces, General Romeo Vasquez, refused to allow the army to distribute the urns and other materials for the June 28 poll. The president of Honduras is Commander in Chief and has the final say on the military’s actions, and so he ordered the General’s removal. For disobeying an order to distribute the voting material Zelaya had Vasquez removed on June 24. Zelaya also accepted the resignation of Minister of Defense Edmundo Orellana. The commanders of the other branches of the Armed Forces, Military, Navy, and Air Force, quit in solidarity. A caravan of citizens and President Zelaya then went to the military base to recover the voting materials and to begin disributing them. The army then occupied strategic points in the streets of the capital city Tegucigalpa, reportedly including the presidential residence. The Supreme Court ordered that Vasquez be reinstated.
In the early morning of the day of voting for the poll Zelaya's guards were overwhelmed by 200 military soldiers who arrived at the Presidential Palace who were firing shots. The President was beaten and kidnapped and his family was threatened with death. He was taken to a military airfield where he was kept under guard by Honduran soldiers and according to Wayne Madsen, US soldiers. He was flown to Costa Rica. He did not request asylum despite what was reported in some media. He did request the U.S. Government make a public statement condemning the coup, otherwise, it would indicate their compliance.
International response.
The kidnapping of President Zelaya and the illegal take over of the government of Honduras has been universally denounced by the international community. President Zelaya is the only person recognised as the legitimate Presdient of Honduras by the international commiunity. Borders have been closed to trade by its neighbours. Money has been with-held by the World Bank and the USA. Venezuela has cut off oil supplies. No one in the present government is considered able to speak or act for Honduras (hence they were not able to resign from the OAS and why they were expelled from the organisation by the members of the OAS) and it is now a pariah state and completely isolated under an economic and political blockade. This will soon lead to severe economic consequences for Honduras and may result in splits within the ruling elite. The only way for Honduras to continue economically would be to become a criminal-narco state which may well be attractive to some players inside and outside Honduras.
Who is in the Honduran government now?
The current dictator is Roberto Micheletti. He was previously Speaker of the House and in Zelaya's party. Many of the parliamentarians has been scattered, arrested or have just not turned up. Micheletti is unable to fill may of the seat in his parliament with suitably pliant stooges. William Hall Micheletti, Micheletti's nephew, was installed as mayor of Honduras second biggest city. There has been wholesale arrests and removal of local political and community leaders who are nor supportive of the coup. Micheletti claims Zelaya had resigned and provided a fake letter of resignation from Zelaya. He was 'voted' in by those who remained and were permitted to attend in congress. Other members of parliament are saying they have been forcibly prevented from attending parliament and therefore any decisions made have not been legal. This has also been upheld by some of the Honduran judiciary and are mounting legal challenges against the coup mongers. Other judges have supported the coup and its actions. Zelaya has been charged with several offeces but was a) not arrested but deported and b) prevented from returning to answer those charges. Roberto Micheletti as the coup "president" passed an emergency law stripping Hondurans of the following rights from the country's constitution: 1. The right to protest.
2. Freedom in one's home from unwarranted search, seizure and arrest.
3. Freedom of association.
4. Guarantees of rights of due process while under arrest.
5. Freedom of transit in the country.
So much for the democracy and freedom that the oligarchy claim to want so much that they had to remove Zelaya.
The military.
Heavily dependant on US money and training and closely aligned with protecting the interests of the local elites. It has a long association with the US and the School of the Americas. The last overt involvement in Honduras by the US was during the Iran Contra events of the 1980's. The US funded death squads and paramilitaries to eliminate any potential “communist threats” in Central America. At the time, John Negroponte, was the U.S. Ambassador in Honduras and was responsible for directly funding and training Honduran death squads that were responsable for thousands of disappeared and assassinated throughout the region.
Reports have come in that several batalions--specifically the Fourth and Tenth-- 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.
General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, who ordered the kidnapping and forced deportation of President Manuel Zelaya is also a common car theif. On February 2, 1993, the front page of the Tegucigalpa daily El Heraldo included this headline: “Eleven Members of the Gang of 13 Go to Prison”:
Prior to these criminal acts he attended the S.O.A. but did not graduate.
The role of the US in these events.
There are many who are pleased with the response of the US to the events of the coup and who believe that the Obama administration is not involved and is acting in a qualititatively different manner than it has in the past.
Others see the hand of the US in this coup. Many do not think that because of the close relationship of the Honduran military and elite to the US and its interests that it would have acted with out the tacit if not explicit aproval of the US.
The US ambassador was 'unavailable' when the Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas realised that a coup was taking place and tried to contact him. She too was kidnapped, beaten and dumped in Mexico. The Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan ambassadors had tried to protect her from being kidnapped and were themselves kidnapped and beaten and dumped. A crime under internatioanl law and a pretext for war.
The US admits it knew of the coup attempt before it happened but did nothing to prevent it. It had been "working for several days" with the coup planners in Honduras to halt the illegal overthrow of President Zelaya but did nothing like tell them it would cut off all money and supplies if they went ahead.
It public statements since the coup have been ambiguous and it appears to be playing two games. On the one hand it signs the OAS and UN strongly worded statements against the coup. But there is no statement from the Whitehouse yet calling it a 'coup d'etat'. Nor have they called for President Zelaya's immediate reinstatement and specifically said they had not called for his reinstatement. They are also willing to 'work' with all parties- including the coup mongers. Which gives them unwarranted legitimacy. Obama has just pollywaffled like we have come to expect from him now.
Wayne Madsen states that US miliatary were at the base where Zelaya was taken to after being kidnapped and were involved in his arrest and deportation.
Time is yet to tell what Obama will do or if he will just remain 'concerned'. Time is running out.
Media.
The coup is not being televised in Honduras. There is total media black out on it. Like it never happened. Go back to sleep. In fact that is what one of the big media owners said. There has been no coup. He also said that there is no censorship. However only media in support of the coup are allowed to operate. All other media have been shut down by the military. TV stations are playing cooking shows and cartoons. There is also major disruptions to mobile phone services, electricity and internet services.
The Telesur journalist and crew and some UP journalists and crew were arrested and about to be deported (all this against international law) but because of a rapid response from different governments, the OAS, the UN and other international actors, they have been released.
CNN Espanol has sided with the coup and much of the MSM has had a very strange grasp of the events happening and is mixed at best and deceptive and complicit at worst.
On the other hand there has been excellent coverage on the internet. Narco News and Postcards from the Revolution and even InkaCola news have done some great cover. There are a couple of local Honduran blogs who post intermittently when they can.
The twittering oligarchy class have launched themselves into the propaganda campaign but they have been countered by more informed voices too.
Despite the media blackout and the massive military repression between 200,00 to 500,000 people heard the call and went to meet Zelaya at the airport.
I'll add more tomorrow. It is late here.
This is, as most of these things are, a class issue. The elite cannot bear to have their exclusive power distributed to the people of Honduras.
Quote:A member of Honduras' Congress has just admitted that in discussions with the US Ambassador in Honduras, the US Ambassador suggested they just let the opinion poll take place and then vote against the Constitutional Assembly in November, but, said the congressmember, "we can't just allow 'these people' to do this with the help of Venezuela and Cuba."What Zelaya has done.
"we can't have a constitution that allows the 'people' to elect members on the supreme court and allows the 'people' to be involved in government".......
The current constitution, written in 1982 during the height of the Reagan Administration’s dirty war in Central America, was designed to ensure those in power, both economic and political, would retain it with little interference from the people.
Through out all these events President Zelaya has conducted himself with integrity and in accordance with the law. He certainly has the high moral ground and truth, justice and the people on his side. The Honduran people should be proud that he is their President.
Well, what is touted by the elites and coup mongers as Zelaya's power grab is not one at all but a desperate grab to keep power in the hands of the Honduran elite and to keep the Honduran people from getting involved in any political and policy decisions. The Honduran Supreme Court of Justice, Attorney General, National Congress, Armed Forces and Supreme Electoral Tribunal have all falsely accused Manuel Zelaya of attempting a referendum to extend his term in office. What President Zelaya intended to perform was a non-binding public consultation, about the conformation of an elected National Constituent Assembly. This is perfectly legal under article 5 of the Honduran “Civil Participation Act” of 2006. It allows all public functionaries to be able to perform non-binding public consultations to inquire what the population thinks about policy measures.
The Honduran Congress and the courts ruled against holding the poll. The rulings sparked a crisis when the head of the armed forces, General Romeo Vasquez, refused to allow the army to distribute the urns and other materials for the June 28 poll. The president of Honduras is Commander in Chief and has the final say on the military’s actions, and so he ordered the General’s removal. For disobeying an order to distribute the voting material Zelaya had Vasquez removed on June 24. Zelaya also accepted the resignation of Minister of Defense Edmundo Orellana. The commanders of the other branches of the Armed Forces, Military, Navy, and Air Force, quit in solidarity. A caravan of citizens and President Zelaya then went to the military base to recover the voting materials and to begin disributing them. The army then occupied strategic points in the streets of the capital city Tegucigalpa, reportedly including the presidential residence. The Supreme Court ordered that Vasquez be reinstated.
In the early morning of the day of voting for the poll Zelaya's guards were overwhelmed by 200 military soldiers who arrived at the Presidential Palace who were firing shots. The President was beaten and kidnapped and his family was threatened with death. He was taken to a military airfield where he was kept under guard by Honduran soldiers and according to Wayne Madsen, US soldiers. He was flown to Costa Rica. He did not request asylum despite what was reported in some media. He did request the U.S. Government make a public statement condemning the coup, otherwise, it would indicate their compliance.
International response.
The kidnapping of President Zelaya and the illegal take over of the government of Honduras has been universally denounced by the international community. President Zelaya is the only person recognised as the legitimate Presdient of Honduras by the international commiunity. Borders have been closed to trade by its neighbours. Money has been with-held by the World Bank and the USA. Venezuela has cut off oil supplies. No one in the present government is considered able to speak or act for Honduras (hence they were not able to resign from the OAS and why they were expelled from the organisation by the members of the OAS) and it is now a pariah state and completely isolated under an economic and political blockade. This will soon lead to severe economic consequences for Honduras and may result in splits within the ruling elite. The only way for Honduras to continue economically would be to become a criminal-narco state which may well be attractive to some players inside and outside Honduras.
Who is in the Honduran government now?
The current dictator is Roberto Micheletti. He was previously Speaker of the House and in Zelaya's party. Many of the parliamentarians has been scattered, arrested or have just not turned up. Micheletti is unable to fill may of the seat in his parliament with suitably pliant stooges. William Hall Micheletti, Micheletti's nephew, was installed as mayor of Honduras second biggest city. There has been wholesale arrests and removal of local political and community leaders who are nor supportive of the coup. Micheletti claims Zelaya had resigned and provided a fake letter of resignation from Zelaya. He was 'voted' in by those who remained and were permitted to attend in congress. Other members of parliament are saying they have been forcibly prevented from attending parliament and therefore any decisions made have not been legal. This has also been upheld by some of the Honduran judiciary and are mounting legal challenges against the coup mongers. Other judges have supported the coup and its actions. Zelaya has been charged with several offeces but was a) not arrested but deported and b) prevented from returning to answer those charges. Roberto Micheletti as the coup "president" passed an emergency law stripping Hondurans of the following rights from the country's constitution: 1. The right to protest.
2. Freedom in one's home from unwarranted search, seizure and arrest.
3. Freedom of association.
4. Guarantees of rights of due process while under arrest.
5. Freedom of transit in the country.
So much for the democracy and freedom that the oligarchy claim to want so much that they had to remove Zelaya.
The military.
Heavily dependant on US money and training and closely aligned with protecting the interests of the local elites. It has a long association with the US and the School of the Americas. The last overt involvement in Honduras by the US was during the Iran Contra events of the 1980's. The US funded death squads and paramilitaries to eliminate any potential “communist threats” in Central America. At the time, John Negroponte, was the U.S. Ambassador in Honduras and was responsible for directly funding and training Honduran death squads that were responsable for thousands of disappeared and assassinated throughout the region.
Reports have come in that several batalions--specifically the Fourth and Tenth-- 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.
General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, who ordered the kidnapping and forced deportation of President Manuel Zelaya is also a common car theif. On February 2, 1993, the front page of the Tegucigalpa daily El Heraldo included this headline: “Eleven Members of the Gang of 13 Go to Prison”:
Quote:“Eleven individuals arrested for their alleged participation in the theft of 200 luxury automobiles… were sent to prison yesterday… (including) Colonel Wilfredo Leva Caborrea and Major Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, accused as alleged participants…”
Prior to these criminal acts he attended the S.O.A. but did not graduate.
The role of the US in these events.
There are many who are pleased with the response of the US to the events of the coup and who believe that the Obama administration is not involved and is acting in a qualititatively different manner than it has in the past.
Others see the hand of the US in this coup. Many do not think that because of the close relationship of the Honduran military and elite to the US and its interests that it would have acted with out the tacit if not explicit aproval of the US.
The US ambassador was 'unavailable' when the Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas realised that a coup was taking place and tried to contact him. She too was kidnapped, beaten and dumped in Mexico. The Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan ambassadors had tried to protect her from being kidnapped and were themselves kidnapped and beaten and dumped. A crime under internatioanl law and a pretext for war.
The US admits it knew of the coup attempt before it happened but did nothing to prevent it. It had been "working for several days" with the coup planners in Honduras to halt the illegal overthrow of President Zelaya but did nothing like tell them it would cut off all money and supplies if they went ahead.
It public statements since the coup have been ambiguous and it appears to be playing two games. On the one hand it signs the OAS and UN strongly worded statements against the coup. But there is no statement from the Whitehouse yet calling it a 'coup d'etat'. Nor have they called for President Zelaya's immediate reinstatement and specifically said they had not called for his reinstatement. They are also willing to 'work' with all parties- including the coup mongers. Which gives them unwarranted legitimacy. Obama has just pollywaffled like we have come to expect from him now.
Wayne Madsen states that US miliatary were at the base where Zelaya was taken to after being kidnapped and were involved in his arrest and deportation.
Time is yet to tell what Obama will do or if he will just remain 'concerned'. Time is running out.
Media.
The coup is not being televised in Honduras. There is total media black out on it. Like it never happened. Go back to sleep. In fact that is what one of the big media owners said. There has been no coup. He also said that there is no censorship. However only media in support of the coup are allowed to operate. All other media have been shut down by the military. TV stations are playing cooking shows and cartoons. There is also major disruptions to mobile phone services, electricity and internet services.
The Telesur journalist and crew and some UP journalists and crew were arrested and about to be deported (all this against international law) but because of a rapid response from different governments, the OAS, the UN and other international actors, they have been released.
CNN Espanol has sided with the coup and much of the MSM has had a very strange grasp of the events happening and is mixed at best and deceptive and complicit at worst.
On the other hand there has been excellent coverage on the internet. Narco News and Postcards from the Revolution and even InkaCola news have done some great cover. There are a couple of local Honduran blogs who post intermittently when they can.
The twittering oligarchy class have launched themselves into the propaganda campaign but they have been countered by more informed voices too.
Despite the media blackout and the massive military repression between 200,00 to 500,000 people heard the call and went to meet Zelaya at the airport.
I'll add more tomorrow. It is late here.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.