Diplomacy

Honduras Coup Leaders Dig In Their Heels

August 1, 2009 Daniel Luban

As international opinion hardens against the leaders of the June 28 coup in Honduras and the U.S. moves to stronger measures against the post-coup interim government, evidence suggests that the Honduran leadership is digging in its heels against the international community. On Thursday, government forces violently repressed demonstrators supporting ousted president Manuel Zelaya, injuring several and detaining many more; on Friday, interim president Roberto Micheletti rejected calls for Zelaya’s return to power, declaring that Zelaya could only return to Honduras to face charges.

Micheletti’s defiance is notable in that it marks a rejection of the basic framework for the negotiations currently being mediated by Costa Rican president Oscar Arias. Earlier this week, Micheletti attempted to rally support in the U.S. with an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal — the editorial page of which has been the main mouthpiece for anti-Zelaya propaganda over the past month — in which he argued that working with Arias was “the way forward” in resolving the political crisis. (For a deconstruction of the Micheletti op-ed suggesting that it is the handiwork of former Bush operative Otto Reich, see blogger Machetera.)

But since the Arias negotiations center around returning Zelaya to power, Micheletti’s endorsement of them looks increasingly like a cynical attempt to achieve some appearance of international legitimacy in the eyes of a credulous U.S. audience. It seems that few outside the Chavez-obsessed fever swamps of the WSJ editorial page are falling for it, however. Yesterday, the Miami Herald called for a more active U.S. role in ending the crisis and bringing Zelaya back. While arguing that Zelaya “is no friend of the United States,” the Herald notes, correctly, that “this dispute is not about him. It is about sticking to constitutional procedures and keeping the military out of politics — a bad habit of long standing that should not be indulged by those who claim to have Honduras’ best interests in mind.”

Daniel Luban

Daniel Luban lives in Chicago. He is a graduate student in political science at the University of Chicago, and also serves as a correspondent for the global news agency Inter Press Service, where his reporting focuses primarily on U.S. foreign policy and has been published ...
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John Aguilar

Sticking to constitutional procedures? Are you joking? How about all the laws that Zelaya broke before he was taken out of power? Everyone seems to selectively forget that this man was trying to become a dictator! Zelaya was removed by the Supreme Court of Honduras and in accordance with the constitution of Honduras. And something not often reported, Micheletti is a member of the same party as Zelaya and was endorsed by him for the next presidential election. If Zelaya was content to relinquish the presidency as required by the constitution of Honduras, none of this would have happened.
I think it’s a shame that people become so blinded by ideology that they become convenient tools for dictators, drug dealers, assassins. All you have to do is say “but I care about the poor” and you can get away with anything. Democracy doesn’t exist without law. To say that “you voted for him, therefore he can do whatever he wants and that is democracy in action” is insanity. Mel Zelaya still must follow the Honduran law. He refused. The Supreme Court did exactly what they should have done and followed the law. The military was overzealous in kicking him out of the country, but it was that or be put in jail. Do you know what Honduran jails are like? He should be thankful. The only possible solution for this conflict now is to wait until a new president is elected by the upcoming November elections. If George Bush decided to try to run for office for a 3rd term illegally, I’d have expected him to be arrested as well. Democracy is not an ‘ends justify the means’ process. Zelaya is a Chavez/Castro wannabe dictator. Hondurans acted to save democracy and we should support the interim government in words and deeds so long as they continue with the upcoming elections process.
Murray

Daniel please… enough with the hyperbole.
I live here in Honduras. On Thursday, the government decided to crack down on the 100′s of supporters that have been sporadically blocking major roads and businesses since Zelaya was removed on June 28th. The people who need to get to their workplaces, or need access to the roads to do their deliveries, complained to the government, and the police decided to move the protesters off, starting THURS.. Just like in the good ole’ USA, if a protest or a strike is not peaceful, or if it continually infringes upon the rights of the populace, then the police are going to ask you to move on. Those who don’t oblige with the laws of peaceful protests, get moved by force, if necessary.
Please remember that the masked protesters who refuse to show their faces, do not represent the majority of Hondurans…far from it. And for a country that you seem to think is sooooo Pro-Zelaya, then why are there not more protesters? Remember, there are 7 million people in Honduras, yet the biggest protest in the last 30 days was around 3000 people.
…In addition, The Herald’s statement about following Constitutional procedures is laughable. What article of Honduran constitution are they referring to? They should be more specific, if they are going to pick a side.
If Zelaya returns to Honduras, he is going to jail for the laws he broke, and the corruption he was party to.
…Let’s hope that the world community honors the November elections and restores diplomacy with Honduras. The people of this poor nation, need all the help they can get….and with the candidates having been elected by their own parties to run in the NOV. national election, I see no reason for the international community to not support whomever will be our new president in JAN 2010.
Thank You.