My dismay is over the position that the United States has taken regarding the transition of power here in Honduras. I’m not going to argue whether it was a coup or not. My first question to the world leaders is, where was your indignation when the then-President Zelaya violated the Honduran Constitution, the rulings of the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Attorney General and the National Prosecutor by proceeding with an illegal action referring to changing the prohibition of presidential reelection?
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Where were the voices of democracy when Zelaya defied these branches of government? When Zelaya publicly said many times that he was ignoring their rulings and was going forward with his illegal referendum, where were questions from the OAS, UN, or individual countries? When Zelaya led a mob and broke into a military base to steal voting materials that had been legally confiscated by the Attorney General, where was the outrage?
Some ask what would we do if the U.S. military entered the White House, arrested the president and exiled him. I ask this question, what would we do if the United States President defied rulings of its Supreme Court. I have to believe that the American public would be as outraged as the Hondurans were by Zelaya’s actions.
- Mitch Cummins & Judith Allred, San Antonio Express
Excellent piece, guys! These are the voices of American-Hondurans. That is, U.S. citizens who live full- or part-time in Honduras. They have a much better understanding of the 'lay of the land' in Honduran politics. Certainly their understanding is much clearer than some academic, so-called "Latin America expert" sitting behind a desk in Berkeley, CA.
No one -- including a President -- is above the law. Zelaya arrogantly, defiantly, and criminally stepped way outside the boundaries established by the laws of Honduras. Someone with his twisted mindset is extremely dangerous in a position of power. (See Hugo Chavez, Venezuela). This rogue actor had to go.
One elected official does not a democracy make.
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