peace

Bliss Beach, Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Honduras

quotable quote

Manuel Zelaya's record on quashing freedom looked like it was ripped from Hugo Chavez's playbook. Zelaya trampled the Honduran Constitution, pushing for an illegal referendum to allow him to rule indefinitely.

- Connie Mack, United States Representative (Florida)

Rep. Mack, a Republican, has introduced a resolution to condemn Manuel Zelaya in the U.S. House of Representatives.

ouster of Zelaya was a legal act

Zelaya is the type of leader who could cause a country to wish for a Richard Nixon. Earlier this year, with only a few months left in his term, he ordered a referendum on whether a new constitutional convention should convene to write a wholly new constitution. Because the only conceivable motive for such a convention would be to amend the un-amendable parts of the existing constitution, it was easy to conclude -- as virtually everyone in Honduras did -- that this was nothing but a backdoor effort to change the rules governing presidential succession. Not unlike what Zelaya's close ally, Hugo Chavez, had done in Venezuela.

... and ...

That was the breaking point for the attorney general, who immediately sought a warrant from the Supreme Court for Zelaya's arrest on charges of treason, abuse of authority and other crimes. In response, the court ordered Zelaya's arrest by the country's army, which under Article 272 must enforce compliance with the Constitution, particularly with respect to presidential succession. The military executed the court's order on the morning of the proposed survey.

... and ...

It cannot be right to call this a ''coup.'' Micheletti was lawfully made president by the country's elected Congress. The president is a civilian. The Honduran Congress and courts continue to function as before. The armed forces are under civilian control. The elections scheduled for November are still scheduled for November. Indeed, after reviewing the Constitution and consulting with the Supreme Court, the Congress and the electoral tribunal, respected Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga recently stated that the only possible conclusion is that Zelaya had lawfully been ousted under Article 239 before he was arrested, and that democracy in Honduras continues fully to operate in accordance with law.

- Miguel Estrada, partner at the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. A native of Honduras, he was a member of the official U.S. delegation to President Zelaya's 2006 inauguration.

"Injured by bites. Desperation in the people."

Photo courtesy of El Heraldo

Did an AP photographer inadvertently capture Hugo Chavez's plan to incite a massacre in Tegucigalpa on July 5, 2009? The photographer took the photo above in Chavez's office in Ciudad Bolivar (Venezuela) that day. This was the day Manuel Zelaya attempted his infamous return to Tegucigalpa to "reclaim the presidency" aboard a Chavez jet. The writing on the lower corner of the whiteboard behind him translates thus: "051345JUL09 Swarm of African bees. Presidential podium. Injured by bites. Desperation in the people."

According to political and military analyst Mario Berríos, that message contains the military operation to be carried out in Tegucigalpa the afternoon of Sunday, 5 July, that was directed and coordinated by ex-military Hugo Chavez.

The numbers are the military format group-date-time. The "Swarm of African bees" are the rioters who had been ordered to agglomerate near the airport's landing field and, when given the order, would proceed to invade the field to receive Manuel Zelaya.

In military terms this is called a "Presidential podium", that is, Zelaya being put back in power by a civilian force.

Berríos found the words "Injured by bites. Desperation in the people." very troubling. He thinks the objective of the military operation commanded by Chavez, was to cause a massacre, desperation of the people, and, in turn, create chaos and anarchy.

Source: El Heraldo [English translation]

Evil. Repugnant. Sick.

quotable quote

[Zelaya's] got very little on his side except for these demonstrators, which number in the single thousands. You can't govern with just rioters in the streets. He needs the institutions of government -- all of which have turned against him.

- Otto Reich, former Assistant Secretary of State

medicine

The Honduran Supreme Court, as it is empowered to do under the constitution, ordered the army to arrest Zelaya after he began to carry out a referendum for a constitutional convention that the court, Congress and his own attorney general said was illegal. Yet, many Latin American and European governments still call it a "military coup" or, as the Associated Press called it several days afterward, a "military power grab." Clinton and Obama dropped calling it a coup.

There are gray areas having to do with presidential powers and the fact that the Honduran constitution prohibits extradition of citizens. The army exiled Zelaya in consultation with civilian leaders to avoid precisely the sort of violence seen when Zelaya tried to return. He forced the country and its institutions against the wall, and for that he should take his medicine.

- Edward Schumacher-Matos, Washington Post

photo of the day

"We want peace." Photo courtesy of TeleMundo

Reich: new government is legal and constitutional

Had I really been the ''architect'' of Zelaya's removal, I would had advised that he be charged with the almost 20 crimes with which the Honduran Judiciary has now charged him, and be arrested by civilian authorities. I would have urged that the constitutional process be followed: the elevation to the presidency of the next-in-line, President of the Congress Roberto Micheletti, and the continuation of the electoral process, culminating in a November election. Finally, the Congress would have voted overwhelmingly, as it did by a 125-3 vote, to ratify the removal of Zelaya. Without my involvement, these steps were taken. Therefore, under Honduran law, the new government is legal and constitutional.

- Otto Reich, former Bush Administration official

Mr. Reich raises a good point here. The Honduran Congress DID vote overwhelmingly to remove Zelaya (125-3 as he states). Virtually all deputies from Zelaya's own Liberal Party voted to replace him. That kind of consensus is unheard of in the current Honduran Congress and it shows how opposed ALL Hondurans were to Zelaya's stubborn and misguided attempt to hand Honduras to Hugo Chavez on a silver platter.

the Honduran "cyber" street

The question is: Do you believe the decision to substitute Manuel Zelaya in the Presidency of Honduras was: Good ("Buena"), Bad ("Mala"), or I don't know ("No sé"). Source: Proceso Digital

These results are from a website poll on Proceso Digital, an online news outlet (rather center/neutral in its 'leaning'). The results are not scientific, but they give an idea of how Hondurans feel about the removal of Manuel Zelaya.

pajamasTV take on Honduran political crisis

The reality on the ground here is really upside down from what I was hearing back home before I left. The people here are proud of their government. This was not a military coup. This was sustained [by] their constitution. The supreme court ordered an arrest warrant for the President and it was carried out.

See the video.

Thanks for the tip, Jeannie!

Reich: $100 million disappeared from Hondutel

Marcelo Chimirri at the moment of his arrest. Photo courtesy of El Heraldo

In court, Zelaya would have been asked why he named his nephew, Marcelo Chimirri, as manager of the state-owned phone company, Hondutel. About $100 million "disappeared" from the company after Chimirri's arrival. Though Zelaya protected him, an independent prosecutor appointed by the Honduran congress charged Chimirri with embezzlement. Since Zelaya's removal last week, Chimirri has been arrested.

- Otto Reich, former Bush Administration official

$100,000,000 USD "disappeared"! Think how much benefit could be done for the people of Honduras with $100 million! Instead it's very likely stashed away in Swiss bank accounts of these despicable rats. We are now starting to see the ugly underside of Manuel Zelaya's kleptocratic administration.

no illusions

Roberto Micheletti and Oscar Arias. Photo courtesy of El Heraldo

"Let us have no illusions, this will take longer than I would had imagined."

- Oscar Arias, President of Costa Rica. Mediator between interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti and Manuel Zelaya.

Perfect. Run the clock out on Zelaya. The only way we Hondurans want this alleged traitor back is to face the 18 charges that have been brought against him.