I met Miguel Torres when he drove me to a music practice in his taxi. I don’t remember what song it was, but the song he had on the car stereo struck me as highly unusual music for a taxi driver. We started a conversation about music, and he told me he too was a musician (and a mac user) and had produced and recorded a cd of his music and was working on the second one.

From there I’m glad to say that I have become one of his friends, for he doesn’t have many. I’ve spent many a night in conversation with his wife, his 6-year old daughter, his best friend and fellow taxi driver José Luis, or just playing music. I’ve also had the privilege of sharing the stage with him once.

Our latest project together was this video, which we recorded on the streets of Monterrey last Saturday. It is my first shot at video direction and production. I hope you enjoy it.

This is a montage a friend of mine and fellow blogger made of images of the holocaust and an interview on the air with Radio Globo director David Romero Elmer a few days before the station was shut down. I am not justifying its closure, but merely exposing the kind of opinions aired there. The following is a translated transcript of the interview.

ANCHORMAN: “Five pm with 12 minutes, Five pm with 12 minutes, we have more last-minute information with our executive director the Licenciado David Romero Elmer.

Good afternoon Mr. David.”

ROMERO: “Good afternoon Rodmey. Good afternoon Franky. A good afternoon the the audience of Radio Globo. We have been really a bit busy working on a series of investigations.

It is worrying, what is happening to the president, Manuel Zelaya Rosales, in the interior of the Brazilian embassy. That is why we have taken up the task to find out who could have set forth to…

I wonder, could there be Hondurans with the evil…with the capacity for such great evil to do what is being done to Manuel Zelaya Rosales and the people who are in the inside {of the embassy}? Are there Hondurans, I ask myself, who play so evil?

I have asked myself. I am Honduran. I was born in this country. I think I am old enough to evaluate the typical behavior of Hondurans no matter the position of the institution they may represent. I have asked myself, ‘Is there a Honduran, dressed in a uniform or not, capable of doing what is being done here; trying to poison the president of the Republic?’ I have found out that probably not. They may be accomplices. But Hondurans, when they find someone to help them do evil, they do do evil.

Sometimes I wonder if Hitler wasn’t right to have exterminated that race with the famous Holocaust. If there is a people who do harm in this country it is the Jews, the Israelites. I want this afternoon to say on Radio Globo, the full name of the two officers of the Jewish army that are working with the armed forces our country and who are in charge of doing all these acts of conspiracy, undercover activities, and everything that is happening to the president of the Republic.

After I have found this out I have asked myself, ‘Why?’ Why didn’t we let Hitler accomplish his historical mission? Forgive my sudden grotesque expression. But, after I have found this out, and many other things, I ask myself…”

Archive image of Honduran protester, taken July 2, 2009

Today interim President Roberto Micheletti has asked the Honduran people to forgive him and promised to remove the “state of exception” decree as soon as possible. This decree removed several constitutional rights, that the US recently called “inalienable”, echoing Jeffersonian language. These include habeas corpus, the right to free assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of movement, and freedom from unwarranted search and arrest.

From the beginning of the crisis, Hugo Chavez and Manuel Zelaya has been able to elicit self-defeating responses from the interim government. A few days before Zelaya was removed from office, he arbitrarily fired the head of the armed forces, and stormed the air force headquarters to “rescue” the ballots for a referendum seeking constitutional replacement. This was a direct provocation to the armed forces, congress and the supreme court to stage a coup against him. Nothing but a coup could give him the mandate to replace the Honduran constitution and “re-found Honduras”. He then spread the message to the media that a coup was being plotted against him, with Venezuelan media giving extensive coverage, several days before anything had happened.

The government responded predictably, falling into Zelaya’s trap. First they asked the population not to vote, saying that the referendum was illegal. Then the Supreme Court issued a warrant of arrest for Zelaya the morning the referendum was to take place. Even though their actions were legal, and justified by the constitution, deposing Zelaya was exactly what Chavez and Zelaya needed. Zelaya needed to play the victim, and had CNN poised to do just that. An hour after Zelaya was removed from Honduras, legally stripped of his office, his pleas were being broadcast around the world, drawing swift condemnation.

When the United States proposed a dialogue with Oscar Arias as a solution to the conflict, at first Zelaya accepted. But after a swift correction from Hugo Chavez, where he called the dialogue “dead before it began“, changed his position 180º. He expressed contempt that Arias would recieve a “criminal” like Micheletti, and gave Arias the ludicrous time limitation of 48 hours to get him back in office. And then….he got on his plane and left, hours before the arrival of Micheletti. He didn’t want dialogue. He didn’t want conditional restitution. He wanted to refound Honduras.

A few weeks later, Hugo Chavez lent a PDVSA plane to Zelaya, who used it to attempt to land in Toncontin Airport in Tegucigalpa. His goal: force the interim government to kill people. He set up his supporters in the line of fire with complete disdain for their safety. His plan didn’t go as desired, but someone was killed, a teenager named Isis Murillo. His death was not by a military bullet, but by one of Zelaya’s supporters. Nevertheless, the Zelaya camp has hailed this unfortunate young man as the first martyr of the “golpistas” (coupsters).

He then moved his offensive to the Nicaragua border. He said he would lead a group of his followers to Tegucigalpa, in an “apotheosis“. This forced Micheletti to begin the “toque de queda” or curfew, that has been much maligned my the media around the world. Once again, Micheletti fell in the trap. Zelaya was probably bluffing. He might have been able to enter Tegucigalpa triumphantly, but, his real intent was to force Micheletti to overreact and destroy his international credibility.

When his false attempt to return apparently failed, there was peace for a while in Honduras, but Zelaya went on a blitz on international trips, creating of chorus of international condemnation against Honduras. This was intended to get Micheletti to anger the world with his increasingly powerless responses. This also was largely successful.

Now Zelaya has returned, his riskiest action yet. But in returning, he is placing himself on the cross, and handing Micheletti the hammer and nails. He is daring him to crucify him and bring in the UN to rescue him, a glorious messiah, resurrected at the third month. He has spread the idea that Micheletti wants to martyr him, and call it a suicide; which is strangely akin to his wishes. He called his supporters to violently reinstate him, forcing Micheletti to create a decree that has, for the first time, created disunity in the Honduran opposition to Zelaya, and worse, creates the first credible threat to the legitimacy of the November elections.

What now? That is unclear. The decree will never pass in the congress. It will be repealed. What happens then depends greatly on what Chavez and Zelaya can get the UN or the OAS to do. Their manipulations are having worldwide ramifications. We need to think deeper, and see the motives for all of Chavez and Zelaya’s actions.

Image by José Luis Durón, used with a Creative Commons license.

Zelaya Supporter Protests the State of Exception Decree

Presidential candidate Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo, of the National Party, has said today that the elections will go forward, but that his party does not support any measure that threatens the freedom of citizens.

“No estoy de acuerdo con algo que restrinja la libertad de expresión, porque pone en precario todo, incluso las elecciones. Ese decreto deja mal parado a Honduras.” … “Estamos en la disposición de apoyar Honduras, pero sin atentar contra las garantías individuales”

“I don’t agree with something that restricts freedom of expression, because it makes everything precarious, even the elections. This decree gives Honduras poor standing.” … “We are disposed to support Honduras, but without threatening individual freedoms.”

In the meantime, the interim government has detained the ambassadors that Manuel Zelaya and OAS president Jose Miguel Insulza had asked to return to Honduras. After being in the country for six hours, they were firmly but politely asked to leave, to which they complied without resistance.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias has called the decision to create the state of exception “lamentable,” and warned that this would mean the November elections would not be able to be held in “normal circumstances.” He renewed his call to both parties to sign the San Jose accord, whose first point is the restitution of Manuel Zelaya to carry out his remaining term in office.

The United States did not comment about the decree yet, but chastised Zelaya as “irresponsible” before the delegates of the emergency OAS meeting being held at this moment. Lewis Anselem, the US representative to the OAS said that his return “does not serve the interests of his people nor those of who would seek the peaceful reestablishment of democratic order in Honduras.” … “Those who facilitated the return of President Zelaya have a special responsibility to prevent violence and the well-being of the Honduran people”. He also called Micheletti’s rejection of the OAS ambassadors a “deplorable act.”

According to a post in the El Heraldo twitter feed, Micheletti is government is considering annulling the decree in the next few days, at the request of the National party congressional deputees. The purpose of the decree, I suppose, was to counter the threat of the “final offensive” that Zelaya and his supporters announced yesterday, and confirmed today. Zelaya’s words: “I call on you to mobilize throughout Honduras, and that everyone who can come to Tegucigalpa to fight in the final offensive.”

Supporters of Manuel Zelaya have appealed…to the Supreme Court of Honduras to declare the “state of exception” illegal. This is perhaps the strangest act in this circus so far. It was this very same court that declared the referendum that Zelaya proposed inconstitutional. It was this very court that ordered Zelaya’s arrest. It was this same court that has presented 18 different charges against Zelaya. Fredin Funez, an attorney, presented the appeal this afternoon.

Why are Zelaya’s supporters appealing to the Supreme Court? Is there misreporting here? Will someone help me understand?

Elvin Santos and his wife, in a rally in Talanga

Elvin Santos, the Honduran Liberal party’s presidential candidate, sent me an email today in defense of the electoral process. The Liberal party is Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti’s party. The email is very clearly a mass email, but still I wonder how he got my address, since I am not registered with his party, but with his opponents, the National party (Pepe Lobo).

Mr. Santos’s chances of winning the election are severely damaged by the current situation. Although I don’t publicly endorse any of the candidates, I’ll take the liberty of translating his message.

“The main starting point for the solution of the political conflict in Honduras is the defense of the electoral process convened for November. The most important thing for us today is to defend the elections; this is the center of the solution of this conflict. What matters is that we have elections so that the world respects the identity and dignity of our fatherland. Today we are immediately required to contemplate that the elections are the way out of this problem, that under no circumstance can we threaten them, that no other alternate routes can be sought, as in other times we have been suggested.

That is why I urge the international community to immediately dedicate time to Honduras, to tell the Secretary of State of the United States, Hillary Clinton, that in Honduras, democracy is at stake, that the peoples hopes to obtain a future are at stake. If time is given to the problem of this Central American country, the international community’s policy toward Honduras must be restructured, and immediately seek another line of action: to listen to the parties; not to impose, but propose way out of our problems.

This is a call to the international community for them to regroup their thoughts and understand once and for all that what we are truly discussing is not the distorted version of distributing a pamphlet or a document between the main presidents with a biased truth. It’s about sitting down and listening to the clamor of the Honduran people, to respect democracy, and transparent and honest elections. We want elections and not the pressure that they are applying to our poor country as they are doing now.”

Image by Elvin Santos‘ campaign

Archive foto of Zelaya Supporters (July 5, 2009)

The government of Honduras has established a 45-day suspension of basic constitutional rights. Citing intelligence of a mass uprising being orchestrated by Manuel Zelaya and his followers, the “state of exception” includes the following:

1. Constitutional rights guaranteed in articles 69, 72,78, 81 and 84 of the Honduran Constitution are suspended.
   Article 69 is habeas corpus, freedom of the press is 72, freedom of association is 78, freedom of circulation is 81, and 84 is freedom from unwarranted search and arrest.
2. The armed forces will support separately or jointly, when the situation requires it, the National Police, putting in action the plans necessary to maintain the order and safety of the Republic.
3. Free circulation is restricted to what the President announces on the media and press releases, for the entire nation, and during curfew, with the exception of cargo transport, ambulances, urban circulation in cities not under curfew, and medical personnel, who are free to move even in cities under curfew.
4. All publication by any media, written, spoken or televised that offends human dignity, public servants, the law or government resolutions, or in any way harm peace or public order, will authorize Conatel, through National Police and the Armed Forces to suspend that medium.
5. All people who are circulating outside of curfew, or are presumed to be acting in a suspicious manner, or causes damage to people or goods, and those who associate with the object of committing unlawful acts or places their own lives in danger will be arrested. The accused will be read their rights, and a registry will be logged of the person, motive, hour of detention, incarceration, and release, examining the physical state of the detained, to avoid future accusation of supposed torture.
   Any public place where a manifestation is taking place will be cleared.

According to the above, were I in Honduras I might not be authorized to say the following. I think this is a great mistake by the Micheletti government. This will probably kill the elections. Two media have already been taken off the air, Channel 36, and Radio Globo.

Not even Hugo Chávez has been so sudden in doing this, nor so draconian. He accomplished the closing down of the opposition media after haranguing them for years, to the point of nausea of the people. In they end, they protested much less than they would if they had those media removed with one blow, as the Micheletti administration has now done. “A soft tongue can break a bone.”

Now all the leftist media are validated in what they have been claiming all along, and very few outside Honduras will believe the Micheletti administration when they say they are preserving democracy. I expect them to froth at the mouth after this. I wonder what the people in Honduras are saying. I will contact my family. I fear, that by doing this, many of those who supported Micheletti will now begin to doubt.

As for me, I will continue to work and pray for peace, even though I will probably be scorned and ridiculed by some. I am not in Micheletti or Zelaya’s side. I am for Honduras. I still believe, though, that Zelaya’s restitution is the wrong answer, what we need is free elections. With this resolution by the government, their freedom is now in question, but we need them more than ever.

Image by Roberto Brevé, used with a Creative Commons license

Manuel Zelaya at the Brazilian Embassy

I suspect Mr. Zelaya got another phone call from Chavez this morning asking him to create a violent excuse for UN intervention. Or maybe Zelaya misinterpreted the candidates’ cautious tiptoe to his side as full support. Or perhaps the Reina brothers are unhappy with his negotiations, and wish to stir the cauldron without consulting him.

How would we explain otherwise, that a few hours ago on Channel 36, Eduardo Reina has read a statement from Zelaya that expresses dissatisfaction with yesterday’s meeting with the presidential candidates and called for continued prostests by his followers? His continual swerves to this side or that and outrageous statements have already sparked the ridicule of some US media outlets. This one could cost him even more. His statement:

“Exhortamos la Resistencia a mantener la batalla hasta que juntos, pueblo y presidente, logren las refomas constitucionales y la caída de los usurpadores.”

“We exhort the resistance to maintain the battle until together, people and president, you achieve the constitutional reforms and the fall of the usurpers.”

Zelaya, with more protests, you’re only hurting your own credibility and giving all Hondurans a massive migraine.

Image from El Heraldo

Whatever your political inclination, please take time to read a transcript of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the UN general assembly yesterday. It shows how completely the UN has abandoned its roots.

Lobo and Zelaya embrace for the camera

Four of the six Honduran presidential candidates met with deposed president Manuel Zelaya for three hours last night. Both majority candidates were photographed embracing Zelaya, who almost kissed the liberal party’s candidate Elvin Santos, but barely concealed his distaste for National party candidate Porfirio Lobo, shown above. The result of the meeting was a joint statement where they support even Zelaya’s restitution to power, provided that Micheletti and Zelaya come to an agreement and elections are held.

The candidates either betrayed Micheletti, like the proverbial Judas, and with their embraces showed that their commitment to their constitution is less than their ambitions, or perhaps, they are being like Alexander the Great, who with a stroke of his sword, undid the Gordian knot. Or maybe they are doing a bit of both, to quell the UN kangaroo court that is poised to murder Honduran democracy in order to preserve it. This is all about power, not truth.

My feelings are that returning Zelaya to power would blatantly disregard our constitution, and lower even more my already subterranean regard for politicians. Micheletti needs Solomonic judgement, very quick. A loving mother would prefer her child be given to her rival than destroyed. Who is loving Honduras here? Zelaya? Santos? Lobo? Micheletti?

Hope for Honduras…low. Hope for peace…maybe. Hope for democracy…unclear.

Santos and Zelaya embrace for the camera