The situation in Tegucigalpa is calm for the moment, but the population complains that the sudden curfew didn’t let them buy groceries. The airports remained closed, except for emergency medical flights. As soon as the curfew ends, and it must, the Zelaya camp is likely to become violent again.

Hillary Clinton keeps insisting that both parties sign the San José Accord. That is even more unlikely now than ever; should we be thankful of that?

Please join me in praying for peace and elections this November!

The BBC has interviewed Hondurans in response to the unexpected return of Manuel Zelaya to Tegucigalpa.

Telesur has misleadingly anounced that military forces have interrupted Channel 36 in Tegucigalpa. The truth is, however, that there are sporadic power outages in the capital at this moment. The power has been cut at Channel 36 and the Brazilian embassy since early morning. Even if the power cut was intentional, most businesses in Honduras have power generators, because power outages are very frequent even without a crisis like today’s.

Aftermath of Dispersal

The above is a picture, from El Heraldo, of the aftermath of the dispersal early this morning of the crowd that surrounded the Brazilian embassy.

Roberto Micheletti published an article in the Washington Post this morning. Here is an excerpt:

“My country is in an unusual position this week. Former president Manuel Zelaya has surreptitiously returned to Honduras, still claiming to be the country’s legitimate leader, despite the fact that a constitutional succession took place on June 28. Amid all of the claims that are likely to be made in coming days, the former president will not mention that the people of Honduras have moved on since the events of that day or that our citizens are looking forward to free, fair and transparent elections on Nov. 29.”

Archive photo of Manuel Zelaya in El Ocotal, Nicaragua

This morning, at around 4 am local time, the military used tear gas to disperse the crowd stationed around the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. There were arrests and violence, but no dead. Nevertheless Manuel Zelaya is calling all his supporters to go near the embassy to “force the government of Roberto Micheletti to dialogue”. The military have stationed a van near the embassy constantly braying out the national anthem at full volume.

A responsible leader wouldn’t return in the middle of the night when he has achieved diplomatic victory already. A true leader would protect his people. With his actions Zelaya reveals his foolishness, vanity, and selfishness. I hope he is jailed before the day is out, and without further violence. Zelaya desperately needs new martyrs, and doesn’t care for the safety of his followers.

Image by Sandra Cuffe, used with a Creative Commons license.