The US Congressional Research Service, a non-partisan congressional committee, has found the interpretation and application of the Honduran constitution that led to the removal of Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales to be legal. It has also found, however that his extradition was in direct violation of the constitution. In any case, he should have been tried, and if found guilty, stripped of his citizenship, and then deported.

The military, who obeyed the Supreme Court’s arrest warrant, were not authorized to extradite him. They did so, according to a military lawyer, to prevent bloodshed. This situation is under investigation in Honduras.

About twenty thousand Hondurans participated in a peaceful demonstration today near the UN building, the Brazilian embassy and the US embassy in Tegucigalpa. They were marching for “Peace”, “Democracy” and the “Defense of the Constitution of the Republic”. I wish they had interviewed some of Zelaya’s supporters from days past for you to see the extreme contrast between their attitudes, and that of those who marched today.

Don’t expect to hear any of this in the pro-Zelaya media.

Especially comical is the song that they sing at the end of the report, a rewording of popular ballad, Sacaremos ese Buey de la Barranca (We’ll get that ox out of the canyon). This is a link to a recent rendition by Los Felinos. The protesters were singing it Sacaremos ese Buey de la Embajada (We’ll get that ox out of the embassy).

It seems that we have a regular zoo in Honduras. Hugo Chavez called Micheletti a gorilla, and nicknamed him “Goriletti”. Now we have people calling Zelaya an ox! The Spanish word for ox, “buey”, or colloquially, “güey” is a mild insult in Mexico, but not in Honduras.

Here is a transcript of this video, by el Heraldo, in English:

EL HERALDO: “Hello, good morning, good afternoon, or good night, wherever you are, in any part of the world, welcome to elheraldo.hn. ”

“In this moment I am near the UN building. As we can see, tens of thousands of protesters have assembled in what they call ‘The March in Favor of Peace’, ‘The March in Favor of Democracy’, ‘The March in Defense of the Constitution of the Republic’. ”

“The majority of the protesters have expressed a total rejection of ex-president Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales and have also condemned and expressed their rejection of Hugo Chavez Frías, president of Venezuela.”

“I want to leave you with a bit of the environment that is happening in the capital and want you to hear the impressions of people who have attended the march.”

El HERALDO: A very good morning, madam, elheraldo.hn greets you. Tell me, what has motivated you to come to the marches in favor of democracy?”

PROTESTER 1: “Well, what we want is elections, right? And we want liberty and peace in our country.”

EL HERALDO: “What is the call you make to the international community so that they know the reality of what is happening in Honduras?

PROTESTER 1: “This man made mistakes, because he violated the constitution. And that is why we’re fighting as Hondurans, right? We don’t want him any more. We want there to be peace and that there will be elections.”

PROTESTER 2: “Truly, democracy, honesty and justice. The people are here, the real people the people who have suffered all these mishaps that this man has come to do entering Honduras again.”

EL HERALDO: “Marcio, if you could send a message to Mr. Zelaya, what would it be?”

PROTESTER 2: “Turn yourself in to the authorities.”

EL HERALDO: “These are some of the impressions that we have here in Tegucigalpa, the capital of the republic, near the headquarters of the UN.  Thank you for being in tune with us. This is elheraldo.hn”

PEOPLE SINGING: “We’ll get that ox out of the embassy, from the embassy we’ll get out that ox! We’ll get that ox out of the embassy, from the embassy we’ll get out that ox!”

This is the video evidence that has been lacking to lend credence to the current government’s position that a purpose of Manuel Zelaya’s proposed constitutional assembly was presidential reelection. Zelaya does not state he wanted to be reelected, but he advocates the reelection of other presidents. That, however is enough. Article 239 of our constitution states (translation below).

“ARTICULO 239.- El ciudadano que haya desempeñado la titularidad del Poder Ejecutivo no podrá ser Presidente o Vicepresidente de la República.

El que quebrante esta disposición o proponga su reforma, así como aquellos que lo apoyen directa o indirectamente, cesarán de inmediato en el desempeño de sus respectivos cargos y quedarán inhabilitados por diez (10) años para el ejercicio de toda función pública.”

“ARTICLE 239.- The citizen who has performed the titularity of the Executive Power will not be able to be President or Vicepresident of the Republic.

Whoever breaks this disposition, or proposes its reform, together with those who support them directly or indirectly, will cease immediately in the fulfillment of their respective charges and will be incapacitated for ten (10) years in the excersise of all public office.”

Below is a transcript of Zelaya’s remarks, translated to English.

ZELAYA: “Here the judges are reelected. District Attorneys are reelected. Mayors are reelected. Congressional deputees are reelected. Commisioners for human rights are reelected. The only one who isn’t reelected in Honduras…the only one who isn’t reelected in Honduras is the president.”

“But the reelection is a topic of the next National Constitutional Assembly.”

(crowd cheers)

“There will have the opportunity”…

(to someone on his right)

… “Leader, there your ex-father in law will have the opportunity” …

(in the crowd: “That one won’t return.” Crowd: “No!”)

ZELAYA: “We will open for them the opportunity in the next National Constitutional Assembly. Callejas will return. Correct?”

(The crowd cries: “No!”)

ZELAYA: “No, I have already told him, look Rafael Leonardo, if we go to the World Cup I can think of my vote, but you have to take my national team to the World Cup. If he doesn’t take me to the World Cup, then he can’t complain to me.”

“Do you understand me?”

“So, reelection is a topic in the next National Constitutional Assembly.”

Interim President Roberto Micheletti gave the above interview yesterday on CNN. At the end, the anchorman asked him:

CNN: Mr. Micheletti, in closing, how do you, how does your government cope with the international isolation? Today the United Nations are assembled, there is a representative for Manuel Zelaya in the United Nations. None of your representatives are there. The international call for the return of Zelaya to power in Tegucigalpa is enormous. How do you cope with this international pressure and with the isolation the country is suffering?

MICHELETTI: I try to be close to God permanently. That is the fortress of all Hondurans. Also, we have the Constitution, that shelters us to act the way we are acting. I don’t think that any nation in the world will be able to be stronger than the will of God.

CNN: But you are alone in this.

MICHELETTI: Yes, we are alone. But, we are surviving. Two months ago people didn’t thing we were going to be able to last this long. We are coming to close to the end of the third month. There is food; there is produce, meat, milk, everything that the Honduran population is consuming. And, thanks to God, this is one of the best harvests the country has had in 20 years. So, we have edible produce for possibly six months.