Honduras in State of “Exception”
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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:
- 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. - 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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Well said Aaron!!….Michelletti and his government have been
“shooting themselves in the foot” ever since June 28th. Unfortunately, there are many politicians who believe that in order to create a democracy, you have to take freedoms away. There are also many people in the ruling class (my acquaintances) who believe freedom of speech only applies to points of view which are in accordance with theirs. This tells me that they do not have a full understanding of what a democracy really is. I love the Honduran people, and I hope that this ends peacefully.
Ok…being down here in the “trenches” I can state the following:
Since Mel got back there has been an uprising and everynight shots are fired (cos I hear em) a State of Siege or whatever is happening at this moment is needed because some people want violence to happen and other people want to retaliate to that violence inflicted upon them (guilty!).
We are so close, so very close to a civil uprising that can lead to civil war that some rights have to be taken aside in order to protect the uneasy peace we have.
I agree that it sucks, I agree that it may not be the best approach to an already fucked situation, but it could be much worse if it wasnt addressed in that fashion.
It’s not often that I disagree with you, Aaron, but this time I think you’re wrong.
Zelaya was quoted throughout Honduras and the world yesterday:
“I call on you to mobilize throughout Honduras, and that everyone who can come to Tegucigalpa to fight in the final offensive,” he said in a statement on local Radio Globo.
Many of the pro-resistance blogs, radio and TV stations are also urging Zelaya followers to go to Tegucigalpa and protest violently.
I fail to see what other action the Micheletti government could have taken in order to try to prevent further bloodshed.
Pete, I’d love to be wrong about this. “Final offensive” is a strong phrase, even though Zelaya has constantly bluffed throughout the crisis.
I’m forced to sift through the news thousands of miles away, and don’t know how things are on the ground. The Zelayistas are vowing to protest anyway and things could get nastier.
I hope you’re right. Still, this suspension is tremendously costly: international repudiation will worsen.
I agree with you there – the international pressure will get worse. The OAS has already convened an emergency meeting for this morning, and I would suspect that one of the more fanatical pro-Zelaya countries will be asking for an UN Security Council emergency meeting within the day. With the US chairing the Security Council at the moment, things do not look good.
CNN’s version of this is surprisingly balanced!
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/28/honduras.president/
I hope that things in Honduras get settled. People is suffering down there since Mel Zelaya got back. he has called upon his followers and qoute” RESTITUCION O MUERTE”, meaning that he is either Restituted back in Power or Death. Do you honestly think that this is peaceful call? He has done nothing but create chaos and suffering to the Honduran people.
Monica, I agree with you completely, Zelaya’s return has created nothing but trouble. I just want the election to be recognized, and if there is no opposition media allowed to express themselves freely, the world will have every reason or excuse to call the election a fraud. Consider Chavez and what he did to win the last referendum he called for…he forbade opposition adverts to run until after midnight. He won.
Aaron,
I think the government calculated the domestic risk and international risk and believed the domestic risk to be greater.
First, it seems like the international media and politicians are not willing to admit fault and reverse their courses, at least until the elections. Therefore, pleasing them right now may not bear anything positive.
On the other hand, local people who had their homes and businesses looted by the protesters are getting very angry. Many are upset that the government has let the looting happened. Doing nothing might lead to the government’s downfall.
Forgive me for posting anonymously with a fake name. I’m not 40 yet but I’ve already been through 4 real coups, both bad ones and good ones.
Thanks Allan, I hope you are right, and that he people back Micheletti’s decision.
Unfortunately, it’s Pepe Lobo that won’t back Micheletti’s decision. That in itself is not surprising if you know Lobo’s politics which is to shy away from any tough decision.
Where we go from here is anybody’s guess but I can see the beginning of the end and it’s not looking too rosy.
[...] Honduran government recently declared a State of Exception and suspended many Constitutional rights because of reports of a plann…. Aaron Ortiz of Pensieve has a rundown on what has been suspended. Cancel this [...]
[...] Honduran government recently declared a State of Exception and suspended many Constitutional rights because of reports of a plann…. Aaron Ortiz of Pensieve has a rundown on what has been [...]
First I would like to say that the newspapers and several TV stations have reported opposing views throughout this. I’ve seen round table debates with strong pro-Zelaya participants on several channels. Even La Prensa has printed opposing views. I don’t think that will change. I think your statement about what you could not do is a gross exaggeration — just like the international media is erroneously reporting.
I think — and hope that I’m right — that this measure is to prevent the preaching of insurrection and violence.
Radio Globo and Channel 36 were doing much more than presenting opposing views. They were deliberately spreading false information to alarm and ignite people. They report people being murdered by the police or military who weren’t. They reported that 10 people were killed Monday, which was absolutely false. They tell people that they don’t have to obey any laws, that they are being repressed, that the country is without food or gas, that we are being invaded, etc. etc.. They have no professionalism or ethics.
This weekend I spent some time watching Channel 36. I think you would have been shocked. One person called in to say that he thought dialogue was the solution. The host Isdras interrupted him and asked, “Would you get a gun and go to the Presidential Palace to take out Micheletti?” The caller said yes and Isdras was happy with that answer. They also play mind games, implying that any one who gets their news anywhere else is ignorant. Is that journalism? Can you imagine ABC or CNN in the US talking about getting a gun and going to the White House to take out Obama? These people went way beyond what is decent responsible free speech.
As far as preventing demonstrations, the government is damned if they do and damned if they don’t — which is exactly what the opposition is counting on. I think the gov’t has an obligation to protect life and property — just like the US did in Pittsburgh when they prohibited a demonstration and used tear gas. But with the typical double standard, it is okay there, but not here.
I do agree that there is going to be hell to pay with the HR groups.
This is a tough call. I hope this won’t divide the opposition to Zelaya. The government is talking about repealing this decree, but it did what it needed to do: counter the call to a “final offensive”.
Wow! Esta muy pesado! Aaron es posible que puedas llamar al programa de radio mañana para dar una sinopsis de lo que con Honduras. Como a eso de las 7:30 AM tiempo de Arizona.
Gracias,
Carlos E. Galindo
“Hablando Claro Con Carlos Galindo”
escucha por internet de 7-8 AM (tiempo de Arizona) en http://www.carlosgalindo.com
[...] 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, [...]