Lack of Amnesty Makes Restitution Unlikely
10
Stalemate
Both Roberto Micheletti and Manuel Zelaya have declined to including a general amnesty clause in the Guaymuras agreements, as they both claim to have committed no crime. But this makes it much more difficult to reinstate Zelaya, who has 18 charges against him in Honduran courts. Zelaya claims he is still president, and that Micheletti has usurped power, and thus, his restitution would be a restitution in practice only, but that legally, he has never ceased being president during the entire time. The Supreme Court would not agree with this, of course, and neither do the US congressional committee that analyzed Zelaya’s removal from office and declared that it was legal, nor the UN consultant whose memo reached a similar conclusion, but has been rapidly hushed up.
Both sides claim progress, but the stalemate continues. Nevertheless, both sides are talking to each other directly, which is an enormous improvement. Rumor mills have suggested that Zelaya would go into exile in Spain, and that Micheletti would resign, to allow a unity government to rule Honduras without the intervention of either, until the a new president is elected and takes office. Time is running out. The election is in 40 days.
Related posts:
Hi Aaron
After reading your post, I was sure that there had been some mistake. I thought that I read that a congresional committee had said that the removal from office was illegal—but I was wrong,…the Foregin Affairs committee said that–it is true that a library of Congress report declared teh “coup” legal….anyways, I read the Library of Congress report and I had some questions about it, but not the time to investigate–but someone else did…..
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2130/68/
..it is dangerously flawed and should not be used as a credible source of information, although many people down here are refering to it as the “end all” to the debate. This link will take to to a letter written by a social sciences professor at a prestigous University in the states.
One of my best friends is a proud Honduran. He was raised in a single parent home, poor, and has worked his way through school to become one of the “barely making ends meet” middle class. He believes in amnesty for none–not Zelaya, Nor Michelletti–and I like that stance…both are corrupt and are part of a disgustingly corrupt government. Both have broken the constitution, and should be tried for it.
Well, Phill, I read the report you cite a few weeks ago, together with the CRS research report it attacks. If you notice at the bottom, the person who wrote it is a prominent anthropologist and social scientist. Can an anthropologist truly interpret a constitution better than an expert lawyer?
The website you mention describes itself as “covering activism and politics in Latin America.” But how impartial is this source? Consider another article they wrote: (http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2117/1/). It’s opening sentence reads: “Nearly three months after being overthrown by a violent military coup, Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has returned to Honduras.” How is this an impartial source? How many people were killed when Zelaya was overthrown? Zero. How many people were hurt. Zero. It was only after Zelaya called on the people to insubordination that his supporters, not the military or police, became violent. The police, I admit, met violence with violence.
How would you react if a gang of teenagers started throwing rocks at you and spray-painting your house and calling you a traitor to your country?
But Aaron, what gain does this woman have to call it an illegal action? She will not benefit monetarily, nor politically. I know that the republicans in my country (and the ruling class in Honduras)have much to gain from it being a “legal” action. This has been their military and financial playground for a long time. Cutting off aid because it is officially a ooup, hurts them. They will do whatever is necessary to continue plundering your homeland until there is nothing left to take.
And if you want to talk about bias, re-read the first flaw presented… regarding the author of the report…”Her (only)source is a known supporter of the de facto regime in Honduras, Guillermo Pérez-Cadalso, who testified on behalf of the de facto regime in July’s hearings in the US Congress”…yes, the website I collected this from is a biased news source, but it is a bias that is contrary to the other biased news being shared….the truth is somewhere in between and I’m just helping you bring it out. Aaron, there is something wrong down here, and it was wrong before Zelaya, with Zelaya, and will be afterwards, no matter who wins the next election. Most of the rich folks down here are using the Honduran government to their personal benefits–the small upper middle class is aware of the corruption, but do nothing. They are living happily with their flat screen tv’s and Prado’s and “why should anything change? we’re happy?” attitude. You know how many poor live here, and you know that (for the majority)it is not their fault they have remained poor—the corruption in the government serves the rich. This is clear. This is honduran life. Something needs to change…Zelaya is not the answer, but giving attention to the poor is. that is what he did (albeit, after 2 1/2 years of nothing, and for purely selfish reasons). This is why there are still hundreds of thousands against the coup (whom are not necessarily supporters of Zelaya).
I agree there is a great deal of injustice in Honduras. I used to think that a revolution would be a good thing, and even prayed that God would shake Honduras up to force the powerful out.
Now that it has happened, I am thankful that it wasn’t the bloodbath it could have become. I am not pro-Micheletti, or in favor of any of the two ruling parties. They are so corrupt that I am often ashamed of my nationality.
But corrupt as they are, Hondurans are better off than Venezuelans and Cubans. Zelaya, apart from breaking and trying to replace the constitution. (let’s not argue that it wasn’t valid) was selling us to Chavez.
I hope the tension in Honduras has woken everyone, rich and poor, up from the lethargic oppression they’ve lived in and given them the opportunity, for the first time in many decades, to learn what democracy truly is, and to defend it against autocrats like Chavez and Zelaya.
I try not to lean right or left, and see clearly. I am willing to examine everything, but I refuse to listen to people with closed minds, (sound like a Lennon quote doesn’t it?), from both sides of the political aisle.
I critisize Micheletti for his shutdown of the media, and his lack of tact. I applaud his sincerity though, which is something Zelaya has notoriously lacked. I find it hard to find a redeeming quality in Zelaya. I have more faith in socialism than I do in him.
Phil,
Whilst I agree that something needs to be done here in Honduras to change the distibution of wealth, Zelaya was never interested in that. His methods of giving attention to the poor were merely a smokescreen to hide his plundering of the county’s assets and an alignment with the Chavez style of government.
I would welcome a National Constitutional Assembly but only if it was carried out openly with discussion between all social groups in this country.
Phill, I beg to differ. The poor is partially responsible for their own problems. Many of them complained about corruption by the elites. However, when voting time comes, who do they elect? They tend to elect those who give them ‘visible’ results like bridges, roads, etc. Now, who can can give such expensive stuff in a few years? The elites. That’s right, the poor elected the elites.
Since you brought up a real story. I want to bring up mine. Although I am not a Honduran I believe my story is applicable.
My father was born in a shack. He was one of the poor. He fought tooth and nail, even to the point of using only a half of toilet paper at a time, until he got his PhD from the US. It sounded like a success story right?
Well, the PhD he brought back home didn’t gave him more than a small house and an old used car. However, now he is being branded as one of the elites by his fellows. That is not funny nowadays when the minimum wage has been raised to the point where it is about to reach my father’s monthly salary.
I have nothing against the poor. However, there’s a tendency nowadays to accept everything that the poor demand without proper analysis. That will only help demagogues, not the poor.
Good governance will lead to stability. This will lead to foreign investment and will help the situation somewhat.
However, there is still a cultural problem that has to be resolved. The average Honduran family probably has 4 or more children. That makes them poorer. Also, massive teenage pregnancy, or babies making babies.
Add to that an educational system riddled with fraud from the earliest levels, that rewards a sheep mentality and meaningless memorization rather than independent thought.
Those fortunate enough to graduate are often ill suited for starting a business or anything but being a slavish employee of the state or some big enterprise that will protect them from their lack of business education.
100% agreement here. Education needs to be a critical part of nation building. Look at Costa Rica who 50 years ago decided no military and more education. It is the best Central American country.
Now Zelayista’s want to teach. They really just want to stay in the schools as they are used as polling places. It’s an effort to disrupt the election. The Micheleti government declared the school year over. In many schools the kids missed the required amount of days for teachers to be in class. It was select schools. Those schools should suspend classes and then continue them after the election so the kids get the poper amount of days in class. Honduras public schools are normally close the school year in the fall and then start the new year in February.