Photo by Photodegas

A few days ago I blogged about Anita Dunn’s outspoken praise of CNN, and the White House’s distaste for Fox News. Apparently there was widespread criticism of these things, because tonight President Obama will be interviewed by Fox News for the first time since his oath of office. Also, Anita Dunn is resigning her post of White House Communications Director after the uproar over her comments. The interview will be aired tomorrow at 6pm.

Photo by Taekwonweirdo

Reuters published a statement by Chinese President Hu Jintao today, that provides insight into the pragmatism/hypocrisy of the UN and the US. He praised Obama for repeatedly upholding the “One China policy”, which, for the People’s Republic of China (Mainland China), is the euphemism for not recognizing Taiwan, (Republic of China, ROC) as an independent nation, but as a secessionist province. For Taiwan, “One China” is the increasingly ridiculous claim that they are the true government of mainland China and their island, Formosa.

Taiwan has only recently achieved a true democracy, when in the year 2000, the Kuomintang party, lost the presidential election for the first time since its inception. Incidentally, this is similar to Japan’s democratic party victory this year, the first since WWII, and Mexico’s Insitutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which in 2000 lost the presidential race for the first time in 70 years.

The ROC has been effectively independent from mainland China for 60 years. During the Cold War, the UN and the US sided with the ROC, but in the seventies they switched their allegiance. A pre-requisite for anyone with diplomatic relations with Taiwan is the recognition of its claim over both Chinas. The fact that the “One China” principle still exists is an insult to the intelligence of both Chinas, and an altar to self-induced blindness.

Could Taiwan’s isolation have been Honduras’s fate? Not surprisingly, Taiwan was one of the few nations, besides Israel, who recognized Roberto Micheletti’s regime as the legitimate government of Honduras.

This is what is at stake in the current election in Honduras. To oppose the election is to doom Honduras to the fate of Taiwan or Cuba. To uphold them is the way for all Hondurans to choose the government that suits them, and enjoy world recognition. Without elections there can only be dictatorship, either of Micheletti or of Zelaya. Let’s pray that Zelaya and Chavez won’t succeed in derailing them.

¡Viva la libertad!

Photo by janusz l

Ryan Foley, an AP news reporter,spent a few relaxing weeks in Honduras in June and July. Apart from a few limitations, his wife and he enjoyed their stay so much, that he wrote a three-page article about his visit to Roatan and La Ceiba.

Here is today’s Department of State press breifing, you may read a transcript here. Mr. Kelly was beset by mostly Zelaya supporters.

Photo by jlduron

In a Radio Globo broadcast, Manuel Zelaya has called all those who have “given even their blood for democracy” to return to the streets to protest that he has not been restored to office. He claims that the Tegucigalpa/San Jose Accord was just a formality for his restitution, and calls the people not to let “congress be the reason the accord is not kept”. According to the Geneva convention, this statement should require the Brazilian embassy to expel Zelaya, which they won’t.

A friend of mine in Honduras has told me that there is a possibility of a curfew tonight, which is the way Micheletti separated the law abiding citizens from the disobedient. If the curfew and the protests go forward, expect violence and wounded. Zelaya has consistently called the people to violence, leading to deaths, which are conveniently blamed on the interim government.

The election by Congress should go forward as soon as possible, because this will give Zelaya no excuse for continued violence, and probably spell doom to his possibility of reinstatement. The major player in the field, the United States, has already said that it will recognize the elections, no matter what the Honduran Congress should decide. But the president of the Congress says that although he will not “delay” the vote, he will not give a date for it either. I think he doesn’t trust Zelaya to keep out of the electoral process, but the problem is getting out of control again, with an angry Zelaya instigating the people.

Meanwhile, with Zelaya’s public statements, it is clear that he does not mean to abide by the agreement anyway, which might already make the agreement void.

Photo by RonaldWong

Readers lavished praise on Wall Street Journal reporter Ms. Anastasia O’Grady for her latest analysis of the current situation in Honduras. I must add mine.

Ms. O’Grady, if you had been silent, the media would have been in the hands of the masters of misinformation. You forced everyone to examine both sides of the issue. In my case, to know that a serious publication had a reporter who saw things so clearly and truthfully was my almost my only hope during the whole crisis. Thank you.

Not that I want to belittle the political crisis, but the last time we went to the World Cup, Honduras had just emerged from dictatorship with a brand new constitution. This time we are emerging from the greatest threat to that constitution in its history…with another reason to celebrate too.

All’s fair in love and war Thanks to Fake Steve for blogging this.

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.

This a statement by José Miguel Insulza reported in El Universal, emphasis mine:

“Todavía hay mucha violencia, mucha división, mucho problema, ha habido estado de sitio recientemente, toque de queda; todas esas cosas hay que verlas y además el Gobierno sigue siendo el mismo gobierno y la misma dictadura que era al principio, sin dar derecho a concesión alguna. Todo esto juega en contra de un proceso electoral transparente”

“There is still lots of violence, lots of division, lots of trouble, there has recently been a state of siege, a curfew; all these things must be seen, and also the government is still the same government, and the same dictatorship that it was at the beginning, without giving the right to any concession. All this plays against a transparent electoral process.”

I feel like demanding Insulza call Fidel a dictator. I’d love to hear him call Chávez a dictator. Both have killed innocent civilians, removed many rights, jailed their peaceful opponents, and shut down dissident media, in a way that makes it hard to see how they could condemn Micheletti, who has applied force only on criminals and vandals, who happened to be Zelaya supporters.

God save us from this man.