Washington Stresses Urgency of Honduran Unity Government

The deal brokered by Washington was vague on the details of implentation and this allowed Micheletti to in effect refuse to reinstate Zelaya. Micheletti has been adamant throughout that he would never countenance the return of Zelaya. He has snookered Zelaya and the OAS as well. In the case of Washington they are probably ambiguous. It seems pro-coup politicians actually have taken over the policy as a deal was made with De Mint to allow a nomination for ambassador for Brazil to go thr0ugh in exchange for recognition of the elections in Honduras whether or not Zelaya was installed. This decision puts the US at odds with the OAS and most of Europe. Washington now realises that Honduras will still face international isolation unless some less fraudulent process is negotiated. However the US may not have much success. Zelaya has learned his lesson and will not go along just to receive a kick in the pants.

- Antiwar.com -

Washington Stresses Urgency of Honduran Unity Government

Posted By Jim Lobe

In a renewed effort to save a U.S.-sponsored accord to resolve the five-month-old political crisis in Honduras, the U.S. State Department Friday called on both sides to create a government of national unity "without delay" and on the Honduran Congress to "swiftly" consider the restoration of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
Failure to do so would make it less likely that the elections currently scheduled to take place Nov. 29 will gain international recognition, warned a State Department spokesperson.

"Both sides need to return to the table and negotiate the formation of a government of national unity," the spokesperson told IPS. "Both sides need to adhere to the spirit and letter of the accord that they signed, including on the issue of President Zelaya’s restitution."

"The Tegucigalpa/San Jose Agreement provides a pathway to free and fair elections, the outcome of which, if handled accordingly, will be widely accepted both within Honduras and abroad," she said.

"Failure to implement the accord could jeopardize recognition of the election by the international community," she stressed, adding that Washington is pressing the de facto regime headed by Roberto Micheletti and other actors in Honduras to avoid "taking actions that would impede the carrying out of free, fair and transparent elections, such as [recent] decrees [by the de facto government] that restricted civil liberties and closed certain opposition media outlets."

She also noted for the first time since the Jun. 29 coup that ousted Zelaya and sent him into exile that Washington has been and remains "concerned" about the human rights situation in Honduras under the de facto regime.

The spokesperson’s statement, which followed an intense, 48-hour mediation effort in Tegucigalpa by Deputy Assistant Secretary Craig Kelly, appeared designed to add pressure on all parties in Honduras to implement the Oct. 30 accord and to move Washington closer to the position taken by the Rio Group of 24 Latin American and Caribbean nations which earlier this week declared they would not recognize the results of the impending elections unless Zelaya was immediately restored to office.

"The Obama administration is ramping up pressure on the Honduran Congress to fulfill the spirit of the accord and vote for Zelaya’s return," said Michael Shifter, vice president of the Inter-American Dialogue (IAD), a Washington-based a hemispheric think tank.

"The statement is also signaling that, even if Washington recognizes the election results, the new Honduran government is going to face real problems in dealing with the rest of the international community," he added. "And without backing away from its position, the State Department is now trying to bridge the gap between Washington and the rest of the hemisphere on the Honduras question."

The original accord provided for a step-by-step process to restore the constitutional order in Honduras, beginning with the formation of a unity government and ending in the Nov. 29 elections for a new Congress and president that would assume their positions in January.

Brokered by the U.S., the accord was backed by the Organization of American States (OAS) and its member countries.

But Latin American leaders and some U.S. Democratic lawmakers were shocked when, on Nov. 4, Washington’s chief negotiator on Honduras, Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, told a CNN interviewer that the U.S. would recognize the results of the election regardless of whether Zelaya was restored to the presidency.

U.S. officials – most recently Washington’s representative to the OAS, Lewis Anselem, during a debate earlier this week – pointed out that the literal terms of the accord did not require Zelaya’s restoration but instead left it to the Honduran Congress to decide his fate.

Shannon’s position – apparently the result of a deal with right-wing Republican senators who until then had held hostage a number of appointments to key positions in the State Department’s Western Hemisphere Bureau – provoked cries of betrayal by Zelaya, and his supporters and consternation in the OAS and throughout Latin America, particularly Brazil whose embassy in Tegucigalpa has served as Zelaya’s refuge since he snuck back into the country in September.

It also helped precipitate the apparent collapse of the accord, as the leadership of the Honduran Congress said they intended to delay a vote on Zelaya’s restoration at least until after the elections and Micheletti announced that he had put together a unity government without any input from Zelaya.

Meeting in Jamaica Nov. 5, the Rio Group of 24 Latin American and Caribbean foreign minister issued a communiqué insisting that its members would not recognize the outcome of the Nov. 29 elections unless Zelaya was immediately returned to office. OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza issued a similar statement and announced that the hemispheric group would not send observers to the upcoming elections.

It is in this context that Friday’s statement – and particularly its exhortation addressed to both sides to adhere to the "spirit," as well as the "letter" of the accord, including on the issue of President Zelaya’s restitution" – offers a potentially significant, if subtle, change in Washington’s stance.

In another passage of the extensive guidance prepared by the State Department, the spokesperson conceded that "The accord does not have an exact timeline for a Congressional decision. However, the spirit of the Accord suggests that the Congress should deal with the issue in the most expeditious manner possible. We urge the Congress to move swiftly on this matter," she said.

"The Obama administration may have lost its leverage (with Shannon’s Nov. 4 statement)," said Shifter, "but it does not want to let the Honduran Congress off the hook."

"It’s a hopeful move, both because it recognizes for the first time that human rights violations have taken place and that elections will not be recognized internationally unless the spirit, as well as the letter, of the accord is complied with," agreed Vicki Gass, a Honduras specialist at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). "It’s clear that the administration is trying to repair the damage it has inflicted over the last ten days."

Gass, however, expressed doubt that the Nov. 29 elections could still be considered legitimate even if Micheletti and the Congress heed Washington’s new message and restore Zelaya to office. Fifty-five of 128 Congressional candidates, and more than 100 of 298 mayoral candidates, including the incumbent of Honduras’ second largest city, San Pedro Sula, have withdrawn from their races, she said, as has Carlos H. Reyes, an independent candidate who has been running third of five decided among five candidates in recent polling.

And, as the State Department spokesperson noted, pro-Zelaya broadcast stations that were closed earlier this fall are still facing interrupted service on certain news programs, while an Oct. 5 decree providing for the revocation of the operating licenses of media outlets deemed to violate national security and public order remains in effect.

While Washington supports the elections, she said, "it is self-evident … that while [they] are a necessary element to restoring democratic and constitutional order in Honduras, they are insufficient by themselves to achieving reconciliation in Honduras and fully restoring the democratic order."

Zelaya attempts again to return to Honduras.

It is rather strange that Zelaya would actually announce where he will cross the border. It seems very unlikely that the military will stand down as Zelaya suggests. More likely he will be arrested if he gets in at all and there may be violent confrontations with supporters.
The article speaks of the OAS taking over negotiations, however the Honduran coup govt. has left the organisation. What is there to negotiate anyway since the coup govt. refuses to countenance the return of Zelaya and that is the key demand of the OAS! It makes no sense except as a stalling mechanism supported by the U.S. to avoid having to do something about the coup. Obama is loathe to actually move strongly against the coup leaders because he will be seen to side with Chavez, Cuba, etc. This is from the BBC.

Honduras leader starts return bid
Ousted President Manuel Zelaya is on his way to the Honduran border in a second attempt to return home after nearly a month in exile, reports say.

He left the Honduran embassy in the Nicaraguan capital Managua for the border city of Esteli, from where he will try a land crossing on Saturday.

He is being accompanied by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro.

The interim government has vowed to arrest him if he sets foot in Honduras, as mediation talks failed.

Mr Zelaya made an attempt to return home on 5 July, but his plane was prevented from landing when the Honduran military blocked the runway.

This time, he said he hoped soldiers at the land border would stand down when they saw him and called on his supporters to meet him.

"I think the guns will be lowered when they see their people and their president," Mr Zelaya was quoted as saying by AP news agency shortly before leaving.

He said earlier that his wife and children would accompany him and that he would "go back unarmed, pacifically, so that Honduras can return to peace and tranquillity".

Mr Zelaya was exiled on 28 June after a crisis erupted over his attempts to hold a vote on changing the constitution.

'Clock ticking'

The ousted leader was attempting a second return after delegations from the two sides failed to reach agreement at talks in Costa Rica mediated by President Oscar Arias.

Mr Arias produced a detailed plan to facilitate Mr Zelaya's return, which include proposals for:

•Mr Zelaya to return to the presidency on Friday and serve out his term which ends in January 2010
•a government of national reconciliation to be formed by 27 July
•an amnesty to be granted covering political crimes committed during this crisis
•a truth commission to be set up to investigate events in the run-up to Mr Zelaya's removal
•presidential elections to be held a month early, on 28 October.
President Arias, a Nobel peace laureate, said this was his third and final attempt to mediate a peaceful solution.


"The clock is ticking fast, and it's ticking against the Honduran people," he said.

"I warn you that this plan is not perfect. Nothing in democracy is perfect."

Delegates of the interim government reiterated they would not reinstate Mr Zelaya as president but said they would present the Arias plan to Congress.

But since it was Congress that approved the ousting of Mr Zelaya, the move may prove to be of limited importance, says the BBC Central America correspondent, Stephen Gibbs.

If no agreement were reached, Mr Arias suggested that the Organisation of American States (OAS) take over the negotiations.

That might put further pressure on the interim government, says our correspondent.

The OAS, along with other international groupings, has been quite clear that Mr Zelaya is the legitimate president, and should be reinstated immediately.

'No return'

The crisis was triggered when Mr Zelaya sought to hold a non-binding public consultation to ask people whether they supported efforts to change the constitution.

Critics interpreted that as an attempt to remove the current one-term limit on serving as president.

The Supreme Court declared his attempt to hold a vote illegal under the Honduran constitution and the military was sent to arrest him. He was flown into exile on 28 June.

Carlos Lopez, foreign minister in the military-backed interim government, told reporters in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, on Wednesday that there was no chance of Mr Zelaya returning as president.

"This hypothesis of a possible return of Mr Zelaya to occupy the presidency is completely ruled out."

Speaking in Managua, Mr Zelaya said: "The coup leaders are totally refusing my reinstatement."

"By refusing to sign, [the talks] have failed."


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Story from BBC NEWS:
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Published: 2009/07/24 00:56:53 GMT

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U.S. Opposes Insulza's Reelection at OAS.

It seems that the U.S. obviously intervened to give Arias, a free trader and staunch U.S. ally a key role in Honduran negotiations, negotiations that are conveniently going nowhere. Actually right now they are not even taking place! To side with Chavez et al is to offend the U.S. and ensure attempts to have someone else more friendly to U.S. policies as head of the OAS. However, it remains to be seen how much influence U.S. complaints will have. Times are changing!

This is from Santiagotimes.


U.S. OPPOSES INSULZA’S REELECTION AT OAS



Monday, 13 July 2009
Criticism Directed At Support Given To Chávez And Cuba National media reported this weekend that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has twice stated to Chile’s government that the U.S. will not support the re-election in 2010 of Chile’s José Miguel Insulza to head the Organization of American States (OAS).



Insulza, a former Chilean Interior Minister, apparently rubbed the U.S. the wrong way following his leadership role in the OAS’s decision to readmit Cuba to the organization. Cuba was removed from the OAS in 1962 [ST, June 5 ].The U.S. wanted stricter regulations to be imposed on Cuba to assure greater democracy in the country. Clinton was reportedly unhappy with Insulza’s personal attempts to get Cuba unconditionally reinstated.Insulza’s position was further undermined by Clinton’s naming Costa Rican President and Nobel Prize winner Óscar Arias as the sole negotiator in the Honduran crisis [ST, July 9 ], ignoring Insulza’s efforts, reported Chile’s conservative media this weekend.Insulza has been criticized by a range of (mostly right of center) U.S. think-tanks for allegedly being too close to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Many of Insulza’s policies within the OAS dovetail with those espoused by Chavez’s Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), say the critics. ALBA is a left of center organization promoting international cooperation between Latin American and Caribbean nations and was initially proposed by Chávez as an alternative to the failed Free Trade Area of the Americas proposed by the U.S. “Insulza has been a loyal disciple of Chávez in the case of Honduras,” said Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Latin America project coordinator for U.S. think tank the Cato Institute. “It is obvious that if Insulza wants to be reelected, he has to be on good terms with Chávez, who with Petrocaribe [an oil alliance between Venezuela and the Caribbean] has about 14 or 15 votes in the OAS. In Washington there is growing concern over the secretary general’s biased actions.” Insulza has also been criticized for not intervening with the same intensity for democracy violations alleged in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, as he has shown in Honduras.The conservative El Mercurio highlighted a letter recently sent to Insulza by Henry Ramos Allup, leader of the Venezuelan opposition party Democratic Action. It said: “Dear Secretary General of the OAS, don’t act stupidly; we know you know what is happening in Venezuela. You should be ashamed: don’t turn into the tyrant’s [Chávez’s] spokesman.”“Insulza’s inflexible defense of Zelaya and his lethargy with regard to political rights being trodden down in half a dozen other countries have only one thing in common: it is what Chávez wants,” said Roger Noriega, ex U.S. under-secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs during the George W. Bush presidency. Insulza has referred to alleged violations of democratic processes in countries such as Nicaragua and Bolivia as “internal problems,” and has denied being inflexible or a socialist “ideologist” with regard to the crisis in Honduras. “I have received this kind of criticism for all the problems I’ve dealt with in the OAS,” Insulza told El Mercurio last week. “However, I don’t feel my position as secretary general has come under threat, so this has not been my concern.” Insulza was nicknamed “Insulso” (“dull”) and called a “jerk” by Chávez in January 2007, following the former’s decision to ask Venezuela to reinstate cable television network RCTV, whose license was not renewed by the Venezuelan government following accusations of its involvement in a short-lived coup [ST, Jan. 10 2007 ].

Zelaya attempt to return to Honduras

Zelaya is already in flight to Tegucigalpa. It remains to be seen if he will be able to land. It would seem not. What they need is some US military escorts! If there is violence and some of the personages with Zelaya are wounded or killed there could be disastrous consequence for everyone. Police are keeping protesters outside the airport which is closed to commerical traffic. The road to the airport is also closed. Another plane with more important personages it trailing behind the Zelaya plane. It will decide where to land when it sees what happens to the Zelaya plane.

This is from Yahoo.

"The government of President (Roberto) Micheletti has ordered the armed forces and the police not to allow the entrance of any plane bringing the former leader," the foreign minister of the interim government, Enrique Ortez, told The Associated Press on Sunday.


Flying with Zelaya were close advisers and staff, two journalists from the Venezuela-based network Telesur, and U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, a leftist Nicaraguan priest and former foreign minister who personally condemned Zelaya's ouster as a coup d'etat.

Zelaya to return to Honduras on Sunday July 5th

I still wonder if this event will actually happen as Zelaya describes it. The president of Argentina did not confirm that she was going to be going back with Zelaya. Three hundred journalists seem to be quite a few. I wonder how many are from US English language media outlets! There does not seem to be much coverage of Honduran events in the US and Obama seems to be quite quiet since originally condemning the coup. The US ambassador is still in Honduras as far as I know.
The Honduran military apparently is already deploying at the airport. They were ready to arrest Zelaya if he had come with the head of the OAS. No doubt they will be ready also this time. This could be a momentous confrontation but so far the media have been asleep for the most part. They won't wake up unless the event actually happens. Of course they won't be there in force. It is Spanish language outlets that are covering events especially Cuban and Venezuelan news.

This is from the Washington Post:



Exiled Honduran leader vows return for showdown
By WILL WEISSERT and NESTOR IKEDAThe Associated PressSunday, July 5, 2009 8:59 AM
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras braced for confrontation Sunday as ousted President Manuel Zelaya insisted he was coming home to reclaim his post, urging his supporters to mass at the airport for a showdown with the interim government in power since the army sent him into exile a week ago.
The poor Central American country's Roman Catholic archbishop urged Zelaya to stay away, warning that his return could spark bloodshed. The interim government stuck to its threat to arrest Zelaya and put him on trial despite near-universal international condemnation of the coup that removed him over his campaign to revise the constitution.
In Washington, the Organization of American States suspended Honduras as a member late Saturday, but Zelaya's replacement, Roberto Micheletti, already pulled the country out of the group over its ultimatum to restore Zelaya.
As more than 10,000 of his supporters protested Saturday near the heavily guarded presidential palace, Zelaya posted an audio message on the Internet urging loyalists to greet his arrival.
"We are going to show up at the Honduras International Airport in Tegucigalpa ... and on Sunday we will be in Tegucigalpa," Zelaya said in the taped statement carried Saturday on the Web sites of the Telesur and Cubadebate media outlets.
He implored supporters to remain peaceful.
"I ask all farmers, residents, Indians, young people and all workers' groups, businessmen and friends ... to accompany me on my return to Honduras," he said. "Do not bring weapons. Practice what I have always preached, which is nonviolence. Let them be the ones who use violence, weapons and repression."
"I hold the coup plotters responsible for the lives of each and every person," he said.
In comments to a local radio station, Zelaya said he would be accompanied by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, several foreign ministers and 300 journalists.
But Fernandez said only that "it's been agreed that the OAS will accompany" Zelaya on the trip, as she exited the diplomatic meeting in Washington.
Catholic Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez implored Zelaya not to confront the interim government amid the high tensions, saying in a statement broadcast Saturday that "your return to the country could unleash a bloodbath."
The country's new government has vowed to arrest Zelaya if he returns, on charges alleging 18 criminal acts including treason and failing to implement more than 80 laws approved by Congress since taking office in 2006.
Large crowds of Zelaya's critics have countered his supporters by staging their own daily demonstrations to back Micheletti, the congressional president who was named by lawmakers to finish out the final six months of the Zelaya's term.
Most of the ousted leader's supporters come from the working and middle classes of this impoverished nation, while his opponents are based in the ranks of the well-to-do - although the increasingly leftist approach of the wealthy rancher had eroded his popular support.
The military ousted Zelaya with the backing of Honduras' political elite, including the Supreme Court, Congress and Zelaya's own party. They say they kicked him out because he insisted on going through with a referendum on constitutional change that the Supreme Court ruled illegal.
Last Sunday's coup brought widespread criticism down on the Micheletti government, from U.S. President Barack Obama to Venezuela's leftist leader Hugo Chavez to the U.N. and the OAS.
Seeking to head off any escalation of the crisis, the OAS gave the Honduran government until Saturday to reinstate Zelaya, but Micheletti pointedly rejected the demand Friday night. "The OAS is a political organization, not a court, and it can't judge us," he said.
At the OAS's second emergency on Honduras in less than a week, the group's secretary-general told the meeting Saturday night that his visit to Honduras in a bid to restore Zelaya to the presidency had failed.
"It is very clear that in the de facto government, there is no willingness to change its conduct," Jose Miguel Insulza said in urging Honduras' suspension.
Thirty-three nations voted for the suspension, with Honduras abstaining. It was the first time the OAS suspended a member nation over a military coup since 1990, when Haiti was punished for Gen. Raoul Cedras' putsch against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Billboards proclaiming Micheletti the "legitimate and constitutional" president have begun to pop up, as have bumper stickers proclaiming "I love Honduras. I defend the constitution." The interim government has also taken to the radio and television airwaves with jingles, part of a campaign to win over those who have yet to choose sides.
"I'm just waiting for the military and the politicians to decide what happens to us," retiree Hilda Alvarez said Saturday. "I hope it's soon."
---
Will Weissert reported from Tegucigalpa and Nestor Ikeda from Washington. Associated Press writers Freddy Cuevas and Marcos Aleman in Tegucigalpa contributed to this report.
© 2009 The Associated Press

Honduran Supreme Court rejects Zelaya restoration

This is a modified version of a report from Allvoices.


The Honduran Supreme Court has rejected Zelaya's restoration. The court is packed with anti-Zelaya judges so that is not surprising. If Zelaya enters Honduras there is an arrest warrant awaiting him. Nevertheless Zelaya claims he will go to Honduras today!
One proposal to solve the crisis would involve amnesty for all those arrested and also quashing the warrant for Zelaya's arrest. Also, the elections scheduled for November would take place earlier. However in the meantime Zelaya would resume the presidency. The Honduran court rejected the idea that Zelaya be reinstated as president even for such a relatively short time.
The ball is in the OAS court now. They could toss Honduras out of the OAS but that might not be too much of a concern to Honduras. Cuba has survived without the OAS for decades. If the OAS does not restore Zelaya it will lose face and look as if it is powerless before a military coup.
Here is an article on the Honduran situation as of now:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/200973213436781636.html

There seems little coverage of events in Honduras. However the right wing is lambasting Obama for siding with the OAS rather than the military and in some cases defending the coup. This Fox news article is typical.

OAS head to visit Honduras for talks on coup

The coup leaders seem to be quite brazen in their rejection of OAS attempts to re-instate Zelaya. The OAS and the US, as well as Venezuela may be forced into a situation where either they invade or lose face completely. There is nothing like the press attention that Iran protesters received in the case of Honduran anti-government protesters. The only protest I saw on CBC was of a pro-government protest. Only Spanish language TV provides any decent coverage. Here are a couple of links with photos and video of anti-government protests:

http://www.radiomundial.com.ve/yvke/noticia.php?27479

http://www.aporrea.org/tiburon/n137574.html


This is from Reuters.

OAS chief to visit Honduras for talks on coup
Thu Jul 2, 2009 3:23pm EDT
By Mica Rosenberg
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Organization of American States planned a mission to Honduras to seek the restoration of ousted President Manuel Zelaya as interim leaders tried to shore up support for the coup against him.
OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said in Guyana on Thursday he will travel to Honduras on Friday with staff members to talk with the caretaker government there.
The OAS, which groups most of the countries in the Western Hemisphere including the United States, has given Honduras' caretaker government until Saturday to restore Zelaya or be suspended from the body.
The Honduran administration has so far rebuffed any attempts to bring back Zelaya, who was ousted in a military coup last Sunday in a dispute over presidential term limits. But the OAS visit could represent the first chance of a negotiated settlement to the biggest political crisis in Central America in 20 years.
The coup in Honduras has become a test of regional diplomacy and of U.S. commitment to shoring up democracy in Latin America.
Honduran coup backers, headed by interim leader Roberto Micheletti, argue that Zelaya's ouster was legal as it was ordered by the Supreme Court after the president had tried to extend his four-year term in office illegally.
State TV showed images of a march by several thousand anti-Zelaya protesters, many wearing the national colors of blue and white, who took to the streets in the main industrial city of San Pedro Sula.
The broadcaster ignored a pro-Zelaya protest of roughly the same size in the capital, Tegucigalpa.
-------------Since his ouster Zelaya has said he plans to return home as president, but only to serve out the rest of his term, which ends in 2010. The interim government has said he will be arrested if he tries to come home.
The European Union has condemned the coup and EU president Sweden said all the ambassadors from the 27-nation bloc had left Honduras.
The interim government told Reuters on Wednesday that there was "no chance at all" of Zelaya returning to office.
The Honduran Congress approved a decree on Wednesday to crack down on opposition during a nightly curfew imposed after the coup. The decree allows security forces to hold suspects for more than 24 hours without charge and formalizes the prohibition of the right to free association at night.
(Additional reporting by Patrick Markey, and Anahi Rama, Written by Alistair Bell, Editing by Frances Kerry)
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