President Zelaya of Honduras has just been kidnapped
[Note: As of 11:15am, Caracas time, President Zelaya is speaking live on Telesur from San Jose, Costa Rica. He has verified the soldiers entered his residence in the early morning hours, firing guns and threatening to kill him and his family if he resisted the coup. He was forced to go with the soldiers who took him to the air base and flew him to Costa Rica. He has requested the U.S. Government make a public statement condemning the coup, otherwise, it will indicate their compliance.]
The text message that beeped on my cell phone this morning read "Alert, Zelaya
has been kidnapped, coup d'etat underway in Honduras, spread the word." It's a
rude awakening for a Sunday morning, especially for the millions of Hondurans
that were preparing to exercise their sacred right to vote today for the first
time on a consultative referendum concerning the future convening of a
constitutional assembly to reform the constitution. Supposedly at the center of
the controversary is today's scheduled referendum, which is not a binding vote
but merely an opinion poll to determine whether or not a majority of Hondurans
desire to eventually enter into a process to modify their constitution.
Such an initiative has never taken place in the Central American nation,
which has a very limited constitution that allows minimal participation by the
people of Honduras in their political processes. The current constitution,
written in 1982 during the height of the Reagan Administration's dirty war in
Central America, was designed to ensure those in power, both economic and
political, would retain it with little interference from the people. Zelaya,
elected in November 2005 on the platform of Honduras' Liberal Party, had
proposed the opinion poll be conducted to determine if a majority of citizens
agreed that constitutional reform was necessary. He was backed by a majority of
labor unions and social movements in the country. If the poll had occured,
depending on the results, a referendum would have been conducted during the
upcoming elections in November to vote on convening a constitutional assembly.
Nevertheless, today's scheduled poll was not binding by law.
In fact, several days before the poll was to occur, Honduras' Supreme Court
ruled it illegal, upon request by the Congress, both of which are led by
anti-Zelaya majorities and members of the ultra-conservative party, National
Party of Honduras (PNH). This move led to massive protests in the streets in
favor of President Zelaya. On June 24, the president fired the head of the high
military command, General Romeo Vásquez, after he refused to allow the military
to distribute the electoral material for Sunday's elections. General Romeo
Vásquez held the material under tight military control, refusing to release it
even to the president's followers, stating that the scheduled referendum had
been determined illegal by the Supreme Court and therefore he could not comply
with the president's order. As in the Unted States, the president of Honduras is
Commander in Chief and has the final say on the military's actions, and so he
ordered the General's removal. The Minister of Defense, Angel Edmundo Orellana,
also resigned in response to this increasingly tense situation.
But the following day, Honduras' Supreme Court reinstated General Romeo
Vásquez to the high military command, ruling his firing as
"unconstitutional'. Thousands poured into the streets of Honduras' capital,
Tegucigalpa, showing support for President Zelaya and evidencing their
determination to ensure Sunday's non-binding referendum would take place. On
Friday, the president and a group of hundreds of supporters, marched to the
nearby air base to collect the electoral material that had been previously held
by the military. That evening, Zelaya gave a national press conference along
with a group of politicians from different political parties and social
movements, calling for unity and peace in the country.
As of Saturday, the situation in Honduras was reported as calm. But early
Sunday morning, a group of approximately 60 armed soldiers entered the
presidential residence and took Zelaya hostage. After several hours of
confusion, reports surfaced claiming the president had been taken to a nearby
air force base and flown to neighboring Costa Rica. No images have been seen of
the president so far and it is unknown whether or not his life is still
endangered.
President Zelaya's wife, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, speaking live on Telesur
at approximately 10:00am Caracas time, denounced that in early hours of Sunday
morning, the soldiers stormed their residence, firing shots throughout the
house, beating and then taking the president. "It was an act of cowardice", said
the first lady, referring to the illegal kidnapping occuring during a time when
no one would know or react until it was all over. Casto de Zelaya also called
for the "preservation" of her husband's life, indicating that she herself is
unaware of his whereabouts. She claimed their lives are all still in "serious
danger" and made a call for the international community to denounce this illegal
coup d'etat and to act rapidly to reinstate constitutional order in the country,
which includes the rescue and return of the democratically elected Zelaya.
Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela have both made
public statements on Sunday morning condeming the coup d'etat in Honduras and
calling on the international community to react to ensure democracy is restored
and the constitutional president is reinstated. Last Wednesday, June 24, an
extraordinary meeting of the member nations of the Bolivarian Alternative for
the Americas (ALBA), of which Honduras is a member, was convened in Venezuela to
welcome Ecuador, Antigua & Barbados and St. Vincent to its ranks. During the
meeting, which was attended by Honduras' Foreign Minister, Patricia Rodas, a
statement was read supporting President Zelaya and condenming any attempts to
undermine his mandate and Honduras' democratic processes.
Reports coming out of Honduras have informed that the public television
channel, Canal 8, has been shut down by the coup forces. Just minutes ago,
Telesur announced that the military in Honduras is shutting down all electricity
throughout the country. Those television and radio stations still transmitting
are not reporting the coup d'etat or the kidnapping of President Zelaya,
according to Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas. "Telephones and electricity are
being cut off", confirmed Rodas just minutes ago via Telesur. "The media are
showing cartoons and soap operas and are not informing the people of Honduras
about what is happening". The situation is eerily reminiscent of the April 2002
coup d'etat against President Chávez in Venezuela, when the media played a key
role by first manipulating information to support the coup and then later
blacking out all information when the people began protesting and eventually
overcame and defeated the coup forces, rescuing Chávez (who had also been
kidnapped by the military) and restoring constitutional order.
Honduras is a nation that has been the victim of dictatorships and massive
U.S. intervention during the past century, including several military invasions.
The last major U.S. government intervention in Honduras occured during the
1980s, when the Reagain Administration funded death squads and paramilitaries to
eliminate any potential "communist threats" in Central America. At the time,
John Negroponte, was the U.S. Ambassador in Honduras and was responsible for
directly funding and training Honduran death squads that were responsable for
thousands of disappeared and assassinated throughout the region.
On Friday, the Organization of American States (OAS), convened a special
meeting to discuss the crisis in Honduras, later issuing a statement condemning
the threats to democracy and authorizing a convoy of representatives to travel
to OAS to investigate further. Nevertheless, on Friday, Assistant Secretary of
State of the United States, Phillip J. Crowley, refused to clarify the U.S.
government's position in reference to the potential coup against President
Zelaya, and instead issued a more ambiguous statement that implied Washington's
support for the opposition to the Honduran president. While most other Latin
American governments had clearly indicated their adamant condemnation of the
coup plans underway in Honduras and their solid support for Honduras'
constitutionally elected president, Manual Zelaya, the U.S. spokesman stated the
following, "We are concerned about the breakdown in the political dialogue
among Honduran politicians over the proposed June 28 poll on constitutional
reform. We urge all sides to seek a consensual democratic resolution in the
current political impasse that adheres to the Honduran constitution and to
Honduran laws consistent with the principles of the Inter-American Democratic
Charter."
As of 10:30am, Sunday morning, no further statements have been issued by the
Washington concerning the military coup in Honduras. The Central American nation
is highly dependent on the U.S. economy, which ensures one of its top sources of
income, the monies sent from Hondurans working in the U.S. under the "temporary
protected status" program that was implemented during Washington's dirty war in
the 1980s as a result of massive immigration to U.S. territory to escape the war
zone. Another major source of funding in Honduras is USAID, providing over US$
50 millon annually for "democracy promotion" programs, which generally supports
NGOs and political parties favorable to U.S. interests, as has been the case in
Venezuela, Bolivia and other nations in the region. The Pentagon also maintains
a military base in Honduras in Soto Cano, equipped with approximately 500 troops
and numerous air force combat planes and helicopters.
Foreign Minister Rodas has stated that she has repeatedly tried to make
contact with the U.S. Ambassador in Honduras, Hugo Llorens, who has not
responded to any of her calls thus far. The modus operandi of the coup makes
clear that Washington is involved. Neither the Honduran military, which is
majority trained by U.S. forces, nor the political and economic elite, would act
to oust a democratically elected president without the backing and support of
the U.S. government. President Zelaya has increasingly come under attack by the
conservative forces in Honduras for his growing relationship with the ALBA
countries, and particularly Venezuela and President Chávez. Many believe the
coup has been executed as a method of ensuring Honduras does not continue to
unify with the more leftist and socialist countries in Latin America.
UPDATE 1: As of 11:15am, Caracas time, President Zelaya is
speaking live on Telesur from San Jose, Costa Rica. He has verified the soldiers
entered his residence in the early morning hours, firing guns and threatening to
kill him and his family if he resisted the coup. He was forced to go with the
soldiers who took him to the air base and flew him to Costa Rica. He has
requested the U.S. Government make a public statement condemning the coup,
otherwise, it will indicate their compliance.
UPDATE 2: 12pm noon - The Organization of American States is
meeting in an emergency session in Washington concerning the situation in
Honduras and the kidnapping of Honduras' president. Venezuelan Ambassador to the
OAS, Roy Chaderton, just announced that the ambassadors of Venezuela, Bolivia
and Nicaragua in Honduras have just been kidnapped along with Foreign Minister
Patricia Rodas, and are being beaten by Honduran military forces.
President Obama has made a statement regarding his "concern" for the
situation in Honduras and a call to all political leaders and parties to
"respect democratic norms". However, this statement is NOT a clear condemnation
of the coup d'etat that has taken place during the early morning hours on
Sunday. Nor did Obama indicate, as other countries have done, that Washington
would not recognize any other government in Honduras other than the elected
government of Manual Zelaya.
Opposition forces in Honduras, led by a US-funded NGO Grupo Paz y Democracia,
have stated via CNN that a coup has not occurred, but rather a "transition" to
democracy. Martha Diaz, coordinator of the NGO, which receives USAID funding,
has just declared minutes ago on CNN that "civil society" does not support
President Zelaya nor his "illegal quest" to hold a non-binding referendum on a
potential future constitutional reform. She justified his kidnapping, beating
and removal from power as a "democratic transition". Again, this is eerily
reminiscent of the coup d'etat in Venezuela in April 2002, when so-called "civil
society" along with dissident military forces kidnapped President Chávez and
installed a "transition government". The goups involved also received funding
from the U.S. government, primarily via the National Endowment for Democracy
(NED) and later from USAID as well.
CNN en Español, Telesur, and other international television stations
reporting on the situation in Honduras have been removed from the airways in the
Central American nation. The whereabouts of the Foreign Minister and the
ambassadors of Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua are still unknown. OAS General
Secretary Jose Miguel Insulze has announced he will travel immediately to
Honduras to investigate the situation. President Chávez of Venezuela has also
announced an emergency meeting of ALBA nations in Managua, Nicaragua, as soon as
this evening.
More to come as the situation develops over the next few hours. Catch live
blogging at www.chavezcode.com.
UPDATE 3: 12:18pm - Dan Restrepo, Presidential Advisor to
President Obama for Latin American Affairs, is currently on CNN en Español. He
has just stated that Obama's government is communicating with the coup forces in
Honduras, trying to "feel out" the situation. He also responded to the
reporter's question regarding whether Washington would recognize a government in
Honduras other than President Zelaya's elected government, by saying that the
Obama Administration "is waiting to see how things play out" and so long as
democratic norms are respected, will work with all sectors. This is a
confirmation practically of support for the coup leaders. Restrepo also inferred
that other countries are interfering in Honduras' international affairs,
obviously referring to Venezuela and other ALBA nations who have condemned the
coup with firm statements earlier this morning.
UPDATE 4: 12:26PM - President Chávez of Venezuela has just
announced that the Cuban Ambassador in Honduras has been kidnapped and beaten by
Honduran military forces. The Venezuelan Ambassador was beaten, kidnapped and
left at the side of a road outside of Tegucigalpa. Chávez has denounced that
both CNN and Venezuelan private station Globovisión have been trying to justify
the coup against President Zelaya in Honduras. Chávez is live from the
presidential palace together with the Honduran Ambassador in Venezuela. Chávez
spoke with Fidel Castro in Cuba just over an hour ago regarding the situation.
Both Cuba and Venezuela, along with Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador, have
unilaterally condemned the coup in Honduras.
UPDATE 5: 12:30PM - Foreign Minister of Honduras Patricia
Rodas has been taken from her home by soldiers, beaten and imprisoned. Serious
human rights violations are occurring in Honduras and President Obama has so far
only said he is "concerned". Another showing of a US double standard? Since
Zelaya is a "leftist" president, will the Obama administration refuse to condemn
the coup against him?
Chávez announces that President Bachelet of Chile has also condemned the coup
in Honduras and is emitting a formal declaration.
UPDATE 6: 1PM - President Zelaya is speaking right now live
from San Jose, Costa Rica, alongside the right-wing president of Costa Rica,
Oscar Arias, who traditionally has been a staunch ally of Washington. Arias has
just adamantly condemned the coup against Zelaya and called for the whole
hemisphere to follow suit.
UPDATE 7: 2:00PM - SOA WATCH CALLS FOR URGENT CALLS TO STATE
DEPT
Military Coup in Honduras
A military coup has taken place in
Honduras this morning (Sunday, June 28), led by SOA graduate Romeo Vasquez. In
the early hours of the day, members of the Honduran military surrounded the
presidential palace and forced the democratically elected president, Manuel
Zelaya, into custody. He was immediately flown to Costa Rica.
A national
vote had been scheduled to take place today in Honduras to consult the
electorate on a proposal of holding a Constitutional Assembly in November.
General Vasquez had refused to comply with this vote and was deposed by the
president, only to later be reinstated by the Congress and Supreme
Court.
The Honduran state television was taken off the air. The
electricity supply to the capital Tegucigalpa, as well as telephone and
cellphone lines were cut. Government institutions were taken over by the
military. While the traditional political parties, Catholic church and military
have not issued any statements, the people of Honduras are going into the
streets, in spite of the fact that the streets are militarized. From Costa Rica,
President Zelaya has called for a non-violent response from the people of
Honduras, and for international solidarity for the Honduran
democracy.
While the European Union and several Latin American
governments just came out in support of President Zelaya and spoke out against
the coup, a statement that was just issued by Barack Obama fell short of calling
for the reinstatement of Zelaya as the legitimate president.
Call the State Department and the White House
Demand that they call for
the immediate reinstatement of Honduran President Zelaya.
State
Department: 202-647-4000 or 1-800-877-8339
White House: Comments:
202-456-1111, Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Visit www.SOAW.org and
www.SOAW.org/presente for articles and
updated information.
UPDATE 8: 2:10PM - CNN broadcasts from Honduran
congree; stating Zelaya has resigned
Incredible! Just like Venezuela, April 2002. CNN has just issued a report
saying that the Honduran Congress has just read President Zelaya's resignation
from the presidency and the head of Congress will be the new president of
Honduras. However, just under one hour ago, President Zelaya spoke live from
Costa Rica and did not give ANY indication whatsoever that he was going to
resign. Zelaya moreover reiterated that he remains the elected president of
Honduras until 2010 and was hoping to return to his country as soon as
possible... Is the resignation letter real? Or is this yet another strange
repetition of Venezuela in 2002 when the opposition forces released a forged
resignation letter they attributed to President Chávez but had actually been
doctored by the coup leaders...
UPDATE 9: 2:20pm -President Zelaya Denies Resignation, Live On
CNN
President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras was just live on CNN enEspañol,
confirming that he never signed nor authorized his resignation from the
presidency. This is a coup d'etat taking place, he denounced. The
Honduran congress has forged a resignation letter removing illegally the
president from power. They say it's a correspondence they have received and have
to process,but have not confirmed its authenticity. MAJOR COUP UNDERWAY.
UPDATE 10: 3:00PM -PEOPLE Taking To Streets In Honduras To Protest
Military Coup
Minister of the Presidency in Honduras, Enrique FLoresLanza, is live on "Once
Noticias" Channel 11 news in Hondurasaffirming that hundreds of thousands of
Hondurans are taking to the streets todemand the return of President Zelaya. He
has confirmed that President ZelayaHAS NOT RESIGNED and the letter presented by
the Congress is a FAKE.
The OBAMA Administration has not yet called for theunequivocal reinstatement
of Zelaya to the presidency of Honduras.
Call the State Department and the White House
Demand that they call for the immediate reinstatement ofHonduran President
Zelaya.
State Department: 202-647-4000 or 1-800-877-8339
White House: Comments: 202-456-1111, Switchboard:202-456-1414
The Honduran Congress and Supreme Court are backing theArmed Forces and the
military coup. They say a military coup per se has notoccurred because the
military does not want to take power, but rather the headof Congress will be
named president.
PRESIDENT ZELAYA WAS BEATEN AND KIDNAPPED FROM HIS HOUSE THIS MORNING AND
TAKEN BY FORCE TO AN AIRPLANE AND SENT TO COSTA RICA. FOREIGN MINISTER PATRICIA
RODAS HAS BEEN BEATEN, KIDNAPPED AND IMPRISONED BY MILITARY FORCES AND IS STILL
IN CUSTODY, HER WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN. HONDURAN TELEVISION IS TRYING TO SAY THIS IS
NOT A COUP. BUT THIS IS A COUP D'ETAT AND MUST BE UNILATERALLY CONDEMNED AND
DEFEATED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TOGETHER WITH THE HONDURAN PEOPLE.
UPDATE 11: 3:15PM -International Community Unanimously Rejects
Military Coup In Honduras
The Organization of American States, ALBA nations, European Community, United
Nations, UNASUR, MERCOSUR and even the United States have now ALL condemned the
military coup underway in Honduras. HOWEVER, the Honduran Congress, Supreme Court
and military are refusing to recognize their actions asa coup d'etat.
Still the other nation to not unequivocally call for President Zelaya's
immediate rescue and reinstatement is the United States,nevertheless, Hillary
Clinton has issued a statement condemning the"situation" in Honduras and calling
for "respect" fo rconstitutional order.
Electricity and state media outlets in Honduras are still shut down in order
to impose a curfew and blackout state so the military coup can succeed.
Honduran Congress live on CNN en español, Jose Alfredo Saavedra, Secretary of
the Congress, has just read a Decree declaring President Zelaya no longer
President of Honduras because he wanted to proceed with the opinion poll
scheduled to occur today.
What happened to the validity of all those who voted for Zelaya? He is the
elected president since 2005!
UPDATE 12: 3:30PM -Honduran Congress Says Can't Allow Constitutional
Assembly To Ever Take Place
A member of Honduras' Congress has just admitted that in discussions with the
US Ambassador in Honduras, the US Ambassador suggested they just let the opinion
poll take place and then vote against the Constitutional Assembly in November,
but, said the congress member, "we can't just allow 'these people' to do this with
the help of Venezuela and Cuba."
"we can't have a constitution that allows the 'people' to elect members on the
supreme court and allows the 'people' to be involved in government".......
They also blamed Zelaya for increases in corruption,drug trafficking and the
relationship with "chavismo" in Venezuela....
Nevertheless, they can be in disagreement with Zelaya's policies, but he was
elected by a majority of Honduran people and still remains popular as their
president...It's the elite and the conservative parties, which have power in
Congress, who have backed this coup...
UPDATE 13: 3:44PM - Fake Resignation Letter From Zelaya Dated 3Days
Ago
Alleged resignation letter with forged signature from President Zelaya is
dated June 25, 2009. This is completely ridiculous considering that up until he
was violently kidnapped this morning, Zelaya gave no indication whatsoever that
he was planning to resign. Today, in is forced exile from Costa Rica, he has
reaffirmed his role as constitutional president of Honduras and denied any
resignation via letter or any other means.
The Honduran Congress has violated the human rights of its citizens and has
brutally repressed members of Zelaya's administration. ForeignMinister Patricia
Rodas, who was beaten and taken from her home a few hoursago, has still not
resurfaced.
The Honduran Congress says they have not executed a coupd'etat but rather are
installing "rule of law" and"democracy". WTF?????
BTW, the FAKE RESIGNATION letter states:
"Mr. President:
Due to the polarizing political situation in the country,which has provoked a
national conflict that is eroding my political support,and due to my uncureable
health problems that have impeded me from concentrating on my fundamental duties
in the government, I am handing in my irrevocable resignation as President of the
Republic, together with my Cabinet members, effective as of today.
With my resignation, I hope to contribute to healing the wounds in the
national political environment.
Sincerely,
Jose Manual Zelaya Rosales
President of the Republic of Honduras
----------------------------
Addressed to: President of the National Congress
Honorable Representative Don Roberto Micheletti Bain
Legislative Palace
Tegucigalpa"
----------------------
THIS IS CLEARLY A FAKE! AND THE GUY IT'S ADDRESSED TO, MICHELETTI, IS THE ONE
THE CONGRESS JUST NAMED PRESIDENT OF HONDURAS!
Also, the "health problems" referred to in the letter are regarding the
opposition's claim that President Zelaya is"mentally ill". Hmmm....the
Venezuelan opposition has tried to say the same about President Chavez and have
even had psychiatric studies conducted to back their "accusations".
Maybe all of us are mentally ill who fight for social andeconomic justice and
refuse to bow to imperialism, fascism and military coups!!
UPDATE 14: 4:10PM -If Obama Does Not Refuse To Recognize Coup Leaders
Than Us Approving MilitaryCoup
AS of this time, late Sunday afternoon, after the HonduranCongress has
illegally removed President Zelaya from power and violentlykidnapped and forced
him into exile in Costa Rica, the Obama Administration hasSTILL NOT stated that
it WILL NOT recognize any other president of Hondurasother than the
democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya.
All of the nations in the region have made clear that theywill only recognize
President Zelaya as the legitimate president of Honduras.Even the United Nations
and European Community have made clear the samesentiment. Only the Obama
Administration has made no statement confirming thatit will not recognize the
head of Congress, who just declared himself presidentof Honduras, as a
legitimate leader.
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! We must DEMAND the Obama Administrationrefuse to
recognize any other president than Manuel Zelaya in Honduras. If theObama
administration's rejects such a demand, then it is evidences its role inthis
illegal military coup.
UPDATE 15: 4:32PM -Massive Human Rights Violations Underway In
Honduras
The Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, elected in November2005, has been
kidnapped, beaten and forced into exile in Costa Rica. A fakeletter of
resignation, with his forged signature (see blog entry below), wasused by
Honduras' opposition majority Congress to justify the president'souster. Foreign
Minister Patricia Rodas was brutally beaten and kidnapped bymilitary forces in
her residence just before noon and taken into custody. Shehas not been seen
since.
In complete violation of diplomatic law, the ambassadors ofVenezuela and Cuba
were both beaten and kidnapped for a short period byHonduran soldiers, under
orders of the coup leaders. They have both beenreleased and have taken refuge
again in their respective embassies.
A non-binding vote, scheduled for today, on a possiblefuture constitutional
assembly, was impeded by the coup leaders, violating theHonduran people's right
to vote and participate in their political processes.
Nations around the world, including the United Nations,Organization of
American States, Latin American countries and even the UnitedStates have
condemned the events in Honduras. Only the Obama Administration hasyet to
clarify whether they will recognize the illegal coup government led bythe
president of Honduras' congress, Micheletti.
UPDATE 16: 5:00PM - Illegal Swearing In Of De FactoPresident In
Honduras
RIght now the Honduran Congress is illegally swearing in thepresident of
Congress, Micheletti, as the de facto president of Honduras, inthe next
development of this ongoing military-civil coup taking placethroughout the
day.
President Zelaya is still in forced exile in Costa Rica,after being beaten
and kidnapped by soldiers under orders of those involved inthe coup. Foreign
Minister Patricia Rodas is still disappeared, after also beingbeaten and taking
prisoner by the Honduran military in clear violation of herrights.
The United States maintains a military base in Soto Cano,Honduras, that
houses approximately 500 soldiers and special forces. The U.S.military group in
Honduras is one of the largest in U.S. Embassies in theregion. The leaders of
the coup today are graduates of the U.S. School of theAmericas, a training camp
for dictators and repressive forces in Latin America.
Will the Obama Administration recognize the coup government in place now in
Honduras? Or will Obama call for the reinstatement of constitutional president
Manuel Zelaya. We are waiting to hear from the White House....
Tonight, a special meeting of ALBA nations has been convened in Managua,
Nicaragua. Heads of state or high level representatives from Bolivia, Cuba,
Ecuador, Venezuela, Dominica, San Vincent and Antigua and Barbados are expected
to attend.
UPDATE 17: 5:37PM -Coup Government In Place In Honduras
It's official, illegal, but official. Roberto Micheletti, upuntil right now
the head of Congress, has just been sworn in as de factopresident after
violently ousting President Zelaya from power, kidnapping him and forcing him
into exile in Costa Rica. Micheletti just gave a speech before Congress,
broadcast live via CNN en Español and Telesur, along with Honduran stations, was
enraged with power, often yelling and declaring his "utmost respect for democracy
and the constitution" (?!) He also discussed how his"cabinet" which he is about
to announce, will "restore democracy" and "respect for the constitution" to the
country. He repeated over and over again that what took place was not a
military-civil coup but rather a "civil society" action to "ensure
democracy".
Still no word about kidnapped and beaten Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas'
whereabouts. The Congress also did not explain President Zelaya's beating and
kidnapping and forced exile or the forged resignation letter, which they now
obviously are no longer using as a legitimate"justification" for the coup. It's
just too bogus.
BTW, The US Military Group in Honduras trains around 300 Honduran soldiers
every year, provides more than $500,000 annually to the Honduran Armed Forces and
additionally provides $1.4 million for a military education and exchange program
for around 300 more Honduran soldiers every year.
Contact Eva Golinger at evagolinger@hotmail.comor evagolinger@gmail.com