Honduran Congress Overwhelmingly Votes Down Return by Zelaya
Dec 3rd, 2009 | 29 responses
A few months ago, we had several expressive posts and hundreds of emotional comments on the removal of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya from power, his inelegant, unceremonious departure from Honduras and his trials and tribulations when attempting to return to Honduras and reclaiming power.
There was a recent post (November 30) on TMV on the Honduran presidential elections won by a veteran conservative politician, Porfirio Lobo, who is to take office on January 27, 2010.
For those Honduran politics aficionados, there are some new developments in Tegucigalpa today.
The New York Times reports that The Honduran Congress voted last night 111-14 against restoring Manuel Zelaya to office to serve out the last two months of his term.
While the Honduran Congress has spoken almost unanimously, there are, of course, several foreign entities who do not like the results, including the European Union. There are also rumbles from Washington.
However, according to the Times, “As the date grows closer for Mr. Lobo’s inauguration, the de facto government and its allies may feel less pressure to act on the agreement. Mr. Lobo won the election handily, and although only a few Latin American countries have recognized the result, many nations issued statements acknowledging that the vote went smoothly. American officials have said privately that many countries will eventually move toward recognizing the results.”
There you have the latest on Honduras.
29 Responses to “Honduran Congress Overwhelmingly Votes Down Return by Zelaya”
Viva Honduras.
Viva Honduras! indeed! Your typical American backed democracy at work. Lisa Sullivan filed this report from Honduras. <http://www.truthout.org/1202098>
“Today the headlines in most of the US media reiterate the official Honduran statistics that 60 percent of Hondurans went to the polls. Our delegates visited dozens of polling stations, finding them almost empty, in most places counting more electoral monitors and caretakers than voters. The resistance movement puts abstention at 65-70 percent. Which statistic do we prefer to believe?
As elections were in full swing in the morning, our delegate and nurse-practitioner, Silvia Metzler, visited Angel Salgado and Maria Elena Hernandez, who were languishing in the intensive care unit of the Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa. Both had been shot in the head at one of the many military checkpoints, no questions asked.
Embassy's human rights officer, Nate Macklin, told our delegation leader to make sure to let him know if there were any human rights abuses. Any? In each of the many corners of the country visited by the 70-plus international observers, we witnessed the fear, repression, intimidation, bribery and outright brutality of the government security forces.”
Very interesting.
It feels nice having my position vindicated by the democracy loving people of Honduras in a free and fair election, especially after the string of name calling that certain folks directed at me on this issue. I guess I'm not such an idiot unaware of what the Honduran people wanted after all. I also guess some of the posters on this forum (which was also called names in the process knew a bit more than the one calling the names. Score one for The Moderate Voice.
But what did you think of the article linked by S?
Truthout. They were wrong on a Rove indictment too.
As for Lisa Sullivan who wrote this piece, its fairly clear she has an agenda of her own and is no non partisan reporter.
http://www.soaw.org/
give me something more credible to confirm if you want me to buy anything she writes. Hugo Chavez doesn't count. =P
Oh mighty King Leonidas, might makes right and outcome is truth. You stand on that tiny little self aggrandizing altar and raise that bulbous nose to sniff the air……….and what do you smell, ah the scent of self anointed vindication. Do declare for all to hear that you hereby vindicate yourself. How your beliefs were the one true way. A victory for the self. Do take a victory lap. Never mind that on nearly every major issue from banking to war the American people have been repeatedly lied to. But you, right, the state department, Hillary wouldn't tell us a lie….and activists never tell the truth. Yours is the type of twist that can't be unraveled.
The truth hurts I guess. The Honduran people have spoken along with their legislature and their Supreme Court. Clean sweep.
Freedom and rule of law 1
Stetson wearing dictator wannabees 0
Who should we believe — Oh mighty Leonidas or World opinion?
“I can’t help but feel tremendous anger towards my own country at this moment. Just has hope was rising from Honduras, it was demolished by the coup. And now, these elections seek to erase the dark image and put a shining façade on the same ugly repressive machine that erases dreams and converts ancestral lands into exclusive resorts. The US government has indicated that, in spite of the fact that most world opinion refuses to anoint the coup in this way, they will accept the results of this election, and thus set Latin America back three decades, into a time of darkness and fear.” –Lisa Sullivan
“Oh mighty Leonidas or World opinion?”
False dichotomy. Plus, you substitute Lisa Sullivan, which is not representative of world opinion, especially informed, honest world opinion. Leo wins.
Viva el Lobo. (Oh, Kathy, where are you?)
“World opinion”
Si, Podemos!
http://www.bayislandsvoice.com/images/v3-11-pep…
And Cheney wears a Stetson too. You had me until you asked if Hilary would lie. She used to, but I hope no longer.
But my main question is where is the article, preferably with feet on the ground in Honduras, describing the election from a person with an “agenda” from the other side?
There are at least 5 of the most significant and progressive countries in Latin American that do not support the election result, and last i read neither does the EU. This is not the last word on this and I am content to wait until the new cycle catches up with itself to announce more troubles in Honduras. So go ahead run around the flag pole and give your little victory salutes. It matters not. There will be trouble in Honduras for years to come.
As there will be in Venezuela and possibly Nicaragua, with Argentina not far behind. Uribe is also trying to pull a Bloomberg (got that S), I think. Mexico is ripe for a drug revolution. Send troops to the border.
“As there will be in Venezuela and possibly Nicaragua, with Argentina not far behind. Uribe is also trying to pull a Bloomberg (got that S), I think. Mexico is ripe for a drug revolution. Send troops to the border”
What in heavens are you talking about dduck?
I'm saying our gov. needs to pay more attention down south.
Ortega: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALe…
Uribe: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487…
Argentina: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALe…
Mexico: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la…
Venezuela: http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1102
Enough?
Oh, you mean, la mayoria de paises al sur de Tegucigalpa, la capital de Honduras.
South of that city which some didn't even know how to find it on the map, let alone spell it, but who became instant experts in the history, government, culture, local politics and Constitution of that nation—and even the language—when they decided that there were some political points to be scored back here in the good ole USA.
That one?
Now I have no idea what you are talking about. You asked, I gave you my concerns. They don't bother you, that's ok.
Sorry dduck12.
Of course I am concerned about the political, economic and social problems in Latin America—I was born there.
It just bugs the hell out of me, when some use those problems and issues to make political hay here in the United States, without having an iota of knowledge of and experience in Latin American affairs (Their history, cultures, languages, governments, laws, judicial systems, Constitutions, etc., etc)
Hey or Hay. What political hay?
I have no ax to grind, I just don't like any politician overturning the law, here in NYC or in Central America.
So I don't know if we are agreeing or disagreeing.
Sorry, again, dduck12.
When this whole flap arose in Honduras, there were scores of instant experts who used the Honduras political crisis to score poltical points here at home.
You may want to peruse through some of the media articles and even TMV posts—and especially the hundred or more comments—that were written projecting and connecting Honduras politics on and to U.S. partisan politics.
I was a poster and my concern was for someone overstaying his term. No points for me, just the rule of law.
Then, “your hands are clean” dduck
Well the election was recognized by Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Columbia, Japan, Germany…..
It doesn't mean a whole lot to me that hugo Chavez and his cadre don't.
That's not really enough.
I suspect the number is greater now and will increase, those were just some early reported countries. Five were reported against so I gave six that were for.
I hope so.
The whitewash of the Honduran Elections continues with your help of coarse. I hardly expect that the articles below would have any effect on the disjointed view of what has actually been going on in Honduras.
Iran vs. Honduras
The Times’ selective promotion of democracy
<http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3895&printer…>
When the results of the June 13 Iranian elections were decried as fraudulent (charges that were later backed up by a detailed study by Chatham House—6/21/09), U.S. media instantly became the champions of the oppressed Iranians who took to the streets in protest. Cries of righteous solidarity echoed from virtually all mainstream outlets, and the large demonstrations were front-page news on every newspaper in the country each day.
By contrast, about two weeks later, demonstrators in Honduras who took to the streets to demand the reinstatement of the democratically elected president who had been violently abducted by soldiers that were armed, trained and advised by the United States received no such media support or attention. Hardly a mention that hundreds of protesters—two of whom were killed and 60 injured, according to the Chinese press agency Xinhua (6/30/09)—were confronting tanks and droves of armed forces in the Honduran capital could be found in mainstream news outlets or editorial pages.
This version of events, consistently followed by Times reporters and opinion writers, is wildly inaccurate and misleading. In reality, Zelaya had called for a non-binding referendum that would have asked whether Hondurans would support the formation of a convention to rewrite Honduras’ constitution (possibly including a change in term-limit laws); that convention would not have been convened until after the general elections in November 2009, in which Zelaya was not a candidate because his term was expiring (Miami Herald, 7/3/09; Rebel Reports, 7/1/09).
If you want pictures/video the story below can be found here:
<http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_…>
December 3, 2009
An election validated by blood and repression
Honduran coup government continues repressive tactics on election day (Report from San Pedro Sula)
Well send that to hilliary Clinton and try to persuade her that she was wrong.
Good Luck, also might wanna send a letter to Brazil before they switch sides.