I thought it might be interesting — now that the Honduran government and exiled President Manuel Zelaya have come to an agreement that will restore Zelaya to the presidency until the legal end of his term — to look back at the reaction around the world when the coup occurred, at the end of June. It’s easy now, four months after the events took place, to forget how united the world was in its condemnation of the coup — and in its use of that word to describe the Honduran military’s actions.
Of course, Hugo Chavez supported Zelaya — I think we can all agree that was pretty predictable. However, every other Latin American country did as well.
Spain’s Prime Minister strongly condemned “the illegal detention and expulsion of the constitutional president of the republic of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya.”
So, too, did the European Union:
The EU strongly condemns the arrest of the constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, by the armed forces. This is [an] unacceptable violation of constitutional order in Honduras. The EU calls for the urgent release of President Zelaya and a swift return to constitutional normality.
Here are some more reactions.
Association of Caribbean States:
The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) strongly condemns the military coup d’état that took place early Sunday morning in the Republic of Honduras against the legal, constitutional and democratically elected President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales.
President Zelaya was forced from his residence and expelled to Costa Rica without any due respect for his legitimate authority. This rupture of the constitutional order is unacceptable and the ACS reiterates and demands his restitution as President of the Republic.
Federal Minister Steinmeier, Germany:
“I condemn the arrest and exiling of President Zelaya, an act which violates the constitutional order of the Republic of Honduras.
It is now vital for Honduras to swiftly return to law and order. I call upon the conflict parties to resume dialogue and to find a peaceful solution which takes due account of democracy and the rule of law.”
Taiwan’s foreign minister clearly described Sunday’s overthrow of Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya by the Central American country’s military for the first time Tuesday as a “coup” that “violated the principles of democracy and the rule of law” and “should be censured.”
The French Foreign Ministry said, “France firmly condemns the coup that has just taken place in Honduras. The arrests and expulsions of diplomatic envoys are a grave breach of the Vienna convention. They are unacceptable.
“The constitutional order must be restored at the earliest opportunity. France calls on all parties to act with respect for the principles and values of democracy.”
International reaction to the 2009 Honduran coup d’état of June 28, 2009, was that the coup was widely repudiated around the globe. All Latin American nations (with the exception of Honduras itself), as well as the United States, United Nations, and others, publicly condemned the military-led ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya as illegal and most labelled it a coup d’état.
Also quoted on this same Wiki page:
Argentina:
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said: “I’m deeply worried about the situation in Honduras. It reminds us of the worst years in Latin America’s history. We will demand that the OAS (Organization of American States) fully comply with the democratic charter that requires unconditional respect for democracy and, above all, the restoration of the Honduran president. I do not hesitate to call this a return to barbarity….”
Belarus:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Secretary Andrei Popov provided a response at a ministry press conference condemning the coup. “We vigorously condemn the violent upheaval of the legitimately elected President of Honduras by a group of people and his exile from the country.. ..We hope for the immediate reversion of the situation in Honduras into a legal framework and for unconditional respect by this country of its international commitments, including relevant articles of the Vienna Convention concerning security guaranties of the diplomatic staff.”
Belize:
In a statement released on June 29, 2009, the Government of Belize condemned the actions of the Honduran military, calling Zelaya “the only constitutional President of Honduras”. The statement demanded his reinstatement, the return of the rule of law and the restoration of democracy.
Italy:
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini released a statement calling the coup “a serious violation of law and democratic rules”.
United Kingdom:
Chris Bryant, the British Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, said: “The UK condemns the expulsion of President Zelaya and calls for the restoration of democratic, constitutional government in Honduras. We support the Organisation of American States’ call supporting the rule of law and are deeply concerned about the deployment of military personnel onto the streets of Tegucigalpa.”
The United States, as we all know, also condemned the coup and called for the restoration of the democratic rule of law in Honduras. Conservative and right-wing lawmakers, media pundits, bloggers, etc., vehemently defended the actions of Honduras’s government as perfectly legal and constitutional. That is as may be. But let’s not rewrite history. U.S. conservatives’ support for Zelaya’s removal from office and indifference to his ejection from the country — even when acknowledging the latter’s illegality — was and is very much out of synch with the rest of the world. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is a separate issue for debate. But the fact of it is not.
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