A Second Coup in Honduras

Special from rel-UITA

HAVANA TIMES, Nov. 7 – Thousands of people jammed the square in front of the National Congress waiting -with no result- for deputies to reinstate the constitutionally elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

Confronted with this new delaying tactic, the National Front Against the Coup d’état decided Friday to boycott the elections and ignore its outcome, urging the candidates who have been opposed to the coup to withdraw from the electoral contest and for the international community to maintain its position of delegitimizing the de facto regime and the elections themselves.

“It was a decision taken today by the leadership of the resistance because we cannot continue tolerating the delaying measures of the coup forces in their attempt to inch closer to the date set for elections,” said Juan Barahona, one of the leaders.  He spoke during the press conference that took place before thousands of people who expressed their approval of that decision.

“We are also sending a strong message to the OAS and the United States government: No more games and manipulations like those played over the last several days.  They have to demonstrate seriousness, responsibility and consistency with what they said when they openly supported the reinstatement of President Zelaya,” he added.

“That’s why we declare them accomplices in what’s happening,” concluded Barahona.

Almost simultaneously, the foreign ministers of the Rio Group’s Permanent Mechanism of Consultation and Political Agreement, meeting in Jamaica, announced a resolution in which they said the reinstatement of President Zelaya constitutes an indispensable requirement for the reestablishment of constitutional order, a state of law and democratic life in Honduras.

They also stated that “only that condition will guarantee the normalization of relations between the Republic of Honduras and the international community, as well as the recognition of the outcome of elections expected to take place on November 29.

“Following the reinstatement of the constitutional president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, it is imperative that a Government of Unity and National Reconciliation be constituted with the integration of the Tegucigalpa/San Jose Agreement,” reads the resolution, which at the international level counteracts the ambiguous position of the United States and the OAS itself on this issue.

Zelaya: ‘Incredible and Absurd’

Nor was there agreement on the formation of a Government of Unity and National Reconciliation, whose establishment was foreseen for November 5th.

In an openly provocative way, the proposal of de facto president Roberto Micheletti foresaw total and discretionary control of the mechanism for forming the new cabinet, and especially his presence in the control of that body.

Then, the de facto government went even further.  Only minutes before midnight, Micheletti summoned the national and international media so that he could grotesquely and shamelessly present his new Government of Unity and Reconciliation, made up of members of the same parties that supported and executed the coup against President Zelaya – an action that was identified by many observers as a possible second coup d’état.

This new measure, which openly challenges Micheletti’s counterpart and the international community, was categorically rejected by Zelaya.  Speaking on the morning of November 6, he announced through his Verification Commission delegate, Jorge Arturo Reina, a new official statement in which he declared himself unwilling to surrender rights to people attempting to legitimate the coup d’état.  Nor would he accept the president of Honduras being named by leaders of the armed forces.

“The ongoing violation of human rights, the annulment of public freedoms and the media confiscation, just as the situation of the elected president -surrounded by the military in the diplomatic mission of Brazil and subjected to political persecution- is the most evident proof of the preparation of a grand political-electoral fraud set for November 29,” highlighted the official statement.

“We announce our total boycott of this electoral process and the results do to the flaws previously mentioned.  Holding an election under a dictatorship is a fraud against the people,” it continued.

The official statement also urged the OAS to immediately speak out on what has happened, and continued to condemn and ignore the de facto régime.

“This shows a lack of will to comply with the letter and spirit of the agreement, (which) ignores the proposal of the Arias Plan, the resolutions of the OAS and those of the UN,” said Reina.

We declare the agreement as having failed due to the refusal of the de facto regime to fulfill its commitment that on this date there must have been organized and installed the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation, one that must have been presided over by the president elected by Honduran people, Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales,” Reina concluded.

He added that the elected government will not allow the concealment of the profound illegality contained in the coup d’état, the criminal behavior to which it has subjected the people of Honduras or the grand electoral fraud that they are preparing.

In a brief statement made by President Zelaya to Radio Globo, he said, “I find it incredible and absurd that Mr. Micheletti wants to lead the cabinet of Unity and Reconciliation.  I will continue with my efforts so that the Honduran people are respected and the coup is not legitimized.”

“At this time the agreement is a dead letter owing to noncompliance, since a government cannot be formed in Honduras without a president, and what they want to do is form a government with a de facto president that has not been recognized by any country in the world,” concluded Zelaya’s statement.