Ousted Honduran leader says US-brokered pact has failed to end crisis

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Friday that a U.S.-brokered pact failed to end a four-month political crisis after a deadline for forming a unity government passed.

"The accord is dead," Zelaya told Radio Globo. "There is no sense in deceiving Hondurans."

Forged last week with the help of U.S. diplomats, the pact gave the two sides until midnight Thursday to install a government with supporters of Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, who was named interim president by Congress after Zelaya was ousted on June 28.

Jorge Reina, a negotiator for Zelaya, said the pact fell apart because Congress failed to vote on whether to reinstate the deposed president before the deadline for forming the unity government.


Read more: http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/world/article/361040--ousted-honduran-leader-says-us-brokered-pact-has-failed-to-end-crisis

[struggle4progress]

1. De facto leader announces unity government for Honduras (CNN)

November 6, 2009 -- Updated 1027 GMT (1827 HKT)

(CNN) -- De facto President Roberto Micheletti announced the formation of a new unity government late Thursday, one that was formed without input from deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.

"With this agreement, we have made an important step to strengthen our democracy," Micheletti said. "Despite the fact that Mister Zelaya did not send any of his representatives ... we're still looking for an opportunity for these citizens of Honduras to be integrated in the government of reconciliation."

There was no immediate response from Zelaya or his representatives ...

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/06/honduras.government/

[L. Coyote]

6. The Unity coup announced the Unity government. Yeah, right, and they changed the meaning of "unity"

to pull it off.
The ten families are all united behind the idea! :rofl:

[L. Coyote]

13. LA TIMES: President Zelaya says U.S.-backed deal to reinstate him has failed

Honduras' Manuel Zelaya says U.S.-backed deal to reinstate him has failed
Tracy Wilkinson - Nov. 6, 2009 - http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-honduras7-2009nov07,0,4292258.story


The country's de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti, forms a new government without the ousted president. 'The accord is a dead letter,' Zelaya says.

.... Honduran President Manuel Zelaya ... said today that a U.S.-brokered deal to end his nation's political crisis has collapsed.

Zelaya pronounced the week-old agreement a "dead letter" after de facto rulers formed a new "reconciliation government" without Zelaya's participation, as the deal had required.

"The accord is a dead letter," Zelaya said on a Honduran radio station ...

The plan also required the formation by Thursday of a temporary "unity Cabinet" with representatives of both sides.

Just before midnight Thursday, Micheletti announced a new government that did not include Zelaya or any of his supporters.

Micheletti had signed on to the deal as a way to secure international recognition of presidential elections scheduled for Nov. 29. Most of the region's capitals had warned that elections overseen by a coup-installed government would not be deemed legitimate.

The failure of the accord hands an embarrassing setback to the Obama administration, which dispatched senior diplomats to settle the crisis ................

[boppers]

35. "to reinstate him"?

That's one one possible outcome. Congress could also vote to *not* reinstate him.

[L. Coyote]

19. Heavy contingent of tanks, soldiers, military vehicles surrounding the Brazilian embassy

Honduras pact crumbles over unity government
Fri Nov 6, 2009 9:12pm IST
By Fiona Ortiz - http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43751120091106?sp=true


TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - ....... On Friday morning local television showed a heavy contingent of tanks and soldiers and other military vehicles surrounding the Brazilian embassy where Zelaya has been holed up since he sneaked back into Honduras in September.

A spokesman for the U.S. State Department, which had pushed the two sides to a deal, appeared to indicate the pact was still on track, saying "The only deadline was to form a government of national unity, which was done."

............

Two small explosive devices were set off in different parts of the capital in the early hours of Friday, causing slight damages and no injuries to people, local media reported.

On Wednesday night a grenade exploded in a radio station sympathetic to Micheletti, slightly injuring one person. On Thursday a homemade explosive device went off in a public toilet a few blacks from a pro-Zelaya rally, damaging a door and plumbing but injuring no one.

[L. Coyote]

21. Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord: A translation

*Beginning with the signing of the present Accord and no later than the 5 of November
1. Appointment and installation of the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation

This is the provision which was not accomplished on schedule, thereby ending the accord.

http://hondurascoup2009.blogspot.com/2009/10/tegucigalpa-san-jose-accord-translation.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord: A translation
Preamble

We, Honduran citizens, men and women convinced of the necessity to strengthen the state of law, to aid our constitution and the laws of our Republic, deepen democracy and assure a climate of peace and tranquility for our people, have carried out a frank and intense process of political dialogue to seek a negotiated and peaceful exit to the crisis in which our country has been submerged in recent months.

As fruit of this dialogue in which has predominated the wisdom, tolerance, and patriotic spirit of all the participants, we have drafted a political accord that will permit the reestablishment of civic harmony and assure a proper climate for democratic governability in our country. This accord, we are sure, will define the road to peace, reconciliation, and democracy, urgent demands of Honduran society.

The agreement on this accord demonstrates yet again, that Honduran men and women are capable of successfully carrying out dialogue and thanks to that and by means of it, reach the high goals that society demands and the country requires.

In virtue of the forgoing, we have agreed on the following accords:

1. ON THE GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND UNITY

To achieve reconciliation and strengthen democracy, we will form a Government of Unity and National Reconciliation made up of representatives of the various political parties and social organizations, recognized for their capabilities, honesty, aptness, and willingness to dialogue, who will occupy the distinct secretariates and subsecretariates, as well as other dependencies of State, in conformity with article 246 and following of the constitution of the Republic of Honduras.

In light of the fact that before the 28 of June, the Executive Power had not submitted a General Budget of Income and Expenses for consideration to the National Congress, in conformity with that established in article 205, number 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Honduras, this government of unity and national reconciliation will respect and function on the basis of the general budget, recently approved by the National Congress for fiscal year 2009.

2. ON RENOUNCING THE CONVOCATION OF A NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OR REFORMING THE UNREFORMABLE ARTICLES OF THE CONSTITUTION.

To achieve reconciliation and fortify democracy, we reiterate our respect for the Constitution and the laws of our country, abstaining from making calls for the convening of a National Constituent Assembly, in direct or indirect manner and renouncing also promoting or aiding any popular poll with the goal of reforming the Constitution in order to permit presidential re-election, modify the form of government or contravene any of the irreformable articles of our Magna Carta.

In particular, we will not make public declarations nor exercise any type of influence inconsistent with articles 5; 373 and 373 of the Constitution of the Republic of Honduras, and we reject energetically every manifestation contrary to the spirit of said articles and of the special law that regulates the referendum and the plebiscite.

3. ON THE GENERAL ELECTIONS AND THE TRANSFER OF GOVERNMENT

To achieve reconciliation and fortify democracy, we reiterate that, in conformity with the articles 44 and 51 of the Constitution of the Republic of Honduras, the vote is universal, obligatory, egalitarion, direct, free and secret, and it corresponds to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, with full autonomy and independence, to supervise and execute everything related to the electoral acts and processes.

At the same time, we make a call to the Honduran people to peacefully participate in the next general elections and to avoid all kinds of demonstrations that would oppose the elections or their results, or promote insurrection, antijuridical conduct, civil disobedience or other acts that could produce violent confrontations or transgressions of the law.

With the goal of demonstrating the transparency and legitimacy of the electoral process, we ask urgently that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal that it authorize and accredit the presence of international missions from now until the declaration of the results of the general elections, as well as the transfer of powers that will take place, in conformity with Article 237 of the Constitution of the Republic, the 27 of January of 2010.

4. ON THE ARMED FORCES AND NATIONAL POLICE

To reach reconciliation and fortify democracy, we affirm our will to comply in all its measures with article 272 of the Constitution of the Republic of Honduras, according to which the Armed Forces remain at the disposition of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal from one month before the general elections, for the purpose of guaranteeing the free exercise of suffrage, the custody, transparency, and guarding of the electoral materials and all the other aspects of security of the process. We reaffirm the professional, apolitical, obedient and non-deliberative character of the Honduran Armed Forces. In the same way, we agree that the national police should be strictly subject to that prescribed in its special legislation.

5. ON EXECUTIVE POWER

To achieve reconciliation and fortify democracy, in the spirit of the themes of the proposed San Jose Accord, both negotiating commissions have decided, respectfully, that the National Congress, as an institutional expression of popular sovereignty, in the use of its powers, in consultation with the points that the Supreme Court of Justice should consider pertinent and in conformity with the law, should resolve in that proceeding in respect to "return the incumbency of Executive Power to its state previous to the 28 of June until the conclusion of the present governmental period, the 27 of January of 2010". The decision that the National Congress shall accept should lay the foundations to achieve social peace, political tranquility and governability that society demands and the country needs".

6. ON THE VERIFICATION COMMISSION AND THE TRUTH COMMISSION

To achieve reconciliation and fortify democracy, we are disposed to the creation of a Commission of Verification of the promises assumed in this Accord, and of those that shall derive from it, coordinated by the Organization of American States (OAS). Said commission will be made up of two members of the international community and two members of the national community, these last will be sought one by each of the parties.

The Verification Commission will be charged with giving witness of the strict completion of all of the points of this Accord, and will receive for this the full cooperation of Honduran public institutions.
Incompletion of any of the commitments contained in this Accord, proven and declared by the Verification Commission, will produce the activation of measures that the Commisssion will establish against the transgressor or transgressors.

With the goal of clarifying the deeds that occurred before and after the 28 of June of 2009, there will also be created a Truth Commission that will identify the acts that led to the present situation, and provide to the Honduran people elements to avoid that those deeds will be repeated in the future.
This Commission of Dialogue recommends that the next Government, in the framework of a national consensus, constitutes the said Truth Commission in the first half of the year 2010.

7. ON THE NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

On committing ourselves to faithfully comply with the promises assumed in the present Accord, we respectfully ask the immediate revocation of those measures and sanctions adopted at a bilateral or multilateral level, that in any manner would affect the reinsertion and full participation of the Republic of Honduras in the international community and its access to all forms of cooperation.

We make a call to the international community that it should reactivate as soon as possible the projects of cooperation in effect with the Republic of Honduras and continue with the negotiation of future ones. In particular, we ask urgently that, on the request of competent authorities the international cooperation be made effective that might be necessary and opportune for the Verification Commission and the future Truth Commission to assure the faithful completion and follow-through of the commitments acquired in this Accord.

8. FINAL DISPOSITIONS

Any difference in interpretation or application of the present Accord will be submitted to the Verification Commission, which will determine, in keeping with that disposed in the Constitution of the Republic of Honduras and in the legislation in effect and through an authentic interpretation of the present Accord, the solution that corresponds.

Taking into account that the present Accord is a product of the understanding and fraternity among Honduran men and women, we ask vehemently that the international community respect the sovereignty of the Republic of Honduras, and fully observe the time-honored principle in the Charter of the United Nations of non-interference in the internal affairs of other States.

9. CALENDAR OF COMPLETION OF THE ACCORDS

Given the immediate entrance into effect of this accord from the date of its signing, and with the goal of clarifying the timetable for completion and follow-through of the commitments acquired to reach national reconciliation, we agree on the following calendar of completion:

*30 of October of 2009
1. Signing and entry into effect of the accord.
2. Formal delivery of the accords to Congress for the effects of point 5, of "Executive Power".

*2 of November of 2009
1. Appointment of the Verification Commission

*Beginning with the signing of the present Accord and no later than the 5 of November
1. Appointment and installation of the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation

*27 of January of 2010
1. Celebrate the transfer of government

*First half of 2010
1. Formation of the Truth Commission

10. FINAL DECLARATION

In the name of reconciliation and the patriotic spirit that has convened us at the table of dialogue, we commit to complete in good faith the present Accord and that which derives from it.

The world is witness to that demonstration of unity and peace, to which we commit our civic conscience, and patriotic devotation. Together, we shall know to demonstrate our valor and determination to fortify the State of Law and construct a tolerant, pluralistic, and democratic society.

We sign the present Accord in the city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, the 30th of October of 2009.

11. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We take advantage of the occasion to thank the accompaniment of the good offices of the international community, in particular the OAS, and its Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza, the Missions of Chancellors of the Hemisphere; the President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sanchez; the ultimate government of the United States, its president Barack Obama; and its Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

12. ON THE ENTRY INTO EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TEGUCIGALPA/SAN JOSE ACCORD

For internal effects, the Accord has full effectiveness from its signature.

For effects of protocol and ceremony, there will be carried out a public act of signing on the 2nd of November of 2009.

Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central, 30 of October of 2009

[Judi Lynn]

23. There was a deadline. The golpistas ignored it. The election MUST be repudiated. Thanks. n/t

[L. Coyote]

24. Just more delay tactics, just like we suspected all along. Seems Obama is a GOPista too!

And Sen. Jim DeMint is the new Secretary of State, announcing the reversal of our foreign policy from pro-democracy to pro-fascist!

Obama and Clinton need to get their act together about support of human rights and democracy!
FCS, we can kill 10,000 Panamanians to silence an Iran-Contra witness, and no one cares.
Now we are going to side with terminating a democracy?? Is this Bush III?
That damn Sidley Austin intern is screwing us over big time.

[L. Coyote]

26. Heritage Foundation assumes role of State Department spokesperson.

LOL> Check their article headline:

State Department to Mr. Zelaya: A Deal is a Deal!
http://blog.heritage.org/2009/11/06/state-department-to-mr-zelaya-a-deal-is-a-deal/
Posted November 6th, 2009 at 2.06pm in American Leadership.

Last week former President Zelaya of Honduras signed an agreement with the interim government of Roberto Micheletti that cleared the way for ending the constitutional crisis in that Central American country. Key to the agreement was a provision leaving it up to the Congress to vote on Mr. Zelaya’s possible restoration to office.

Yesterday, the State Department’s official spokesman reiterated, ‘This is a Honduran problem that will have a Honduran solution.”

The Administration must continue to adhere to this position and not backtrack. It needs to move swiftly to restore normal relations, release funding for electoral observers, and unblock foreign assistance so a degree of normality can return to Honduras.

...........

The Obama Administration cannot let Mr. Zelaya continue to unravel the political and economic fabric of this fragile nation..

[Judi Lynn]

28. Never would have expected this in a thousand years from a Democrat, not normally. n/t

[roody]

37. Yes, this is Bush III.

[Bacchus39]

30. nooooo, sounds like the Congress ignored it. the agreement didn't bind the Congress

that something that seems to not come out from the Zelayistas.

[boppers]

32. Point 5 leads to multiple interpretations...

One perspective is that Unity Government is separate from any congressional proceedings on Zelaya, another perspective (Zelaya's) is that a congressional vote on Zelaya is *required* by deadline, or the deal is broken.

[Bacchus39]

33. the problem being the Congress isn't bound by the timeline or to make the "correct" vote n/t

s

[boppers]

34. A vote isn't even in the timeline:

----------
*30 of October of 2009
1. Signing and entry into effect of the accord.
2. Formal delivery of the accords to Congress for the effects of point 5, of "Executive Power".

*2 of November of 2009
1. Appointment of the Verification Commission

*Beginning with the signing of the present Accord and no later than the 5 of November
1. Appointment and installation of the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation

*27 of January of 2010
1. Celebrate the transfer of government

*First half of 2010
1. Formation of the Truth Commission
-----------

The accords were delivered, but no vote was taken, and congress is (according to some articles) consulting with the courts, which is required by point 5.

[Bacchus39]

36. yes, it would seem that Zelaya's dispute should be with the Congress n/t

s

[struggle4progress]

2. Honduras' Verification Commission discards Zelaya's immediate restitution (Xinhua)

2009-11-05 07:43:28 Print

TEGUCIGALPA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Verification Commission of the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Agreement, discarded on Wednesday the immediate restitution in power of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, saying that everything will be done "step by step."

During a press conference, member of the Commission, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said "everything takes time, and now we are focused on bringing different groups to try to set a (reconciliation) cabinet."

Ricardo Lagos, former Chile President and member of the Commission said "step by step we must be able to advance on the issues that we consider important" ...

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/05/content_12388131.htm

[struggle4progress]

3. SNAP ANALYSIS-Honduras pact collapse puts election at risk (Reuters)

06 Nov 2009 10:18:12 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Fiona Ortiz

TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - ...

Zelaya proclaimed the pact dead early on Friday after Micheletti said he would stay in power at the head of what was supposed to be a unity and reconciliation cabinet but was formed without any Zelaya participation.

The international community condemned the coup that toppled Zelaya in June but had also become impatient with the leftist leader, who has been holed up for weeks in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, and is unlikely to make a major effort to rescue him again.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Organization of American States had celebrated last week's pact as a triumph for democracy and Zelaya said it paved his way back into power until the end of his term, in January ...

The accord called for a unity cabinet of ministers to be set up by all sides, but was too vague regarding who would lead the interim government ...

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N06167824.htm

[struggle4progress]

4. Zelaya: US-brokered pact for Honduran crisis fails (AP)

By JUAN ZAMORANO (AP) – 1 hour ago

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — ...

Jorge Reina, a negotiator for Zelaya, said the pact fell apart because Congress failed to vote on whether to reinstate the deposed president before the deadline for forming the unity government ...

Supporters of Micheletti, who was named interim president by Congress after Zelaya was ousted on June 28, disputed that, saying the pact required that members of the unity Cabinet be in place by Thursday but that there was no deadline for Congress to meet.

"The de facto regime has failed to live up to the promise that, by this date, the national government would be installed. And by law, it should be presided by the president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya," Reina said.

Shortly before midnight, Micheletti announced that a unity government had been created even though Zelaya had not submitted his own list of members. Micheletti said the new government was composed of candidates proposed by political parties and civic groups. He did not name the new members ...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAkMGKIUDg_ngUiZboxQbYj5_DPwD9BPUGDG0

[struggle4progress]

5. Deal to End Standoff in Honduras Appears to Fail

By ELISABETH MALKIN
Published: November 6, 2009

MEXICO CITY — ...

Mr. Zelaya, whose possible return to power was at the heart of the accord, is still a virtual prisoner in the Brazilian Embassy, where he took refuge six weeks ago after he secretly slipped back into Honduras. He is no closer to resuming his presidency, while the de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, and the people around him are still running the country.

The accord also set Thursday as a deadline to name a unity government that would oversee preparations for a presidential election scheduled for later this month.

But none of this has happened. Critics said the accord was difficult to enforce since its only source of pressure was an American threat not to recognize the planned election ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/world/americas/07honduras.html?_r=1

[L. Coyote]

7. Honduras Deal Appears to Fall Apart

Honduras Deal Appears to Fall Apart
By ELISABETH MALKIN - November 6, 2009 - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/world/americas/07honduras.html


MEXICO CITY — An accord that would have unblocked the political standoff in Honduras has failed, the deposed president said Friday, a week after it was mediated by the United States.

The deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, whose possible return to power was at the heart of the accord, is still a virtual prisoner in the Brazilian Embassy... He is no closer to resuming his presidency, while the de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, and the people around him are still running the country.

The accord also set Thursday as a deadline to name a unity government that would oversee preparations for a presidential election scheduled for this month.

But none of this has happened. Critics said the accord was difficult to enforce ...

.........

[L. Coyote]

8. Honduran Lawmakers Continue to Delay Vote on Restoring Zelaya

Honduran Lawmakers Continue to Delay Vote on Restoring Zelaya
http://www.periodico26.cu/english/news_world/november2009/honduras-delay110509.html

Tegucigalpa, Nov 5, (RHC).- Honduran lawmakers continue to delay a vote on a U.S.-brokered deal to reinstate President Manuel Zelaya, ... Meanwhile, demonstrations continue in support of President Zelaya and the restitution of democratic order.

Honduran lawmaker Silvia Ayala criticized the delay as a stall tactic by the fascist regime. She told reporters: “What we feared would be a delay on behalf of the leaders of the coup, by only calling Congress’s board of directors to avoid the whole Congress from deciding on the restitution of our president. It’s happened. The coup leaders have decided, in order to delay and not solve the problem, to send the accord to the Supreme Court.”

.............

[L. Coyote]

9. Report on Women's Human Rights Violations Shows Systematic Attack on Women Under Honduran Coup

Report on Women's Human Rights Violations Shows Systematic Attack on Women Under Honduran Coup
By Jessica Sanchez and Adelay Carias
Americas MexicoBlog - Nov 6, 2009 - http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_57416.shtml


On Nov. 2 representatives from Honduran women's organizations presented a grim panorama of violations of women's human rights by the de facto regime led by Roberto Micheletti before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.

Their testimonies provided documented proof that the coup regime and its security forces have been responsible for rapes, beatings, murders and harassment of Honduran women in the resistance movement, and the dictatorial elimination of gains in gender equity. These crimes against women have been committed in the context of impunity for the perpetrators.

... the on-going crisis in Honduras continues to claim victims and women are particularly at risk. As in violent dictatorships throughout history, women's bodies have become a battleground. Honduran women have formed the backbone of the resistance movement against the coup from Day One and suffered systematic and gender-targeted repression as a result.

Honduras has a strong and organized feminist movement. This movement came together, fortified by the integration of hundreds of independent women, in the coalition Feminists in Resistance following the coup. It has seen its members beaten, its hard-fought gains rolled back, its institutions taken over and its projects for gender equity in public policy shattered over the past four months, under an illegitimate and ultraconservative regime. Despite the personal risk and the continuous setbacks, it remains strong and united and committed to restoring the rule of law necessary for peaceful advances in women's rights.

During this week, which many hoped would mark the return to constitutional government, the coup regime made another key move against women's rights. On Nov. 3, a law pushed through the day after the coup by the de facto regime went into effect that prohibits the morning-after pill, ignoring Honduran women's demands for the right to make their own decisions on reproduction and denying the basic tenet of separation of church and state.

The rapid deterioration in respect for women's rights in Honduras can only be halted by an immediate return to a constitutional government......

................

[L. Coyote]

16. Radio Station Hit by Grenade; Two Persons Injured - broadcast immediately went off air

Friday, 06 November 2009
Honduras: Radio Station Hit by Grenade; Two Persons Injured
IPI highlights importance of free flow of information and ideas during political crisis
Barbara Trionfi, Press Freedom Adviser - http://www.freemedia.at/startpage/singleview/honduras-radio-station-hit-by-grenade-two-persons-injured/2c1f5d42a7/


Unidentified assailants yesterday threw a military grenade at the offices of a popular Honduran radio station, injuring two people and damaging the radio’s main broadcast booth.

The M-26-type device exploded around 10.30 p.m. local time on the roof of Radio HRN in Honduras’ capital of Tegucigalpa ... assailants launched the grenade from a car, while driving in the street in front of the radio station.

At the time of the attack, HRN was broadcasting the programme ‘Tegucigalpa de Noche’ (Tegucigalpa by Night). Journalists Andres Torres and Avilio Reyes were inside the broadcast booth, together with other members of the staff. When Torres heard the blast of the grenade, he shouted, “A bomb has exploded!” The broadcast immediately went off air..

.....

According to local news reports, since the beginning of the crisis, about 10 grenades have been thrown at or placed inside the offices of different media outlets. Many of them did not explode.

.......

Besides these and other episodes of violence, media outlets and journalists have also endured legal harassment .....

[Judi Lynn]

10. Honduras pact crumbles over unity government

Honduras pact crumbles over unity government
By Fiona Ortiz
Reuters
Friday, November 6, 2009; 9:43 AM

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - An agreement to end a four-month political crisis in Honduras collapsed early on Friday after two rival leaders failed to form a unity cabinet to heal the damage from a June coup.

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya declared the pact dead just a week after it was signed and called on Hondurans to boycott presidential elections this month because, in a surprise move, de facto leader Roberto Micheletti moved to form a new government without him.

The rival leaders had agreed to form a so-called unity and reconciliation cabinet by Thursday, but then they clashed over who would lead the cabinet until the Honduran Congress decided whether to reinstate Zelaya.

"It's absurd what they are doing, trying to mock all of us, the people who elected me and the international community that supports me. We've decided not to continue this theater with Mr. Micheletti," Zelaya said.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/06/AR2009110600700.html

[Judi Lynn]

11. Honduras' Most Prominent Human Rights Expert Calls on Obama Administration to Denounce "Grave Human

Honduras' Most Prominent Human Rights Expert Calls on Obama Administration to Denounce "Grave Human Rights Violations"

Too Late to Have Free Elections This Month, She Says from Washington

Washington, D.C. (Vocus/PRWEB ) November 6, 2009 -- Bertha Oliva, the head of Honduras' most well-known and respected human rights organization, called on the Obama administration to denounce the "grave human right violations" in Honduras.

"How can it be that the United States government is silent while Hondurans are subjected to arbitrary arrest, the closure of independent media, police beatings, torture and even killings by security forces?" asked Oliva.

Oliva is the General Coordinator of COFADEH, the Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared and Detained in Honduras. She is currently in Washington, D.C., to brief Members of Congress, their staff, and other policy makers on the situation in Honduras.

Oliva's grim assessment of human rights and civil liberties under the more than four months of coup government is shared by major international human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and others.

More:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/cepr/Bertha-Oliva/prweb3167084.htm

[L. Coyote]

12. Good Morning Honduras. Is it People Power time yet?

Peaceful Assembly of ALL the People to decide their own fate is a remaining option.



Oh wait, that freedom was suspended by the fascist coup and their armed goons!

[Peace Patriot]

17. Hey, L. Coyote, what is the source and occasion of this amazing photo?

Thanks!

[L. Coyote]

20. The People Power revolution in Manila. Google images link:

http://images.google.com/images?q=people%20power

Unfortunately, guns win some of the time:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/ffximage/2007/09/24/monks_wideweb__470x311,0.jpg

[ShortnFiery]

14. If Zelaya promises to privatize all his natural resources, then the USA would be fully on board.

:eyes:

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Igel]

18. Text.

http://www.tiempo.hn/secciones/crisis-politica/6635-el-proximo-jueves-debe-estar-formado-el-gobierno-de-unidad

5- DEL PODER EJECUTIVO
Para lograr la reconciliación y fortalecer la democracia, en el espíritu de los temas de la propuesta del acuerdo de San José, ambas comisiones negociadoras hemos decidido, respetuosamente, que el Congreso Nacional, como una expresión institucional de la soberanía popular, en uso de sus facultades, en consulta con las instancias que considere pertinentes como la Corte Suprema de Justicia y conforme a la ley, resuelva en lo procedente en respecto a “a retrotraer la titularidad del Poder Ejecutivo a su estado previo al 28 de junio hasta la conclusión del actual período gubernamental, el 27 de enero del 2010”. La decisión que acepte el Congreso Nacional deberá sentar las bases para alcanzar la paz social, la tranquilidad política y gobernabilidad que la sociedad demanda y el país necesita”.

Oddly, the text and what Zelaya says it says are at odds. Suddenly not only was the Congress to vote--with no set date--on *whether* to return him to power, Congress was obliged to "freely" vote by a specific date to obligatorily return him to power.

Fortunately, Zelaya agreed to a process to deal with any conflicts and variances in interpretation:

8. DISPOSICIONES FINALES

Toda diferencia de interpretación o aplicación del presente Acuerdo será sometido a la Comisión de Verificación, la que determinará, en apego a lo dispuesto en la Constitución de la República de Honduras y en la legislación vigente y mediante una interpretación auténtica del presente Acuerdo, la solución que corresponda.

It's good to see that Zelaya's able to understand what he signed and keep his word on the matter--after all the Verification Commission has ruled, so it's pretty clear what he's committed himself to do.

Except that it didn't turn out as he intended. After all, accords--words, commitments, promises--are tools to achieve your end. If they don't, you redefine them. If they still don't, you ignore them. What matters is your end. Whatever the means, you reach your end. Otherwise how can you ever get the toothbrush up your end so you can brush your teeth?

[L. Coyote]

22. Valenzuela Confirmed as Assistant Secretary of State for WHA

Valenzuela Confirmed as Assistant Secretary of State for WHA
The U.S. Senate confirmed Obama-nominated Georgetown Professor Arturo Valenzuela as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemispheric Affairs
By Melissa Arteaga Marti | PODER360.com
http://www.poder360.com/article_detail.php?id_article=3003


The U.S. Senate confirmed on late Thursday a nomination to the key Latin American policy job in President Obama’s administration that had been blocked for months by conservative Republicans who opposed U.S. efforts to reinstate Zelaya ....

.... the Senate confirmed Arturo Valenzuela for Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Valenzuela is slated to succeed Thomas Shannon, whose nomination to be Ambassador to Brazil has also been on hold. Both nominations were reported out of the SFRC last July 28 but were subjected to a Senate hold over the administration’s policies on Honduras.

Valenzuela was born in Chile and moved to the U.S. while in his teenage years in order to attend college at Drew University. While in college, he focused on politics in Latin American and was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs in the U.S. Department of State by former President Bill Clinton during Clinton’s first term in office.

The Chilean-American previously was a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Council on Latin American Studies at Duke University and holds a Doctorate and a Master's degree in Political Science from Columbia University in New York City.

..........

[Judi Lynn]

25. From his Wikipedia:

~snip~
Valenzuela was born in Concepción<1>, Chile to American Methodist missionaries Raimundo Arms Valenzuela and Dorothy Bowie Valenzuela.<1> He spent his childhood in Concepción where he attended primary school at the Lycée Charles de Gaulle, where he learned to speak French. In 1960, after his school was destroyed by the Great Chilean Earthquake, he was sent by his family for a year to the United States.<1><4> During the next eight years, he went back to visit his family in Chile only once.<5> He earned a B.A. summa cum laude in Political Science and Religion from Drew University and in 1971 he obtained a Doctorate and a Master's degree in Political Science from Columbia University.<6>

Valenzuela is married to Kathryn Mudge.<7> He has two children from his first marriage.<4>

Political and academic career
In 1992<4> Valenzuela was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs in the United States Department of State by President Bill Clinton.<3> His primary responsibility there was United States foreign policy towards Mexico.<6> In President Clinton's second term in office, he was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House.<3>

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_Valenzuela

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From AllGov.com:

To repair relations with this country’s Latin American neighbors, President Obama has turned to a leading academic who was born and raised in South America and has studied the region his entire adult life. Arturo Valenzuela is a specialist on Chile, the origins and consolidation of democracy in Latin America,, Latin American politics, and U.S.-Latin American relations. Even before his confirmation, Valenzuela became embroiled in a policy dispute over Latin American policy. In his Senate testimony, Valenzuela condemned the June 2009 military coup against the elected President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, as an “unconstitutional removal of power.” Apparently taking offense, ultra-conservative Republican Senator Jim DeMint postponed the Committee vote on Valenzuela as a way of protesting the Obama administration’s stand against the coup.

Arturo Valenzuela was born in Concepción, Chile, in 1943, to parents who were religious missionaries. He spent his childhood in Concepción, with the exception of a year in the United States as an exchange student. Valenzuela then relocated to the United States for his higher education. He earned a B.A. in Political Science and Religion from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, in 1965, and a Doctorate in Political Science from Columbia University in 1971, where his studies focused on Latin American politics.

Among his academic positions, the two most prominent were as Professor of Political Science and Director of the Council of Latin American Studies at Duke University, which he left to become Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He continued at Georgetown through 2009. He has also been a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University, the University of Sussex, the University of Florence and the Catholic University of Chile.

Valenzuela debuted in politics in 1987 when, at the request of future Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, he began to advise Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. In 1992, President Bill Clinton appointed Valenzuela Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs in the State Department, where his primary responsibility was policy toward Mexico. In Clinton’s second term, Valenzuela served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House. During the 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Valenzuela served as a foreign policy advisor to Hillary Clinton.

He has also been an advisor to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has served as a consultant to the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. He has testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Sub-Committee on Western Hemisphere Affairs of the House Foreign Relations Committee and the Sub-Committee on Commerce State and Justice of the House Appropriations Committee. He has been an advisor on political, electoral and constitutional reform in Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.

http://www.allgov.com/Official/Valenzuela_Arturo

[L. Coyote]

27. New LATEST thread: Zelaya calls for more protests after crisis deal collapses

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4136390

[rabs]

29. Exactly one week ago

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the deal while she was on a diplomatic trip in Pakistan.

"Congratulations for reaching a historic agreement," she said from Islamabad. "I'm looking forward to elections and a full restoration of democracy."

-----------------------------------

Goriletti made a sucker of Hillary, Obama, Shannon, Solis and Restrepo, the UN, EU, OAS and just about everyone else.

The only ones that I saw had doubts were Chavez and Ortega. Chavez said he would believe in the veracity of the accord "when the conducter of the orchestra returns to the podium." (The conducter being Zelaya.)

Turns out Chavez and Ortega were right.

[roody]

31. If the US recognizes the elections Nov. 29,

it will further isolate us from the world community.