Zelaya calls for more protests after crisis deal collapses

[L. Coyote]

Source: AFP

07 November 2009 0457 hrs

TEGUCIGALPA - Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, ousted in a military-backed coup four months ago, called for fresh protests Friday after the collapse of a US-brokered deal to end the crisis.

Zelaya said last week's deal was no longer valid after de facto leader Roberto Micheletti formed a new "national unity" government without his participation.

"Now I have no commitment to dialogue," Zelaya said Friday on Globo radio, calling his supporters onto the streets.

"Our struggle is peaceful. The accord failed due to the non-fulfilment of Micheletti," Zelaya said as hundreds of protesters marched toward the Brazilian embassy where he has been holed up since September 21.



Read more: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1016560/1/.html

---

This seems to be a turning point in the coup crisis.
Any illusions that there ever was a serious dialogue are not fully discredited.
The coup stalled and stalled and stalled to retain power.
Micheletti and DeMint have also succeeded in embarrassing Obama, as planned.

The Resistance has also renounced the forthcoming extra-Constitutional election:
National Front of Resistance refuses to recognize the electoral process and its result.
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_57417.shtml

Previous LATEST threads/compilations:

Fri Nov-06-09 01:30 AM: Ousted Honduran leader says US-brokered pact has failed to end crisis
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4135066

Thu Nov-05-09 08:26 AM: Zelaya's FM presses Congress for immediate presidential restitution
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4133562

Wed Nov-04-09 08:28 AM: Zelaya's Hopes of Return Fade in Committee Vote
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4132256

Mon Nov-02-09 06:49 PM: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4132256
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4129816

[L. Coyote]

1. OAS chief deplores failure of Honduras deal

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:46:19 GMT
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/293631,oas-chief-deplores-failure-of-honduras-deal.html


Washington - Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Friday deplored the "interruption" of the deal to solve the crisis in Honduras. Insulza demanded respect, without "subterfuges," for a deal that he stressed should lead to the reinstatement of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.

......

Insulza stressed that the new government should "naturally" be led by "the person who legitimately holds the position of president," referring to Zelaya.

......

The deal - brokered by the United States and the OAS and signed last week - called for the creation of a government of national unity and reconciliation by Thursday ....

[L. Coyote]

2. New Honduras Travel Alert Posted by U.S. State Department

New Honduras Travel Alert Posted
Friday November 6, 2009

The U.S. State Department has issued a new Travel Alert on Honduras, advising Americans to exercise extreme caution when traveling in the country and defer nonessential travel to the capital of Tegulcigalpa during the current power struggle there.

The alert notes that a series of (nonviolent) demonstrations have hit the country since the June 28 coup against President Manuel Zelaya. A political accord between the coup leaders in the military and Zelaya has been drafted, but the State Department warns that demonstrations could increase leading up to the Nov. 29 elections in Honduras.

[Judi Lynn]

3. The administration's alert is only partly right about the "non-violent" demonstrations.

The coup-controlled military and police hand out constant violence to the people in the streets: beating, kicking, gassing them, chasing them into their houses, or kicking down the door and seizing them, hauling them off to jail after beating the bejesus out of them, or, if they are hospitalized, storming into the hospitals later and seizing them, and beating them all over again, then torturing them, and upon occassion, torturing them and KILLING them, and tossing their shredded bodies out into fields, or streets.....

It's the PEOPLE who are non-violent.

What a shame there will be NO ONE powerful enough to stop this monstrous atrocity these puffy, bloated little fat pasty rich pampered white guys have unleashed upon the people of Honduras.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com.nyud.net:8090/3424/3723506811_8f38c00bbd.jpg

[L. Coyote]

4. Military and police shooting point-blank at protestors is "non-violent" under Obama's State Dept!

Says a lot, doesn't it? when the death squads are ignored entirely, and fascists overthrowing a democracy
are tolerated so some Republican or think tank can't call Obama a Chavista.
What a bunch of spineless whimps! Hilter would love this kind of opposition.
They might as well let DeMint run the show, if this is the best they can do.
I can't see any differences vis-a-vis the coup at this point.

[Judi Lynn]

7. So damned sad, and so true. Who would think things could be so twisted

that we can't afford to support the democracy in Honduras because if we do, the nazis in Congress will tell their violent constituents we're "commies" and they'll try to kill THIS President, and start open warfare on Democrats.

We are being blackmailed by stupid, unworthy, criminally goofy people using the threat of total destruction by their loser followers if we don't step and fetch it enough to please them.

There's going to have to be a way a way OUT of this putrid trap.

[L. Coyote]

8. I did some research on 1948 microfiche of newspaper articles. The Red Scare was

so much worse and irrational than one could ever imagine. It was an all permeating, daily mania.
The whole nation was mentally ill with political paranoia, all driven by the media for control of politics.
There are forces, latter-day Nixons, than win if we all go off the cliff into national insanity!

[Bacchus39]

6. generally non-violent it says and they noted two explosions recently

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4526.html

its easy to get this info, post the link.


Demonstrations may increase in frequency as the political accord is implemented and the November 29, 2009 elections approach. Demonstrations to date have been generally non-violent with few reports of injuries. However, Americans are reminded that peaceful demonstrations can turn violent with little or no warning

[L. Coyote]

5. Will more Hondurans oppose the fascists if they think the US supports the junta?

Likely so!

[L. Coyote]

9. Dept. of STATE: Question At Nov. 6, 2009 Daily Press Briefing = DeMint

Did DeMint LIE?

===================
Honduras and the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord
Washington, DC
Question Taken At The November 6, 2009 Daily Press Briefing
November 6, 2009 - http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/nov/131609.htm


Question: Has Senator DeMint been assured by the State Department that the U.S. will recognize the election results in Honduras (11/29/09) regardless of whether or not the steps of the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord have been implemented? What is our policy regarding support of the electoral process? Will we or not recognize the results even if the T-SJ Accord has not been implemented?

Answer: State Department officials have maintained regular contact with many interested Members of Congress on the situation in Honduras. As a rule, we do not disclose the private conversations of our officials with Members of Congress.

Our policy goal has always been to help the Hondurans restore the democratic order in their country. The signing of the Accord, through difficult negotiations among the Hondurans themselves with support from the OAS and the international community, provides the path to that goal.

As we noted in our statement on November 6, “We urge both sides to act in the best interests of the Honduran people and return to the table immediately to reach agreement on the formation of a unity government. The formation of a Government of Unity and National Reconciliation will serve the Honduran people and will change the political dynamics in the country in a positive way. It is urgent that this government be created immediately.”

Our commitment is to the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord and its implementation. Our commitment to support the Honduran elections is the product of that agreement. Failure to implement the accord could jeopardize recognition of the election by the international community.

[L. Coyote]

10. U.S. “Disappointed” Over Events in Honduras

U.S. “Disappointed” Over Events in Honduras

WASHINGTON – The U.S. government expressed disappointment Friday over the breakdown in implementation of the accord meant to end the standoff between deposed Honduran President Mel Zelaya and the de facto regime that took power with the June 28 coup.

“We urge both sides to act in the best interests of the Honduran people and return to the table immediately to reach agreement on the formation of a unity government,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement.

.......

In response to questions at his daily press briefing, the State Department’s Kelly said Washington was “disappointed that both sides are not following this very clear path which has been laid out in this accord.”

Asked what the United States wants to see happen next in Honduras, he said: “they need to sit down and start talking again ... they have to stop saying – maybe they need to stop making dire statements that the agreement is dead.”

“I think what happened last night is that there was not an agreement on a government of national unity in reconciliation. It was a unilaterally decided government. And a unilaterally decided government is not a government of unity. So I think it’s fair to say we’re disappointed at both sides,” Kelly said.

Despite persistent efforts, reporters were unable to get Kelly to say explicitly whether U.S. recognition of the winner of the Nov. 29 Honduran presidential election would depend on Zelaya’s reinstatement.

The question stemmed from comments by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint .... Republican said his decision was based on assurances from Thomas Shannon, the outgoing assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Washington would recognize the winner of Honduras’ election regardless of whether Zelaya was reinstated.

DeMint is one of a number of Republican lawmakers who have traveled to Tegucigalpa to show support for the Micheletti regime, which is not recognized by any government and whose agents are blamed for widespread human rights abuses since the coup, including killings and sexual assaults.

[L. Coyote]

11. Honduran Political Accord Unravels By TheRealNews.com

Honduran Political Accord Unravels
By TheRealNews.com
November 7, 2009 - http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/110709a.html

The supposed settlement of the Honduran political crisis has collapsed as the coup makers made clear that they have no intention of allowing ousted President Manuel Zelaya to resume his office in the weeks before a new election.

VIDEO

The Obama administration, which has maintained an ambivalent position toward Zelaya’s ouster in June, endorsed the tentative accord and took no strong action as it unraveled. U.S. Republicans have strongly backed Zelaya’s ouster because of his friendly relations with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Obama administration officials have indicated that they might recognize the results of upcoming elections in Honduras even if they are conducted by a government still run by the coup makers. Zelaya remains holed up in the Brazilian embassy.

Video link to follow after posting on DU.

[L. Coyote]

12. DU VIDEO: Nothing Resolved in Honduras

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x399842

[L. Coyote]

13. More STALL? = Honduran rivals signal new bid to solve crisis

Typical Reuters bias, so read with caution, as the stalling returns.
I suspect this is just another move to forestall demonstrations and a populist uprising.

=========================
Honduran rivals signal new bid to solve crisis
Sat Nov 7, 2009 11:47am EST
By Mario Naranjo - http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5A610320091107


TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' ousted president and de facto leader gave signs they would try again on Saturday to form a unity government to guide the country out of a four-month crisis after the process collapsed a day earlier.

President Manuel Zelaya, a refugee in his own country in the Brazilian Embassy, early on Friday declared dead a pact to end the crisis, while de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said he would form a new government without Zelaya's participation.

The United States and the Organization of American States on Friday pushed the two sides to try again, while Latin American presidents urged Zelaya's re-instatement, which has been the sticking point of the accord.

In the latest twist in the long saga, Micheletti's government said it would suspend installing a new cabinet to give Zelaya the weekend to name members to it.

On the other side, a negotiator for Zelaya said representatives from the two sides would meet on Saturday to continue the negotiating process.

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

"We've possibly found a road. There's a pre-agreement, but I don't want to give more details," Jorge Reina, a negotiator for Zelaya, told a local radio station. "There's a new path."

"Micheletti ratified he recognized the importance of a waiting period during the weekend to form the unity and reconciliation government," his office said in a statement.

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

[L. Coyote]

14. A Second Coup in Honduras

A Second Coup in Honduras
November 8, 2009 - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=15932


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

[Judi Lynn]

18. Absolutely a second coup, flaunting their seizure of power in Honduras

by repudiating the agreement.

Glad the Rio Group countries will refuse to acknowledge any non-democratic solution to this violent, vicious seizure of power.

What a shame knowing the monsters are getting full support from the Republican Party for whom laws are only meant to keep the poor in line.

[L. Coyote]

15. Arias: Honduras’ Coup Regime Blocking Solution to Crisis \

Arias: Honduras’ Coup Regime Blocking Solution to Crisis
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=346987&CategoryId=23558


SAN JOSE – Costa Rica’s Oscar Arias said on Saturday that Honduras’ de facto government is to blame for the ongoing political crisis stemming from President Mel Zelaya’s ouster in a late June coup.

“We’ve never found a willingness in the de facto government to carry out what originally was the San Jose accord and later the Tegucigalpa-San Jose accord,” the Costa Rican president and one-time mediator in the Honduran political crisis told reporters.

..........

Regarding Micheletti’s decisions, Arias said: “I’m not surprised, because the same inflexibility in the discussions here in San Jose is what we’ve found in Tegucigalpa when dialogue began between the two sides.”

He added that he thinks the de facto regime “is just looking to use delaying tactics and (waiting) for time to pass until (the Nov. 29 elections), risking that the future government won’t be recognized by some countries.”

“With that, they’re doing nothing but harm to the Honduran people, but it seems that they keep insisting on doing them more harm and that saddens me,” the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner said.

Arias recalled that the essential point of the San Jose Accord, which was backed by the international community, was “to reverse the coup and re-establish the constitutional order” by restoring Zelaya to the presidency.

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

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

[L. Coyote]

16. Zelaya-Micheletti Dialogue Resumed

I see no reason to give this a new thread.
It likely is just more stalling by the junta.

==============================
Zelaya-Micheletti Dialogue Resumed
http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2009/november/08/centam-091108-02.htm


TEGUCIGALPA - Representatives of Honduras Constitutional President Manuel Zelaya and the de facto government resumed Saturday negotiations to solve the crisis the country is in since the June 28 coup d''etat.

According to La Prensa Grafica newspaper, the parties will discuss once more an accord signed last October 30 that call for submitting to the National Congress the restitution of the legitimate president and the creation of a unity cabinet.

That pact was violated when de facto President Roberto Micheletti announced last Thursday the integration of a government without a single member named by Zelaya

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

[L. Coyote]

17. French Communists Demand Zelaya Restitution, Accuse Obama of Coup Support

French Communists Claim Zelaya Restitution
http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2009/november/08/centam-091108-03.htm


PARIS - The French Communist Party (PCF) has demanded the restitution of Honduran constitutional President Manuel Zelaya and condemned the putschist regime''s dilatory maneuvers, in a communique published on Saturday.

"Despite formal statements by Barack Obama, in favor of Zelaya's return, the United States supports the de facto regime's actions and legitimates the coup d'etat, together with the crimes it has committed," the PCF said.

The French opposition party highlights that it is its country and the European Union's duty not to acknowledge the putschist Roberto Micheletti's administration or the elections scheduled for November 29.

The PCF calls for harsh sanctions against those who support the de facto regime in Honduras and on the UE to ban all kinds of trade and cooperation agreement it has adopted with Honduras.

It also consideres that the efforts to prevent Zelaya's return to his post as president seeks to block all possibilities of establishing a progressive government in Honduras and of neutralizing the achievements by Latin American revolutionary forces.

[L. Coyote]

20. Republicans praise Obama for “reversing” policy

Honduras: Republicans praise Obama for “reversing” policy
By Bill Van Auken - 9 Nov 2009 - http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/nov2009/hond-n09.shtml


Republicans in the US Senate signaled their satisfaction over the Obama administration’s recent diplomatic initiative in Honduras by lifting their months-long block on the nominations for key State Department posts related to Latin America.

The move came a week after a US diplomatic team led by the State Department’s top official on Latin American, Tom Shannon—a holdover from the Bush administration—brokered an agreement .....

As has become clear over the past week, this deal has served to legitimize the principal aims of the June coup, while betraying the demands of the broad mass of workers, peasants and students .....

... there was one major difference in the substance of this deal, dubbed the Tegucigalpa Accord, from an abortive agreement drafted months ago by a US-backed mediator, Costa Rican President Óscar Arias. It dropped an explicit statement that the agreement “implies the return of José Manuel Zelaya Rosales to the Presidency of the Republic ...

[L. Coyote]

19. Honduras' golpistas break deal

Honduras' golpistas break deal
Shaun Joseph explains what led to the collapse of an agreement that was supposed to bring Manuel Zelaya back to office in Honduras.
November 9, 2009 - http://socialistworker.org/2009/11/09/honduras-golpistas-break-deal


THE POLITICAL crisis that began with the June 28 coup d'etat against President Manuel Zelaya has reopened afresh after the collapse of a U.S.-brokered deal apparently agreed to by coup leader Roberto Micheletti that was supposed to return Zelaya to office.

The agreement, known as the Tegucigalpa/San José Accords, was struck October 28 under the auspices of Thomas Shannon and Daniel Restrepo--respectively the top Latin America hands for the U.S. State Department and the Obama White House.

One week later, the deal was in tatters, with its first important step--the installation of a "government of unity and national reconciliation" by November 5--devolved into a typically absurd display of Micheletti's chutzpah.

The accords didn't formally mandate the reinstatement of Zelaya, but the ousted president clearly expected to return to office by November 5. Zelaya's confidence in this interpretation, also shared by other governments, is strong evidence that the U.S. negotiators guaranteed Zelaya's return.

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

[L. Coyote]

21. Democracy Now: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya: Talks Are Off with Coup Government

Monday, November 9, 2009
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya: Talks Are Off with Coup Government After Deal Collapses
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/9/ousted_honduran_president_manuel_zelaya_talks


An American-mediated accord to end the four-month political crisis in the country appears to be in shambles just a week after it was signed. On Friday, ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who remains in the Brazilian embassy, declared the deal was over. Meanwhile, coup president Roberto Micheletti said he would install a national unity government without the participation of Zelaya. We speak to President Zelaya from the Brazilian embassy.

LISTEN
WATCH

[L. Coyote]

22. Newsweek OPINION by Margolis: Brazil Loses Face in Honduras Political Fiasco

Any questions about whether Newsweek is a GOPista rag?

Peace prospects ended after "Tio Sam" intervened!! Get a reality, Mac.

=========================
Monday, November 09, 2009 12:00 PM
Brazil Loses Face in Honduras Political Fiasco
Mac Margolis

It's not clear who will be running Honduras from now on, but the clear loser in the nation's protracted political crisis is Brazil. Ever since the June ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, Brazil has been working to restore him to power. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva denounced the "coup makers" at the U.N. in September, just before Zelaya sneaked back into Honduras and took refuge at the Brazilian Embassy. But by allowing Zelaya to use his diplomatic shield to broadcast radio messages from the embassy, Brazil ended up looking like a biased broker--which only worsened tensions by hardening de facto President Roberto Micheletti's resolve to stay in power. So by late October, the U.S. got involved. For Latin Americans, that stung--especially for Lula, who has long tried to thwart U.S. influence in the region. Under the U.S.-backed plan, Honduras's Congress will vote on whether to reinstate Zelaya or hand power to a unity government until his term ends in January. The plan could still fail (as squabbles in Tegucigalpa suggest). If so, other nations might refuse to recognize the Nov. 29 elections. But peace prospects look a lot better since Tío Sam came to Brazil's rescue.