Interim Leader in Honduras Says He’ll Briefly Step Down

[L. Coyote]

Source: NY Times

MEXICO CITY — As the presidential election draws near in Honduras, the de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti, and the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, continued their political jockeying on Thursday, with Mr. Micheletti announcing that he would briefly cede power to increase the vote’s legitimacy and Mr. Zelaya insisting that the election be pushed back.

In announcing that he would hand over power to his cabinet ministers for a week beginning on Nov. 25, Mr. Micheletti made it clear that he had no plans to cede power to Mr. Zelaya, who was ousted from the presidency on June 28 in what much of the world has branded a coup.

“God bless Honduras,” said Mr. Micheletti, portraying the temporary ceding of power as a move to reconcile the divided country.

...........

Tension between the men and their supporters remains high. Mr. Zelaya said on Thursday that he would begin a legal challenge to the election if it went ahead as planned. Mr. Micheletti, anticipating trouble from Zelaya partisans, vowed to immediately return to power if any threat to the nation emerged and “govern with vigor and firmness.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/world/americas/20honduras.html

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What a transparent con job this is.

:rofl: The Junta is going to rule by proxy coup for a few days, and all will be fair :rofl:

Previous LATEST thread:
Honduran Congress to vote on Zelaya fate after poll
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4150629

[L. Coyote]

1. Honduras’ Zelaya Renews Call for Peaceful Opposition to Coup

Honduras’ Zelaya Renews Call for Peaceful Opposition to Coup
Latin American Herald Tribune - Friday November 20, 2009 - http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=347707&CategoryId=23558


TEGUCIGALPA – Deposed Honduran President Mel Zelaya called Thursday for continuing peaceful resistance to the June 28 coup that toppled his government and forced him into exile.

“Compatriots, the president of the republic calls on you to stay firm and committed to struggling against the coup, to struggling for our democracy, without hiding the truth, to struggling peacefully for our ideas, with a committed people there is no weapon, no army, no maneuver capable of stopping them,” he said in a statement.

Zelaya, who slipped back into the country Sept. 21 and remains holed up at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, also asked Hondurans to devote the day of the Nov. 29 presidential election to “impugning and denouncing” what he called “electoral fraud.”

The ousted leader, echoed by most foreign governments, says a free and fair vote is impossible given the repression imposed by the de facto regime of Roberto Micheletti, which is blamed for at least a dozen deaths and numerous other human rights abuses.

“It is an anti-democratic electoral maneuver, repudiated by large sectors of the public, to shield the material and intellectual authors of the coup d’etat and pretend to form a democratic continuity that does not exist,” Zelaya said

The elections “have no legality, ................

[David__77]

9. I hope this pacifist talk is merely tactical and for show.

It will take firm action by patriotic elements in the military, or concerted non-peaceful actions of self-defense by the people to bring down the fascist coup.

[L. Coyote]

2. Honduras' Zelaya proposes to postpone elections

Honduras' Zelaya proposes to postpone elections
www.chinaview.cn 2009-11-20 - http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/20/content_12503517.htm


TEGUCIGALPA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Honduran ousted President Manuel Zelaya proposed on Thursday to postpone the Nov. 29 elections, till the power of the state is restored to the situation before the June 28 coup.

The Honduran Congress earlier this week summoned the deputies to meet on Dec. 2, three days after the elections, to decide whether Zelaya would be restored to the presidency.

Zelaya said, "to summon ordinary general elections in a de facto State, without previously restoring democracy and establishing a government of unity and reconciliation, is a juridical aberration, a mock and cheat of the people."

Zelaya said it is urgent to give legal solutions to the crisis, "to postpone the elections must be a condition to make them legal, to give us back the state of law under the constitutional order ... otherwise the elections will be held again till the will of the people is restored."

Zelaya also said he would legally compete in the upcoming presidential poll, even though he is barred from the elections. ...........

[L. Coyote]

3. "It's a vile trick he's playing ... It's a farce. This is still a coup."

Honduras interim leader may step down. Will that help President Zelaya?
Honduras interim leader announced Thursday he intends to leave the presidency for about a week. But ousted President Zelaya is no closer to getting back in.
By Mike Faulk | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
and Sara Miller Llana | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the November 20, 2009 - http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1120/p06s01-woam.html


Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Mexico City - For months, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya – with the backing of the world community – has demanded that Roberto Micheletti step down as the interim president of this Central American nation roiled in political conflict.

Thursday evening, he may have gotten his wish: Mr. Micheletti told the nation that he will likely leave the presidency to allow voters to concentrate on upcoming presidential elections Nov. 29.

But his leave, which would only be temporary, has done little to appease supporters of Mr. Zelaya, nor is it likely to sway the opinion of countries that have said they will refuse to acknowledge election results without Zelaya first in office. (The biggest loser in the Honduras political crisis? Its economy.)

"He says he's stepping down, but he's really just leaving the country without a president for a week," says Rasel Tome, an adviser to Zelaya. "It's a vile trick he's playing on Honduras and the international community. It's a farce. This is still a coup." .......

Zelaya, who has been stuck in the Brazilian Embassy after he snuck back into Honduras Sept. 21, immediately called Micheletti's announcement a ruse. ..........

"It might give a fig leaf for certain countries already so inclined to recognize the election," says Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas, a consultancy based in New York. "But otherwise I'm not sure it'll have a dramatic impact, because the key question has always been Zelaya's status, not Micheletti's. So long as the Congress won't vote on his return until after the election, the step by Micheletti is more for PR than a serious way to move the discussions forward."

[L. Coyote]

4. Will the National Democratic Institute Support the Coup in Honduras?

Will the National Democratic Institute Support the Coup in Honduras?
Robert Naiman: Policy Director of Just Foreign Policy - November 20, 2009 - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/will-the-national-democra_b_365117.html


A statement put out by Senator Lugar's office this week contained a striking revelation: apparently, the State Department intends to fund election observer missions of the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute for the controversial November 29 Honduras election supervised by the coup regime. If the US sends election observers before President Zelaya is restored, it would prepare the ground for recognizing the coup regime and its election as legitimate, putting the U.S. at odds with the rest of the hemisphere. Funding election observers appears to be part of a strategy of legitimizing the June coup against President Zelaya.

Both the IRI and the NDI are funded by Congress through the National Endowment for Democracy.

The International Republican Institute is affiliated with the Republican Party and the National Democratic Institute is affiliated with the Democratic Party. The IRI has a sordid history of anti-democratic actions, like supporting the 2004 coup in Haiti.

The NDI, on the other hand, is at least nominally accountable to the Democratic Party, so its involvement in trying to legitimize elections under the coup regime is quite surprising. Democratic leaders in Congress, like Senator Kerry and Representative Berman, have strongly opposed the coup. Congressional Democrats have urged President Obama not to recognize elections under the coup regime.

President Rich Trumka of the AFL-CIO, which has good relations, to say the least, with many Congressional Democrats, has written that continued repression of trade unionists by the coup regime makes it impossible to hold free and fair elections. ...............

[L. Coyote]

5. Tell Congress: Don't Fund Honduras Coup Regime

Tell Congress: Don't Fund Honduras Coup Regime
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1439/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1759


A recent statement released by Sen. Lugar's office states that the State Department plans to to fund election observer missions of the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute for the November 29 Honduras election. If the US sends election observers before President Zelaya is restored, it would prepare the ground for recognizing the coup regime and its election as legitimate, putting the U.S. at odds with the rest of the hemisphere. Funding election observers is part of a strategy to legitimize the coup.

But the IRI and the NDI are funded by Congress through the National Endowment for Democracy. That suggests that Members of Congress could put a stop to this.

Could you write to your representatives in Congress, asking them to oppose funding for sending observers to elections under the coup regime?

SUBMIT

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[L. Coyote]

6. New Dilatory Maneuvers by Honduras Coup Junta

New Dilatory Maneuvers by Honduras Coup Junta
http://www.periodico26.cu/english/news_world/november2009/honduras-maneuvers111909.html


Tegucigalpa, Nov 19, (PL).- The National Front Against the Coup in Honduras charged that a delay of debate in congress on the restitution of institutional rule confirms the intention of the de facto regime to maintain power.

The day before the president of Congress, Jose Alfredo Saavedra, announced that the restitution or not of President Manuel Zelaya would be analyzed on December 2, three days after the general elections.

"This is a monstrosity and provocation by the Congress" declared the general coordinator of the Front, Juan Barahona and charged that it is proof that the coup regime is not interested in restoring democratic order.

For the front that groups dozens of popular organizations the decision by Parliament ratifies the illegitimacy of the election process called for November 29.

.........

[L. Coyote]

7. Honduran channel says de facto govt blocks signal

Honduran channel says de facto govt blocks signal
Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:45am EST - http://www.reuters.com/article/mediaNews/idUSN2022560220091120


TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A Honduran television station that backs deposed President Manuel Zelaya accused the de facto government of interfering with its broadcast signal on Friday, replacing news programs with cowboy movies..... director of Canal 36 blamed the programming interruption on de facto leader Roberto Micheletti ....

A spokesman for the de facto government denied any involvement.........

He said the channel's morning news bulletin had been disrupted by intentional interference with its signal.

The channel was showing cowboy films before programming later stopped completely on Friday morning.......

Last week, U.S. Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky accused the Micheletti government of disrupting Canal 36's news shows ....."There has been a complete violation of freedom of the press," ....

[L. Coyote]

8. Senator Lugar's Call to Recognize Honduran Election

Senator Lugar's Call to Recognize Honduran Election
November 20, 2009 12:31 PM - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-weisbrot/senator-lugars-call-to-re_b_365409.html


This is not surprising, Lugar has been with his party leadership on this all along, including his letter in July that got the State Department to write their response that appeared to blame Zelaya for the coup. Honduras has become a real cause for the Republican party leadership, which sees it as a strategic battle in their long-term fight against the Latin American left (which for them includes Lula). Although Lugar is of course different from them, for some reason he has joined with them in this battle.

This has to be a disappointment to people who see Lugar as a moderate, since it is tough for a moderate to defend the position that a a group of people can overthrow the elected president, arrest, jail, and beat thousands of people, torture and even kill some people, close down opposition media intermittently throughout the legally designated 3-month electoral campaign period, and then have a valid "election" -- no matter how "clean" it is on election day.

Lugar's statement will give some lobbyists, pundits, editors, etc. some ammunition to say that not only the wingnuts that hold this position.

The State Department effectively has the same position as Lugar ..............

[L. Coyote]

10. A Week Before “Elections” in Honduras, Candidate Resignations, More Censorship and Repression

A Week Before “Elections” in Honduras, Candidate Resignations, More Censorship and Repression
Independent Presidential Candidate and Liberal Party Vice Presidential Candidate Among Those Who Withdrew from the Ballot
By Tamar Sharabi - Special to The Narco News Bulletin - November 22, 2009
http://www.narconews.com/Issue62/article3946.html


TEGICUGALPA, HONDURAS, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009: Nine days before the Honduran elections are scheduled to take place, Channel 36, Cholusat Sur, has been taken off the air once again. A parallel signal has been transmitting over the station. Initially airing pornography, now the same movie has been on repeat for the second day in a row. This new attack on the press comes the morning after Micheletti announced that he would be leaving the Presidency ‘provisionally’ from November 25 until December 2 for the country “to concentrate on the electoral process and not on the political crisis.”

Micheletti’s announcement has been “welcomed” by the US State Department which currently along with Panama and Colombia are the only countries recognizing the elections. Micheletti added that he would return if there were threats to security. Officially the armed forces have been turned over to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) 30 days prior to the elections. The National Front Against the Coup D’état in an announcement called the “absence” of Micheletti’s “dictatorship…only a maneuver to hide the totalitarian role of the de facto regime and the armed forces that have been applied to an illegitimate, illegal and fraudulent electoral process.”

Honduras Political Process

For some background on Honduran politics, there are 18 regional departments in the country where each is represented in Congress in accordance with its population. There are a total of 128 Congresspeople (Diputados), 23 of which are from Francisco Morazan (F.M.) where the capital Tegucigalpa is located, and 20 from Cortes, home to the largest industrial city, San Pedro Sula. There are five registered political parties with the following members in the National Congress: Liberal (62), National (55), Democratic Union (5), Christian Democracy (4), and the Innovation and Unity Party (2).

Each party nominates the maximum number of Congressional representatives for their department’s election. Therefore going to the polls in Tegucigalpa, one may choose 23 candidates among 115 faces and sometimes more if including independent candidates. Ballots have a photograph of each candidate that runs for these elected positions. Citizens vote on three ballots for the presidency, diputados and mayors. (The day Zelaya was ousted the population was supposed to vote on creation of ‘the cuarta urna’ meaning the fourth ballot box.)

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

[L. Coyote]

11. Next LATEST thread: Threats, Detentions, Persecutions Prior to Honduran Polls

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4157480

[excess_3]

12. obviously, Z wants to run out the clock .nt

[Judi Lynn]

13. Critics dismiss Honduran election -- even before first vote has been cast (Miami Herald)

Posted on Tuesday, 11.24.09
Critics dismiss Honduran election -- even before first vote has been cast
Many view Honduras' presidential election as the only way out of a political crisis; others say the vote will legitimize the coup that caused the crisis.

BY FRANCES ROBLES
[e-mail]
TEGUCIGALPA -- While unemployment and crime are high and schools are at a standstill, Hondurans' focus when they go to the polls Sunday will be on settling a crippling political crisis that has consumed the Central American country since June.

Whoever wins the presidency inherits a political mess not of his making and will be forced to cut deals and heal wounds -- or risk four years of instability and international condemnation.

But even as the campaigns officially close Tuesday, critics both in Honduras and abroad are condemning the election and promising legal challenges. The question remains: If Honduras has an election few countries recognize, does it count?

``If we don't go to elections, what alternative do we have?'' said leading candidate Porfirio ``Pepe'' Lobo.

``This has been a very, very difficult process,'' he told reporters. ``Now they want to deny us this right? There's no way. Nobody is going to stop the people's right to vote.''

Lobo is a 61-year-old former rancher and president of Congress who is widely expected to win the election. A longtime politician of the traditional National Party, he ran for president in 2005 and lost.

But this time around, CID Gallup polls show Lobo 15 points ahead of his closest contender, construction company executive Elvin Santos.

Lobo shot up in the polls thanks to a June 28 coup that ripped a schism into Honduran society and forced President Manuel Zelaya into exile.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1348776.html

http://www.latribuna.hn.nyud.net:8090/web2.0/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tuka1.jpg http://gerardoparedes.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2009/10/el-candidato-presidencial-nacionalista-porfirio-lobo-sosa-porfirio-pepe-lobo-participa-en-asamblea-de-udi_noticia_full.jpg

http://redeshn.com.nyud.net:8090/files/2009/06/pepe-lobo.jpg

Pepe Lobo