Nicholas Salmons
10/1/09
10:56 pm
On June 28 of this year, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was forcibly removed from office (and his home, and Honduras) by a coup regime under the leadership of former Congressman Roberto Micheletti. The morning of June 28, a letter of resignation allegedly written - and later denied - by Zelaya was read in the National Congress of Honduras, after which Zelaya was removed by a "show of hands." The same morning, Zelaya was flown to Costa Rica. He has since (Sept. 22) returned to Honduras, evading military checkpoints on foot and, as some speculate, hiding in car trunks. This provides evidence that Zelaya's support within the Honduran military and intelligence community is still substantial, due to the seeming desperation of such an act. Zelaya currently takes refuge in the Brazilian embassy. The current issue at hand, however, is the new de facto government's manipulation of civil liberties. With thousands of Zelaya's supporters swarming the embassy's surrounding area, Micheletti resorted to the institution of forty-five days of martial law, establishing a curfew, limiting many civil rights and severely restricting the capacity of the Honduran press. Those holed up in the Brazilian embassy describe the actions of the coup regime as "terrorism," with the issuance of the decree, as rights such as gathering, movement and expression are among those repressed.
However, due to largely hostile reactions within Honduras as well as growing international complaint, Micheletti has asked for the people's forgiveness, and has announced the decree's dissolution as "quickly as possible."
I think this is one of the most chaotic political scenes I have heard of; Zelaya, who acted out of accordance with both the Honduran Supreme Court and Congress, began to initiate "tension" after proposing amending the Honduran Constitution. This is understandable, as some - like Micheletti - accused him of attempting to extend his term in office. Yet Zelaya has opposed these allegations, and - in my opinion - validated his motives by issuing a decree to establish a poll seeking the Honduran populace's thoughts regarding Constitutional renewal. I think this is an extremely complex political scenario, as both opposing leaders appear to be doing - at least on some level - what they deem appropriate to maintain order: Micheletti orders martial law in order to restrict public pandemonium, while Zelaya returns to his country in order to demand his democratically-granted rights respected along with various international policies.
(One thing I found interesting was that the current US administration has condemned the actions of the coup regime, yet has resisted defining their actions as an actual coup, thus enabling continued trade (were it determined to "officially" be a military coup, all trade would be forced to cease; the US receives about 64% of Honduran exports). This probably makes continued "investments in the maquila and non-traditional export sectors" a bit more hassle-free.)
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/29/internal_pressure_forces_honduran_coup_regime
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ho.html
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