Coup d'Etat in progress in Honduras

[el_chavista]

Manuel Zelaya issued an order for the Military to support a proposed referendum on replacing the Honduran Constitution. This proposed Referendum was already deemed illegal by the Courts but a new proposal was issued last week.

A few days ago army general and armed forces head Romeo Vasquez refused to support the move for a referendum on the issue (claiming it was illegal) and was dismissed by his President last night. His defense minister resigned, apparently in protest at the presidential decision.

This afternoon, the country's supreme court has annulled the presidential decree that sacked Vasquez.

Right now troops are moving through the capital Tegucigalpa and quelling disturbances, supposedly instigated by Zeyala supporters (the rescue of the referendum electoral material in a military facility).

The President has asked the Organization of American States (OAS) for support.

[New Tet]

Manuel Zelaya issued an order for the Military to support a proposed referendum on replacing the Honduran Constitution. This proposed Referendum was already deemed illegal by the Courts but a new proposal was issued last week.

A few days ago army general and armed forces head Romeo Vasquez refused to support the move for a referendum on the issue (claiming it was illegal) and was dismissed by his President last night. His defense minister resigned, apparently in protest at the presidential decision.

This afternoon, the country's supreme court has annulled the presidential decree that sacked Vasquez.

Right now troops are moving through the capital Tegucigalpa and quelling disturbances, supposedly instigated by Zeyala supporters (the rescue of the referendum electoral material in a military facility).

The President has asked the Organization of American States (OAS) for support.

The Miami Herald, buried this in the "Americas" section:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1111736.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1113513.html

[RedAnarchist]

Please don't post stuff like that, NoMore.

[Revy]

that is not going to end well....

[Bright Banana Beard]

There could be political trouble, since Zelaya want to rerun the presidential election but the constitution forbids the president to have second term.

[Guerrilla22]

Oh wonderful, a return to military rule in Honduras. :rolleyes:

[Davie zepeda]

We can not allow military rule in houndrus we got to get people in the street

[Bright Banana Beard]

I hope the coup will not happen. It looks like the bourgeois will not let him run again because of his populist program. I support Zelaya on the term that people will directionally vote on the change of constitution. If he wons, then it is possible that populist program will continue.

[RedScare]

A military coup in Latin America, that's new.

[redSHARP]

crap!! arent there armed leftists groups still in the area? or did they give up their arms after the bourgeoisie election?

[Guerrilla22]

Regardless, any armed leftist, aren't going be able to stop an entire army division from moving on the president's residence, if it comes to that.

[Bright Banana Beard]

Sadly, there isn't any leftist guerrilla in Honduras. The only legal left-wing party is Democratic Unification Party, at best they are democratic socialism.

[Revy]

The Democratic Unification Party only gets a small sliver of the vote....the elections are between the Liberal Party and the National Party, a typical two-party "liberal vs. conservative" system.

There is a presidential election in November, but Manuel Zelaya is not the candidate, it's the former Vice President, Elvin Santos, who is a member of a "powerful business sector interest group" called the Private Enterprise Council...who resigned in December 2008.

but Zelaya seems to be a Chavez-lite figure, not only because he joined ALBA and is one of Chavez's allies but because he deals with a similar opposition on the right.

So....Zelaya can't run again, but he wants to. And now there's a threat of a coup from those who worry about what policies he might go further with.

Am I at least semi-correct here?

[Bright Banana Beard]

The Democratic Unification Party only gets a small sliver of the vote....the elections are between the Liberal Party and the National Party, a typical two-party "liberal vs. conservative" system.

There is a presidential election in November, but Manuel Zelaya is not the candidate, it's the former Vice President, Elvin Santos, who is a member of a "powerful business sector interest group" called the Private Enterprise Council...who resigned in December 2008.

but Zelaya seems to be a Chavez-lite figure, not only because he joined ALBA and is one of Chavez's allies but because he deals with a similar opposition on the right.

So....Zelaya can't run again, but he wants to. And now there's a threat of a coup from those who worry about what policies he might go further with.

Am I at least semi-correct here?Yes, your right. I had met Elvin Santos, to tell you the truth, he is a fucking bourgeois and does not seen to be fond with Chavez. It was political party's presidential candidate election.

[Wakizashi the Bolshevik]

This shows what happens if it are not the leftists who take over in Latin America.
There is no middle way, apparantly.

[R_P_A_S]

Manuiel Zelaya is a big business owner him self. He's no socialist. Honduras working class still needs lots of help. I mean he's a lot better than military rule, but lets not get all sympathetic here. I just hope that Washington is not behind this.

[Revulero]

Damn it is a coup :mad:, they just exiled Zelaya to Costa Rica.

[R_P_A_S]

that really sucks... damn.

[Martin Blank]

Some links on the coup in Honduras:

http://www.chavezcode.com/ -- Live blogging based on first-hand accounts

http://www.fsrn.org/audio/headlines-friday-june-26-2009/4959
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=105118
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/2009628155845590287.html
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4554

[Revulero]

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090628/capt.97f2e5d9916f43928646fe6e2ca86ca4.honduras_ref erendum_efx115.jpg?x=400&y=263&q=85&sig=CHgWbOhi06aSz3nJuHkyKw--

People barricading the army trucks from entering the presidential palace

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090628/capt.61a28eccb33a4454a2a47cd161ad089f.honduras_ref erendum_efx118.jpg?x=400&y=246&q=85&sig=oIJCEGVAGOpZRcmDMZu8lw--



http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090628/i/r3426836473.jpg?x=400&y=269&q=85&sig=8kHRheeZRrVk3pbHsXKf3A--


http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090626/i/r2717640032.jpg?x=400&y=247&q=85&sig=Dvt8BlmBPU3R7WFdOmlw9Q--

protest in outside honduran embassy in panama

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090628/capt.1d856a6259f545b9bd073f4d983a6cd8.honduras_ref erendum_efx108.jpg?x=400&y=266&q=85&sig=iusEytMMbkx2WDKWN7aLyw--

[KurtFF8]

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1929/1/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124619401378065339.html#mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_P opular

[Revulero]

The Honduran congress has selected Roberto Micheletti to be president of Honduras, who happens to be in the same political party as Zelaya :confused:. Zelaya supporters aren't allowing Micheletti to enter the presidential palace.

[REDSOX]

General strike called tommorow!! Check out agencia bolivariana de noticias or Aporrea for details.

[KurtFF8]

Any links about that in English, Redsox?

Also the general leading the coup is Romeo Vasquez, trained by the SoA by the United States. SOA Watch (http://www.soaw.org/) has some good information.

[REDSOX]

No direct english links yet but if you google agencia bolivariana de noticias and then click on translate which is next to it you will get ABN in english albeit a broken type of english. Also check out Eva gollingers great blog on developments there www.chavezcode.com (http://www.chavezcode.com)

[CHEtheLIBERATOR]

I'm with venezuela!!!!"If a new government is sworn in I and the rest of Venezuela are ready to bring them down"-Hugo Chavez.If it is I'm taking the first plane out to aid in the counter coup.


Known Belligerents in Possible Counter-Coup against Military


1.Protestors native to Honduras
2.Venezuelan Military
3.Cuban Military?

I am going to go fight if need be and I hope Zelaya lives

[R_P_A_S]

I'm with venezuela!!!!"If a new government is sworn in I and the rest of Venezuela are ready to bring them down"-Hugo Chavez.If it is I'm taking the first plane out to aid in the counter coup.


Known Belligerents in Possible Counter-Coup against Military


1.Protestors native to Honduras
2.Venezuelan Military
3.Cuban Military?

I am going to go fight if need be and I hope Zelaya lives
:rolleyes:

you are kidding right?

guys ain't this just some bourgeoisie political party teeter totter?

[scarletghoul]

bourgeoisie political party teeter totter doesnt usually involve a military coup

[R_P_A_S]

bourgeoisie political party teeter totter doesnt usually involve a military coup

oh no? Ain't Zelaya part of a bourgeoisie party? and aren't all of the opposition parties with seats in congress bourgeoisie parties?

[scarletghoul]

yeah but its not a conflict between parties. in fact the coup was backed by many in his own party. so its not party politics.

[Revulero]

yeah but its not a conflict between parties. in fact the coup was backed by many in his own party. so its not party politics.

Yeah, its not party politics because Micheletti is also in the same party as Zelaya

[R_P_A_S]

all these people including Zelaya are known business men before they are politicians. All I'm saying is that this bourgee vs bourgee.

[Revulero]

Yeah you're right, its kind of hard to understand why Chavez supports Zelaya :confused:

[Glenn Beck]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3404/3668188807_b562866fc9_b.jpg

Yes, those are snipers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/breve/

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/kristin-bricker/2009/06/honduran-military-assassinates-leftist-presidential-candidate

48 hour curfew is in effect, many have already been arrested, media have been shut down. Someone told me of a possible DDoS on teleSUR but I can't confirm that

[Bright Banana Beard]

Zelaya is a populist in best sense, since he trying to reforms the constitutional that will give more rights and power to the poor, but the oligarchy will not let that happen. The coup leader apparently was trained under the School of America which brutalized and killed many leftists in Latin America.

[Dimentio]

Yeah you're right, its kind of hard to understand why Chavez supports Zelaya :confused:

Chávez is using the "my enemy's enemy is my friend maxim".

[politics student]

Zelaya is a populist in best sense, since he trying to reforms the constitutional that will give more rights and power to the poor, but the oligarchy will not let that happen.

Excellent reason to support him and resist the coup.

Hopefully popular support will win out.

If that training info is correct then this may turn nasty very quickly. :(

[KurtFF8]

I'm sure Zelaya has many shortcomings as a politician. But it should be clear that, as leftists, we ought to support him over the current alternatives: Military Junta or Conservative/Liberal parties.

I'm sure some Trots will come and say "well his line wasn't 100% correct, so it's time to support the Coup!" but we ought to reject such lines (yes I know I'm exaggerating) and offer our support to those resisting the coup.

[Richard Nixon]

Hooray! One Chavezist gone. :thumbup1:

[Cheung Mo]

I'm sure Zelaya has many shortcomings as a politician. But it should be clear that, as leftists, we ought to support him over the current alternatives: Military Junta or Conservative/Liberal parties.

I'm sure some Trots will come and say "well his line wasn't 100% correct, so it's time to support the Coup!" but we ought to reject such lines (yes I know I'm exaggerating) and offer our support to those resisting the coup.

Funny, because it's been Stalinist and social democratic parties that have opposed Chavez and that were implicated in anti-Chavez violence in the 2002 coup.

[KurtFF8]

Really? I wouldn't be surprised about social democratic parties but what Stalinist parties supported the coup against Chavez?

[Intelligitimate]

Trots and anarchists use the term "Stalinist" incoherently. They call Khrushchev a Stalinist, Gorbachev a Stalinist, Yeltsin a Stalinist, they call each other Stalinists, etc.

[Saorsa]

News (http://english.aljazeera.net/)Americas
Honduras under curfew after coup

http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/6/29/200962912656217621_5.jpg Protesters outside the presidential palace voiced
their anger at the court-backed military coup [AFP] The newly sworn-in acting president of Honduras has imposed a two-day nationwide curfew following a military coup that sent Manuel Zelaya, the president, into exile.
Roberto Micheletti, the parliamentary speaker until Sunday when he was sworn in as Zelaya's replacement, told a news conference that the curfew would run from 9pm (03:00 GMT) to 6am on Sunday and Monday.
The order comes as hundreds of Zelaya supporters set up barricades in the centre of the capital, Tegucigalpa, on Sunday and sealed off road access to the presidential palace.
Al Jazeera's Mariana Sanchez, reporting from Tegucigalpa, said that a lot of very angry people were wielding sticks and steel batons.
At one point they tried to push their way into the palace, but the army inside resisted, she said, adding that some among the protesters were trying to calm people down.

In depth http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/6/28/2009628214633441734_8.jpg
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Honduras urged to restore Zelaya (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/2009628152653198264.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Video: Zelaya seeks asylum
(http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/2009628205825226694.html)http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Video: Turmoil in Honduras (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/200962819322612274.html)
The protesters were calling for the reinstatement of Zelaya, who was taken by soldiers from his home while still in his pyjamas on Sunday, and sent to Costa Rica after he tried to carry out a referendum to extend his term in office. Micheletti, who is from the same Liberal party as Zelaya, promised to govern with "transparency and honesty" and "work tirelessly to restore peace and tranquillity that we have lost".
'Legal process'
He said Zelaya was not ousted through a coup but by a legal process.
"I came to the presidency not by a coup d'etat but by a completely legal process as set out in our laws," Micheletti said after being sworn in by congress on Sunday.

http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/6/28/2009628135843390734_3.jpg Zelaya was elected for a non-renewable
four-year term in 2006 [File: AFP] "What we have done here is an act of democracy, because our army has complied with the order of the court, prosecutors and judges," Micheletti said, winning loud applause from legislators.
But Zelaya said he had been a "victim of kidnapping" when Honduran soldiers raided his home earlier in the day.
"They came to my house in the early hours of the morning and firing guns, they broke the doors with bayonets and threatened to shoot me," Zelaya told Venezuela's Telesur television station after being taken by troops to Costa Rica.
Calling for "peaceful resistance", he said he did not "think that the whole army supported this interruption of the democratic system by capturing a president elected by the people".
Little support
But whether in the military, parliament or in the judiciary, Zelaya appeared to have little support in Honduras on Sunday.
Colin Harding, an expert in Latin American politics, told Al Jazeera that Zelaya had apparently overestimated his own power in pushing for the referendum.
"He has no support in within his own party, he is opposed by congress, he is opposed by the judiciary and the military, who are not the power they used to be but have lined up against Zelaya ostensibly in defence of legality," he said.

Country facts http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/6/28/200962814623558734_21.jpg
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Second largest country in Central America
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Population of 7.2 million
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Second poorest country in the region
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Economy forecast to grow less than two per cent this year
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Relies on money from Hondurans in the US for more than 25 per cent of its gross domestic product
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Former Spanish colony gained independence in 1821
The supreme court said it had ordered his removal in order to protect law and order in the nation of some seven million people.
"Today's events originate from a court order by a competent judge," it said, adding that the armed forces "acted to defend the state of law".
Congress said it had voted unanimously to remove Zelaya from office for his "apparent misconduct" and for "repeated violations of the constitution and the law and disregard of orders and judgments of the institutions".
Zelaya, who was elected in November 2005 to a non-renewable four-year term, had sought to revise the constitution through a referendum to allow him to run again in the next elections.
The supreme court had ruled such a referendum illegal, but Zelaya had tried to press ahead with a vote on Sunday anyway, triggering the coup.
Micheletti is set to stay in office until January 27 next year, when a new president elected in planned November elections is due to take over.
Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly announced it would hold an emergency session on Monday to discuss the unrest in Honduras, at the request of Honduran ambassador to the UN, Jorge Reina Idiaquez.


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/20096291184517429.html

[Glenn Beck]

Really? I wouldn't be surprised about social democratic parties but what Stalinist parties supported the coup against Chavez?

This is completely off topic but...

Bandera Roja is an anti-Chavez Hoxhaist party, although that is in question because it was suspended from membership in the Hoxhaist international grouping ICMLPO and replaced this year by the Partido Comunista Marxista-Leninista de Venezuela. I have no idea why but their leadership almost immediately aligned with the social-democrat/conservative coalition against Chavez when he was elected. They supported the anti-Chavez candidate in the last Venezuelan Presidential election and were entangled in the violence surrounding the 2002 coup. As you can imagine they've been hemmorrhaging members the entire time.

I don't know of any other communist groups that support the opposition to Hugo Chavez in Venezuela unless you count the gullibility of certain anarchist and left-communist elements towards the student "free speech" movement in Venezuela of a while back.

[Ismail]

Bandera Roja is an anti-Chavez Hoxhaist party, although that is in question because it was suspended from membership in the Hoxhaist international grouping ICMLPO and replaced this year by the Partido Comunista Marxista-Leninista de Venezuela. I have no idea why but their leadership almost immediately aligned with the social-democrat/conservative coalition against Chavez when he was elected. They supported the anti-Chavez candidate in the last Venezuelan Presidential election and were entangled in the violence surrounding the 2002 coup. As you can imagine they've been hemmorrhaging members the entire time.Basically correct. The ICMLPO accused it of being CIA-infiltrated and it really isn't Communist anymore, plus as of 2009 it's moribund (or simply dead). In its heyday though (70's-80's) it was an active guerrilla movement against the Venezuelan government with actual Marxist-Leninist views. Also, it seems that they moved from Hoxhaism to Maoism after their expulsion since I recall their website having Mao on the frontpage.

The Partido Comunista Marxista-Leninista de Venezuela however is based off of the successful (also Hoxhaist) Partido Comunista Marxista-Leninista del Ecuador, which has five seats in Ecuador's legislature (and won 4% of the vote) through the Movimiento Popular Democrático. It'll be interesting to see if the PCMLV can replicate the PCMLE's successes.

[Saorsa]

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/kristin-bricker/2009/06/honduran-military-reportedly-assassinated-leftist-presidential-cand

Apparently Cesar Ham, leader of the only registered left wing party in Honduras, has been murdered by the military.

And apparently there's a general strike being called... http://ww4report.com/node/7505

[Dimentio]

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/kristin-bricker/2009/06/honduran-military-reportedly-assassinated-leftist-presidential-cand

Apparently Cesar Ham, leader of the only registered left wing party in Honduras, has been murdered by the military.

And apparently there's a general strike being called... http://ww4report.com/node/7505

Oh shit... this is looking ugly. :(

[politics student]

Oh shit... this is looking ugly. :(

Well depends if congress is willing to accept shooting at citizens as a solution.

Chances are it will turn very ugly but the general strike should do a lot to make congress reconsider their position.

[Killfacer]

I'm sure Zelaya has many shortcomings as a politician. But it should be clear that, as leftists, we ought to support him over the current alternatives: Military Junta or Conservative/Liberal parties.

I'm sure some Trots will come and say "well his line wasn't 100% correct, so it's time to support the Coup!" but we ought to reject such lines (yes I know I'm exaggerating) and offer our support to those resisting the coup.

god we always end up supporting people because they're better than a military junta.

[Communist Theory]

Where is Subcommandante Marcos when you need him.?!

[Dimentio]

Well depends if congress is willing to accept shooting at citizens as a solution.

Chances are it will turn very ugly but the general strike should do a lot to make congress reconsider their position.

I don't hope Honduras is like Guatemala or El Salvador.

[Revy]

Obama called for "calm " which is fucking insane - the President of Honduras has been kidnapped in a military coup. Yeah, I'm sure if that happened in the US people would be calm :rolleyes:

I wouldn't be surprised if the US government was involved in this.

[Communist Theory]

I appeal to President Chavez to call for calm when the U.S. gov't is being toppled.

[Glenn Beck]

god we always end up supporting people because they're better than a military junta.

Why can't you just be honest and say "I don't give a fuck what happens in Honduras."?

[Killfacer]

Why can't you just be honest and say "I don't give a fuck what happens in Honduras."?

where in fucks name did that come from?

[Glenn Beck]

where in fucks name did that come from?

From the bottom of my heart

[BIG BROTHER]

Regardless of what you think of the president Zelaya, one must oppose the military coup. Another military dictatorship is a step backwards that takes away any sort of democratic right. We don't support Zelaya but the people and their rights. Organizing the Revolution will be much harder under a military government. Thus regardless of what anyones position is towards Zelaya it is our duty to give unconditional support in the struggle against this Coup.

Also, the interesting thing about this Coup is that unlike the mini coup in 2002(right date?) against Chavez neither Washington nor its lackeys are accepting this new president.

Any comments on that?

[Guerrilla22]

I'm hoping the military and the opposition in the government buckles under pressure. Everyone is calling this a bullshit move, not just ALBA. Every country in the region is demanding that Zelaya be reinstated, including Mexico of all places. The OAS and the US have called for his reinstatement as well.

[Wanted Man]

Honduras' first full day under the putschist regime: http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/kristin-bricker/2009/06/honduras-first-full-day-under-coup-rule

Some interesting parts to emphasise, that may help answer BIG BROTHER's questions:


Meanwhile, the coup government is already going about restricting Hondurans' freedom. One of the interim government's first official acts (that is, after imposing a 9pm-6am mandatory curfew) has been to inform Honduran cable providers that they are now prohibited from transmitting international television channels in Honduras. TeleSUR reports (http://www.telesurtv.net/solotexto/nota/index.php?ckl=53057-NN) that Honduras' National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) sent a memo to Honduran cable operators with a list of prohibited international channels. The list includes the US' CNN, Venezuela's TeleSUR, and Cubavision Internacional.

CNN, TeleSUR, and Cubavision Internacional are strange bedfellows. This marks the second time in 24 hours that Honduras' coup government has lashed out against the US and Bolivarian Aliance (ALBA) member countries at the same time. The first time was last night, when coup president Micheletti told press that "he's not afraid of international isolation after different countries and international organisms demonstrated their discontent with the expulsion of Manuel Zelaya Rosales. Micheletti, who a few hours ago was the Speaker of the House, said that neither US President Barack Obama nor Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would decide what should be done in Honduras."

Al Giordano, commenting on Micheletti's statements in The Field (http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/honduras-dictator-day-rails-vs-obama-ch%C3%A1vez-declares-martial-law), wrote, "It takes a special kind of moron to unite Obama and Chávez against him in the very week that the US and Venezuela reestablished diplomatic relations and active ambassadors."

Likewise, it takes "a special kind of moron" to unite the fourth powers (that is, the media) of both the United States and ALBA countries against him.

The coup government's banning of international stations in Honduras is a sign of desperation. The Organization of American States, which was originally founded as a United States initiative to counter what it perceived to be communist forces in Latin America, has unanimously condemned the coup (http://www.narconews.com/Issue57/article3586.html) that overthrew Zelaya. Zelaya brought Honduras into ALBA, an organization of unabashedly socialist governments.

Workers' strike is apparently ongoing.

http://www.soaw.org/img/hondurascoup2.jpg

[Glenn Beck]

Zelaya's Dangerous Game (http://machetera.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/zelayas-deadly-game/)

Honduras: Is it Written? (http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2009/06/29/index.php?section=opinion&article=028a1mun) José Steinsleger, La Jornada
Translation: Machetera


During the 2005 presidential elections, in plain daylight, the candidate Porfirio Lobo (National Party, conservative, government official) visited Washington’s ambassador in Honduras and proposed that the vote counting be monitored.


“I acted with restraint. There was a proven tendency toward a winner,” commented Charles Ford. Head bowed, the president of the National Congress left the embassy, accepting the facts: the liberal Manuel Zelaya, rancher and director of a private bank, would be the new leader of the poorest country on the continent after Haiti. A national liberal, “corrupt politicians,” … who cares?


Landmarks of the Honduran 20th century: in 1924 a United Fruit soldier, Vicente Tosta, was proclaimed provisional president aboard the U.S. warship Milwaukee; in 1944, a tyrant, Tiburcio Carías Andino, was proclaimed the “only candidate of the illustrious patriot” Franklin D. Roosevelt, and to make a long story short, in the 1980’s, politicians and military officers turned Honduras into a huge base of military aggression against the people of El Salvador and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas.


Then came the turn of the century, and things continued on as before. Although not exactly as before: 80 percent poverty, the “successes” of semi-slavery in the U.S. maquiladoras, record numbers of child sexual exploitation, and execution at close range of children and teenagers criminalized as “gang members”. Just between 1998 and 2005, the Casa Alianza de Tegucigalpa counted at least 2,720 murders of young Hondurans, between 12 and 22 years old.


At the same time, the Honduran people began to organize: marches and huge demonstrations against unemployment and miserable pay, tax protests against institutional corruption and a combative solidarity of the people, towns and lost communities who closed ranks with the Cuban doctors being harassed by the “professional schools.” Lobo, Zelaya. Branches of the same tree. For the election, Lobo hired Mark Klugmann (ex-advisor to the Republican president Ronald Reagan) and Zelaya signed up with Ted Devine, strategist for John Kerry’s campaign. Honduran businessmen remained calm. Filing its nails, “democracy” breathed a sigh of relief: what a great free trade treaty we’ve got with the United States!


And suddenly…the commander sent…no, wait, no commanders. “Throughout the top and to the right,” Zelaya began to distance himself from the beautiful people. And he made the great mistake of asking himself why, if in the tourism brochures, Honduras is compared to Switzerland, the per capita income of a Honduran is $2,793 a year while for a Swiss it is $53,352.
Zelaya reached the obvious conclusion: seven million Swiss, seven million Hondurans. Honduras isn’t Switzerland. What if we were to make a socially integrated republic, in tune with the great Latin American integration projects underway?


Later, the president committed various acts of “high treason:” he traveled to Cuba, met with Fidel, and said “I come from the homeland of Francisco de Morazán.” He traveled to Venezuela, met with Chavez, and said: “I come from the birthplace of the Bolivarian constitutionalist José Cecilio del Valle.” For the umpteenth time, a speech that didn’t fit with the leftist manual: “I’m liberal, but socialist…”


The Honduran oligarchy and petty bourgeoisie could smell through this discourse alone, that it was heading down a one-way street. Zelaya quickened the pace: Honduras entered the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), signed oil contracts with Venezuela, faced down the entire party machine, raised the minimum wage, and deepened his alliance with popular sectors. In all, he did everything that Washington, Madrid and the hallowed Vargas Llosa and his type can’t stand.
Less than a month ago, at the historic meeting of foreign ministers at the OAS (in San Pedro Sula), the Honduran president said what no leader may say under the Empire’s nose: “We must not leave this meeting without repairing the infamy [committed] against a people.” (He was speaking of Cuba, naturally.)


the beginning to the end. At 6 p.m. on Friday, June 15th, in the Satélite neighborhood on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, the windshield carrying Zelaya was shattered by gunfire. And yesterday, in the early morning, Zelaya was toppled by a coup d’etat. Just one day earlier, the genius who heads the OAS said to the Mexican newspaper Reforma, “Despite what may be seen (sic), today we have institutions. And although they are very fragile in places, a retreat of any kind is unthinkable.”

[Niccolò Rossi]

Regardless of what you think of the president Zelaya, one must oppose the military coup.

What does it mean to 'oppose the coup'? This is a completely abstract demand.


Another military dictatorship is a step backwards that takes away any sort of democratic right.

Step backward for whom? As Lenin said in the Theses on Bourgeois Democracy and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, adopted by the first congress of the CI: "The most democratic bourgeois republic is no more than a machine for the suppression of the working class by the bourgeoisie, for the suppression of the working people by a handful of capitalists".


Organizing the Revolution will be much harder under a military government.

Of course, as history shows us, democratic governments happily allow the 'organising of revolutions'.


Thus regardless of what anyones position is towards Zelaya it is our duty to give unconditional support in the struggle against this Coup.

This is utterly absurd. Communists do not support the 'democratic' bourgeoisie against the 'dictatorial', nor the 'lesser evil' (what ever this is supposed to mean). Communists are the most militant, foresighted and intransigent fighters of the working class.

Regardless of the warring factions, communists give no support to any faction of the bourgeoisie who merely are merely different sides of the same coin. Communists support class struggle against all exploiters, not 'unconditional' or 'critical' defence of the ruling class.

[Guerrilla22]

It appears as though some elements of the military and civillians are starting to push back.(according to Telemundo) People have been setting up roadblocks to stop ant-Zelaya forces from being able to move about.

[Comrade B]

I heard Obama is opposing the military government... could be a move of his I can finally support...
But all honesty, I do not think it is in the best interest of Latin America to have the US come in. Latin America needs to create its own regional political community where the leaders of the countries can work together for the best interests of the people of South and Central America and prevent events like this from happening with sending in forces to protect the popular leadership from being toppled by right wing bastards, and stop pigs like Alberto Fujimori before they begin their murdering.

[scarletghoul]

Yeah, i hope ALBA gets stronger

[Cheung Mo]

Yeah, i hope ALBA gets stronger

It already has; St. Vincent and Ecuador just joined and Paraguay is an observer. I still wish Nicaragua had a better representative than The Catholic Rapist.

[Il Medico]

I hope the coup will not happen. It looks like the bourgeois will not let him run again because of his populist program. I support Zelaya on the term that people will directionally vote on the change of constitution. If he wons, then it is possible that populist program will continue.
The Coup already happened. He is in Costa Rica right now.

[Glenn Beck]

I still wish Nicaragua had a better representative than The Catholic Rapist.

I hate him too :|

[redSHARP]

Manuiel Zelaya is a big business owner him self. He's no socialist. Honduras working class still needs lots of help. I mean he's a lot better than military rule, but lets not get all sympathetic here. I just hope that Washington is not behind this.

we got our fingers into to many pies as it is. US policy in Latin America is cooperative at best. Hugo has chilled with his anti-US rhetoric and so has the US calmed down with the anti-hugo rhetoric. US policy is focused in North Korea and the Middle East; South America is a back water station now. However, the army was possibly trained and armed by US forces so our connection is indirect.

[Guerrilla22]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090630/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_honduras_journalists

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Honduran troops detained seven international journalists covering the aftermath of a military coup Monday, freeing them unhurt a short time later. The government also took at least two television stations off the air and interrupted the broadcasts of others.
At least 10 soldiers, most with rifles drawn, arrived at the hotel where journalists from The Associated Press and the Venezuela-based television network Telesur were staying and unplugged their editing equipment in an apparent attempt to stop their coverage of protests in support of deposed President Manuel Zelaya.

One of the Telesur journalists was speaking on a telephone at the time of the detention, and AP's Nicolas Garcia saw a soldier lightly slapping her hand so she would hang up.

Garcia, an Argentine videojournalist, and Esteban Felix, a Peruvian photographer, and two Nicaraguan assistants were loaded into a military Land Cruiser, with another military vehicle following close behind. Also detained were Telesur journalists Adriana Sivori, producer Maria Jose Diaz and cameraman Larry Sanchez.

"They're taking us prisoner at gunpoint," Sivori told Telesur by telephone as she was being detained. Telesur is financed by Venezuela's government and its allies.

Garcia said the four AP journalists were taken to an immigration office where two officials demanded to see their Honduran visas. They were released after explaining they were journalists. Telesur confirmed that its journalists were also released.
The two officials who handled the journalists' cases refused to give their names.

Telesur said military officers also threatened another of its journalists, warning that others would be detained if the network continued to transmit images of protests in support of Zelaya, who was forced into exile on Sunday.

Soldiers also shut down Channel 8, the official broadcaster of the Zelaya government, and another television station sympathetic to his administration in the capital. Honduran reporters also said at least one Tegucigalpa radio station has been forced off the air.

When Zelaya was first arrested Sunday morning, power was cut throughout the capital and all radio and television stations went off the air or simply played traditional "marimba" music. Most networks resumed transmission a few hours later, but they have provided little coverage of the protests outside the military-occupied presidential palace.
The media apparently have been acting on orders from the government, though it is unclear who has been giving them. Soldiers have been posted around some television and radio stations and around the national power and phone companies.

Telesur and CNN en Espanol, the Spanish-language network of CNN, have broadcast news of the protests in Hondurans via cable television, but those transmissions have been interrupted intermittently.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it is "deeply concerned by reports that several broadcasters have been taken off the air," calling the situation a "media blackout." Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International also expressed similar concerns.
Police and the Honduran military refused to comment on measures involving journalists Monday night.

[Martin Blank]

This is utterly absurd. Communists do not support the 'democratic' bourgeoisie against the 'dictatorial', nor the 'lesser evil' (what ever this is supposed to mean). Communists are the most militant, foresighted and intransigent fighters of the working class.

Regardless of the warring factions, communists give no support to any faction of the bourgeoisie who merely are merely different sides of the same coin. Communists support class struggle against all exploiters, not 'unconditional' or 'critical' defence of the ruling class.

It's not a matter of supporting the "democratic" bourgeoisie, but a matter of defending democratic rights (limited though they are) against a military junta. The fact that Zelaya's own political party helped orchestrate this coup shows you cannot look to the "democratic" bourgeoisie or petty bourgeoisie to defend those rights -- to say nothing of resolving the outstanding democratic tasks that exist in Honduras. It's up to the working class to defend democratic rights using its own organizations and methods.

[Edelweiss]

It seems that this Coup d'Etat actually was done without the prior approval of the US embassy/Washington. Zelaya gave an interview just a few days ago, before the Coup d'Etat, that he has information that only thank to the US embassy he is still in office, and that Washington did not give the rebels a green light. Which is quiet unprecedented for a reactionary, right-wing Coup d'Etat in recent Latin-American history I guess. Also the strong, negative US reaction is indicating that they did not approve it. However, that the Coup has been committed without US approval might also be a sign of the shrinking US influence in the region. It will be very interesting to see how things develop from now on.

[Davie zepeda]

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-287400
Here's some videos and pictures from the coup.
A lot of people on this shit are defending it but F*** them
they don't represent the true Honduran who make's 30 dollars a month and can't even afford the internet.

[h9socialist]

This reminds me of the coup against Jacobo Arbenz (albeit, the CIA's role was much clearer back then). But during that coup, a 26 year old Ernesto Guevara de la Serna became very radicalized. Perhaps there are young people in Honduras today who are following a similar ideological path.

[BIG BROTHER]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG BROTHER http://www.revleft.com/vb/../revleft/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.revleft.com/vb/../showthread.php?p=1478948#post1478948)
Regardless of what you think of the president Zelaya, one must oppose the military coup.

What does it mean to 'oppose the coup'? This is a completely abstract demand.


The return of Zelaya, to do away with the current intern president and all policies he has instituted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BB
Another military dictatorship is a step backwards that takes away any sort of democratic right.

Step backward for whom? As Lenin said in the Theses on Bourgeois Democracy and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, adopted by the first congress of the CI: "The most democratic bourgeois republic is no more than a machine for the suppression of the working class by the bourgeoisie, for the suppression of the working people by a handful of capitalists".

So acording to Jesu...I mean Lenin we might as well just don't care if we live under a military rule than a typical bourgoisie democracy? I mean is not like military rule can be so much more brutal right? Hey why don't we just don't give a fuck and let facist goverments spring up...I mean is not socialism so our situation hasn't changed one bit from being in a bourgoisie democracy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BB
Organizing the Revolution will be much harder under a military government.

Of course, as history shows us, democratic governments happily allow the 'organising of revolutions'.


I never said that you retard. But I don't know...perhaps having some sort of recognized rights or not having to deal with censorship could be usefull...
Quote:
Originally Posted by BB
Thus regardless of what anyones position is towards Zelaya it is our duty to give unconditional support in the struggle against this Coup.

This is utterly absurd. Communists do not support the 'democratic' bourgeoisie against the 'dictatorial', nor the 'lesser evil' (what ever this is supposed to mean). Communists are the most militant, foresighted and intransigent fighters of the working class.

Regardless of the warring factions, communists give no support to any faction of the bourgeoisie who merely are merely different sides of the same coin. Communists support class struggle against all exploiters, not 'unconditional' or 'critical' defence of the ruling class.

ok go ahead wave your little red flag and tell the workers that are going in strike to protest the coup what they are doing is wrong. See then how much they will listen to you and to your far you go.

[Davie zepeda]

Also here to the reformist and so called market socialist must see the bourgeois must be destroyed we must not allow them to exist after seeing this i was more kind hearted but now i see not one must remain. Most likely this government will stay in power but it's a lesson for all of us again like che said never never never to trust a capitalist yankee!

[Dimentio]

It seems that this Coup d'Etat actually was done without the prior approval of the US embassy/Washington. Zelaya gave an interview just a few days ago, before the Coup d'Etat, that he has information that only thank to the US embassy he is still in office, and that Washington did not give the rebels a green light. Which is quiet unprecedented for a reactionary, right-wing Coup d'Etat in recent Latin-American history I guess. Also the strong, negative US reaction is indicating that they did not approve it. However, that the Coup has been committed without US approval might also be a sign of the shrinking US influence in the region. It will be very interesting to see how things develop from now on.

It might have had the support from some factions inside the USA, but it seems the presidential administration in R... Washington wants to have some sort of peaceful relations with the anti-imperialist bloc in Latin America. Probably because of shrinking influence, the USA is forced to establish more equal relations (for the moment).

[Guerrilla22]

Apparently now the opposition is trying to claim that Zelaya is involved in drug trafficking, in an attempt to justify the coup and keep Zelaya out of power. :rolleyes:



His foreign minister, Enrique Ortez Colindres, told CNN's Spanish language service that Zelaya faces allegations of "violation of the constitution, drug trafficking, of protecting organized crime, diverting multimillions in resources."




Ortez alleged that "every night three four Venezuelan-registered planes land ... bringing thousands, but thousands of pounds ... of packages of money that are the fruits of drug trafficking."
He said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had evidence of those shipments, though DEA spokesman Rusty Payne said he cannot confirm or deny the DEA is investigating Zelaya

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090630/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_honduras_coup

[Niccolò Rossi]

It's not a matter of supporting the "democratic" bourgeoisie, but a matter of defending democratic rights (limited though they are) against a military junta... It's up to the working class to defend democratic rights using its own organizations and methods.

Obviously for some it is:


The return of Zelaya, to do away with the current intern president and all policies he has instituted.

At Miles: On a serious note, what does defending democratic rights amount to in reality?


So acording to Jesu...I mean Lenin

There is no need to be a smart ass about it. I never understood this attitude people have towards quotation. If another has said something better than I, or has an authority on the subject matter, I quote them. This has nothing to do with quoting a religious text. If you disagree with the quote you can happily state your disagreement, unlike with religious dogma.


we might as well just don't care if we live under a military rule than a typical bourgoisie democracy? I mean is not like military rule can be so much more brutal right? Hey why don't we just don't give a fuck and let facist goverments spring up...I mean is not socialism so our situation hasn't changed one bit from being in a bourgoisie democracy.

No one said military or dictatorial rule is no more brutal than democracy (though history does teach us of the vileness and barbarity of democratic capitalism can very well exceed their dictatorial partners in crime). The fact remains, it is utterly inexcusable for (so-called) revolutionaries today to support one or another faction of the bourgeoisie (that includes Zelaya against the military).


I never said that you retard.

I would appreciate it if you would refrain from using derogatory terms for the mentally disabled.


But I don't know...perhaps having some sort of recognized rights or not having to deal with censorship could be usefull...

Of course, we may be able to speak of 'elbow room' but again, I think the history of democratic capitalism makes a mockery of these claims.


ok go ahead wave your little red flag and tell the workers that are going in strike to protest the coup what they are doing is wrong.

When did I say that workers going on strike are wrong? I think this is an important and interesting development. What needs to be understood and analysed here is the role of the unions in these strikes and whether or not they are lined up in support of Zelaya. Here, even more so than in Iran only a couple of weeks ago, there is potential for workers to not only enter the struggle (which they seem to have done, much more clearly than in Iran), but also to fight on their own terrain and not behind or in support of Zelaya's liberal faction (something which I am not sure - and doubt - is happening yet, I have not heard much concrete news on the situation by which to make that assessment yet).


See then how much they will listen to you and to your far you go.

Tell the conservative catholic worker that as a communist you support the right of women to terminate their pregnancy. See then how much they will listen to you and to your far you go. Tell the conservative muslim worker that as a communist you support the right of women to be in public without the burqa. See then how much they will listen to you and to your far you go. Tell the nationalist and xenophobic worker that as a communist you support an end to all immigration restrictions, are an anti-patriot and support the abolition of all national boarders. See then how much they will listen to you and to your far you go. Tell the Conservative, Liberal, Centrist or Labour party voting worker that as a communist you oppose bourgeois democracy and the anti-worker nature of all these parties. See then how much they will listen to you and to your far you go.

This is the most vile of opportunism.

[BIG BROTHER]

So says the Ultra-leftist. Do you realize that with the stance you are taking, you are being an accomplice of the coup?

A communist supports the demands of the workers, and their demands is for the return of Zelaya, and their basic democratic rights.

[Martin Blank]

On a serious note, what does defending democratic rights amount to in reality?

In a situation like we're seeing in Honduras, it is giving the working class an opportunity to realize, through the concrete experience, that none of the exploiting and oppressing classes will defend the rights (limited though they were) they had, and that any meaningful defense -- to say nothing of extension -- of these rights will only come through workers fighting for them, up to and including taking political power.

It amounts to working people seeing the failure of the exploiting and oppressing classes to live up to their own words; it amounts to giving workers an opportunity to intervene in a conflict among the exploiters on the basis of their own movement and platform; it amounts to allowing working people to demonstrate to their brothers and sisters that they are the only ones who can protect their best interests ... and extend that understanding out to problems in general society.

Democratic rights give working people a small but necessary space in which to organize to overthrow capitalism. It's a lot easier and more efficient to be able to utilize democratic rights like freedom of speech and assembly (again, limited though they are) to build a revolutionary movement than it is to try to organize one under conditions of military dictatorship and repression.

[Honggweilo]

Funny, because it's been Stalinist and social democratic parties that have opposed Chavez and that were implicated in anti-Chavez violence in the 2002 coup.
Uhm lol? For you information the PCV was one of the most militant participants in the Chavez camp in 2002. And if you were revering to the insignificant hoxhaist sect of Bandeira Roja, we al know they were CIA sponsered, and they have even been expeled from the ICPMLO (U&S)

[Leo]

I am sorry, but all those who are being excited about this coup and the defense of democratic rights and are talking about a military dictatorship have basically no idea what a real junta would be like. In this situation, the parliament and the Supreme Court used the military to remove a wayward President, and another "civilian" president was installed immediately. If the there actually was a military coup, that is if the military itself actually took power and established a junta for this or that reason, there would already be tanks on the streets of Honduras, there would be thousands of arrested and under torture, if not thousands murdered already. That is what a real military coup, a real military junta, a real military dictatorship would be like.

Real military juntas are, as proven by history, not very effective forms of bourgeois-regimes in the long term. Generally, for this or that reason, the democratic-bourgeois institutions themselves pave the for such regimes, indirectly or directly asking the army to take over things and run them for a while, in their own way. This way the short-term dirty work can be done in an easier way, and the democratic institutions remain "clean". When the military feels the time is right, it generally voluntarily gives power to the democratic institutions, sooner or later. Even if it is not willing, the majority of the bourgeoisie in a country end up deciding that it's the right time, and forces the installation of democratic institutions on the junta eventually. Thus it is simply ridiculous to "struggle for democratic rights" against a junta, since juntas first of all are proofs that bourgeois democratic rights are a farce themselves - not that a junta is necessary to show that to anyone really. The way for workers' to struggle against a junta is struggling against the capitalist regime as workers' struggling for their proletarian interests independently, not struggling for "the democratic rights" and postponing the workers' struggle. Sounds impossible? Well, I can give an example from Turkey: after the 1980 coup, before the leftists could even speak of a "struggle for the democratic rights", when they were saying that "a workers' strike is impossible under these laws" came a very strong workers struggle - the NETAS strike of 1986 and it won, encouraging the rest of the class to start being engaged in much greater militant struggles in the following years.

If we go back to the example of Honduras, the situation is not that of a military dictatorship or that of a military junta. We could call it a "military intervention" or to use a popular phrase here a "post-modern coup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodern_Coup_D%27etat)". The basic point, of course, does not change one bit - the working class has no interests in supporting either Zelaya and the bourgeois faction behind him or the the bourgeois factions which ousted him. As for the strike that was called, I don't know how that went but I'll only say this: any faction of the bourgeoisie, regardless of the condtions and the general situation, is playing a very dangerous game if it is resorting to inciting a strike action. The risk, for the bourgeoisie, of losing control in such a situation is always considerably great.

[Niccolò Rossi]

So says the Ultra-leftist.

"Where thoughts are absent, words are brought in as convenient replacements".


Do you realize that with the stance you are taking, you are being an accomplice of the coup?

No I did not. Please, do tell!


A communist supports the demands of the workers

Communists support restrictions in the right of women to have abortions in the US? Communists supported Ahmadinejad in the 09 Presidential Election? etc.

Communists are not workerists who tail the working class. Communists are the most advanced and resolute section of the working-class.

[Guerrilla22]

If we go back to the example of Honduras, the situation is not that of a military dictatorship or that of a military junta. We could call it a "military intervention" or to use a popular phrase here a "post-modern coup (http://www.anonym.to/?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodern_Coup_D%27etat)".

Perhaps, however this still amounts to militaary rule. When the military decides to arbitrly remove a leader due to their displeasure with his policies, regardless of whether or not a civillain replaces him, the military are the ones in control of that country.


The basic point, of course, does not change one bit - the working class has no interests in supporting either Zelaya and the bourgeois faction behind him or the the bourgeois factions which ousted him.

I think we need to remember the hsitory of Central America here. 20 years ago there were no working class movements in Central America because anyone involved with any organizing or left-wing parties was either arrested or killed by either the government or death squads.

Only even a few years ago the same people that were running the military regimes were still running these countries, only they were doing so wearing suits as members of right-wing parties, working to ensure the interest of the small ruling class that controls most of the resources in the area.

Today we have liberal parties controlling these countries, but it is progress. Under these parties working class movements and actual left-wing parties are now able to orgainze. The military stepped in to protect the interest of the ruling class as they are tied to them. If the military is allowed to dictate the political discourse of a country still it will be a huge step backwards.

[Dimentio]

I find it strange that Obama has backed Zelaya. It was quite unexpected.

[Guerrilla22]

I find it strange that Obama has backed Zelaya. It was quite unexpected.

Well Obama is much more liberal than most Presidents we've had obviously and the people responsible made the error of not asking for permission first from the US govt., they just assumed the US would back them. The coup was such a blatant constitutional violation no one, including the US govt. is even going to attempt to defend it.

[h9socialist]

Agreed that Zelaya is a bourgeois, that still doesn't change the fact that Chavez, Ortega and even Fidel see some virtue in defeating the coup. To allow something like this to succeed would embolden bourgeois ands neo-fascist putschists throughout Latin America.

[ckaihatsu]

U.S.IMPERIALISM: Honduran Junta Sacks UN, OAS Envoys; OAS Gives Ultimatum

grok <[email protected]> Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 9:34 AM
Reply-To: [email protected]
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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The honduran junta is getting more desperate by the hour...

In case people haven't realized it yet, tomorrow Thursday will not be
merely an historic day in the usual sense, when latin american leaders
accompany Mel Zel in a triumphal return to Tegucigalpa (what comes
*after* is more problematic, however...) What has happened, and is
happening before our eyes for the first time in History, is that the
countries of all of America Latina have joined together to guarantee
not only their own independence in the face of imperialist skulduggery
and oppression, *but also the definitive independence of Central
America from the yanqui empire*. This is a major, major World-historic
event -- and signals a complete rupture with the 2 centuries of U.S.'
"Monroe Doctrine" hegemony over the Hemisphere. Only the armed
military might of U.S. imperialism could turn back this tide. And it
won't. Because, for one thing, as I've said any number of times: the
U.S./NATO imperialists are *losing* WWIII -- and everything which
follows logically and materially from this and other recent turning
points in World History.

As I keep saying to myself: the Western imperialists should never have
let the "wogs" get electricity -- and an education..!! Pandora's box
has been pried open with a crowbar -- and it AIN'T ever being closed
again.
;P

So let's all enjoy what will be taking place tomorrow -- whatever
happens in the streets of Tegeucigalpa. In the last days of a
desperate regime.


- -- grok.




- ----- Forwarded message from Rick Rozoff <[email protected]> -----

From: Rick Rozoff <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 06:06:13 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Honduran Junta Sacks UN, OAS Envoys; OAS Gives Ultimatum
To: [email protected]
Reply-To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[email protected]>


http://news-en.trend.az/world/wnews/1496693.html


Trend News Agency
July 1, 2009


Honduras' ambassadors to UN, OAS sacked: Micheletti


Honduras' post-coup leader Roberto Micheletti on Tuesday dismissed the
country's ambassadors to the United Nations (UN) and the Organization
of American States (OAS), Xinhua reported.

The interim government decided to sack Jorge Artugo Reina, the
ambassador to UN, and Carlos Sosa Coello to OAS, and they will be no
longer entitled to make any statement on behalf of the new government,
Micheletti told a press conference held in Tegucigalpa.

Micheletti said he was considering two new nominations, who will
"respect the true facts" and "will comply with the decision of the
government."

Reina and Coello, both appointed by the ousted president Manuel
Zelaya, have strongly denounced the military coup that drove Zelaya
from power Sunday.

At a UN General Assembly meeting on Monday, Reina urged the world not
to accept any "illegitimate government" that took Zelaya's place.

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/01/content_11633037.htm


Xinhua News Agency
July 1, 2009


OAS gives Honduran coup leaders three days to reinstate deposed president


WASHINGTON: The Organization of American States (OAS) gave the coup leaders in Honduras three days to reinstate deposed president Manuel Zelaya, or the country will face suspension.

"If within 72 hours the reinstatement doesn't happen, the (OAS)assembly ... will meet again to suspend Honduras," OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza told reporters Wednesday.

OAS members held meetings in the Washington headquarters Tuesday and decided to take diplomatic and political steps necessary to restore democracy in Honduras, Insulza said.

Zelaya, toppled and exiled by the military Sunday, gained wide international support.

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution condemning the military coup in Honduras and demand an immediate restoration of Zelaya's government.

Zelaya said Tuesday that he will return to Honduras Thursday, flanked by the president of the UN General Assembly, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS) and presidents of Argentina and Ecuador.

Honduran Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi said Zelaya would be arrested "as soon as he sets foot on Honduran soil" and he could face 20 years in prison.

Rubi said Zelaya's arrest warrant include 18 separate crimes such as abuse of power and treason.

"If Zelaya loves Honduras he should not come," said the coup-installed president Roberto Micheletti in a Tuesday interview with local radio station HRN.
===========================
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- ----- End forwarded message -----

- --
Beware the bait & switch fraud: "Social Justice" is NOT Socialism!

Build the North America-wide General Strike.
TODO el poder a los consejos y las comunas.
TOUT le pouvoir aux conseils et communes.
ALL power to the councils and communes.
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[Dimentio]

Very fine. But the US Empire seems to be innocent on this one. But I guess you need the US to be like Mordor, attacking the little innocent Honduras inhabitated by singing hobbits XD


U.S.IMPERIALISM: Honduran Junta Sacks UN, OAS Envoys; OAS Gives Ultimatum

grok <[email protected]> Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 9:34 AM
Reply-To: [email protected]
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1


The honduran junta is getting more desperate by the hour...

In case people haven't realized it yet, tomorrow Thursday will not be
merely an historic day in the usual sense, when latin american leaders
accompany Mel Zel in a triumphal return to Tegucigalpa (what comes
*after* is more problematic, however...) What has happened, and is
happening before our eyes for the first time in History, is that the
countries of all of America Latina have joined together to guarantee
not only their own independence in the face of imperialist skulduggery
and oppression, *but also the definitive independence of Central
America from the yanqui empire*. This is a major, major World-historic
event -- and signals a complete rupture with the 2 centuries of U.S.'
"Monroe Doctrine" hegemony over the Hemisphere. Only the armed
military might of U.S. imperialism could turn back this tide. And it
won't. Because, for one thing, as I've said any number of times: the
U.S./NATO imperialists are *losing* WWIII -- and everything which
follows logically and materially from this and other recent turning
points in World History.

As I keep saying to myself: the Western imperialists should never have
let the "wogs" get electricity -- and an education..!! Pandora's box
has been pried open with a crowbar -- and it AIN'T ever being closed
again.
;P

So let's all enjoy what will be taking place tomorrow -- whatever
happens in the streets of Tegeucigalpa. In the last days of a
desperate regime.


- -- grok.




- ----- Forwarded message from Rick Rozoff <[email protected]> -----

From: Rick Rozoff <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 06:06:13 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Honduran Junta Sacks UN, OAS Envoys; OAS Gives Ultimatum
To: [email protected]
Reply-To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[email protected]>


http://news-en.trend.az/world/wnews/1496693.html


Trend News Agency
July 1, 2009


Honduras' ambassadors to UN, OAS sacked: Micheletti


Honduras' post-coup leader Roberto Micheletti on Tuesday dismissed the
country's ambassadors to the United Nations (UN) and the Organization
of American States (OAS), Xinhua reported.

The interim government decided to sack Jorge Artugo Reina, the
ambassador to UN, and Carlos Sosa Coello to OAS, and they will be no
longer entitled to make any statement on behalf of the new government,
Micheletti told a press conference held in Tegucigalpa.

Micheletti said he was considering two new nominations, who will
"respect the true facts" and "will comply with the decision of the
government."

Reina and Coello, both appointed by the ousted president Manuel
Zelaya, have strongly denounced the military coup that drove Zelaya
from power Sunday.

At a UN General Assembly meeting on Monday, Reina urged the world not
to accept any "illegitimate government" that took Zelaya's place.

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/01/content_11633037.htm


Xinhua News Agency
July 1, 2009


OAS gives Honduran coup leaders three days to reinstate deposed president


WASHINGTON: The Organization of American States (OAS) gave the coup leaders in Honduras three days to reinstate deposed president Manuel Zelaya, or the country will face suspension.

"If within 72 hours the reinstatement doesn't happen, the (OAS)assembly ... will meet again to suspend Honduras," OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza told reporters Wednesday.

OAS members held meetings in the Washington headquarters Tuesday and decided to take diplomatic and political steps necessary to restore democracy in Honduras, Insulza said.

Zelaya, toppled and exiled by the military Sunday, gained wide international support.

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution condemning the military coup in Honduras and demand an immediate restoration of Zelaya's government.

Zelaya said Tuesday that he will return to Honduras Thursday, flanked by the president of the UN General Assembly, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS) and presidents of Argentina and Ecuador.

Honduran Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi said Zelaya would be arrested "as soon as he sets foot on Honduran soil" and he could face 20 years in prison.

Rubi said Zelaya's arrest warrant include 18 separate crimes such as abuse of power and treason.

"If Zelaya loves Honduras he should not come," said the coup-installed president Roberto Micheletti in a Tuesday interview with local radio station HRN.
===========================
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- ----- End forwarded message -----

- --
Beware the bait & switch fraud: "Social Justice" is NOT Socialism!

Build the North America-wide General Strike.
TODO el poder a los consejos y las comunas.
TOUT le pouvoir aux conseils et communes.
ALL power to the councils and communes.
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Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)

iEYEARECAAYFAkpLc9sACgkQB9bXLLhitTNtAwCfRA5f7M4k+9 1CKtLzVYSyTBRB
57EAn36Ybg6nDfrCJhlgvsQCqBPgyW7p
=mq1q
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[Davie zepeda]

Viva cesar ham!

[ckaihatsu]

http://www.chavezcode.com/2009/07/day-5-mass-protests-in-honduras-against.html

Postcards from the Revolution

Thursday, July 2, 2009


DAY 5: MASS PROTESTS IN HONDURAS AGAINST COUP; TENS OF THOUSANDS MARCHING ON THE CAPITAL TO AWAIT PRESIDENT ZELAYA'S RETURN


Despite the suspension of constitutional rights in place as of yesterday, per a decree by the Honduran congress in support of the coup government, tens of thousands of Hondurans are mobilizing throughout the country and participating in nationwide marches in route to the capital, Tegucigalpa. Demonstrators are protesting the illegal coup d'etat that ousted the democratically elected president, Manuel Zelaya, on Sunday, after kidnapping him from his bedroom and forcing him into exile. Hondurans in support of President Zelaya are marching on the capital to await President Zelaya's return, scheduled as of now for Saturday, July 4th, after the Organization of American States (OAS) 72-hour ultimatum, that was issued to the coup government on Wednesday, calling on them to step down or face severe sanctions, has expired.

Hondurans are still denouncing the media blackout in place in their country, preventing the majority of people in the country from receiving news from independent and international sources. The only media permitted to broadcast or publish since Sunday's coup are those supporting the illegal takeover of the state.

Hondurans are also reporting food and medicine shortages in the country, resulting from the border closings imposed by neighboring nations Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, in reaction to the coup. Central American nations have adamantly condemned the coup and refused to recognize the illegal government in place, led by Roberto Micheletti, former head of congress. Nations around the world have expressed they only recognize Manuel Zelaya as the legitimate and constitutional president of Honduras.

It is still unsure how things will play out over the next few days, since the coup government is defiantly holding its power in Tegucigalpa and still has the military on its side. If they refuse to step down by Saturday, further sanctions could be imposed that would severely harm the already third poorest nation in Latin America's economy and infrastructure. As it stands today, the coup government appears ready to bear the consequences of months of isolation from the world community. The US may determine next Monday that sanctions should be in place against Honduras, resulting from the military coup, but it is unlikely that substantial aid will be cut, which will allow the illegal government to ride out the next 6 months until elections are held in November.

Governments in Latin America have stated they will not recognize any government elected during the November elections if the coup government remains in place until then, since such a process would not be considered legitimate or constitutional.

Posted by Eva Golinger at 11:08 AM

[Cheung Mo]

Well Obama is much more liberal than most Presidents we've had obviously and the people responsible made the error of not asking for permission first from the US govt., they just assumed the US would back them. The coup was such a blatant constitutional violation no one, including the US govt. is even going to attempt to defend it.

Wrong.

The U.S. stance reflects the fact that material realities in Latin America have changed dramatically since the days of Pinochet and the Salvadoran death squads. Worker and peasant movements, along with popular fronts, in many parts of Latin America have reached or are approaching a critical mass of support wherein any attempt by Washington to explicitly fight against them will only serve to radicalize the people of Latin America and exponentiate the downward spiral of American imperialist interests in its so-called backyard.

Furthermore, the dying empire is stuck playing defense, protecting itself against the direct threat posed tp ot by the more nihilistic and reactionary monsters it created and propped up for the purpose of having puppets with which it could undermine leftist movements and force the Soviet Union to collapse under its own weight. In playing defense, the U.S. is not able to have a free hand in Latin America, creating a feedback cycle and makes repressing these movements or creating clients to this work becomes a far more difficult task.

Obama does not deserve credit or blame for any of this; his predecessors and their backers created this situation.

[Dimentio]

Wrong.

The U.S. stance reflects the fact that material realities in Latin America have changed dramatically since the days of Pinochet and the Salvadoran death squads. Worker and peasant movements, along with popular fronts, in many parts of Latin America have reached or are approaching a critical mass of support wherein any attempt by Washington to explicitly fight against them will only serve to radicalize the people of Latin America and exponentiate the downward spiral of American imperialist interests in its so-called backyard.

Furthermore, the dying empire is stuck playing defense, protecting itself against the direct threat posed tp ot by the more nihilistic and reactionary monsters it created and propped up for the purpose of having puppets with which it could undermine leftist movements and force the Soviet Union to collapse under its own weight. In playing defense, the U.S. is not able to have a free hand in Latin America, creating a feedback cycle and makes repressing these movements or creating clients to this work becomes a far more difficult task.

Obama does not deserve credit or blame for any of this; his predecessors and their backers created this situation.

If the USA would have supported this coup in a stronger position, but would have been too weak to do it know, they would'nt have helped Zelaya. I do not know what the Obama administration is doing, but I have a feeling that Obama and Clinton do not entirely agree about the plans.

[Revy]

So because Obama says he doesn't support the coup, we have to take his word? Remember that the US under Bush denied involvement in the 2002 Venezuelan coup.

[Guerrilla22]

If the USA would have supported this coup in a stronger position, but would have been too weak to do it know, they would'nt have helped Zelaya. I do not know what the Obama administration is doing, but I have a feeling that Obama and Clinton do not entirely agree about the plans.

I think Honduras isnt too high on their list of priororities right now, which is why there hasn't been much of a response by the white house on the coup. There are several key votes in congress coming up and a major counter insurgency operation has just begun in Afghanistan.


Wrong.

The U.S. stance reflects the fact that material realities in Latin America have changed dramatically since the days of Pinochet and the Salvadoran death squads. Worker and peasant movements, along with popular fronts, in many parts of Latin America have reached or are approaching a critical mass of support wherein any attempt by Washington to explicitly fight against them will only serve to radicalize the people of Latin America and exponentiate the downward spiral of American imperialist interests in its so-called backyard

Which is pretty much what I said in the post before the one you replied to.

Me:

Only even a few years ago the same people that were running the military regimes were still running these countries, only they were doing so wearing suits as members of right-wing parties, working to ensure the interest of the small ruling class that controls most of the resources in the area.

Today we have liberal parties controlling these countries, but it is progress. Under these parties working class movements and actual left-wing parties are now able to orgainze. The military stepped in to protect the interest of the ruling class as they are tied to them. If the military is allowed to dictate the political discourse of a country still it will be a huge step backwards.


Obama does not deserve credit or blame for any of this; his predecessors and their backers created this situation

I never blamed Obama for anything. My point is that the people responsible for the coup did not take the time to go through channels with the US to get backing for the coup, which has been the standard for just about every right wing coup in Latin America. Honduras still is very much under the influence of the US government, especailly their military, which was in Iraq a few years ago and the US still feels they are the dominant palyer in the region and that other countries should be subject to their will when it comes to political discourse.

The people responsible for the coup no doubt thought they would have the backing of the US government regardless and the US government was no doubt upset that the conspirators didn't even ask for their approval first.

[politics student]

Honduras wavers on Zelaya vote
http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/7/3/20097303424163436_8.jpg Protests have continued in Honduras in the wake of the coup against Zelaya [AFP] The Honduran military-backed interim government has sent mixed messages about using the ballot box to resolve the crisis sparked by a coup against the country's elected president.
Shortly after saying a national referendum on reinstating the ousted Manuel Zelaya to the presidency was possible and that he had "no objection" to bringing forward November presidential elections, Roberto Micheletti, the interim president, told Al Jazeera the opposite.
Appearing to strike a more conciliatory tone just days after saying only a "foreign invasion" could reinstate Zelaya, Micheletti told reporters on Thursday that he would "have no objection if [holding polls earlier] would be a way of resolving these problems".
Speaking after swearing in his new cabinet in the capital, Tegucigalpa, Micheletti also said it would be possible to hold a national referendum on reinstating Zelaya to serve out the last few months of his presidency, though it would be "difficult" to do so immediately.
'Testing waters'
Pressed for details by Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman shortly after, however, Micheletti said congress would have to decide on the early polls and Zelaya could not sit in the president's seat again because it would go against Honduran law.

In video http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/6/28/2009628214633441734_8.jpg
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Honduran economy hurt by political instability (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/200972214427794207.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Pressure on Honduras
to reinstate Zelaya (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/20097121188228211.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif UN General Assembly condemns Honduras coup (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/200963021457654387.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Allies fret over coup (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/2009629201839590654.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Turmoil in Honduras (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/200962819322612274.html)

http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Pictures: Honduras crisis (http://aljazeera.net/english/photo_galleries/americas/20096301584289988.html)
The mixed signals indicate that the interim government is trying to test the waters to find some sort of accommodation with the international community, our Latin American editor said. "The only thing that's clear is that this interim government seems desperate to try to reverse its international isolation, but at the same time it seems to feel that it has enough local support to resist that international pressure," she added.
The announcement and subsequent apparent U-turn come a day after the Organisation of American States (OAS) warned Honduras of economic sanctions if Zelaya were not returned to office within 72 hours.
Al Jazeera's Marianna Sanchez, reporting from Tegucigalpa, said the OAS appeared to have no plans to negotiate with the interim government on the issue of Zelaya's full reinstatement.
Regional warning
The OAS has threatened to expel Honduras from the regional grouping if it fails to meet the Saturday deadline.

http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/7/3/20097303522852112_9.jpg Opponents and supporters held equally large rallies on Thursday [AFP] Jose Miguel Insulza, the OAS secretary general, is scheduled to visit Honduras on Friday. "We hope the coup leaders recognise the damage they are doing to the country and the world and allow the return of President Zelaya," Insulza told the Reuters news agency in Guyana.
At a news conference in Panama City, Zelaya urged his supporters to keep demonstrating.
"I call on the people to keep up the banners. The street is ours. They've taken the institutions away from us, but the street belongs to the people," he said.
Thousands of Zelaya supporters staged their largest demonstration since Sunday's coup as they marched from a military base to a UN office.
Police briefly used tear gas, but there were no reports of injuries or arrests.
An equal number of Micheletti backers marched in San Pedro Sula, the country's second largest city.
Police scuffled with Zelaya supporters in that northern city, leaving about a dozen with minor injuries.
Police chief Leonel Sauceda told the Associated Press that 78 people were arrested for vandalism, all of them Zelaya supporters, and that a Salvadoran photographer was briefly detained.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/20097303711199722.html

[Kyrite]

A group of my friends are going there on a college research trip in a few weeks...

[Wakizashi the Bolshevik]

A group of my friends are going there on a college research trip in a few weeks...
Hopefully they return unharmed, the situation is getting more tense every day.

[politics student]

Honduras pushed to restore Zelaya

http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/7/3/200973191810602833_5.jpg Zelaya has said it is the international community's responsibility to ensure his reinstatement [EPA] The head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) has arrived in Honduras to demand the reinstatement of Manuel Zelaya, its ousted president.
Jose Miguel Insulza will push for Zelaya to be restored to power when he meets members of congress and the supreme court during his short visit on Friday.

The 35-member OAS has set a Saturday deadline for Honduras to comply with its demands.
"I cannot say I'm confident, I will do everything I can, but I think it will be very hard to turn things around in a couple of days," Insulza said.

The OAS has threatened to expel Honduras from the regional grouping if it fails to meet its deadline.
Crisis proposals
Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera's Latin America editor, said that several scenarios to solve the crisis had been proposed by OAS member states.
"One of them is that this de facto government, as the OAS calls it, would issue a blanket amnesty that would annul the arrest order for Zelaya," she reported from the capital, Tegucigalpa.

In video http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/6/28/2009628214633441734_8.jpg
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Honduran economy hurt by political instability (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/200972214427794207.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Pressure on Honduras
to reinstate Zelaya (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/20097121188228211.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif UN General Assembly condemns Honduras coup (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/200963021457654387.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Allies fret over coup (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/2009629201839590654.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Turmoil in Honduras (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/200962819322612274.html)

http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Pictures: Honduras crisis (http://aljazeera.net/english/photo_galleries/americas/20096301584289988.html)
"In exchange, elections [currently scheduled for January] would be brought forward. But the deposed president would have to be reinstated [pending the election's outcome]. I understand that this proposal was put forward by Argentina."
However, the military-backed interim government and Roberto Micheletti, the interim president, have said that while they will consider bringing forward the elections, they are not willing to reinstate Zelaya for any length of time.
A large demonstration in support of the interim government went ahead in Tegucigalpa as Insluza arrived in the country.
But supporters of Zelaya say that they have been prevented from gathering in the city by security forces.
"The pro-Micheletti demonstration is huge. Pro-coup supporters have been bussed in from all over the country, we understand," Newman reported.
"But on the other hand, those [pro-Zelaya supporters] who wanted to demonstrate in front of the head of the OAS have been kept away; their buses have not been allowed to enter the capital."
'No government talks'



Insulza has already said he will not talk to members of the military-backed interim government as his organisation does not recognise it.
"We are not going to Honduras to negotiate, we are going to Honduras to ask them to change what they have been doing now, and find ways in which we can return to normalcy," he said before his trip.
Newman said that the current crisis is the "biggest challenge that the OAS has ever had to face".
"There is absolute consensus in the international community that they have to use their diplomatic might to reverse this coup d'etat. There is consensus that this kind of thing can not happen, and should not happen," she said.
Zelaya has vowed to return to Honduras on Saturday, despite warnings he will be arrested.
He has said it was the responsibility of the international community to ensure he was reinstated.
At a news conference in Panama City, Zelaya urged his supporters to keep demonstrating.
"I call on the people to keep up the banners. The street is ours. They've taken the institutions away from us, but the street belongs to the people," he said.


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/200973185056576312.html

Good luck on your friends. I am considering this event for my dissertation depending on how the situation turns out and depending on how the international pressure affects it.

[Dimentio]

So because Obama says he doesn't support the coup, we have to take his word? Remember that the US under Bush denied involvement in the 2002 Venezuelan coup.

If he had done like that, he would at least have recognised the coup government and not allowed Zelaya to fly from the USA.

[KurtFF8]

I think the Obama administration's stance does show that real political differences do come from having one party in power over the other in the United States.

Obviously both parties are imperialist/bourgeois parties but their strategy certainly does vary significantly. Take each parties stance on how to deal with capitalism itself: one believes capitalism needs more management to run smoother while the other takes a more ideological "hands off" approach.

These differences arise in foreign policy as well. The GOP wanted Obama to come out more openly in support of the resistance in Iran to try to get a further US foothold in the country, while Obama decided to take a more measured approach (yet they both have the same goals).

Obama certainly wants the US to retain its "leadership role" in the world, and has been quite explicit about this. This obviously also includes Latin America, and he is of course attempting to retain US influence, but as someone said earlier: US influence in the world is diminishing in general: so their approach cannot be so direct (as the GOP would likely do).

[Wakizashi the Bolshevik]

The capitalist powers just can't afford supporting a fascist coup government.
They're trying to appear human by "supporting" Zelaya.

[Anarkiwi]

They will never be human as long as they support
israle and the genocide of palestein

[Kyrite]

Hopefully they return unharmed, the situation is getting more tense every day.

I hope so :(

[politics student]

Honduras rejects Zelaya restoration

http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/7/3/2009732306552140_5.jpg Micheletti has stood firm in face of calls to
reinstate the ousted president [Reuters] Honduras's supreme court has rejected an ultimatum by the Organisation of American States (OAS) to reinstate the country's president after he was deposed in a military-backed coup.
The president of the court rejected a call by Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the OAS, on Friday to restore Manuel Zelaya to power, Danilo Izaguirre, a court spokesman, said.
"Insulza asked Honduras to reinstate Zelaya, but the president of the court categorically answered that there is an arrest warrant for him," he said in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital.
"Now the OAS has to decide what it will do."
The OAS chief had flown to Honduras on Friday to demand that the interim government restore Zelaya.
The 35-member OAS has set a Saturday deadline for the military-backed interim government to comply with its demands.

In video http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/6/28/2009628214633441734_8.jpg
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Honduran economy hurt by political instability (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/200972214427794207.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Pressure on Honduras
to reinstate Zelaya (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/20097121188228211.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif UN General Assembly condemns Honduras coup (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/200963021457654387.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Allies fret over coup (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/2009629201839590654.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Turmoil in Honduras (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/200962819322612274.html)

http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Pictures: Honduras crisis (http://aljazeera.net/english/photo_galleries/americas/20096301584289988.html)
It has threatened to expel Honduras from the regional grouping if it fails to meet its deadline. Cristina Fernandez, the Argentine president, will accompany Zelaya from Washington DC, the US capital, to Honduras on Sunday, an Argentine government source said on Friday.
"Tonight she's traveling to Washington. On Sunday, she'll leave from Washington to Honduras," the source told reporters, on condition of anonymity.
Rafael Correa, Ecuador's president, and Miguel D'Escoto, the president of the UN General Assembly, will also accompany Zelaya, the source said.
Crisis proposals
Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera's Latin America editor, said that several scenarios to solve the crisis had been proposed by OAS member states.
"One of them is that this de facto government, as the OAS calls it, would issue a blanket amnesty that would annul the arrest order for Zelaya," she reported from Tegucigalpa.
"In exchange, elections [currently scheduled for January] would be brought forward. But the deposed president would have to be reinstated [pending the election's outcome]. I understand that this proposal was put forward by Argentina."
However, the military-backed interim government and Roberto Micheletti, the interim president, have said that while they will consider bringing forward the elections, they are not willing to reinstate Zelaya for any length of time.
Opposing demonstrations
A large demonstration in support of the interim government went ahead in Tegucigalpa as Insulza arrived in Honduras.

http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/7/3/200973191810602833_3.jpg Zelaya is set to return to Honduras accompanied by regional presidents [EPA]
But supporters of Zelaya trying to enter the capital said they were prevented from joining a large demonstration in the city calling for the deposed president to be reinstated. "The pro-Micheletti demonstration is huge. Pro-coup supporters have been bussed in from all over the country, we understand," Newman reported.
"But on the other hand, those [pro-Zelaya supporters] who wanted to demonstrate in front of the head of the OAS have been kept away; their buses have not been allowed to enter the capital."
Insulza has already said he will not talk to members of the military-backed interim government since his organisation does not recognise it.
Newman said that the current crisis is the "biggest challenge that the OAS has ever had to face".
"There is absolute consensus in the international community that they have to use their diplomatic might to reverse this coup d'etat. There is consensus that this kind of thing can not happen, and should not happen," she said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/200973213436781636.html

The BBC reports of large anti gov protests and large pro gov supporter rallies being around the same size in the city makes sense now. This may turn more violent... :(

[Glenn Beck]

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/200973213436781636.html

The BBC reports of large anti gov protests and large pro gov supporter rallies being around the same size in the city makes sense now. This may turn more violent... :(

I saw video of the pro-coup 'protests' on teleSUR and they looked like total bs. They passed around printed white shirts to everyone and had them all chant "it's not a coup!". Also from the video footage its clear that the pro-coup rallies are in well-heeled areas secured by the military while the anti-coup protests tend to culminate in rioting and seem to mostly be located in poorer areas.

Honduras has 70% poverty and I'm highly skeptical all those people are besides themselves with excitement over their new so-called president. As for violence that's already taking place, with the military and police using all kinds of force and intimidation to keep the masses in line.

[Glenn Beck]

I think the Obama administration's stance does show that real political differences do come from having one party in power over the other in the United States.

Obviously both parties are imperialist/bourgeois parties but their strategy certainly does vary significantly. Take each parties stance on how to deal with capitalism itself: one believes capitalism needs more management to run smoother while the other takes a more ideological "hands off" approach.

These differences arise in foreign policy as well. The GOP wanted Obama to come out more openly in support of the resistance in Iran to try to get a further US foothold in the country, while Obama decided to take a more measured approach (yet they both have the same goals).

Obama certainly wants the US to retain its "leadership role" in the world, and has been quite explicit about this. This obviously also includes Latin America, and he is of course attempting to retain US influence, but as someone said earlier: US influence in the world is diminishing in general: so their approach cannot be so direct (as the GOP would likely do).

A chastened Zelaya is probably better for their interests in the long term then backinga controversial coup. In this respect Obama is playing both sides.

[L.J.Solidarity]

At the moment Zelaya is returning to Tegucigalpa by plane. 500000 supporters came to the airport, military and police apparently murdered 2 of them (1 16 years old) and injured others by gunfire, accordung to teleSUR

[DancingLarry]

Report now that the second one killed was 10 years old.

[politics student]

News (http://english.aljazeera.net/)Americas
Clashes as Zelaya attempts return

http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/7/5/200975141220675580_5.jpg Zelaya has vowed to return after the military
forced him into exile on June 28 [AFP] A child has been killed and several people injured at the airport in the Honduran capital as security forces clashed with supporters anticipating the return of Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president.
Al Jazeera's Mariana Sanchez, reporting from the airport in Tegucigalpa, said a child around 10-12-years-old had been killed and several people injured as troops used what appeared to be live bullets against protesters.
Honduran emergency services confirmed on Sunday that a child had been killed and a Red Cross spokesman said it was treating about 30 people for injuries.
Security forces have now closed Tegucigalpa airport after firing tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters gathered there as Zelaya headed towards a possible confrontation with the armed forces as he entered Honduran airspace in a small passenger jet from Washington DC.
Zelaya, who was forced from power on June 28, vowed to return to Honduras on Sunday despite the interim government saying it would refuse to let his aircraft land.
"As president I will go to rejoin my people, ask for peace and not violence, and try to resolve everything in an atmosphere of brotherhood," he said.

Watch Riz Khan http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2008/11/17/2008111713637262734_8.jpg (http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2009/07/200973212740207152.html)
Watch Riz on the death of democracy on Monday at 2030GMT.
(http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2009/07/200973212740207152.html)
Programme schedule (http://english.aljazeera.net/SERVICES/Schedule/ProgramSchedule.aspx) Crowds of Zelaya supporters flocked to the airport in Tegucigalpa after the announcement.
Several other aircraft carrying Cristina Fernandez, Rafael Correa and Fernando Lugo, the presidents of Argentina, Ecuador and Paraguay respectively, as well as Jose Miguel Insulza, the head of the Organisation of American States (OAS), left Washington at the same time
They were expected to see what happened to Zelaya before deciding whether to land in Honduras.
Shortly after Zelaya left Washington, the aviation agency in Honduras said the jet had been directed to head for El Salvador.
It was not clear if the pilot would comply with the order.
Arrest threat

In video http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/6/28/2009628214633441734_8.jpg
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Hondurans fear coup impact
(http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/20097571953738203.html)http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Honduran economy hurt by political instability (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/200972214427794207.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif UN General Assembly condemns Honduras coup (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/200963021457654387.html)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Turmoil in Honduras (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/06/200962819322612274.html)

http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/sq.gif Pictures: Honduras crisis (http://aljazeera.net/english/photo_galleries/americas/20096301584289988.html)
If Zelaya does manage to set foot in Honduras, the interim government has said it will arrest him for 18 alleged criminal acts including treason and failing to implement more than 80 laws approved by congress since taking office in 2006.
As tensions rose, leaders of the interim government gave a televised news conference and called for dialogue with the OAS.
"The Republic of Honduras has communicated to the representative of the OAS in Tegucigalpa that it is willing, with the aim of conducting conversations in good faith with a mission of representatives of the secretary general," Martha Lorena Alvarado, the interim deputy foreign minister, said.
The OAS, a hemispheric bloc dedicated to strengthening political co-operation and reforms, suspended Honduras's membership of the body on Saturday.
Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera's Latin America editor, said it was not clear if the OAS would agree to talk to what it calls an "illegitimate" government.
"They [the interim government] are trying to find a way out of this that will not result in Zelaya returning to power," she said from Tegucigalpa.
"They are trying to appease the international community, they are trying to sound conciliatory."
Nicaragua claims
Meanwhile, Roberto Micheletti, who was sworn in as president after the coup, told the news conference that the Nicaraguan military was moving towards their shared border.

http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/7/5/20097521160216734_3.jpg Riot police and troops have been deployed around the airport in Tegucigalpa [AFP] "We have been informed that in the sector of Nicaragua some troops are moving toward the border," he said. "I would like, respectfully to ask our Nicaraguan brothers not to cross our borders as we are gong to defend them."
A Nicaraguan army spokesman said that the Honduran accusations were "totally false".
Francisco Dominguez, the head of the centre of Brazilian and Latin American studies at Middlesex University in the UK, said he did not believe that there was any basis to the claims that the Nicaraguan military could become involved.
"I think it is a very desperate manoeuvre to divert attention from the crisis they are in the middle of," he told Al Jazeera. "I have never seen a regime so isolated as this one."
Colin Harding, a Latin America analyst in London, said Zelaya was "hoping to force a showdown" by returning to Honduras.
"I think he wants to provoke the interim regime in Honduras into trying to arrest him. I think there is a certain sort of martyrdom attitude in the air," he told Al Jazeera.
"It's possible that we've got brinkmanship here, which will lead to some sort of compromise, which may conceivably allow Zelaya to return at a later date, to bring forward the election date to save the face of both sides."
The president was removed from power as he was about to press ahead with a non-binding referendum that his domestic critics said was aimed at changing the constitution to enable him to run again for office.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/20097522550403325.html

[Blackscare]

Don't know if this has been posted, but here's the link to the live feed out of Telasur

http://telesur_origin.media.ultrabase.net:8080/gigajsp/player.swf?fullscreen=true&bufferlength=5&streamer=rtmp://174.129.92.26/rtplive&file=telesur.flv&autostart=true&volume=50



*Edit*

Thanks to Gonzeau for the original link and translating in chat, and thanks to ls for fiddling with the code to make it full browser-window size.

[RedScare]

This reads like a political suspense movie. I'm hoping Zeyala is returned to power, if only to discourage future coups by the military in Latin America.

[ckaihatsu]

Honduran troops kill anti-coup demonstrators at Tegucigalpa airport

By Barry Grey
6 July 2009

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/hond-j06.shtml


The US and the Honduran coup

1 July 2009

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/pers-j01.shtml

[h9socialist]

Regardless of opinions on the interests of the Obama Administration, it is in the interest of the Left not to allow the ghost of Castillo Armas to succeed. Isolating the fascists is in all of our interests -- the old "strange bed fellows" thing can have practical uses at times.

[ckaihatsu]

Honduras: One week after the coup – mass mobilisation continues – Army prevents Zelaya’s come back

By Jorge Martín Monday, 06 July 2009

All kinds of manoeuvres are taking place after the coup in Honduras. The coup organisers want to hold on, but pressure is being brought to bear for some kind of compromise solution, which however cannot satisfy the masses. The only real answer lies in the full mobilisation of the Honduran workers and peasants.

http://www.marxist.com/honduras-army-prevents-zelaya-come-back.htm



[From HOV] Hands Off Venezuela against coup in Honduras

By Hands Off Venezuela Monday, 06 July 2009

Hands Off Venezuela has participated in pickets and made statements against the coup in Honduras. Here we publicise a number of links to articles and reports on handsoffvenezuela.org.

http://www.marxist.com/hov-against-coup-in-honduras.htm

[L.J.Solidarity]

I just found an interesting article from a German state- and business-funded political science institute. The author claims that the majority of the population supports the coup (wich I am not inclined to believe) and that Zelaya's decision to join ALBA and officially embrace "chavismo" with his administration was a mere reaction to his power base among the establishment growing weaker and not a true change in political views. This seems quite credible to me, as apparently Zelaya and the current coup "president" Micheletti had a bargain that Zelaya would support Micheletti in the next presidential elections if Micheletti and his cronies voted in favor of joining ALBA in parliament.
The author further states that the country's fate depends on the US, as Honduran economy is completely dependent on exports to the US.
The article (in German) can be read here (http://www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/content/publikationen/pdf/gf_lateinamerika_0907.pdf).

[ckaihatsu]

Postcards from the Revolution

Tuesday, July 7, 2009


DAY 10: MTG WITH CLINTON OVER; COSTA RICAN PRESIDENT OSCAR ARIAS WILL LEAD "NEGOTIATIONS" WITH COUP GOVT IN HONDURAS


President Zelaya's meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just concluded in the State Department's offices in Washington. President Zelaya is still meeting right now with Sub-Secretary of State Thomas Shannon and National Security Council Advisor on Latin America, Dan Restrepo. Clinton gave several remarks at the end of the meeting with President Zelaya, announcing that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias will lead "negotiations" between President Zelaya and the coup government in order to reestablish constitutional order in the country. Clinton refused to respond clearly to a question regarding whether or not the US Government was formally and legally considering the events in Honduras as a "coup d'etat", stating that since "negotiations" and "diplomatic efforts" are going on now, Washington prefers not to comment more on the situation. Clinton, and later State Department spokesperson Ian Kelly, would not comment on the presence of the coup representatives delegation in Washington today, invited by Senator John McCain. Nor would they respond to inquiries regarding alleged meetings between those coup government representatives and Sub-Secretary of State Thomas Shannon.

The main question here is why any negotiations at all are being conducted with a criminal, coup government that violently kidnapped and forced a democratically elected president into exile. The US government says it won't negotiate with terrorists, yet it will negotiate with criminals, repressors, human rights violators, kidnappers and coup leaders. And, its letting them roam freely through the halls of Congress today.

Posted by Eva Golinger at 1:46 PM


http://www.chavezcode.com/2009/07/day-10-mtg-with-clinton-over-costa.html

[ckaihatsu]

This last week of struggle has been a very rich school of political
education for the masses. Under the whip of repression their political
understanding has developed by leaps and bounds. All that Zelaya
wanted, apparently, was to carry out a consultation on the possibility
of a referendum to decide on a Constituent Assembly! And just because
of that, the oligarchy en bloc organised a military-civilian coup.

http://www.marxist.com/honduras-army-prevents-zelaya-come-back.htm

[Wanted Man]

Interesting bit:



But whilst all this is clearly bound to displease the US administration, it is presently, to some extent, a prisoner of its own incessant rhetoric about ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights’, with which it seeks to speciously attack socialist and progressive countries. Hence, the Obama administration has presently joined the international verbal condemnation of the coup. However, it would be dangerous and short-sighted to take such verbal protestations at face value. As the Wall Street Journal noted:


“While the US position put it on the same side as leftist [sic] such as Messrs Chavez and Ortega, who normally clash with the US over regional issues, Mrs Clinton also signalled the US might try to find a negotiated solution to the crisis that didn’t necessarily mean Mr Zelaya would be returned to power. ” (‘Nations condemn Honduras coup’, 30 June 2009)


http://marxistleninist.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/cpgb-ml-statement-hands-off-honduras/



Also, let's not forget that the coup leaders are graduates of the good old School of Assassins (http://ncronline.org/news/global/honduran-coup-leader-two-time-soa-graduate).

[cyu]

Excerpts from http://www.periodico26.cu/english/news_world/july2009/hondurans-strike070609.html

Teachers and workers in Honduras are on strike since Monday for an unlimited period of time

The Federation of Magisterial Organizations and others of workers that belong to the Popular Bloc convened the strike of teachers, which are anti-coup entities that condemn the military coup and reject the de-facto government.

The whole educational sector is on strike, said magisterial leader Reina Centeno.

[Pawn Power]

A photo essay (http://mimundo-jamesrodriguez.blogspot.com/)

[ckaihatsu]

http://www.escambray.cu/Eng/Special/CoupHonduras/Croadblocks090710321.htm


Honduras: Road Blocks Demand Coupists Out



Tegucigalpa, Jul 10 (Prensa Latina) The National Front against the Coup in Honduras extended today the road blocks to vast regions in the country to demand the end of the de facto regime and the return to the institutional order.

The blocks include the roads linking the capital with San Pedro Sula, second city in importance and the one leading north where the main industrial zone of the country is located.

Roads and bridges in Progreso, Olancho, at the border with Guatemala and El Salvador and in all the Caribbean coast, where US transnationals ship banana, said Juan Barahona, coordinator of the Popular Bloc.

"The Honduran people maintains street resistance. We have blocked the country," declared Barahona in an interview with Prensa Latina. The popular leader denounced army repression against peaceful demonstrations and the arrest during the last hours of at least five youths in Tegucigalpa and Olancho.

The Central American country entered today in its 13rd day under curfew decreed by the de facto regime which took power after the coup d�Etat against president Manuel Zelaya.

"We are decided to continue the struggle until the coupists are ousted," expressed Barahona and announced the continuation of protests and the celebration of a National Assembly next week to define new strategies.

About talks in Costa Rica with the mediation of president Oscar Arias, Barahona said the coupists are playing to delay their time in power, showing they have the empire support.



Zelaya Meets Fernandez in DomRep



Santo Domingo, Jul 10 (Prensa Latina) Honduran Constitutional President Manuel Zelaya began talks here Friday with his Dominican peer Leonel Fernandez shortly after his arrival at Las Americas International Airport.

The leader arrived at nearly 7:00 (11:00 GMT) on a private flight and was welcomed by the Presidency Secretary Cesar Pina Toribio.

Zelaya's visit was announced Thursday afternoon by presidential spokesman who only talked about his arrival and meeting with Dominican President.

Zelaya was welcome with military honors at the National Palace, Executive headquarters, in Gazcue central district and immediately met his host.



Hondurans Must Save Honduras



Mexico, Jul 10 (Prensa Latina) Only the people can remove the illegitimate government of Honduras and bring back Constitutional President Manuel Zelaya, Culture Minister Rodolfo Pastro Fasquell of that country stated here.

Fasquell spoke in front of his country's embassy in Mexico, where social, grassroots and union movements demanded an end to the coup d'etat, and said Costa Rican President Oscar Arias must not negotiate with the illegitimate government of Roberto Micheletti.

Referring to the criminal action imposed on the Central American nation, the official, visiting Mexico thanks to a political operation that removed him from obligatory refuge in his native land, recalled an old saying of the continent, "People only redeem the people."

The world must know that what has passed is a plot by business people from corporations who wanted to maintain their privileges, against the development of their nation, Fasquell declared.

Honduras has the highest and most monstrous rates of poverty in Latin America, he recalled.

[L.J.Solidarity]

Zelaya now calls for strikes, roadblocks and mass demonstrations after Micheletti's "government" refused once again to step down and let him return to Honduras.
I doubt that his words will have much of an influence, I understand that Honduran workers have been demonstrating and blocking roads for weeks now and some also went on strike, while a general strike seems to be impossible due to unions being weak and/or pets of the coup-supporting capitalists.
Does anybody know whether teachers and students are still striking? And do you think it's still possible for the masses to bring down the coup "government"? I fear it's not very likely due to a lack of working class organizations (be it unions or a mass party) in Honduras. Probably the new (actually mostly also the old) rulers will simply hold presidential elections in autumn, US and OAS supervisors will declare them "mostly" fair and foreign relations are going to return to normal (pre-2007).

[cyu]

Excerpts from http://www.anarkismo.net/article/13758

Nearly two weeks after the coup, fear of detention and disappearance by the security forces, fear of violence in the demonstrations, fear that their houses will be raided and their families harmed, is currently a daily reality for women. Women in poverty-stricken country villages report that the army is forcing their young sons – many of them minors – into military service.

The lives of both women and men are being made difficult and dangerous by the daily curfew between the early hours of the evening and the early morning, and by the suspension of the rights of association and organisation, freedom of movement, of speech and to protest.

Mirta Kennedy, director of one women’s organisation, the Honduran Women’s Studies Centre (CEM-H), reports:

‘Our office is under surveillance every day by police or civilian operatives in vehicles with tinted windows … We are taking part in demonstrations hemmed in by heavily-armed soldiers and police with riot shields, there are tanks and cannon, and there are snipers on the roofs.’

‘We’re not followers of Mel [Zelaya], but we are against military coups

‘How can there be peace where people cannot go about after a certain hour … if buses are held up … if the media are controlled … if demonstrations are repressed? How can there be peace at bayonet point? ... For the people – not for those ladies swanning out of the beauty salons with security, with protection, but for the workers and peasants who struggle every day to make ends meet – this is not peace.’

[cyu]

Honduran police join general strike against current regime

Excerpts from http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2009/julio/vier24/Honduras.html

The three principal labor unions in Honduras are maintaining a general strike in the state sector for the second day this Friday, supported by road blocks put in place by the popular forces repudiating the coup d’état.

The popular actions cut off the country’s principal ports on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as highways connecting the capital with the northern part of the country.

Many people called Radio Globo, a radio station that is keeping its microphones open for the people, to report that they had been victims of repression by the army forces who attempted to halt their movement.

In addition, a new problem has presented itself to the de facto government headed by the entrepreneur Roberto Micheletti: police discontent over delays in paying their wages, which has provoked a strike by some agents

Daniel Molina, an official police spokesman, tried to downplay the issue, assuring the press that it was merely related to administrative problems.

Nevertheless, officers interviewed by TV Channel 36 – the only station with a critical stance toward the June 28 coup – said that they will not attend to their duties until their complaints are resolved.