Zelaya: the Betrayer of His People
Courtesy of Marianela Jiminez, AP Writer, "Honduran crisis talks resume after stalemate," http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090719/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_honduras_coup
As those following this crisis presumably know, on June 28th, the Honduran military, acting on the request of the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court, removed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya from power for his many violations of Honduran law, culminating in a brazen violation of he Honduran Constitution. Unfortunately for Honduras, the Hondurans decided to be merciful to the man who would have made himself President For Life, and chose to exile him instead of put him to death (capital punishment is not provided for in Honduran law, but all it would have taken would have been one or two gunshots in the heat of the moment to rid Honduras of this incubus).
Exile as an alternative to death is an old Latin American tradition of mercy in coups and pronunicmentios: the existence of the custom is one reason why Latin America is a happier part of the world than is, say, Sub-Saharan Africa. But Zelaya promptly demonstrated why it is unwise to give mercy to the unscrupulous. No sooner had he left his country's borders than he promptly began organizing a foreign reaction against that very same country, with the intent of hurting Honduras until the Hondurans would be forced to accept him back as President.
Backed by the vile Venezuelan, Hugo Chavez, who has organized precisely the same sort of coup-from-above in Venezuela as Zelaya was attempting to organize in Honduras, the Organization of American States imposed an embargo against Honduras -- an embargo that is probably costing the already-poor nation millions of dollars a day. Zelaya, who claims to care about the poor of Honduras, apparently does not think that their suffering means much compared to the more important issue of his own return to power.
Talks to end the Honduran political crisis were bogged down Sunday over the key issue between both sides: ousted President Manuel Zelaya's return to fill the remaining months of his term.
While Zelaya's negotiators said they agree in principle to a proposed compromise from Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, the government that deposed Zelaya refused to budge on its insistence that he would be arrested and prosecuted if he returns.
The negotiating team Sunday guaranteed only that he would have "due process."
Unless the interim government backs down, Zelaya has vowed to return home within days to reclaim the presidency - an action that some say could set off a civil war.
Note the positions, here filtered through the MSM's blatant bias. Zelaya insists that he be allowed not merely to return to the country, but to return to power, even though this would be against the Honduran Constitution (he lost the right to complete his term when he attempted the plebiscite). By contrast Michiletti, the Acting-President of Honduras, is willing to resign immediately if this will end the crisis:
The delegation of interim President Roberto Micheletti on Sunday endorsed several of Arias' proposals, including a government of national reconciliation, early elections and removing the president's power over the military ahead of the vote.
So which of these two loves his country, and which is willing to betray its sovereignity to foreigners, not for a restoration of democracy (for Micheletti was acting in accordance with the democratically-adopted Constitution of Honduras) but simply for personal power? Which of them is declaring himself to be above the law of the land?
Instead, the interim government offered to create a truth commission to "let the Honduran people and the international community see all the acts that led to the current situation," according to letter signed by interim Foreign Relations Secretary Carlos Lopez.
Note that it Micheletti who is unafraid to see the truth out, while it is Zelaya who is at the very least uninterested in such questions.
Zelaya's ouster is a major test of Latin American democracy and of the Obama administration's policy toward the region. The U.S., United Nations and Organization of American States have demanded that Zelaya be returned to power. No foreign government has recognized Micheletti.
Here we see that the whole world has betrayed Honduras. But the worst betrayal was that of America, her main ally, and the one country which Honduras should have been able to count upon to defend her from the threat of a man who would be king, and his Communist foreign backers.
(Why has Obama done this? Why does he specifically recoil with horror at the spectacle of a President deposed for violating his own Constitution? Makes you wonder what Obama has planned, doesn't it?)
This betrayal is important because the only reason there is a crisis, the only reason why a criminal like Zelaya is even in a position to make demands of the Honduran government and receive anything but laughter in response, is because this widespread foreign support of Zelaya -- specifically, on the part of Venezuela and Cuba -- and Honduras' abandonment by its normal allies -- specifically, America and the OAS -- make Zelaya's threat of a guerilla attack against Honduras credible. Cuba and Venezuela are considerably stronger than Honduras, and -- if America declares herself a neutral morally on Zelaya's side -- there is no way the Hondurans can prevent these Communist dictatorships from at least shipping supplies to the rebels.
Unless the interim government backs down, Zelaya has vowed to return home within days to reclaim the presidency - an action that some say could set off a civil war.
Bend your mind around this threat. In order to recover a Presidency of which he has been deprived by his own country's Supreme Court, and avoid prosecution for some 88 separate felonies, Zelaya is not only willing to organize the economic isolation of his country, he is willing to cause the horrors of a civil war.
I don't know what's going to happen. With America run by Obama, it is possible that evil will win this time, and Zelaya sit smugly on a Honduran throne, amusing himself with the sufferings of his political enemies.
But there is still hope. Zelaya is only one man, and he right now must be very hated in Honduras -- he's almost certainly far from even the narrow majority of his original election. Perhaps some Honduran patriot, with one well-aimed bullet, will end Zelaya's foul vitality, and send his dark soul screaming down to the Hell it has so thoroughly earned ...
... and Honduras will live, democratic and free.
As those following this crisis presumably know, on June 28th, the Honduran military, acting on the request of the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court, removed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya from power for his many violations of Honduran law, culminating in a brazen violation of he Honduran Constitution. Unfortunately for Honduras, the Hondurans decided to be merciful to the man who would have made himself President For Life, and chose to exile him instead of put him to death (capital punishment is not provided for in Honduran law, but all it would have taken would have been one or two gunshots in the heat of the moment to rid Honduras of this incubus).
Exile as an alternative to death is an old Latin American tradition of mercy in coups and pronunicmentios: the existence of the custom is one reason why Latin America is a happier part of the world than is, say, Sub-Saharan Africa. But Zelaya promptly demonstrated why it is unwise to give mercy to the unscrupulous. No sooner had he left his country's borders than he promptly began organizing a foreign reaction against that very same country, with the intent of hurting Honduras until the Hondurans would be forced to accept him back as President.
Backed by the vile Venezuelan, Hugo Chavez, who has organized precisely the same sort of coup-from-above in Venezuela as Zelaya was attempting to organize in Honduras, the Organization of American States imposed an embargo against Honduras -- an embargo that is probably costing the already-poor nation millions of dollars a day. Zelaya, who claims to care about the poor of Honduras, apparently does not think that their suffering means much compared to the more important issue of his own return to power.
Talks to end the Honduran political crisis were bogged down Sunday over the key issue between both sides: ousted President Manuel Zelaya's return to fill the remaining months of his term.
While Zelaya's negotiators said they agree in principle to a proposed compromise from Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, the government that deposed Zelaya refused to budge on its insistence that he would be arrested and prosecuted if he returns.
The negotiating team Sunday guaranteed only that he would have "due process."
Unless the interim government backs down, Zelaya has vowed to return home within days to reclaim the presidency - an action that some say could set off a civil war.
Note the positions, here filtered through the MSM's blatant bias. Zelaya insists that he be allowed not merely to return to the country, but to return to power, even though this would be against the Honduran Constitution (he lost the right to complete his term when he attempted the plebiscite). By contrast Michiletti, the Acting-President of Honduras, is willing to resign immediately if this will end the crisis:
The delegation of interim President Roberto Micheletti on Sunday endorsed several of Arias' proposals, including a government of national reconciliation, early elections and removing the president's power over the military ahead of the vote.
So which of these two loves his country, and which is willing to betray its sovereignity to foreigners, not for a restoration of democracy (for Micheletti was acting in accordance with the democratically-adopted Constitution of Honduras) but simply for personal power? Which of them is declaring himself to be above the law of the land?
Instead, the interim government offered to create a truth commission to "let the Honduran people and the international community see all the acts that led to the current situation," according to letter signed by interim Foreign Relations Secretary Carlos Lopez.
Note that it Micheletti who is unafraid to see the truth out, while it is Zelaya who is at the very least uninterested in such questions.
Zelaya's ouster is a major test of Latin American democracy and of the Obama administration's policy toward the region. The U.S., United Nations and Organization of American States have demanded that Zelaya be returned to power. No foreign government has recognized Micheletti.
Here we see that the whole world has betrayed Honduras. But the worst betrayal was that of America, her main ally, and the one country which Honduras should have been able to count upon to defend her from the threat of a man who would be king, and his Communist foreign backers.
(Why has Obama done this? Why does he specifically recoil with horror at the spectacle of a President deposed for violating his own Constitution? Makes you wonder what Obama has planned, doesn't it?)
This betrayal is important because the only reason there is a crisis, the only reason why a criminal like Zelaya is even in a position to make demands of the Honduran government and receive anything but laughter in response, is because this widespread foreign support of Zelaya -- specifically, on the part of Venezuela and Cuba -- and Honduras' abandonment by its normal allies -- specifically, America and the OAS -- make Zelaya's threat of a guerilla attack against Honduras credible. Cuba and Venezuela are considerably stronger than Honduras, and -- if America declares herself a neutral morally on Zelaya's side -- there is no way the Hondurans can prevent these Communist dictatorships from at least shipping supplies to the rebels.
Unless the interim government backs down, Zelaya has vowed to return home within days to reclaim the presidency - an action that some say could set off a civil war.
Bend your mind around this threat. In order to recover a Presidency of which he has been deprived by his own country's Supreme Court, and avoid prosecution for some 88 separate felonies, Zelaya is not only willing to organize the economic isolation of his country, he is willing to cause the horrors of a civil war.
I don't know what's going to happen. With America run by Obama, it is possible that evil will win this time, and Zelaya sit smugly on a Honduran throne, amusing himself with the sufferings of his political enemies.
But there is still hope. Zelaya is only one man, and he right now must be very hated in Honduras -- he's almost certainly far from even the narrow majority of his original election. Perhaps some Honduran patriot, with one well-aimed bullet, will end Zelaya's foul vitality, and send his dark soul screaming down to the Hell it has so thoroughly earned ...
... and Honduras will live, democratic and free.