A mess in Honduras
November 27th, 2009 | by admin |
Honduras is one of the most economically unequal societies in the world. Earlier this year, the president, “Mel” Zelaya, proposed a non-binding opinion poll to determine whether Honduran voters wanted to hold a constituent assembly to write a new, more democratic constitution that would enable a better balance of the nation’s resources.
The country’s wealthy rulers were outraged. The night of June 28, the army dragged President Zelaya out of bed and put him on a plane to Costa Rica in his pajamas. The head of the Congress, Roberto Micheletti, was installed as president.
The Organization of American States unanimously denounced this action and refused to recognize Micheletti’s government. Justification of the coup — that Zelaya planned to use the referendum to have himself re-elected for an unconstitutional second term — was dismissed as an obviously bogus pretext.
Big non-violent protests demanded restoration of Zelaya and a constitutional convention. Micheletti responded with media censorship and murder, prison, torture, and rape for demonstrators. A growing non-violent resistance movement is calling for a boycott of the Nov. 29 elections.
Independent polling indicates that the Honduran people overwhelmingly reject the legitimacy of Michelleti’s government. OAS Secretary General Insulza refuses to send election monitors, since that would legitimize an election marred by censorship and repression.
Nevertheless, based on remarks by U.S. State Department officials, many observers fear that the Obama administration will ultimately accept the election results, thus implicitly supporting the repressive rule of the oligarchs and their generals. This would be a betrayal of democracy.
