Honduras Update

[the_future_modernes]

When we last left Honduras, there was an agreement signed that Zelaya at least, believed would have led him on a path back to power. The United States helped to scuttle that agreement a day after I posted that:

U.S. State Department Sells Out Honduran Democracy for Senate Confirmations

In one of the lowest points in U.S. diplomatic history, the State Department announced a turnabout in its Honduran policy and stated it will recognize the results of Nov. 29 elections even if held under the military coup.

The new strategy to promote elections without first assuring a return to constitutional order torpedoes the accord that the State Department itself brokered and was signed by President Manuel Zelaya and coup leader Roberto Micheletti on Oct. 29.

On Nov. 4, just days after Secretary of State Clinton anounced a major breakthrough in resolving the Honduran political crisis, Asst. Secretary of State Thomas Shannon stated in an interview with CNN that “the formation of the National Unity Government is apart from the reinstatement of President Zelaya” and that the Honduran Congress will decide when and if Zelaya is reinstated. His surprise declaration scuttled the point of reinstatement in the agreement, leaving the matter up in the air while confirming that the U.S. government will recognize elections anyway.

U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States, Lewis Anselem and Ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens confirmed this new position. At the OAS meeting, Anselem, whose disparaging remarks toward Latin American countries have alienated many southern diplomats, criticized the other nations’ refusal to recognize elections staged by a coup regime, “I’ve heard many in this room say that they will not recognize the elections in Honduras… I’m not trying to be a wiseguy, but what does that mean? What does that mean in the real world, not in the world of magical realism?”

Llorens also portrayed the new policy as pragmatism, stating on Nov. 8, “The elections will be part of the reality and will return Honduras to the path of democracy.”

The repeated use of "reality" as the justification for the policy change shows an attempt on the part of the State Department to unilaterally impose a definition of Honduran reality—contrary to its own previous definition and that of the international community. This unilateral diplomacy harks back to Bush foreign policies that many Americans and Latin Americans believed had been thrown out with the incoming Obama administrationHow the fix went down

Revisiting Honduras

It is now possible to reconstruct with a fair degree of accuracy how the Obama administration turned an imminent diplomatic triumph into a negotiated defeat.

On October 20, Senator Jim DeMint stated that he had met with Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon and that he was pleased that the Department of State finally understood "that it is essential that these elections [in Honduras] go forward and are recognized." As a result, DeMint said he was "anxious" to release the holds he had placed on the nominations of Arturo Valenzuela to be assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs and Thomas Shannon, the present assistant secretary, to be ambassador to Brazil.

As Shannon well knew, this impending change of policy would give away the principal leverage the United States could bring to bear to persuade the de facto government to permit the prompt return of President Zelaya.

On October 28, a diplomatic delegation headed by Thomas Shannon arrived in Tegucigalpa to jump start the negotiations between the de facto regime and President Mel Zelaya. At a press conference, Shannon stated that the return of Zelaya is "central" to the concerns of the United States and the international community. Yet, he refused to say that his return was an essential component to any deal.MORE

Not surprisingly: on Nov 26th Violence and Tension, Prelude to Honduran Elections

• Shootings and raids create tense backdrop for today’s vote
• Human rights groups' petition to suspend elections ignored by court
• Groups cite "...systematic and serious violation of human rights and decrees that restrict the rights and liberties of the Honduran population"
• Organizations establish Human Rights Platform to monitor and defend against expected rise in repression

Ángel Fabricio Salgado lies in a hospital bed in Tegucigalpa, hovering between life and death. He and three companions were shot by soldiers when they inadvertantly ran into an unmarked roadblock near army headquarters.

His sister-in-law, Ana Elvir, tells Radio Globo, “He was shot in cold blood. Then they (the military) cleaned up the mess. This was a crime and no one has even come to question us about it." Her voice trembling, she adds "It's unbelievable what’s happening to us... How can you carry out elections in this situation?"

Members of Amnesty International maintain a permanent presence outside Angel´s hospital room. Doctors do not expect him to emerge from coma, thus adding a death to the tally of pre-electoral human rights violations.

Miles away from Angel's deathbed, soldiers and police used weapons to break down the doors of a national coalition of small farmers' and women's organizations. Once inside, they ransacked the offices and the nearby training school for four hours and took away computers, booklets and photographs of peaceful marches against the coup. The latter, they claimed, were “subversive materials.”

Although most streets appear calm and polling places have reported no incidents so far, reports of repression and coercion have been pouring into the human rights hotlines established by non-governmental organizations. In the last twenty-four hours, human rights organizations have received and confirmed reports that several houses of resistance leaders have been raided.MORE

And in an even less surprising outcome: The Rightwing won. So much for democracy, internets.


Lobo wins Honduran presidential election - 30 Nov 09

Porfirio Lobo, a right-wing businessman and rancher, has been declared the president-elect of Honduras in a vote held after months of tensions following the overthrow of Manuel Zelaya in a military-led coup.

Roberto Micheletti took over as interim president in June, claiming that Zelaya was trying to change the constitution to allow him to stay in power. The coup saw thousands of supporters on both sides take to the streets - while the two men tried to negotiate a peaceful outcome.

Neither Zelaya nor Micheletti stood in Sunday's presidential vote, which pitted Lobo against Elvin Santos, Zelaya's former vice-president.

The decision by the US to support the vote's result has infuriated Zelaya's supporters, who say that Washington has backtracked on its previous statements condemning the coup.

From Tegucigalpa, Lucia Newman reports.

And that, oh internets, is that.