Honduran De Facto President Says He’d Go If Told To

[L. Coyote]

Source: Latin American Herald Tribune

By Jose Luis Paniagua

TEGUCIGALPA – Honduran de facto President Roberto Micheletti said in an interview with Efe that if the country’s institutions decide that he must go and that deposed President Mel Zelaya be restored to power he will immediately step down and head home.

“When the people, when the Supreme Court, when the Attorney General’s Office, when Congress say that I shouldn’t stay on, I’ll immediately pack up the photographs I have there (at the presidential palace) and go home,” Micheletti, named president by Congress after Zelaya’s June 28 ouster, said.

............. A total of 14 politically motivated killings have taken place in Honduras since the June 28 coup, according to a human rights group founded when death squads stalked the Central American country in the 1980s..

...

The de facto leader contends Zelaya’s ouster was not a coup, insisting that the soldiers who dragged him from the presidential palace were simply enforcing a Supreme Court ban on the president’s planned non-binding plebiscite on the idea of revising the constitution.

...

Read more: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=344846&CategoryId=23558

---

As usual, a more complete version of the news, and the breaking news, come from Venezuela.

[vadawg]

1. bring forward the november election, have it monitored by UN

and then neither of them will be in power, problem solved

[JackRiddler]

2. Is this a joke?

Under what conditions could this election be held early? It'd doubtful it can even be held on time. You can't just announce the UN is now monitoring and expect the effects of a military-led coup d'etat that suspended the constitutin just a couple of days ago are going to be vitiated and allow a fair vote. If the UN was really in charge of an election, the first thing they'd probably do in good conscience would be to delay it until January.

[vadawg]

lol okay so apart from putting of the election for a while and having it monitored

what other options are there, military expedition force to ensure fair elections, bring zelaya back, which i have no problem with as long as its understood that he cant run as per the constitution...

[tritsofme]

26. Who would be the legitimate head of state after the expiration of Zelaya's term in January?

If elections are to be delayed past that time?

It seems that there is some urgency in these elections being held on time in order to resolve the political side of this crisis.

[JackRiddler]

27. That's a good point but you need to understand another good point:

How can elections be held under the golpista government? They arrested and deported the president, placed the country under curfew, announced a suspension of the constitution, attacked demonstrations and shot people in the streets. How can a legitimate election be held under this crew?

And let's face it, this crew didn't overthrow Zelaya because of their deep respect for the constitution! They did so because of his measures on behalf of the poor. They are the party of the oligarchs, and if they're willing to kidnap the president in the middle of the night so as to prevent the people from voting, and if they're willing to lie about why they did it (since Zelaya was NOT seeking to extend his term in office), then you cannot expect they will not seek to fix the election, too.

[L. Coyote]

3. With the liberal media stations completely dismantled by the coup, and no assembly

without approval of the junta,
and detention for anyone the police or military thinks is suspicious,
and no right to express an opinion,

yeah that's going to be a really fair election to observe!!

[L. Coyote]

4. Recent VIDEO links here:

Executive Decree gives green light to increased abuses in Honduras
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4083590

[boppers]

5. Will Zelaya turn himself in?

Will those who deported him also turn themselves in?

This mess is gonna take a lot to clean up.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. Zelaya is under indictment...they are not at this time

[Judi Lynn]

6. This pathetic dirtbag has already heard from the people of Honduras.

That's why he's done everything in his power to shut them up, and keep them in the dark. That's why he has suspended their constitution for 45 days, which will take them all very close to the election.

http://www.desordencivil.com.ar.nyud.net:8090/blog/images/post/honduras3.jpg

http://blogs.pitch.com.nyud.net:8090/plog/3679058786_c0ecdb79b9.jpg

http://media.nowpublic.net.nyud.net:8090/images//04/7/047a0b77e6c73c977044fea56443685b.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_h8iJcagR9X0/SlGULObG3NI/AAAAAAAAB8M/vzNaWgCx2sg/s400/HondurasProtest.jpg

http://isiria.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2009/07/honduras-0.jpg

http://images.ctv.ca.nyud.net:8090/archives/CTVNews/img2/20090729/160x_ap_honduras_protest_090729.jpg

[peacetalksforall]

7. No. The people of Honduras are not alone. May they reign.

Justice for all of the people.

Yes, CIA and the U.S. corporate-military reich wing ... out.

I still don't understand how this happened during the Obama Presidency.

Who is running what in our own country.

Something is stinky.

[EFerrari]

8. Sure. That's why he shut down the opposition media -- to hear the people better!

Fuera golpistas!

[bertman]

9. And where is our government and our President on this abominable situation? Have they

done anything of substance to undermine this illegal regime?

Isn't it interesting that we will invade a country run by a dictator half way around the world "to bring DEMOCRACY to the Iraqi people", but we can't even muster a serious effort to depose these coup leaders who have subverted the DEMOCRATICALLY-ELECTED President of a DEMOCRACY in our own hemisphere?

I recommend this thread because of the excellent comments that have been posted about the hypocrisy of the regime in power in Honduras.

[Vidar]

10. Seems he finally realizes his gig is up, albeit reluctantly.

[Peace Patriot]

11. Yup, Micheletti will surely go when...

...he has outlived his usefulness to his CIA handlers.

[newspeak]

13. did anyone watch the Rachel Maddow show last night?

She was talking about, I believe it was Demint from SC going to Honduras, to support the military coup government--against the wishes of the foreign affairs committee and the US government. She said something about him going there to influence the coup leaders to hold out against the US government. John Kerry blocked him going, but then he went to the defense committee and got clearance. So, what's going on--is the repukes trying to make a deal with the junta like they allegedly did with Iran? Are they endorsing another Pinochet type government? And, is it treason to go against your own government's policies and influencing a military coup to hold out against us? I just wanted to know if anyone else saw that segment on Rachel's show--did any of you interpret it the same way?

[L. Coyote]

14. DeMint is off to meet with death squad facists on the taxpayer dime. And he called Obama a bully!

Sen. Kerry blocks DeMint trip to Honduras "Obama admin using bullying tactics to hide truth,”
from: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4085778&mesg_id=4086703

Kerry blocks DeMint trip to Honduras
By Jordan Fabian - 10/01/09 05:55 PM ET - http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/61247-kerry-blocks-demint-delegation-to-honduras


Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has blocked Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) trip to Honduras slated to begin Friday, according to DeMint's office.

But the chairman's office claimed that the DeMint trip was stopped because the South Carolina Republican is blocking two of President Barack Obama's nominations: Auturo Valenzuela, Obama’s nominee to be assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Tom Shannon, the current assistant secretary and nominee to be ambassador to Brazil.

DeMint’s office informed The Hill of Kerry’s decision Thursday afternoon.

On Thursday morning, the freshman Republican announced that he would lead a congressional delegation to Honduras on Friday ahead of the country’s Nov. 29 elections. The U.S. State Department, which acknowledges ousted President Manuel Zelaya as the legitimate ruler of the Central American nation, has said it will not recognize the contests because of ongoing political turmoil.

“No U.S. Senator has yet been to Honduras to assess facts of crisis. (Kerry) & Obama admin using bullying tactics to hide truth,” DeMint, who also sits on the Foreign Relations panel, said on Twitter ....

.......... DeMint has long objected to the Obama administration's response to the crisis, saying they should shun Zelaya, not promote his return to power. ...........

[EFerrari]

19. Now Karl Levin has to step up to the plate. n/t

[L. Coyote]

22. John Kerry is Chair of Foreign Relations, and knows all about the drug coruption in Central America.

He should be sounding out to Obama, teaching the kid a few things!

[EFerrari]

24. And Levin got his ear filled yesterday by the SOA Watch who are urging him

to put an admendment into the Defense Authorization Bill that forces the disclosure of SOA instructors and grads. Levin chairs Senate Armed Services. I called the office today but the time server who answered the phone was too busy counting down Friday to pay attention.

[L. Coyote]

15. TheRealNews: Resistance Silenced in Honduras by Dictator

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x381768

[L. Coyote]

16. Republicans Visit Honduras, Affront US policy, Pose with Fascist Coup Leader

Republicans DeMint, Schock, Roskam, Lamborn smiled for photographs with Fascist Dictator Roberto Micheletti despite the coup nominal leader's suspension of human and Constitutional rights.
All numbers 202 area code:
Jim DeMint 224-6121
Aaron Schock 225-6201
Peter Roskam 225-4561
Doug Lamborn 225-4422
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen 225-3931

=====================
Republicans visit Honduras despite US coup policy
By BEN FOX (AP) – 23 minutes ago - http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAkMGKIUDg_ngUiZboxQbYj5_DPwD9B35JR80

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Four U.S. Republican lawmakers met with Honduras' interim president on Friday in a challenge to Washington's condemnation of the coup that brought him to power.

The brief, amicable visit with the leaders of the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya highlights a divide in Washington, where the Obama administration is working to reinstate Zelaya but many conservatives side with the government installed after soldiers arrested the president in his pajamas and flew him into exile.

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, the leader of the delegation, said before the trip that even calling Zelaya's overthrow a coup is "ill-informed and baseless."

DeMint and three representatives — Aaron Schock and Peter Roskam of Illinois and Doug Lamborn of Colorado — smiled for photographs in a book-lined office of the stately presidential palace with interim President Roberto Micheletti. They slipped out of the palace through a rear entrance, avoiding dozens of journalists waiting for a planned news conference that never materialized.

The delegation met with the major candidates in Nov. 29 elections that many call illegitimate, and with Supreme Court justices who are deciding whether Micheletti had the constitutional right to suspend civil liberties.

They did not meet with Zelaya .....

[L. Coyote]

17. The GOP's New Foreign Policy: Undermine American Diplomacy

The GOP's New Foreign Policy: Undermine American Diplomacy
Eric Kleefeld | October 2, 2009, 2:04PM | http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/the-gops-new-foreign-policy-undermine-american-diplomacy.php?ref=mp


An interesting pattern has been emerging in the Republican Party's handling of foreign policy: Individual GOP officials are now making a regular point of not only formulating an alternative foreign policy, to be presented to the American people and debated in Congress -- they're acting on it too, and undermining the official White House policies at multiple turns:

• Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is visiting Honduras in order to support the recent military coup against a leftist president, which has been opposed by the Obama administration and all the surrounding countries in the region.

............

[L. Coyote]

18. DeMint Defiantly Leads GOP Delegation To Meet With Illegitimate Honduran Post-Coup Government

DeMint Defiantly Leads GOP Delegation To Meet With Illegitimate Honduran Post-Coup Government
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/02/demint-kerry-honduras/



Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has announced that he will be visiting Honduras today to meet with the de facto regime of acting Honduran President Roberto Micheletti in sheer defiance of the position taken by the US government and international community. Not a single nation has recognized Micheletti’s government, but Washington Note’s Steve Clemons explains that DeMint is intent on taking Honduran matters into his own hands:

Jim DeMint is acting on behalf of, in cahoots with, and against the foreign policy of the United States of America in encouraging post-coup Honduran government officials defy the United States. He is encouraging a political leadership which has no legitimacy and which not recognized by other democracies in the region — while the ousted President makes cell phone UN General Assembly statements from a couch-bed in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa.

The Logan Act forbids “unauthorized citizens” from negotiating with foreign governments. In a 1936 Supreme Court ruling, Justice Sutherland wrote that “the President alone has the power” and “the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it.”

Since former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was seized by the military at gunpoint and exiled in his pajamas back in June, the Obama administration — together with the United Nations, European Nations, and the Organization of American States — has collectively addressed the delicate political situation in Honduras by putting pressure on Micheletti’s government .............

[sofa king]

20. Well, I suppose that spells out who he's working for.

When you work for "institutions" rather than the people, it ain't gonna be the institutions that drag you behind a Jeep and then hang you upside down for all to see.

[sofa king]

21. And another thing.

You want to know what I really think? I think the Republican Party, and specifically a subset of the Party controlled by ex-Bush Administration officials, needed to knock over a Central American country so that they can hide a few trillion dollars' worth of loot hijacked over the past eight years.

I don't pretend to know how the financial operation would work, though. But I won't be surprised at all to see the Honduran dictatorship preside over a massive and mysterious influx of money from... somewhere.

[L. Coyote]

23. Usually, knocking over of a small country in Latin America is to supply the USA with drugs!

Transhipment without interdiction! Read the Iran-Contra story for a clear idea of how The Enterprise operates.

[L. Coyote]

28. Republican Foreign Policy in graphic form:

[daleo]

25. Yeah, right. n/t