Posted by John Romano in Politics on October 28, 2009
LOS ANGELES (YBH.ME) – Roberto Micheletti’s nephew was found dead this week near the city of Choloma, Honduras. Choluma is 155 miles north of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.
Interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti
According to Police, 24-year-old Enzo Micheletti was found with his hands tied behind his back and his body full of bullet holes in a wooded area outside of Choluma.
It is not clear if supporters of ousted leader Manuel Zelaya are making good on threats of violence in the five month fight over Honduras’ political future. The BBC reports today that “there is no indication that his death is connected to the coup that brought his uncle to power at the end of June.” No explanation is given for how the BBC arrived at that conclusion. It should be noted that roughly 7,000 people were killed in drug violence in the Central American nation last year.
Mr. Zelaya was ousted from office when he attempted to end run the Honduran constitution and campaign for a 2nd term in office, something that is explicitly forbidden under Honduran law. Roberto Micheletti is not on the ballot when Hondurans head to the polls in late November to select a new leader.
#1 by Guest on October 28, 2009 - 4:49 pm
Your motto says "Building trust"?
Get your facts straight.
The statement that Zelaya "… attempted to end run the Honduran constitution and campaign for a 2nd term in office" is the repitition of a falsehood spread by the leaders of the coup. So can I trust your site to consistently take the side of the narcomafia that pulled off the coup? The non-binding referendum called for a Constitutional Convention which would have taken place after the next elections, elections in which Zelaya would not have been eleigible to run.
I mean, duh! C'mon!
#2 by Death to Zelaya on October 28, 2009 - 11:53 pm
Duh Cmon?
Zelaya wanted to stay in pwer longer than it was legal for him. He was following both Chavez and Fidels advice on doing so.
#3 by Expatyank on October 29, 2009 - 4:13 pm
If it was simply a “non-binding referendum” Why is there such a big push to get him re-instated “before” the elections? Why not one day AFTER the elections and then he could introduce the “non-binding referendum” ? The congress would approve it and what is the problem? However if he was following the Chavez plan he must be re-instated BEFORE the election…..
#4 by JohnRomano on October 28, 2009 - 5:31 pm
From the LA TImes:
Zelaya was overthrown June 28 after he refused to scrap plans for a referendum that had been ruled illegal by Honduran courts.
From The New York Times
The country has had a civilian government since 1982. But as in much of Central America, the military is still a powerful force behind the scenes. The coup capped months of tensions over Mr. Zelaya's bid to rewrite the Constitution so he could run for a second term, and it was denounced by leaders across the Western Hemisphere.
What are your sources that state "The non-binding referendum called for a Constitutional Convention which would have taken place after the next elections, elections in which Zelaya would not have been eleigible to run."?
#5 by Guest on October 28, 2009 - 7:48 pm
WIkipedia, with footnotes citing the BBC, Al-Jazeera and the Wall Street Journal, provides the following: "The poll, generally referred to as a referendum by international media, intended to assess the population's desire for a National Constituent Assembly. "
Reading further you'll see that the poll was to take place with a "4th ballot box" to be available with the general elections to select a new President.
OK?
So what did happen? Zelaya had raised the minimum wage by 60 percent and made statements critical of the U.S. War on Drugs that outraged the small oligarchy that controls Honduran media and business.
Note also that Zelaya had been consulting with Hugo Chavez, who remains a target of the type of paramilitary forces that have regularly mustered out of the US fuded base since the contra Nicaraguan war.
Lanny Davis, the paid lobbyist for the Honduran regime, would have us trust the main stream media on this. Having been sold on WMD in Iraq among other distortions, it seems that those who care find it worthwhile to look beyond these corporate-controlled sources.
From Nikolas Kozloff on Democracy Now:
"…I think if you were just reading the reports in the mainstream media, you might get the impression that this coup is just about term limits in Honduras and it’s just a conflict over whether Zelaya will be able to extend his constitutional mandate of one four-year term. And my point is that there is an ideological component to this coup."
Kozloff is a "journalist and author of Revolution!: South America and the Rise of the New Left. His previous book is Hugo Chávez: Oil, Politics and the Challenge to the U.S."
If you're not willing to look beyond the Times you're not going to consistently find credible counterpoints to the narrative prefered by the status quo, and more than we did in 2002-03 during the deceptions that led us to accept the occupation of Iraq. Bill Moiyers has a solid documentary out about how it worked. and nothing tells me that its changed.
#6 by JohnRomano on October 28, 2009 - 7:55 pm
If you want to write a full opinion piece on this click the Contact US button above. You write it we will post it.
Regards,
John Romano
#7 by Gayle R. on October 29, 2009 - 7:57 pm
Regarding the situation in Honduras, many people try to claim Zelaya had
no intention of extending his term in office because the 4th ballot plan
and the Constitutional assembly could not have allowed him to run on
November 29th. First of all, he had the 'results' of the June 28th poll
(which never took place) in his computers when they searched the
Presidential palace. Secondly, follow the money. He spent large sums
on motorcycles and horses (this is the man who cares so much for the
people living in poverty in Honduras?), as well as had his cronies
outright rob $2 million from the bank, for which he is criminally
liable. He should be in jail..I think everyone agrees that it was a
mistake to exile him, a rather mild punishment, don't you think.? They
could have given him a firing squad. Back to the money…and the
election. There is an Electoral Commission which is responsible for
holding the election, printing the ballots, counting the votes,
providing the infrastructure necessary to physically HAVE an election,
etc. Zelaya never provided them with a dime. So even though the
candidates had been selected in primaries previous to all this drama,
and were actively campaiging, there was never going to actually be an
election on November 29th, until Micheletti stepped in and provided the
funds.
Here is the link to a translation of the Honduran Constitution so you
can read article 239 for yourself if you have any doubt about the
legitamacy of the interim government.
http://www.honduras.com/honduras-constitution-eng...
Amnesty International and all the lefties are whining about how badly
the 'peaceful ' supporters of Zelaya are being treated. In addition to
the story above, a general has been shot and an 81 year old man
kidnapped. They have overturned buses, burned restaraunts, looted
stores and attacked firemen.
The main thing to remember is zelaya's plan is to stop the election at
all costs (even the deaths of his Honduran brotheres) because, no
election, no sucessor…Presidnt for life. Viva Honduras! Hold on
Micheletti!
#8 by Gayle R. on November 4, 2009 - 5:02 am
So Micheletti agreed to sign the agreement and Zelaya hasn't. hmmm. The
same congress and Supreme Court that threw him out before. And it is
still being said that this is a legal matter, not a political one.
Tranquilo gonow. Nothing has changed. They are just trying to clarify
their position, so that the U.S. can save face, recognize the election,
etc. Zelaya knows as soon as he steps foot out of the Brazilian Embassy
he will be arrested on criminal charges at least. He has cero hope of
the congress trying to override the court for him. This just makes it
look like Micheletti is coorperating and the ball's in his court.