Obama is On the Wrong Side of Honduras Coup

Obama is  touting the illegality of the apparent coup in Honduras as if it’s evil incarnate, but he doesn’t seem to be talking any further into why this coup happened. There must be something else at work here because his (along with other world leaders) judgment seems quite  illogical based on the actual facts of the case:

That Mr. Zelaya acted as if he were above the law, there is no doubt. While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.

But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do.

The top military commander, Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, told the president that he would have to comply. Mr. Zelaya promptly fired him. The Supreme Court ordered him reinstated. Mr. Zelaya refused.

Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court’s order.

The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.

This ‘military coup’ had the backing of the Honduran Congress, Attorney General, and the Supreme Court.  Once ousted, the Honduran Congress acted quickly to instate Robert Micheletti to finish Zelaya’s term.

I’m just not sure why this is so complicated for world leaders to understand, but Zelaya was attempting his own takeover of the government, and was thwarted by well meaning officials. He was trying to accomplish what Hugo Chavez had done in Venezuela.  In fact, almost all of the readers here who claim heritage to Honduras agree with this coup, expressing frustration that Zelaya is being portrayed as a victim by the press.  Here are a few of their comments:

DANIELA
FINALLY SOMEONE WITH A SMART AND REALISTIC OPINION! LOOKS LIKE HE HAS DONE PROPER RESEARCH! I DON’T KNOW WHY OTHER COUNTRIES ARE VICTIMIZING A TYRANT! HE THINKS HE IS ABOVE THE LAW AND THAT HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS! WE REFUSE TO BECOME LEFTISTS! WE ARE DEMOCRATIC AND HAVE HANDLED THINGS THE BEST WAY WE CAN! WE WILL NOT BE MANIPULATED! WE WILL FIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY WE LOVE! EVERYONE SHOULD RESPECT OUR FREEDOM AND AUTONOMY! IT IS OUR DECISION!


pierelli
The international community needs to understand that Zelaya was destroying our democracy and following orders from Chavez to fulfill a plan where they would change Honduras’s way of government and turn it into another Venezuela.

We Hondurans don’t want Mel Zelaya back in Honduras. We want to continue with our way of living. Zelaya has only brought trouble and division among our country, and 90% of Hondurans don’t like him and are happy with what happened. He wanted to do everything over the law, and eventually he had to be replaced. In defense of the constitution.


Please be well informed before judging. Don’t support a Chavez wanna be!


Max Fiallos
Someone in the US is getting it right! I am a Honduran Scholar in the US and I am appalled at how one-sided the majority of the media coverage in the US has been (pro-Zelaya), with little mention of the many laws that Zelaya broke in the days prior to his ouster. The Armed Forces acted upon a court order and quickly returned power to the Honduras Congress, just as the Constitution indicates. These events should not be labeled as a coup, but as a President who was removed from power for illegal activities.


LISSETE
…I am honduran and appreciate your point of view because we need to tell the whole world that CHAVEZ wants to send more soldiers to Honduras but we will defend our CONSTITUTION.We are a poor country and we have dignity,we don’t want to be like Cuba,Nicaragua,Venezuela…


CECI
The citizens of Honduras are proud of what the Armed Forces, Our congress and our Justice system accomplished!!We were well on our way to a totalitarian Government under Chavez rule!! Why else would he threaten to invade our country?? Thank GOD they all acted when they did because GOD only knows what would be happening here right now!! Tomorrow at 10 am in the capitals central park there will be a manifestation by the people who agree with what happend! I hope you all watch to see the difference between how many people supported Mr Zelaya as seen in manifestations today and how many people support the new government!! Lets Hope everyone is watching.


ALSO READ:

Micheletti
What is the Fate of Honduras?


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