The Heritage Foundation
by Ray Walser, Ph.D.
On October 30, The New York Times incorrectly proclaimed, "Deal Reached to Restore Ousted [Honduran] President." The real headline should have read: "Deal Reached to Respect Rights of the Honduran People to Decide Their Political Future."
Presidential elections will take place in Honduras on November 29. As a result, it is now possible that the Honduran people--not outsiders--will decide who governs their nation. It is also in the power of the Honduran people to determine what will be done politically and legally to those responsible for the currently simmering crisis that first exploded on June 28 when the Honduran Supreme Court, Congress, and military removed President Manuel Zelaya from office for violations of the Honduran constitution. Read entire article....
Hillary Oversells Honduran Deal
New Majority
By Tim Mak
Several major news outlets reported this morning that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was returning to power. “Deal Reached in Honduras to Restore Ousted President”, read a New York Times headline. “Zelaya Set to Return to Power”, said the Washington Post.
However, experts on Honduras dispute this version of events.
“There seems to be plenty of misreporting on this initially… The [Washington] Post and some other places have reported that Clinton has said that the agreement says that Zelaya will return to power, but this is not accurate as far as I can tell,” said Ian Vasquez, director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, in an interview with NewMajority. Read entire article...
By Tim Mak
Several major news outlets reported this morning that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was returning to power. “Deal Reached in Honduras to Restore Ousted President”, read a New York Times headline. “Zelaya Set to Return to Power”, said the Washington Post.
However, experts on Honduras dispute this version of events.
“There seems to be plenty of misreporting on this initially… The [Washington] Post and some other places have reported that Clinton has said that the agreement says that Zelaya will return to power, but this is not accurate as far as I can tell,” said Ian Vasquez, director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, in an interview with NewMajority. Read entire article...
Honduras 1, Hillary 0
Wall Street Journal
The big news in Honduras is that the good guys seem to have won a four-month political standoff over the exile of former President Manuel Zelaya. Current President Roberto Micheletti agreed yesterday to submit Mr. Zelaya's request for reinstatement as president to the Supreme Court and Congress, and in return the U.S. will withdraw its sanctions and recognize next month's presidential elections.
Mr. Zelaya, whose term would have expired in January, isn't likely to be reinstated, given that the court has twice ruled against his right to remain in office. The Honduran Congress, which voted in June to remove Mr. Zelaya, will then use that high court's opinion to decide if he should be restored to power. Read entire article...
The big news in Honduras is that the good guys seem to have won a four-month political standoff over the exile of former President Manuel Zelaya. Current President Roberto Micheletti agreed yesterday to submit Mr. Zelaya's request for reinstatement as president to the Supreme Court and Congress, and in return the U.S. will withdraw its sanctions and recognize next month's presidential elections.
Mr. Zelaya, whose term would have expired in January, isn't likely to be reinstated, given that the court has twice ruled against his right to remain in office. The Honduran Congress, which voted in June to remove Mr. Zelaya, will then use that high court's opinion to decide if he should be restored to power. Read entire article...
Honduras' ousted president, government sign pact
Associated Press
By JUAN ZAMORANO
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Representatives of ousted President Manuel Zelaya finally reached an agreement with the interim government that could help end the monthslong dispute over Honduras' June 28 coup, and possibly pave the way for Zelaya's reinstatement.
The Organization of American States announced the deal late Thursday but did not release a text of the accord, in which Zelaya appears to have agreed to throw his fate into the hands of a congress that has largely supported interim President Roberto Micheletti.
"We are optimistic because Hondurans can reach agreements that are fulfilled," Zelaya told Radio Globo, an opposition station. "This signifies my return to power in the coming days, and peace for Honduras."
The agreement, if it holds, could represent a much-needed foreign policy victory for the United States, which dispatched a senior team of diplomats to coax both sides back to the table.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called it "an historic agreement," noting "this is a big step forward for the inter-American system."
Read entire article
By JUAN ZAMORANO
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Representatives of ousted President Manuel Zelaya finally reached an agreement with the interim government that could help end the monthslong dispute over Honduras' June 28 coup, and possibly pave the way for Zelaya's reinstatement.
The Organization of American States announced the deal late Thursday but did not release a text of the accord, in which Zelaya appears to have agreed to throw his fate into the hands of a congress that has largely supported interim President Roberto Micheletti.
"We are optimistic because Hondurans can reach agreements that are fulfilled," Zelaya told Radio Globo, an opposition station. "This signifies my return to power in the coming days, and peace for Honduras."
The agreement, if it holds, could represent a much-needed foreign policy victory for the United States, which dispatched a senior team of diplomats to coax both sides back to the table.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called it "an historic agreement," noting "this is a big step forward for the inter-American system."
Read entire article
Republican lawmakers seek probe over Honduras coup
The Associated Press
DENNIS CONRAD
(AP) — WASHINGTON - Republican leaders in the House of Representatives asked congressional investigators on Thursday to determine whether the U.S. State Department ndth US ambasador to Tegacugalpa participate in the Jun 28 coup that removed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and in the events that have followed.
Among questions they want answered by an investigation conducted by the General Accountability Office is whether the U.S. Embassy has been pressuring Hondurans supportive of the current interim government to accept Zelaya's return to power.
The letter seeking the investigation was signed by the party's leadership team, including House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio.
At a Capitol news conference, Rep. Adam Schock, who wrote the letter, said he and some colleagues, after a visit to Honduras, had misgivings about the involvement of the State Department and U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens in Honduras' affairs. He would not be specific about the nature of any involvement. Read entire article
DENNIS CONRAD
(AP) — WASHINGTON - Republican leaders in the House of Representatives asked congressional investigators on Thursday to determine whether the U.S. State Department ndth US ambasador to Tegacugalpa participate in the Jun 28 coup that removed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and in the events that have followed.
Among questions they want answered by an investigation conducted by the General Accountability Office is whether the U.S. Embassy has been pressuring Hondurans supportive of the current interim government to accept Zelaya's return to power.
The letter seeking the investigation was signed by the party's leadership team, including House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio.
At a Capitol news conference, Rep. Adam Schock, who wrote the letter, said he and some colleagues, after a visit to Honduras, had misgivings about the involvement of the State Department and U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens in Honduras' affairs. He would not be specific about the nature of any involvement. Read entire article
Library of Congress stands by report on Honduras coup
McClatchy Newspapers
By LESLEY CLARK
WASHINGTON -- Congress's law library is rebuffing calls from the chairmen of the House and Senate foreign relations committees to retract a report on the military-backed coup in Honduras that the lawmakers charge is flawed.
The request, by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., has sparked cries of censorship from Republicans who say the Democrats don't like what the August report said: that the government of Honduras had the authority to remove deposed President Manuel Zelaya from office.
A spokeswoman for the Law Library of Congress - one of six Library of Congress agencies - said Thursday that the research agency stands by the report and that Librarian of Congress James Billington is preparing a response to the lawmakers.
Zelaya has been holed up at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for several weeks, and high-ranking U.S. officials were working Thursday to try to broker a resolution.
Read entire article
By LESLEY CLARK
WASHINGTON -- Congress's law library is rebuffing calls from the chairmen of the House and Senate foreign relations committees to retract a report on the military-backed coup in Honduras that the lawmakers charge is flawed.
The request, by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., has sparked cries of censorship from Republicans who say the Democrats don't like what the August report said: that the government of Honduras had the authority to remove deposed President Manuel Zelaya from office.
A spokeswoman for the Law Library of Congress - one of six Library of Congress agencies - said Thursday that the research agency stands by the report and that Librarian of Congress James Billington is preparing a response to the lawmakers.
Zelaya has been holed up at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for several weeks, and high-ranking U.S. officials were working Thursday to try to broker a resolution.
Read entire article
Lawmakers ask Library of Congress to retract Honduras report
By LESLEY CLARK - McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON-The chairmen of the House and Senate foreign relations committees are asking the Law Library of Congress to retract a report on the military-backed coup in Honduras that they charge is flawed and "has contributed to the political crisis that still wracks" the country.
The request, by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., has sparked cries of censorship from Republicans who say the Democrats don't like what the August report said: that the government of Honduras had the authority to remove President Manuel Zelaya from office.
Zelaya has been holed up at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa for several weeks, and high-ranking U.S. officials arrived Wednesday to try to broker a resolution.
Critics of the Obama administration - which condemned Zelaya's removal in June - have pointed to the report as evidence that the White House was wrong when it sided with most Latin American countries in calling for Zelaya to be returned. Read entire article
WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON-The chairmen of the House and Senate foreign relations committees are asking the Law Library of Congress to retract a report on the military-backed coup in Honduras that they charge is flawed and "has contributed to the political crisis that still wracks" the country.
The request, by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., has sparked cries of censorship from Republicans who say the Democrats don't like what the August report said: that the government of Honduras had the authority to remove President Manuel Zelaya from office.
Zelaya has been holed up at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa for several weeks, and high-ranking U.S. officials arrived Wednesday to try to broker a resolution.
Critics of the Obama administration - which condemned Zelaya's removal in June - have pointed to the report as evidence that the White House was wrong when it sided with most Latin American countries in calling for Zelaya to be returned. Read entire article
Support for the provisional government of Honduras
To: US State Department & United Nations IN SUPPORT OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF HONDURAS.
We the citizens of the world, lovers of liberty and democracy, concerned about the isolation and impoverishment which is being imposed upon the Republic of Honduras by; the United Nations, the OAS, the UNASUR, the EU, and the U.S, hereby set forth our intend, individually and organizationally, to demonstrate our support of the government of the Republic of Honduras, presided by Roberto Micheletti together with all the legitimate and constitutional bodies of said government. We strongly support the current government’s efforts to safeguard the constitution and to maintain its continuity through the culmination of the upcoming election, which will allow the people of Honduras to express their will via a universal and secret ballot. Sign petition here
Ortega Assists Honduras
The Wall Street Journal
The Chávez model hits Nicaragua.
If Honduras manages to preserve its democracy despite U.S. pressure to abandon it, the tiny Central American country may wind up thanking Nicaragua's Danny Ortega, of all people.
Last week, President Ortega inadvertently provided the best defense yet of the Honduran decision this summer to remove Manuel Zelaya from the presidency. Nicaragua has a one-term limit for presidents, and Mr. Ortega's term expires in 2011. However, the Nicaraguan doesn't want to leave, and so he asked the Sandinista-controlled Supreme Court to overturn the constitutional ban on his re-election.
Last week the court's constitutional panel obliged him. The Nicaraguan press reported that the vote was held before three opposition judges could reach the chamber in time for the session. Three alternative judges, all Sandinistas, took their place and the court gave Mr. Ortega the green light. Mr. Ortega has decreed that the ruling cannot be appealed. Read entire article
The Chávez model hits Nicaragua.
If Honduras manages to preserve its democracy despite U.S. pressure to abandon it, the tiny Central American country may wind up thanking Nicaragua's Danny Ortega, of all people.
Last week, President Ortega inadvertently provided the best defense yet of the Honduran decision this summer to remove Manuel Zelaya from the presidency. Nicaragua has a one-term limit for presidents, and Mr. Ortega's term expires in 2011. However, the Nicaraguan doesn't want to leave, and so he asked the Sandinista-controlled Supreme Court to overturn the constitutional ban on his re-election.
Last week the court's constitutional panel obliged him. The Nicaraguan press reported that the vote was held before three opposition judges could reach the chamber in time for the session. Three alternative judges, all Sandinistas, took their place and the court gave Mr. Ortega the green light. Mr. Ortega has decreed that the ruling cannot be appealed. Read entire article
Knowing when to leave in Latin America
Los Angeles Times Editorial
Leaders who circumvent term limits undermine the region's democratic progress.
As Latin America's military dictatorships fell one by one in the late 20th century, incipient democracies across the region sought to stamp out caudillo caudillo culture with constitutions that limited their newly elected leaders to one term in office. No more strongmen ruling in perpetuity. So powerful was the no-reelection sentiment that the Honduran Constitution even included a clause saying that its single, four-year presidential term limit could not be amended in the future.
But as democracies took root and civilian governments tried to implement ambitious economic and political reforms, they began to feel constrained by term limits. Soon,elected leaders from right to left sought to extend their mandates. Driven by ego and arrogance as well as ideology, some pursued the changes legitimately through the legislature. At least that was the case when the leaders of Peru, Argentina and Brazil sought second terms in the 1990s. Read entire article
Leaders who circumvent term limits undermine the region's democratic progress.
As Latin America's military dictatorships fell one by one in the late 20th century, incipient democracies across the region sought to stamp out caudillo caudillo culture with constitutions that limited their newly elected leaders to one term in office. No more strongmen ruling in perpetuity. So powerful was the no-reelection sentiment that the Honduran Constitution even included a clause saying that its single, four-year presidential term limit could not be amended in the future.
But as democracies took root and civilian governments tried to implement ambitious economic and political reforms, they began to feel constrained by term limits. Soon,elected leaders from right to left sought to extend their mandates. Driven by ego and arrogance as well as ideology, some pursued the changes legitimately through the legislature. At least that was the case when the leaders of Peru, Argentina and Brazil sought second terms in the 1990s. Read entire article
