Honduras Coup - Day 145 - November 19, 2009

• Honduran Election Law Gives Micheletti's Shock Troops A Chance at More Repression
  By hondurasoye.wordpress.com : November 19, 2009
  The following article from El Tiempo (translated into English) suggests that the coup regime is finalizing its strategy for "protecting" the November 29 election from "interference" by those who promise to boycott. No doubt, the Michelettis will use election law, interpreted very broadly, in order to cover widespread state-sponsored repression.
  
  
• World Left Reps in Venezuela Slam US Policy
  By globalresearch.ca : November 19, 2009
  Caracas: Representatives from over 50 international leftwing parties gathered Thursday in Venezuela censured the US foreign policy, which intents to thwart the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA). "The empire is committed to hinder ALBA with the illegal, criminal coup against constitutional Honduran President Manuel Zelaya," the former president of the UN General Assembly, Miguel D Escoto, stated. "The US is not only involved in a coup against Honduras but against ALBA in general, and it seems to be the new style of imperialism," he noted.
  
  
• Venezuela's FM: The US seeks "domination" of Latin America
  By eluniversal.com : November 19, 2009
  Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's Foreign Minister, said on Thursday that the coup d'état in Honduras and the "Yankee military bases" in Colombia allegedly show that the new US administration led by Barack Obama still targets imperialist "domination" in Latin America. To achieve this goal, Washington has been supported in several Latin American countries by "emboldened right-leaning groups ready to do whatever it takes" to preserve the political and economic hegemony which it has historically controlled, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister said, as reported by Efe.
  
  
• The Honduran People Want More Than a Democracy:
  They Demand a New Republic!
  By Arnold August - voltairenet.org : November 19, 2009
  Over three months since the Honduran military coup, ousted President Manuel Zelaya has yet to be reinstated. Having secretly organized the coup, on the surface the Obama administration continues to emit an emollient discourse. In particular, it obstinately refuses to qualify it as a "military" coup to avoid severing ties with the regime, as U.S. legislation would have it. Washington wants elections that will paste a democratic face on the new regime, but the population and its principal leaders will not go for a sham vote overseen by the putschists. The radicalization of the Hondurans is accelerating rapidly. They will no longer be satisfied with a simple return to the constitutional order. They have repudiated the local oligarchy and now demand a new republic, free of Washington's tutelage.
  
  
• Zelaya to legally contest Honduras elections
  By AFP - google.com : November 19, 2009
  Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Thursday he would legally contest November 29 elections because they were taking place before Congress decides if he can briefly return to power.
  
  
• MIsguided readers speak...
  By hondurascoup2009.blogspot.com : November 19, 2009
  Someone calling himself "Patrick" has taken the time today, between 2:53 and 5:17 PM, to comment on three recent posts: One reflecting the incredulity of reporters in an Ian Kelly press conference; one on the continuing saga of the report not yet received from the Honduran Supreme Court; and one on the positions of Brazil and Argentina on elections. We assume he is catching up on his reading; and he did not like what he read.
  
  
• Ousted president Zelaya calls on his supporters to impugn elections
  By xinhuanet.com : November 19, 2009
  Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya on Thursday called on his followers to "impugn and denounce" the Nov. 29 elections to be hosted under his country's de facto government.
  
  
• Honduran Dictatorship is A Threat to Democracy in the Hemisphere
  By Mark Weisbrot - hondurasoye.wordpress.com : November 19, 2009
  A small group of rich people who own most of Honduras and its politicians enlist the military to kidnap the elected president at gunpoint and take him into exile. They then arrest thousands of people opposed to the coup, shut down and intimidate independent media, shoot and kill some demonstrators, torture and beat many others. This goes on for more than four months, including more than two of the three months legally designated for electoral campaigning. Then the dictatorship holds an "election."
  
  
• Press Release from the Office of President Zelaya
  By quotha.net : November 19, 2009
  The constitutional order in Honduras was broken on June 28th, when the two branches of Government, the Congress and the Supreme Court, conspired against the Executive branch, drawing the armed forces from its role, breaking the democratic order and kidnapping the president through a spiteful military coup. At this time in Honduras, we are in a de facto State where there is no constitutional order or legitimate powers, which were destroyed by force, in this case by the coup of June, 28th 2009.
  
  
• Letter from Diputada Elvia Argentina Valle Villalta
  By quotha.net : November 19, 2009
  After thinking, rethinking, and asking God for guidance, I have decided to not participate in these elections. My heart and my reason tell me I shouldn't do it. I tried to understand what some of my friends told me about how the National Congress would fill up with golpistas, but in the end I believe that if I have fought against the coup d'etat, then to stay and participate now--I may as well have been with them on June 28th.
  
  
• Communique from President Zelaya
  By quotha.net : November 19, 2009
  The Tegucigalpa/San Jose Accord, to restore democracy, sponsored by the OAS and the State Department of the United States of America, was openly violated by the de facto regime when Sr. Micheletti attempted to head the government of reconciliation, refusing to convene the National Congress, failing to complete the accord in this manner on time and in form, and as a consequence it has been declared without value or effect, for violations committed in its implementation by the de facto regime.
  
  
• Micheletti to step down for 7 days
  By Frances Robles - miamiherald.com : November 19, 2009
  Micheletti became head of state June 28, hours after the military forced President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya out of the country at gunpoint. Micheletti, the former head of Congress, has held on to the post since then despite cries from around the world declaring his leadership illegitimate. He is expected to announce at a speech Thursday night that he will step down from Nov. 24 until Dec. 2. Presidential elections are scheduled for Nov. 29. Many critics have argued that fair elections cannot take place with a de facto regime in power.
  
  
• Zelaya to legally contest Honduras elections
  By AFP - news.yahoo.com : November 19, 2009
  Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Thursday he would legally contest November 29 elections because they were taking place before Congress decides if he can briefly return to power. Zelaya also called for the polls to be postponed.
  
  
• Monday Or Later For Supreme Court Report
  By hondurascoup2009.blogspot.com : November 19, 2009
  A magistrate for the Supreme Court, Oscar Chinchilla, announced that it will take the court until at least Monday to elaborate a report, but stressed that it would be up to the Chief Justice who determines when it gets sent to the Congress. He indicated that yesterday they hammered out a "base document" but that there were two divergent opinions presented to the magistrates yesterday that needed to be folded into a single report. Chinchilla added that the commission members did not disagree over the content, but only over the form.
  
  
• U.S. Confirms Recognition of Honduras Presidential Elections
  By laht.com : November 19, 2009
  The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Craig Kelly says that Washington supports Honduras' Nov. 29 presidential election and the accord meant to resolve the crisis sparked by the June 28 departure of former President Manuel Zelaya.
  
  
• From State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly
  By weeksnotice.blogspot.com : November 19, 2009
  "Of course, we're involved. We are involved because we want to be involved, because it's important for us to be involved. We're involved because they want us to be involved."
  
  
• LatAm, USA Disagree on Honduras Crisis
  By prensa-latina.cu : November 19, 2009
  The decision by the United States of supporting elections organized by the putschists in Honduras distanced that country again from Latin America, which is demanding restitution of democracy in this Central American nation. Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ratified on Wednesday their demand of restituting constitutional order, broken by the June 28 military coup.
  
  
• SouthCom: Washington Develops its Operations in Soto Cano Airbase
  By hondurasoye.wordpress.com : November 19, 2009
  This critical infrastructure program supports the Commander of JTF-Bravo – the Commander of all U.S. military operations in Central America in the execution of SouthCom's strategy to build Partner Nation Capacity. It is intended to bolster security, stability and prosperity in the Americas. This responsibility, according to the press release, encompasses:
  - Advancing new visions of the U.S. Government and institutions of the region.
  - Reducing sources of conflict and tension.
  - Promoting partnership in times of need.
  - Empowering initiatives to thwart narcotics trafficking and other transnational threats.
  
  
• Zelaya says Honduran Congress has no intention to reinstate him
  By english.cri.cn : November 19, 2009
  Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya affirmed Wednesday that the Honduran Congress does not have the intention to reinstate him as president. Zelaya said he would wait for the outcome of the Nov. 29 elections to find out which political party would be in the lead and could tip the balance in his favor.
  
  

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