Honduras Coup - Day 146 - November 20, 2009
- United States backs illegal elections in Honduras
By Tom Loudon - alainet.org : November 20, 2009
After five months of political chaos in Honduras, repeated attempts to reach a negotiated agreement for restoration of Constitutional order have failed due to the defiant recalcitrance of the Micheletti coup regime and the complicity of the State Department. Given this impasse and the deepening human rights crisis, it is widely recognized that conditions for holding free, fair and transparent elections on November 29th, just days from now, do not exist.
- Honduras coup tensions take toll on economy
By Helen Popper - reuters.com : November 20, 2009
Business was bad in Honduras even before the president was ousted in a June coup, unleashing months of political turmoil that have deepened the impoverished country's economic woes. / Honduras was already suffering from the recession in the United States, its top trade partner, due to slack demand for its key clothing exports and a plunge in the amount of cash being sent home by relatives.
- Unmagical Realism in Central America
By Tim Padgett - time.com : November 20, 2009
If he holds his handy lead in the polls, Porfirio (Pepe) Lobo will be the next President of Honduras. Problem is, the last man elected to that office, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted last summer in a military coup. That makes it unlikely that any nation — except maybe the U.S. — will recognize Lobo if he wins the Nov. 29 election. But as he relaxes in his opulent house near Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa after a day of campaigning, Lobo sounds unfazed. "I practice Taekwondo for serenity," he says with his trademark Cheshire cat smile. "We have to hold this election, and the world has to recognize it, because Hondurans have to move on."
- Fear and Loathing in Honduras: Elections Under Repression
By mayispeakfreely.org : November 20, 2009
As Honduras' Nov. 29 election day quickly approaches, the broader picture of whether the vote can truly be free and fair has so far escaped the attention of the U.S. government and much of the world's mainstream press. While focusing on the terms of the Tegucigalpa-San José Accords, their compliance or lack thereof, and the seemingly two-dimensional Manuel Zelaya/Roberto Micheletti dispute over the country's presidency, government and media observers alike have paid scant notice to the ongoing suppression of civil, constitutional and political rights of the dissenters, which seriously undermines any hope for an end to the political crisis, let alone an unfettered electoral process. As Bertha Oliva, director of the Committee for Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared, testified in a Nov. 5 U.S. Congressional briefing, "Dialogue under repression isn't dialogue ... nor is dialogue that doesn't recognize human rights."
- Channel 36 Off Air Again
By hondurascoup2009.blogspot.com : November 20, 2009
Channel 36, Cholusat Sur, has been kicked off the air by "interference" with its signal, technology the de facto government sought to purchase in El Salvador right after the coup. Basically what's going on is that the de facto government has brought up a transmitter on the same frequency as that of Cholusat Sur, blocking its signal. The rogue transmitter is broadcasting cowboy movies and pornography according to station owner Esdras Amado López.
- Micheletti Fools State Department
By hondurascoup2009.blogspot.com : November 20, 2009
RAJ and I wondered last night as we drove home, who the intended audience for Micheletti's rather empty gesture was. To refresh your memory, what Roberto Micheletti offered to consider doing was step out of the public spotlight for a week, but first, he would have to consult with everyone. Its a hollow offer because its only an offer to step out of the public spotlight, not to step aside from office. As his Minister of the presidency, Rafael Pineda noted, "he will only absent himself from public functions, not necessarily from the responsibilities to administer the interests of state."
- US: Micheletti's temporary step down could open 'political space'
By earthtimes.org : November 20, 2009
Washington - The United States sees the decision by Honduras' disputed de-facto leader to step down during elections as a "positive step," a senior US State Department official said Friday. The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, also reaffirmed Washington's intention to support the November 29 elections, even if many of the countries in the hemisphere have declared they will not recognize the results.
- State Dept. "Mr. Micheletti Taking a Leave of Absence ... And Expect Its Prompt Implementation"
By hondurasoye.wordpress.com : November 20, 2009
Wood's explanation of Micheletti's upcoming absence was phrased oddly if this was truly a spur of the moment decision by Micheletti. Using the word "implementation" suggests that this is part of the PLAN and that the "get out of Dodge" step has been in the playbook all along.
- Honduras regime seeks to disarm citizens ahead of polls
By AFP - google.com : November 20, 2009
The Honduran de facto regime on Friday ordered citizens to turn in their weapons in a bid to avert violence around disputed presidential elections to be held at the end of the month. / Ousted President Manuel Zelaya has called on his supporters to boycott the November 29 national elections after crisis talks failed to restore him to power beforehand -- in order to finish his single term that ends in January.
- Senator Lugar's Call to Recognize Honduran Election
By huffingtonpost.com : November 20, 2009
This is not surprising, Lugar has been with his party leadership on this all along, including his letter in July that got the State Department to write their response that appeared to blame Zelaya for the coup. Honduras has become a real cause for the Republican party leadership, which sees it as a strategic battle in their long-term fight against the Latin American left (which for them includes Lula). Although Lugar is of course different from them, for some reason he has joined with them in this battle.
- Honduran channel says de facto govt blocks signal
By reuters.com : November 20, 2009
A Honduran television station that backs deposed President Manuel Zelaya accused the de facto government of interfering with its broadcast signal on Friday, replacing news programs with cowboy movies.
- Honduras interim leader may step down...
By csmonitor.com : November 20, 2009
For months, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya – with the backing of the world community – has demanded that Roberto Micheletti step down as the interim president of this Central American nation roiled in political conflict. Thursday evening, he may have gotten his wish: Mr. Micheletti told the nation that he will likely leave the presidency to allow voters to concentrate on upcoming presidential elections Nov. 29. But his leave, which would only be temporary, has done little to appease supporters of Mr. Zelaya, nor is it likely to sway the opinion of countries that have said they will refuse to acknowledge election results without Zelaya first in office.
- Will the National Democratic Institute Support the Coup in Honduras?
By huffingtonpost.com : November 20, 2009
A statement put out by Senator Lugar's office this week contained a striking revelation: apparently, the State Department intends to fund election observer missions of the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute for the controversial November 29 Honduras election supervised by the coup regime. If the US sends election observers before President Zelaya is restored, it would prepare the ground for recognizing the coup regime and its election as legitimate, putting the U.S. at odds with the rest of the hemisphere. Funding election observers appears to be part of a strategy of legitimizing the June coup against President Zelaya.
- Zelaya Urges to Postpone Honduran Elections
By prensa-latina.cu : November 20, 2009
The demand for postponing the November 20 election in the country was launched to the complex stage of the crisis in Honduras by Constitutional President Manuel Zelaya, as a way to restore democracy.
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