New president-elect in Honduras, while old one still at Brazilian embassy

This is hardly surprising. On Sunday, Hondurans elected Porfirio Lobo president-elect and, shortly thereafter, top U.S. officials called on Manuel Zelaya to participate in reconstruction talks. Zelaya, you may recall, was ousted by an army coup earlier this year and hustled out of the country in the middle of the night. At first - for about six hours - there were calls for his reinstatement and claims the age of the coup was over in Latin America. Not so fast. Those calls quickly turned into consideration of a more temporary reinstatement before the Nov. 29 elections and finally to a position that appeared to represent no reinstatement at all, at least before the elections. Despite a visit by, among others, Peter Kent, secretary of state for foreign affairs, to Honduras, the coup leaders weren't in a mood to make any concessions; for Zelaya to talk transition now seems to mean little more than finding a way to get him out of exile at the Brazilian embassy and out Honduras. Honduran legislators vote tomorrow on a U.S.-brokered plan to restore Zelaya to government until the transition date of Jan. 27 but that, too, looks unlikely. Why should the military leaders bend now? It would, I suppose, be nice if Zelaya were there to smile and bow at the handover so that everybody could pretend the coup never happened and that the U.S. and Canada, among other Western Hemisphere nations, offered more than empty rhetoric. Oh, and U.S. officials praise the election as fair.

There are a few loose ends, including the sticky situation of Zelaya stuck in the embassy and calling the election "a fraud." Moreover, a different view is available at the Common Frontiers website from a delegation of Canadian labour, human rights and faith-based organizations. In the daily reports you can read on their site, they describe conditions under military rule, with police barricades blocking communities and protestors facing tear gas, water cannons and a massed police presence, while military helicopters circled overhead. They also describe what appears to be a scant election turnout, which doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare for what could be wildly inflated numbers. Members of this delegation fanned out across the country to talk to the people (as much as possible with the heavy military presence).

What do they know?

Comments

[Bev Burke]

Thanks for putting something up about the Honduran elections.The Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas),just announced that "...we are encouraged by reports from civil society organizations that there was a strong turnout for the elections, that they appear to have been run freely and fairly, and that there was no major violence." Who was he talking to? As you note, there are Canadians on the ground witnessing the violence and intimidation that has taken place during these so-called elections. The atmosphere, according to their reports on the Common Frontiers website, is far from "free and fair." Could Kent's statement be the lead-in to Canada recognizing the results of this illigitimate "election"? I was recently at a meeting in Mexico with participants from Honduras who quizzed me about the lack of international attention to the 'coup' in their country. I had no answer. I have been amazed and appalled by the lack of coverage by our media of this whole situation.

[William Payne]

Thanks Linda Diebel, for casting light on the so-called elections in Honduras. This story is not over, and I for one am grateful for the ongoing coverage which you and The Star are providing. I read that Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize winner from Argentina, was also there in Honduras on the day of the so-called election calling for a just resolution to this difficult situation, so those who stand for democracy and human rights have not agreed to step aside at this important moment. I do hope that Canada is recognizing the representative of President Zelaya in Ottawa as the legitimate ambassador and will continue to do so until such a day as there exists a true democratic transition, something that this so-called election does not constitute.

[Evert Hoogers]

Your comments on the Honduran coup and the attempts of the coup leaders to mute international condemnation through the so-called election and, possibly, a post-election offer to "reinstate" Zelaya until the "new" President is sworn in, effectively captures the current situation. President Zelaya has properly rejected this transparent ploy, and in so doing has made it more difficult to justify attempts by the U.S. and some other governments to sell the notion that somehow all has now been made whole.

But it seems clear that Peter Kent is working hard to set the stage for Canadian Government acceptance of the elections as "bona fide". I wish more journalists in Canada were as prepared as you are to ask the real questions that need asking and reporting the actual repression carried out by the military dictatorship. I have no doubt that if the actual story were to be covered in our media, Mr. Kent and his Government would be forced to think twice before attempting to make Canada an accomplice in the Honduran coup.

[Kathy Price]

How distressing it is to see such little mainstream media coverage of the elections in Honduras, as if what happens there really doesn't matter. So thanks for your posting which reveals much about an ongoing crisis that has enormous implications for the rest of the region.

Your readers may also be interested to know that Amnesty International has called on Honduran authorities to reveal the identities, whereabouts and charges against all people detained on the eve and day of the presidential elections.

In one of the most worrying cases, the whereabouts of Jensys Mario Umanzor Gutierrez remains unknown. He was last seen at 2:30 am on November 29 in the custody of a Police Patrol whose identification number was recorded by witnesses.
After finding about the case, an Amnesty International fact-finding delegation in Honduras assisted in the filing of a habeas corpus – a legal procedure to find the whereabouts and well being of someone detained by police.

Yet the Supreme Court, amongst several other courts, was closed and no one was available by phone to receive the petition, an essential protection mechanism which cannot be suspended or denied even during a war or state of emergency. Amnesty International concluded that filing a habeas corpus has become an almost impossible task and that the delays and barriers imposed by the authorities to find even basic information goes to show the extent of violations taking place in Honduras today.

Amnesty International delegates also met with two men who were arrested on Election Day under terrorism charges. The men alleged they were beaten and forced to sign statements which they did not agree with. It is unclear what will happen to them now but Amnesty International has serious doubts about their chances of obtaining a fair trial.

In a separate incident, a local human rights organization discovered 14 minors detained at Jefatura Metropolitana No.3, police station in Tegucigalpa. The minors had been arrested while they were chatting in small groups on street corners near polling stations. During two of the multiple arrests the police asked the minors: “Why are you here meeting in groups of more than four people when there is a decree which prohibits you from doing so?” The police were referring to a decree issued last September which was officially annulled on 19 October. All fourteen were eventually released without charge.

These are just some of the incidents reported by Amnesty International. Of enormous concern are attacks and acts of intimidation against local human rights organizations, including the raid on the offices of Red Comal, a collective of farmers and small scale agricultural producers in Siguatepeque, whose computers were seized.

[Jim Hodgson]

Once again, Linda Diebel draws our attention to truths that the Canadian and U.S. governments try to hide. The elections were held under impossible conditions: the military had overthrown President Zelaya; the resistance is repressed by police and soldiers (even church human rights observers were detained in San Pedro Sula on election day); credible, independent observers puts the turn-out at about 38 per cent of registered voters; most of the centre and left candidates had withdrawn--and yet Minister Kent has the gall to congratulate the Honduran people for the "relatively peaceful and orderly" way that the vote was carried out! President Zelaya must be returned to power; only after an open campaign should new elections be held.
Whatever happens, Hondurans will not be held back from their dream of a new, fair constitution.

[Raul Burbano]

Linda Diebel, thank you for telling it how it really is. As a person who has been to Honduras myself recently, I know that the delegation from Common Frontiers is telling it how it is because they met with the common folk and those that are part of the social movements. It’s the social movements who are leading the peaceful and democratic protest against the military dictatorship and are suffering the brutal repression that I and those from Common Frontiers witnessed.
The elections where fraudulent and only serve to justify a military dictatorship that now is applauded by Canada. Of course the U.S would praise the “elections” in Honduras because for the U.S administration, democratic elections are not that important but rather the façade of democracy is more important. We don’t want another Haiti and Afghanistan style elections/governments in the region.

Latin American Solidarity Network

[Lana Silver]

Thank you for this post. It is refreshing to see that someone in the mainstream media is able to do in-depth research and share with readers what is really going on in the world. It is, however, extremely disappointing that so few outlets are providing such information and that the Canadian Government has gotten away with supporting the coup regime..