The ousted president of Honduras has said that he will return to the country at the weekend in an attempt to reclaim power. Manuel Zelaya's statement, issued in Panama on Wednesday, came after the Organisation of American States (OAS) gave Honduras a 72-hour deadline to restore him to the presidency or face expulsion from the group. "My return to Honduras is scheduled for the weekend," Zelaya said in Panama City, without specifying an exact day. He had earlier said that he planned to return to Honduras on Thursday, but he now appears to be waiting to see if the interim government is going to abide by the OAS demands to reinstate him. The OAS is a group of 35 independent states of the Americas.
The ousted president of Honduras has said that he will return to the country at the weekend in an attempt to reclaim power.
Manuel Zelaya's statement, issued in Panama on Wednesday, came after the Organisation of American States (OAS) gave Honduras a 72-hour deadline to restore him to the presidency or face expulsion from the group.
"My return to Honduras is scheduled for the weekend," Zelaya said in Panama City, without specifying an exact day.
He had earlier said that he planned to return to Honduras on Thursday, but he now appears to be waiting to see if the interim government is going to abide by the OAS demands to reinstate him.
The OAS is a group of 35 independent states of the Americas.
Coup leaders in Honduras today defied an international deadline for President Manuel Zelaya to return to power within 72 hours and said only a foreign invasion could reinstate him. Roberto Micheletti, the interim leader of a government that forced Zelaya into exile on Sunday, said his predecessor would be arrested if he returned to the central American country. Arrest warrants have been issued accusing the ousted leader of 18 crimes, including treason and abuse of authority, and Interpol will be asked to detain him. Zelaya said he planned to return to Honduras, accompanied by Latin American leaders, this weekend.
Roberto Micheletti, the interim leader of a government that forced Zelaya into exile on Sunday, said his predecessor would be arrested if he returned to the central American country.
Arrest warrants have been issued accusing the ousted leader of 18 crimes, including treason and abuse of authority, and Interpol will be asked to detain him. Zelaya said he planned to return to Honduras, accompanied by Latin American leaders, this weekend.
[M]edia coverage of the recent military coup in Honduras is often misleading; even when it is presenting a critical standpoint towards the events. Concentrating on which words are used to characterize the policies conducted by President Zelaya might seem trivial at first sight. But any familiarity to the notion of `manufacturing of consent', and how slight semantic tricks can be used to manipulate public opinion and support, is enough to realize the magnitude of certain omissions. Such oversights rely on the public's widespread ignorance about some apparently minor legal intricacies in the Honduran Constitution. For example, most reports have stated that Manuel Zelaya was ousted from his country's presidency after he tried to carry out a non-binding referendum to extend his term in office. But this is not completely accurate. Such presentation of "facts" merely contributes to legitimizing the propaganda, which is being employed by the coup-makers in Honduras to justify their actions. This interpretation is widespread in US-American liberal environments, especially after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the coup is unacceptable, but that "all parties have a responsibility to address the underlying problems that led to [Sunday]'s events." However, President Zelaya cannot be held responsible for this flagrant violation of the Honduran democratic institutions that he has tried to expand. This is what has actually happened:... President Zelaya intended to perform a non-binding public consultation, about the conformation of an elected National Constituent Assembly. To do this, he invoked article 5 of the Honduran "Civil Participation Act" of 2006. According to this act, all public functionaries can perform non-binding public consultations to inquire what the population thinks about policy measures. This act was approved by the National Congress and it was not contested by the Supreme Court of Justice, when it was published in the Official Paper of 2006. That is, until the president of the republic employed it in a manner that was not amicable to the interests of the members of these institutions....
For example, most reports have stated that Manuel Zelaya was ousted from his country's presidency after he tried to carry out a non-binding referendum to extend his term in office. But this is not completely accurate. Such presentation of "facts" merely contributes to legitimizing the propaganda, which is being employed by the coup-makers in Honduras to justify their actions. This interpretation is widespread in US-American liberal environments, especially after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the coup is unacceptable, but that "all parties have a responsibility to address the underlying problems that led to [Sunday]'s events." However, President Zelaya cannot be held responsible for this flagrant violation of the Honduran democratic institutions that he has tried to expand. This is what has actually happened:...
President Zelaya intended to perform a non-binding public consultation, about the conformation of an elected National Constituent Assembly. To do this, he invoked article 5 of the Honduran "Civil Participation Act" of 2006. According to this act, all public functionaries can perform non-binding public consultations to inquire what the population thinks about policy measures. This act was approved by the National Congress and it was not contested by the Supreme Court of Justice, when it was published in the Official Paper of 2006. That is, until the president of the republic employed it in a manner that was not amicable to the interests of the members of these institutions....
"We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the democratically elected president there," Obama said. "It would be a terrible precedent if we start moving backward into the era in which we are seeing military coups as a means of political transition rather than democratic elections." Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that the ouster "should be condemned by all." When contacted for comment by The Hill on Tuesday, the office of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said the senator was reserving comment until the situation in Honduras becomes clearer.... "Manuel Zelaya trampled the Honduran Constitution by pushing for his illegal referendum to allow him to rule indefinitely, and by firing the top military official, General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, when he refused to comply with Zelaya's unconstitutional orders," Rep. Connie Mack* (R-Fla.) said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday. "There is little doubt that Zelaya, in his blatant power grab, has moved Honduras down a dangerous path toward less freedom, less security, and less prosperity. He consistently ignored the checks and balances which are essential to a democratic government."... Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich accused Obama of siding with Castro and Chavez on his Twitter feed Tuesday. "Sadly the obama administration has joined castro and chavez attacking honduran supreme court and congress for defending their constitution," Gingrich tweeted. "Having castro call for defending democracy should convince any reasonable person that honduras was on the edge of a leftist dictatorship."
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that the ouster "should be condemned by all."
When contacted for comment by The Hill on Tuesday, the office of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said the senator was reserving comment until the situation in Honduras becomes clearer....
"Manuel Zelaya trampled the Honduran Constitution by pushing for his illegal referendum to allow him to rule indefinitely, and by firing the top military official, General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, when he refused to comply with Zelaya's unconstitutional orders," Rep. Connie Mack* (R-Fla.) said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday.
"There is little doubt that Zelaya, in his blatant power grab, has moved Honduras down a dangerous path toward less freedom, less security, and less prosperity. He consistently ignored the checks and balances which are essential to a democratic government."...
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich accused Obama of siding with Castro and Chavez on his Twitter feed Tuesday. "Sadly the obama administration has joined castro and chavez attacking honduran supreme court and congress for defending their constitution," Gingrich tweeted. "Having castro call for defending democracy should convince any reasonable person that honduras was on the edge of a leftist dictatorship."
*The Mack dynasty (Connie I, Connie II, Connie III and ConnieIV) is All-American scholars, yo. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
