Re: In a Coup in Honduras, Ghosts of Past U.S. Policies
John Fartlington Poopnagle
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"Honduras Targets Protesters With Emergency Decree"
"Media in Country Also Feel Pressure"
By William Booth and Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, July 2, 2009
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 1 -- The new Honduran government clamped
down on street protests and news organizations Wednesday as lawmakers
passed an emergency decree that limits public gatherings following the
military-led coup that removed President Manuel Zelaya from office.
The decree also allows for suspects to be detained for 24 hours and
continues a nighttime curfew. Media outlets complained that the
government was ordering them not to report any news or opinion that
could "incite" the public.
A dozen former ministers from the Zelaya government remain in hiding,
some hunkered down in foreign embassies, fearing arrest. News
organizations here remain polarized. Journalists working for small
independent media -- or for those loyal to Zelaya -- have reported
being harassed by officials.
Before emergency measures were tightened, thousands of protesters
rallied Wednesday to urge Zelaya's return. They were answered by
counterdemonstrations in support of the new government. Local radio
reported that several bombs were found but safely defused.
Zelaya vowed that he would come back to Honduras over the weekend,
while the newly appointed interim president, Roberto Micheletti,
repeated in a news conference Wednesday "that when he comes into the
country, he will be arrested."
Asked whether Honduras could withstand international isolation and
risk losing the foreign aid that keeps the impoverished nation
running, Micheletti said, "You know that the Europeans are not going
to cut the aid to our country, nor will the Americans."
But on Wednesday, the Inter-American Development Bank did suspend aid,
after a similar move by the World Bank. As the impasse continued in
Honduras, diplomats at the Organization of American States struggled
to organize a mission that would restore Zelaya to power and avoid a
clash between him and the military that ousted him.
After nearly 12 hours of debate, the OAS approved a resolution shortly
before dawn Wednesday that called on its secretary general, José
Miguel Insulza, to undertake every effort to reinstate Zelaya. If
Insulza did not succeed within 72 hours, Honduras would be suspended
from the OAS, the main forum for political cooperation in the
hemisphere.
The passage of the resolution prompted Zelaya to postpone a trip home
he had scheduled for Thursday, which diplomats had feared could
sharply escalate tensions in the Central American country.
"I am going to return to Honduras. I am the president," Zelaya told
reporters Wednesday. But he added that he did not want to complicate
the diplomatic efforts of the OAS over the next few days.
Insulza faces an unusually complex task in trying to reverse the coup.
Normally, he would negotiate with the de facto government for the
return of the deposed president. But OAS members, furious about the
military ouster, do not want him to talk to Micheletti, for fear that
would legitimize the new regime.
Even hard-core coup backers here say they were surprised how quickly
and forcefully the Latin American countries condemned their actions.
"This coup is a mess," said the outgoing Italian ambassador, Giuseppe
Magno. "Mistakes have been made on all sides, and the only solution is
for a compromise. We hear that different parties are talking among
themselves. That is good. The solution has to come from the Hondurans
themselves. It cannot be imposed on them."
Honduras is finding itself increasingly isolated. France, Spain,
Italy, Chile and Colombia began recalling their ambassadors Wednesday.
The Pentagon suspended joint military operations with Honduras.
"What provoked an enormous indignation among Latin Americans, above
all, was the military coup," said one diplomat involved in the
planning at the OAS, referring to the way soldiers seized Zelaya at
dawn and bundled him onto a plane bound for Costa Rica.
Insulza, of the OAS, is trying to establish contact with people who
are not closely allied with either Zelaya or Micheletti to build a
compromise, the diplomat said. It was not clear when he would fly to
Honduras.
The coup is the first big test for the Obama administration's policy
of seeking a more diplomatic and collegial role in a region
traditionally dominated by the United States. The military action has
been roundly condemned internationally, including by President Obama.
But U.S. diplomats have sought to prevent a response that is so tough
it leads to bloodshed.
U.S. officials said Wednesday that they would hold off formally
designating the Honduran military action a "coup" until Insulza
reports back to the OAS on Monday. Such a move is significant, because
it would lead to the cutoff of millions of dollars in military and
development aid.
However, the Pentagon said Wednesday that it had decided to reduce
military contact with the Honduran armed forces. "We're still
reviewing and making decisions" about what cooperation would be
affected, said a spokesman for U.S. Southern Command, José Ruiz.
The U.S. military also has cut off contact since Sunday with those who
orchestrated the coup, officials said. The United States has a
contingent of about 700 military personnel at Soto Cano Air Base in
Honduras, focused on disaster relief, humanitarian assistance,
peacekeeping and counternarcotics activities in Honduras and the
region.
Honduras also is facing a freeze on petroleum exports from Venezuela
and a halt in trade from other Central American countries.
"In the 21st century, these kinds of coups don't last long. It is very
hard for a country like Honduras to maintain this kind of position in
the face of overwhelming rejection by the world, and especially the
region and its major trading partners," a senior U.S. official said,
speaking on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic
sensitivities.
Zelaya is a close ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who led a
bloc of leftist governments in pressing the OAS to suspend Honduras
immediately and support Zelaya's quick return to the country -- even
at the risk of his being arrested. The governments believe that unless
there is a tough response to the coup, their own leftist governments
could be threatened, diplomats said.
Venezuela's ambassador to the OAS, Roy Chaderton, described the
approach as "diplomatic asphyxiation." The Venezuelan government
provided a plane for Zelaya's trips Tuesday to the United Nations and
the OAS.
[Sheridan reported from Washington.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/01/AR2009070100369.html