2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
Encyclopedia
The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis was a political dispute over plans to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras
, which culminated in a coup d'état
against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya
by the Honduran military
. Honduras' Supreme Court, National Congress, and all other democratic institutions of Honduras consider Zelaya's deposal as a Constitutional Succession, and the military later showed that it had had orders from the Supreme Court to oust Zelaya. Zelaya's ouster preempted a poll whether to hold a referendum to convene a constituent assembly
to change the constitution
which was opposed by the legislative branch and which Honduras' Supreme Court had ruled unconstitutional. Opponents called these plans a veiled attempt to unconstitutionally eliminate presidential term limits and usher in Chavez
-style socialism. Zelaya and his supporters claim that he was attempting to modernize the Honduran Constitution to better serve the country, noting that any reforms would be enacted after Zelaya's term. The Honduran Supreme Court had upheld a lower court injunction against the 28 June poll, and on 26 June – while Zelaya ignored the injunction – it issued a secret order for his detention.
On the morning of 28 June 2009, approximately one hundred soldiers stormed the president's residence in Tegucigalpa
and flew him to San José, Costa Rica
, actions which he immediately called a "coup
" upon his arrival there.
Later that day, the National Congress
voted to remove Zelaya, having read without objection a letter of resignation that Zelaya says was forged. Roberto Micheletti
, the Speaker of Congress and next in the presidential line of succession, was sworn in as Interim President. A "state of exception" suspending civil liberties was declared on 1 July by Micheletti's government.
On 21 September 2009, Zelaya returned in secret to Honduras, after several attempts to return had been rebuffed. It was announced that he was in the Brazil
ian embassy in Tegucigalpa. The following day five constitutional rights
were suspended for 45 days by the Honduras government.
International reaction to the 2009 Honduran crisis garnered widespread condemnation of the events as a coup d'état
. The United Nations
, the Organization of American States
(OAS), and the European Union
was to condemn the removal of Zelaya as a military coup, and some of these condemnations may still remain unretracted. The OAS rejected an attempt by Honduras to withdraw from the organisation and then suspended Honduras the next day. Domestic opinion remains very much divided, and there have been demonstrations for and against Zelaya.
Efforts by Costa Rican President Óscar Arias
and the United States to effect a diplomatic solution between Micheletti and Zelaya initially resulted in a proposal by President Arias calling for Zelaya's return to the presidency, albeit with curtailed powers. Arias's proposal also stipulated political amnesty and advanced the Honduran general elections by a month, pushing them to take place in October. In spite of U.S. support for the (dubbed) San José Accord, negotiations ultimately broke down as the two parties were unwilling to come to any lasting agreement. Zelaya also insisted that he would not recognize the elections of 29 November as a precondition to returning to power.
Honduran leaders refused to reinstate Zelaya before the elections, and international support for the elections remained scant leading up to the polls. Many Hondurans sought to move past the crisis with the elections, which had been scheduled previous to Zelaya's ouster. While Zelaya had urged abstention from the vote, initial returns indicated a larger than usual turnout, around 60%, a figure which was subsequently revised downward to 49%. Zelaya also disputed those figures at the time. Some Honduran activists have ended daily protests demanding the reinstatement of Zelaya since he was ousted in a coup, saying they are moving on since Congress had voted to keep Manuel Zelaya out of office.
The crisis drew to a close with the inauguration of the newly elected president, Porfirio Lobo, on 27 January 2010 and a deal to allow Zelaya to leave the Brazilian embassy into exile in the Dominican Republic
.
Zelaya supporters, largely from labor unions and the poor, claim conservative business leaders are actually concerned because Zelaya had sharply increased the minimum wage
. Víctor Meza, formerly Zelaya's interior minister, stated that: "The impression that stuck with the traditional political class and with the most conservative business leaders of the country was that Zelaya had taken a dangerous turn to the left, and therefore that their interests were in jeopardy." "We underestimated the conservatism of the Honduran political class and the military leadership." According to John Donaghy, of Caritas, the real conflict in Honduras is between the poor and wealthy: "It's a system that has kept the poor down for years." To some members of Honduras’s small upper class, Zelaya was ousted because of his blossoming leftist alliance with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela which they recognized as a threat to their interests. To the working-class, it appears Zelaya was ousted because the elite felt threatened by his efforts to improve their lives — most notably with a 60 percent increase in the minimum wage to about US$9.60 a day from about $6 a day. Some who protested in support of Zelaya had never voted for him.
, a businessman born into a wealthy Honduran family, was elected in 2005
as the candidate of the country's historically powerful Liberal Party
. Since taking office, Zelaya's economic and social policies earned him praise from labor unions and civil society groups, but alienated him from parts of his own party. which were particularly upset by Zelaya's forging a regional alliance with the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
(ALBA), established by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
and other leaders in Latin America as a counter to the trade and security policies sponsored by the United States. Zelaya also planned to convert the Soto Cano Air Base ("Palmerola"), where one of the three United States Southern Command
Task Forces is located, into a civilian airport (it is already in use for many civilian flights because of safety concerns about Toncontín International Airport
), partly using financing from ALBA and Petrocaribe
. The New York Times
reports that much of Zelaya's support is derived from labor unions and the nation's poor, while the middle
and upper class
fear Zelaya is seeking to establish Hugo Chávez’s
type of socialist populism with a powerful leader in the country.
Zelaya's government was accused of harassing journalists and also accused by The Organization of American States
(OAS) of imposing "subtle censorship" in Honduras.
According to The Economist
, "Mr. Zelaya’s presidency has been marked by a rise in crime, corruption
scandals and economic populism." By April 2009, a Mitofsky
opinion poll
showed that, of those consulted, only one in four respondents approved of Zelaya - the lowest approval rating of 18 regional leaders.
On July 22, 2008, Zelaya revealed that he was seeking to incorporate the country into the ALBA, an organization founded by Hugo Chávez
. In fact, he said that the country had been an "observer member" "four or more months". The Associated Press, citing Manuel Orozco of the Inter American Dialogue, said that "His [Zelaya's] campaign for changing the constitution has energized his support base of labour groups, farmers and civil organisations who have long felt marginalized in a country where a wealthy elite controls the media and much of politics."
The Honduran right opposed the ALBA alliance, and were concerned that Zelaya would move to eliminate his term limit
as had other ALBA leaders, whom they considered would-be dictators.
According to National Party analyst Raul Pineda Alvarado, Zelaya's attempt to modify constitution was a "carbon copy" of what has happened in Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua. US Republican Newt Gingrich wrote in the Washington Examiner that Chavez has used ALBA to create "a tide of incipient dictatorship" flowing out of Venezuela into other countries in Latin America. He noted that Chavez has subverted democracy in Venezuela to ensure his rule will be uncontested for decades, and "one-by-one, each of the members of ALBA have followed Chavez's lead and changed their constitutions to remove limits on the number of terms their presidents can serve." However, the notion of extending term limits in Latin America is not unique to ALBA countries, as efforts in Colombia have been made towards allowing President Álvaro Uribe
to seek reelection.
took place in Honduras, with support from many groups. "The constitution has since 1980 been tweaked in other areas around thirty times, to the point where politicians of all camps are convinced that the document in no longer adequate. This is where the formal change proposed by Manuel Zelaya comes in: that in the November 2009 election-round, the voters will be presented with four ballot-boxes - the fourth one being used for a referendum on the question: "Do you agree with convening a constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution?"
On 11 November 2008, President Zelaya announced a non-binding referendum to see if the people wanted to have a fourth ballot box
(or "Cuarta Urna") during the November 2009 election. The fourth ballot would ask voters whether they wanted to hold a National Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution.
Zelaya, whose presidential term was to expire on 27 January 2010, would be ineligible, under the term-limitations of the present constitution, to run in the 2009 election.
On December 22, 2008 Zelaya issued two emergency executive agreements ("acuerdos"), both numbered 46-A-2008, which each authorized transfer of 30 million lempiras of public money to advertising of his fourth ballot box. Only one was published in the official Gazette. The supposed advertisers paid no sales tax. The Supreme Audit Court's investigation of the advertising money raised concerns of irregularities
.
On February 17, at a public showcasing of tractor equipment received from Venezuela, Manuel Zelaya states that he will propose a fourth ballot box.
On 24 March 2009, Zelaya called for a preliminary poll to be held on 28 June 2009 to gauge popular support for including the Constituent Assembly question in the November 2009 election.
Article 373 of the Constitution of Honduras
states that the constitution can be modified by a two-thirds majority of the National Congress. Article 374, however, specifies that several articles are permanently entrenched
; that is, they cannot be modified under any circumstances (Spanish: "en ningún caso"). The entrenched clauses include those on the system of government that is permitted, and the presidential succession. Article 239 specifically prohibits the president from attempting to amend restrictions on succession, and states that whoever does so will cease "immediately" in his or her functions. Zelaya's statement--"[t]he only one who can't be re-elected is the President, but re-election is a topic of the next National Constitutional Assembly"--is a declaration that some have argued violates Article 239. Article 239, however, is not mentioned at all in the judicial case file.
In late May the court of contentious administration ruled the poll illegal. Honduras’ Supreme Electoral Tribunal also ruled that such a poll would be illegal. The lower court's injunction, against the poll, was upheld by the Supreme Court. In late June the intended consultative poll was also rejected by Congress.Also New York Times, 29 June 2009, op cit.
On June 3, Congress passed a resolution warning Zelaya to correct his administrative conduct.
On June 11, the Bar Association of Honduras unanimously agreed that Zelaya was violating the law. It asked Zelaya to stop the illegalities and recommended officials not follow his illegal orders.
On 23 June 2009, Congress passed a law forbidding holding official polls or referenda less than 180 days before the next general election, which would have made the 28 June poll illegal.
Since this bill was passed after the poll was scheduled, Zelaya rejected its applicability to this case.
The military is in charge of security and logistics in elections in Honduras. Zelaya asked them to perform their election role for the poll, but the head of the military command, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez
, refused the order to pass out the poll materials because the Supreme Court had ruled the poll to be illegal. On 24 June Zelaya fired him. Later that day, the defense minister and heads of the army, navy and air force resigned. On 25 June the Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that General Velásquez be reinstated. Tribunal member David Matamoros affirmed the Electoral Tribunal’s support for the military's actions.
On June 24, surveillance cameras captured how about $2 million in cash was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Honduras
and allegedly driven to the office of Enrique Flores Lanza, Zelaya's chief of staff. The suspicious money was possibly used to finance the referendum.
Just days before the referendum, Zelaya published executive decree PCM-019-2009, which revoked the earlier decree PCM-05-2009. Zelaya issued a new executive decree PCM-020-2009, another attempt to legalize the referendum. According a legal analysis by former Supreme Court President Vilma Morales, Zelaya stopped being President of Honduras.
Zelaya led several hundred people to an air force
base and took possession of the disputed poll ballots, which were then kept in the presidential palace to avoid their destruction.
In late June, there were large marches both for and against the proposed fourth ballot box.
The Supreme Court, Congress, and the military and the National Human Rights Commissioner recommended that voters stay home because the poll would be neither fair nor safe for voters.
early in the morning of 28 June, disarming the presidential guard, waking Zelaya and putting him on a plane to Costa Rica
.
In San José, Costa Rica, Zelaya told TeleSUR
that he had been awakened by gunshots. Masked soldiers took his cell phone, shoved him into a van and took him to an air force base, where he was put on a plane. He said he did not know that he was being taken to Costa Rica until he landed at the airport in San José
. To the media, he described the events as "a coup" and "a kidnapping."
Tanks patrolled the streets and military planes flew overhead. Soldiers guarded the main government buildings. The government television station and a television station that supported the president were taken off the air. Television and radio stations broadcasted no news. The electrical power, phone lines, and international cable TV were cut or blocked throughout Honduras.
Public transportation was suspended.
Later that day, the Supreme Court issued a statement that it had ordered the army to arrest Zelaya. On 30 June, the military's chief lawyer, Colonel Herberth Inestroza, showed Judge Arita's arrest order. Colonel Inestroza later stated that deporting Zelaya did not comply with the court order, but that military leadership had decided to do so in order to avoid violence in Honduras, asking "What was more beneficial, remove this gentleman from Honduras or present him to prosecutors and have a mob assault and burn and destroy and for us to have to shoot?". Inestroza also stated that Zelaya's allegiance to Chávez was hard to stomach and "It would be difficult for us, with our training, to have a relationship with a leftist government. That's impossible. I personally would have retired, because my thinking, my principles, would not have allowed me to participate in that."
Ramón Custodio, the head of the country’s human rights commission, said that Zelaya’s exile was a mistake and that the military made an "error" sending Zelaya into exile rather than holding him for trial. Honduras’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case brought by a group of lawyers and judges arguing that the military broke the law taking Zelaya out of the country. In August 2009, Micheletti himself said that a mistake was made when Zelaya was exiled.
Zelaya has said he did not write the letter. Later that day, in an extraordinary session Congress voted to remove Zelaya for manifest irregular conduct and putting in present danger the state of law.
The President of the National Congress was the next on the presidential line of succession because
Vice-President had earlier quit to run in the 2009 elections. The President of the National Congress was Roberto Micheletti
, a member of Zelaya's party.
By a show of hands, the National Congress – the majority of whom belonged to Zelaya's own Liberal party – named Micheletti to complete the remaining months of the presidential term.
At around 12:37 the Honduran National Congress unanimously agreed to:
Honduran institutions, including the National Congress
, the Supreme Court
, and the interim government, maintain Zelaya was replaced constitutionally. Arguments that Zelaya's ouster was illegal because the proper legal procedures were not used has been advanced by several lawyers. Acting Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said forcing deposed President Manuel Zelaya to leave the country, instead of arresting him, was a mistake.
which initially lasted for the 48 hours from Sunday night (28 June) and to Tuesday (30 June). The curfew law was not published in the official journal La Gaceta and was not approved by Congress.
Originally the curfew ran from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. That curfew was extended, changed, or renewed several times, in ways Amnesty International and the International Observation Mission called "arbitrary". On 1 July, Congress issued an order (decreto ejecutivo N° 011-2009) which extended restrictions between 22:00 and 05:00 local time and also suspended four constitutional guarantees, including freedom of transit, due process, and freedom from unwarranted search and seizure.
The ambassadors of Cuba
, Venezuela
, and Nicaragua
stated that on 29 June that they were detained and beaten by Honduran troops before being released. Also, several allies of Zelaya were taken into custody by the military. Among them were: Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas
; the mayor of the city San Pedro Sula
, Rodolfo Padilla Sunseri; several congressmen of the Democratic Unification Party (PUD)
; and several other government officials. A dozen former ministers from the Zelaya government, as well as PUD presidential candidate Cesar Ham
, went into in hiding. A Venezuelan state-owned media outlet claimed that Tomás Andino Mencías, a member of the party, said that PUD lawmakers were led away by the military when they tried to enter the parliament building for the 28 June vote on Zelaya's deposal.
Several TV stations, radio stations, and newspaper's websites were temporarily shut down. The Miami Herald reported that the "crackdown on the media" began before dawn on the 28th. It said that only pro-Micheletti stations were allowed to broadcast and that they carried only news friendly to the new government. Associated Press
personnel were detained and removed from their hotel, but later released. A number of local reporters and media sources reported on harassment and restrictions. Alejandro Villatoro, director of Radio Globo
, said that he was arrested and "kidnapped" for some hours by the military.
Honduran newspaper La Prensa
reported on 30 June that an armed group of Zelaya supporters, attacked its main headquarters by throwing stones and other objects at their windows, until police intervened.
Protests against the coup began almost immediately, as several thousand Zelaya supporters gathered near the Presidential Palace, confronting the guarding soldiers and lit tires on fire. In response to daily pro-Zelaya protests, Congress approved a decree on 1 July that applied an overnight curfew and allowed security forces to arrest people at home and hold them for more than 24 hours.
On 30 June, the United Nations General Assembly
unanimously adopted a resolution which called for the reinstatement of Zelaya as the President of Honduras. Zelaya spoke in front of the General Assembly where he was applauded several times. In his speech, Zelaya promised not to seek another term as President and said that he would not accept a second term if he were asked to serve again.
30 June also saw the first rally in support of Zelaya's removal take place in the capital, as thousands of Zelaya opponents took to the main square. Roberto Micheletti made an appearance and said that the November general elections
will be held as scheduled and that a new president will be sworn in on 27 January 2010. General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez
also attended and spoke at the rally.
Honduras was formally suspended from the Organization of American States
on 4 July, after the Micheletti government ignored an ultimatum by the OAS to re-instate Zelaya as president. OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza
had arrived in Honduras the previous day to negotiate Zelaya's return.
Zelaya met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on 7 July. At this meeting, Zelaya agreed to a U.S.-backed proposal for negotiation talks with Micheletti government representatives in Costa Rica set for 9 July. The talks, with Costa Rican President Óscar Arias
serving as mediator, proved unsuccessful, as both sides remained far apart according to regional leaders. The participants only agreed to meet again sometime in the future, as Zelaya left Costa Rica to gather more international support.
Meanwhile, Micheletti announced that he accepted the resignation of his Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez
, who, in a TV interview, had called U.S. President Barack Obama
"[un] negrito que no sabe nada de nada" ("a little black man who knows nothing about nothing"). The U.S. Embassy in Honduras strongly condemned the comments, which Micheletti described as "a scandalous epithet". However, Micheletti immediately reinstated Ortez as Minister of Government and Justice.
In mid-July Honduran Roman Catholic Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga said that he supported Zelaya's removal from office, saying that Zelaya now "doesn’t have any authority, moral or legal", while opposing his expulsion from the country.
On 15 July 2009, interim president Roberto Micheletti stated he would be prepared to step down "if at some point that decision is needed to bring peace and tranquility to the country, but without the return, and I stress this, of former President Zelaya."
In a 16 July interview President Óscar Arias said that he had a mandate from 34 world governments to restore constitutional order in Honduras, by which he meant restore President Zelaya. He rejected Micheletti's proposal to step down if Zelaya did not return to power. He said, "we will see if we can talk of an amnesty, and for who, over political crimes (veremos si se puede hablar de una amnistía, y para quiénes, sobre delitos políticos)". "Zelaya must abandon his goal of installing a fourth ballot box", he continued. Arias indicated he intended to propose a reconciliation government headed by Zelaya combined with political amnesty.
Meanwhile, both pro- and anti-Zelaya demonstrations continued on an almost daily basis throughout the deeply polarized country.
On July 2, Honduran police arrested several Cubans and Nicaraguans present at demonstrations, and police sources claimed Venezuelans were active in the anti-coup movement.
On July 5, Venezuelan media showed Hugo Chávez watching Zelaya's attempt to land. Accidentally visible in Chávez's office was the text "051345JUL09 Swarm of africanized bees, Presidential Podium, wounded by stings and desperation of the people", the military-style code for July 5, 13:45 coincided with a violent confrontation in Honduras.
On July 8, Colombia arrested 80 Venezuelans who attempted to travel to Honduras.
On July 27, police confiscated a booklet in a car owned by Carlos Eduardo Reina, a leader of pro-Zelaya operations. It allegedly contained a list of 15 receipts, dated July 24, and references to a meeting near Nicaraguan border. The receipts totaled 160,000 U.S. dollars.
Hugo Chávez has allegedly made payments to ambassadors of Honduras.
In October 2009, Daniel Ortega
hinted that the "Resistance" is searching for weapons and training centers. Hugo Chávez
said "I'm just warning... no one to be surprised if there is an armed movement in the mountains of Honduras".
organisations and political parties and movements formerly known as Frente Nacional contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras (FNGE), now Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular. The FNGE aimed to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya
in replacement of the de facto Roberto Micheletti
government, which is perceived by the participating organisations as a dictatorship
, considering the documented human rights violations since the coup de'etat and the reappearance of figures involved in disappearances and torture in former coup's deétat. The FNGE supports a process of participatory democracy
that should lead to a national constituent assembly
.
FNGE held marches every day since June 28, except the days when a curfew was imposed, where demonstrations took place in grassroot neighborhoods. Notable marches on July 5, September 15, and January 27 involved over 200,000 people per day.
, International Federation of Human Rights
, "La Misión Internacional de Solidaridad, Observación y Acompañamiento a Honduras", "Quixote Center Emergency Delegation of Solidarity, Accompaniment and Witness", Amnesty International
, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR), and Human Rights Watch
that documented instances of sexual violence, excessive use of military force, arbitrary detentions
, threats at gunpoint against judges responsible for habeas corpus
detention and beating members of the media and several confirmed deaths and disappearances allegedly attributable to the de facto government.
19-year-old Isis Obed Murillo Mencías, was shot in the head on 5 July when Zelaya's plane was trying to land at Toncontin Airport; Roger Iván Bados, former union leader, member of the Democratic Unification Party
and Bloque Popular, shot dead on 11 July while entering his home in San Pedro Sula
; 40-year-old campesino
leader and Democratic Unification Party
member Ramón García on 12 July, after he was forced by unknown people to get off a bus; 23-year-old Pedro Magdiel Muñoz Salvador, allegedly detained by police during anti-coup protests and taken to an El Paraíso
police station on 24 July, was allegedly found at 6:30 am the following morning with 42 stab wounds; 38-year-old high school teacher Roger Abraham Vallejo Soriano, shot in the head allegedly by security forces during protests on 31 July, died on 1 August
On 3 July, Radio América journalist Gabriel Fino Noriega
was murdered near La Ceiba
.
On or just before 4 August 2009, the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) terminated Radio Globo
's transmission frequency rights.
The Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders
released a statement on 29 June stating that, "The suspension or closure of local and international broadcast media indicates that the coup leaders want to hide what is happening."
Carlos Lauría of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists
said: "The de facto government clearly used the security forces to restrict the news... Hondurans did not know what was going on. They clearly acted to create an information vacuum to keep people unaware of what was actually happening." However, in an interview published on 9 July 2009 in the Washington Post, Ramón Custodio López, Honduras's human rights ombudsman, said he had received no official complaints from journalists: "This is the first I have heard about an occupation or military raid of a station," he said. "I try to do the best job I can, but there are things that escape my knowledge."
On 21 August 2009, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR) dispatched a six-member delegation which reported accusations it received. The delegation was told of alleged violent confrontations and arbitrary arrests. Someone even accused police of rape. Some alleged that judges were threatened "at gunpoint". According to the received allegations, 3,500 and 4,000 people had been arrested. The IACHR also received accusations that the government has threatened, detained and beaten members of the media. Based on the statements it received, the delegation concluded that there was "an atmosphere of intimidation that inhibits the free exercise of freedom of expression." On the same day, 93 academics and authors, mostly from United States
universities, criticised Human Rights Watch's lack of statements and reports on Honduras between 8 July and 21 August. Four days later, Human Rights Watch
published a summary of the IACHR report and stated that it had published reports up to 8 July and that human rights supporters had encouraged the IACHR to "directly [intervene]". ABC News (United States)
claimed that HRW had "commissioned" the IACHR report.
Violent confrontations with media continued from both Zelaya supporters and opponents during the week of 12 August 2009.
On 10 October, Honduras' interim leaders put in place new rules that threaten broadasters with closure for airing reports that "attack national security," further restricting media freedom following the closure of two opposition stations.
and sending the military to guard the runways. As thousands of Zelaya supporters gathered at the airport to meet him, one was confirmed dead and scores injured, when "several soldiers walked through [the crowd] and began firing indiscriminately".
On 26 July, Zelaya briefly entered into Honduran territory, at a border crossing between Honduras and Nicaragua near Las Manos in El Paraíso Department.
On 21 September 2009, Zelaya and his wife arrived at the Brazil
ian embassy in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya stated that to reach the embassy he travelled through mountains for fifteen hours, and took back roads to avoid checkpoints, but he did not state from which country he entered Honduras. He stated to Canal 36
that "I am here in Tegucigalpa. I am here for the restoration of democracy, to call for dialogue".
Michelletti initially denied that Zelaya had returned. After admitting the return, he issued a curfew and asked the Brazilian government to put Zelaya in Honduran custody to be put on trial. Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim
stated that Brazil did not aid Zelaya's return.
Thousands of Zelaya supporters soon congregated around the embassy. Security Vice Minister Mario Perdomo ordered checkpoints to be placed on highways leading to Tegucigalpa, to "stop those people coming to start trouble." Defense Minister Lionel Sevilla suspended all air flights to Tegucigalpa. Late that day, Honduran security forces used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowds outside the Brazilian embassy. The interim government also surrounded the area with military and several agencies reported that 'hooded men' had stormed the building next to the embassy. About 50 pro-Zelaya supporters have been reported wounded by police.
Electricity was cut off to the embassy area and Canal 36 TV; however, Radio Globo sent out a broadcast that included a call for generators and a pledge by the head of the electrical workers union to send technicians which shortly led to power being restored to the immediate area. The curfew was then extended until 6:00 pm the following day, a drastic measure because it means that all workplaces will be closed during daylight hours.
Installed inside the embassy, Zelaya complained of harassment from the Micheletti government aided by Israeli mercenaries. He claimed they had installed a mobile phone jammer, which he showed to the press, and assaulted the occupants of the embasssy with toxic gases and radiation
, which allegedly caused nose or stomach bleeding or related symptoms in over 25 people inside the embassy.
On 24 September, Brazil called an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council
. The Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim
told the Security Council that "since the day it has sheltered President Zelaya at its premises, the Brazilian Embassy has been virtually under siege" and that "it has been submitted to acts of harassment and intimidation by the de facto authorities". The UN Security Council defended the inviolability of Brazilian embassy and "called upon the de facto government of Honduras to cease harassing the Brazilian embassy and to provide all necessary utilities and services, including water, electricity, food and continuity of communications".
Amnesty International
representative Susan Lee described human rights violations by Micheletti's security forces following Zelaya's return as "alarming". These included a "sharp rise in police beatings" and hundreds of arrests of political demonstrators throughout Honduras, and intimidation of human rights defenders by police firing tear gas canisters into the building of the human rights NGO Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
(COFADEH), at a moment when about 100 people were in the COFADEH office, many who were in COFADEH in order to report human rights violations earlier that day. Dozens of the protestors detained were held in unauthorised detention sites in Tegucigalpa on 22 September. Amnesty International also reported limits imposed by the de facto authorities on free speech, in which Radio Globo
and the TV channel 36
"suffered power stoppages or constant interruptions to their transmissions which prevented them from broadcasting". Susan Lee stated "The only way forward is for the de facto authorities to stop the policy of repression and violence and instead respect the rights of freedom of expression and association."
On 28 September 2009, after pressure from home and abroad, Micheletti said that he would lift his decree suspending civil liberties. As of 2 October 2009, Mr. Micheletti had not done so, but told a visiting delegation of Republican members of the U.S. Congress that he would lift the decree and restore civil liberties by Monday, October 5, 2009 at the latest, according to a spokesman for a member of the delegation. On 5 October 2009, Micheletti said that he was lifting the decree but also said that the pro-Zelaya media that had been closed down by the de facto government, Radio Globo and Canal 36 TV, would have to appear before the courts in order to regain their broadcast permits. On 19 October 2009, the decree was reversed in the official gazette.
When Micheletti announced he had, unilaterally, formed the unity government without input from Zelaya, Zelaya declared the agreement "dead" early on 6 November. The United States sent diplomats to help to resurrect the pact, but Zelaya insisted that he would not accept any deal to restore him to office if it meant he must recognize the elections of 29 November.
In the days preceding the elections, United States, Israel
, Italy
, Colombia
, Panama
, Peru
, Germany
, Costa Rica
and Japan
also announced their intentions to recognize the results of the elections.
On 29 November 2009, a presidential election was held, according to the Honduran constitution. Five candidates ran for president. Many Hondurans sought to move past the crisis with the elections, which had been scheduled previous to Zelaya's ouster. Early returns indicate that conservative Porfirio Lobo was elected with around 55% of the votes. Official numbers for the turnout of the election place it at around 60%, which was subsequently officially revised down to 49% - a considerable decline on the 55% 2005 election turnout.
The European Parliament
did not send obsevers. However, observers were sent by the centre-right European People's Party, who reported a "high degree of civic maturity and exemplar democratic behaviour" during the elections.
Organisations and individuals in Honduras, including the National Resistance Front against the coup d'État in Honduras
, Marvin Ponce of the Democratic Unification Party
, and Bertha Oliva of Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
, and internationally, including Mercosur
, President Cristina Kirchner
of Argentina
and
the Union of South American Nations, said that elections held on 29 November under Micheletti would not be legitimate.
Zelaya criticized the vote and urged governments not to restore ties with the incoming administration of Porfirio Lobo. "Today, the lawmakers at the service of the dominant classes ratified the coup d'etat in Honduras," Zelaya said in a statement released shortly after the vote. "They have condemned Honduran to exist outside the rule of law.".
On 4 December, Juan Barahona-led activists ended five months of daily protests demanding the reinstatement of Zelaya, saying they are moving on now that Congress has voted to keep Manuel Zelaya out of office. Juan Barahona, who had been leading protests since late June when Zelaya was forced out of the country, said that his supporters are "closing that chapter" of their struggle. Barahona said it's time for Hondurans who support policies in favor of the poor and other themes that Zelaya espoused to shift their focus to the 2014 elections.
and President-elect Porfirio Lobo agreed to a deal that would allow Zelaya to be transported safely from the Brazil
ian embassy in Tegucigalpa
where he had been, to the Dominican Republic upon Lobo taking office on January 27. Lobo stated that he would ensure Zelaya would leave safely and "with dignity." Lobo negotiated with Dominican President Leonel Fernández
. Lobo also discussed the situation with former presidential candidates
who signed a statement on the agreement, as well as requesting that sanctions placed against Honduras as a result of the incident be lifted. The next day, Zelaya agreed to the deal, while a close advisor said he would remain political active and hope to later return to political activity.
, along with leaders and officials of governments throughout the hemisphere and the rest of the world, condemned the removal of President Zelaya as undemocratic and called the action taken against him a coup d'état.
Americas
-based international organizations such as the Organization of American States
, Mercosur
, and the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
also condemned the events. Over ten Latin American countries, as well as all European Union countries, agreed to withdraw their ambassadors from Honduras until Zelaya is returned to power.
and
Paraguay: President of Paraguay and current president pro tempore
of Mercosur Fernando Lugo
condemned the coup and said that no member state of Mercosur will recognize a Honduran government that is not led by Manuel Zelaya. Lugo also called for those behind the coup to be punished by serving prison sentences.
and
Chile: Chilean president Michelle Bachelet
, speaking on behalf of her government and UNASUR, condemned the coup.
Reactions of individual countries are dealt with in the International reaction to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état.
Constitution of Honduras
The Political Constitution of the Republic of Honduras was approved on 11 January 1982, published on 20 January 1982, amended by the National Congress of Honduras 26 times from 1984 to 2005, and 10 interpretations by Congress were made from 1982 to 2005. It is Honduras' twelfth constitution since...
, which culminated in a coup d'état
2009 Honduran coup d'état
The 2009 Honduran coup d'état, part of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred when the Honduran Army ousted President Manuel Zelaya and sent him into exile on June 28, 2009. It was prompted by his attempts to schedule a non binding poll on holding a referendum about convening a...
against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
by the Honduran military
Military of Honduras
-pre-1979:During the twentieth century, Honduran military leaders frequently became presidents, either through elections or by coups d'état. General Tiburcio Carías Andino was elected in 1932, he later on called a constituent assembly that allowed him to be reelected, and his rule became more...
. Honduras' Supreme Court, National Congress, and all other democratic institutions of Honduras consider Zelaya's deposal as a Constitutional Succession, and the military later showed that it had had orders from the Supreme Court to oust Zelaya. Zelaya's ouster preempted a poll whether to hold a referendum to convene a constituent assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
to change the constitution
Honduran fourth ballot box referendum
The cuarta urna or fourth ballot box referendum was a plan by Honduran president Manuel Zelaya to run a non-binding referendum to consult the public regarding the administration of a second, binding referendum to convoke a constitutional assembly, which was planned to be polled concurrently with...
which was opposed by the legislative branch and which Honduras' Supreme Court had ruled unconstitutional. Opponents called these plans a veiled attempt to unconstitutionally eliminate presidential term limits and usher in Chavez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
-style socialism. Zelaya and his supporters claim that he was attempting to modernize the Honduran Constitution to better serve the country, noting that any reforms would be enacted after Zelaya's term. The Honduran Supreme Court had upheld a lower court injunction against the 28 June poll, and on 26 June – while Zelaya ignored the injunction – it issued a secret order for his detention.
On the morning of 28 June 2009, approximately one hundred soldiers stormed the president's residence in Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
and flew him to San José, Costa Rica
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
, actions which he immediately called a "coup
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
" upon his arrival there.
Later that day, the National Congress
National Congress of Honduras
The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras.The Honduran Congress is a unicameral legislature. The current President of the National Congress of Honduras is Juan Orlando Hernández. Its members are 128 deputies, who are elected on a proportional representation...
voted to remove Zelaya, having read without objection a letter of resignation that Zelaya says was forged. Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...
, the Speaker of Congress and next in the presidential line of succession, was sworn in as Interim President. A "state of exception" suspending civil liberties was declared on 1 July by Micheletti's government.
On 21 September 2009, Zelaya returned in secret to Honduras, after several attempts to return had been rebuffed. It was announced that he was in the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian embassy in Tegucigalpa. The following day five constitutional rights
Constitution of Honduras
The Political Constitution of the Republic of Honduras was approved on 11 January 1982, published on 20 January 1982, amended by the National Congress of Honduras 26 times from 1984 to 2005, and 10 interpretations by Congress were made from 1982 to 2005. It is Honduras' twelfth constitution since...
were suspended for 45 days by the Honduras government.
International reaction to the 2009 Honduran crisis garnered widespread condemnation of the events as a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
(OAS), and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
was to condemn the removal of Zelaya as a military coup, and some of these condemnations may still remain unretracted. The OAS rejected an attempt by Honduras to withdraw from the organisation and then suspended Honduras the next day. Domestic opinion remains very much divided, and there have been demonstrations for and against Zelaya.
Efforts by Costa Rican President Óscar Arias
Óscar Arias
Óscar Arias Sánchez is a Costa Rican politician who was President of Costa Rica from 2006 to 2010. He previously served as President from 1986 to 1990 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars then raging in several other Central American countries.He is also a...
and the United States to effect a diplomatic solution between Micheletti and Zelaya initially resulted in a proposal by President Arias calling for Zelaya's return to the presidency, albeit with curtailed powers. Arias's proposal also stipulated political amnesty and advanced the Honduran general elections by a month, pushing them to take place in October. In spite of U.S. support for the (dubbed) San José Accord, negotiations ultimately broke down as the two parties were unwilling to come to any lasting agreement. Zelaya also insisted that he would not recognize the elections of 29 November as a precondition to returning to power.
Honduran leaders refused to reinstate Zelaya before the elections, and international support for the elections remained scant leading up to the polls. Many Hondurans sought to move past the crisis with the elections, which had been scheduled previous to Zelaya's ouster. While Zelaya had urged abstention from the vote, initial returns indicated a larger than usual turnout, around 60%, a figure which was subsequently revised downward to 49%. Zelaya also disputed those figures at the time. Some Honduran activists have ended daily protests demanding the reinstatement of Zelaya since he was ousted in a coup, saying they are moving on since Congress had voted to keep Manuel Zelaya out of office.
The crisis drew to a close with the inauguration of the newly elected president, Porfirio Lobo, on 27 January 2010 and a deal to allow Zelaya to leave the Brazilian embassy into exile in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
.
Political and socioeconomic divide in Honduras
Two-thirds of Honduras citizens live below the poverty line, and unemployment is estimated at 28%. It has one of Latin America's most unequal distributions of wealth: the poorest 10% of the population receives just 1.2% of the country's wealth, while the richest 10% collect 42%. Approximately twenty per cent of the nations GDP comes from remittances of workers from abroad. The BBC describe the huge wealth gap in a poor country as one of the reasons why the relations between the president and the other institutions were so strained and that his leftward movement alarmed certain sectors. Zelaya pushed for a referendum, insisting that Honduras' grinding poverty stemmed from a constitution — written in 1982 at the height of that country's brutal repression of leftists — that rigs the game for the most powerful families and interests.Zelaya supporters, largely from labor unions and the poor, claim conservative business leaders are actually concerned because Zelaya had sharply increased the minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
. Víctor Meza, formerly Zelaya's interior minister, stated that: "The impression that stuck with the traditional political class and with the most conservative business leaders of the country was that Zelaya had taken a dangerous turn to the left, and therefore that their interests were in jeopardy." "We underestimated the conservatism of the Honduran political class and the military leadership." According to John Donaghy, of Caritas, the real conflict in Honduras is between the poor and wealthy: "It's a system that has kept the poor down for years." To some members of Honduras’s small upper class, Zelaya was ousted because of his blossoming leftist alliance with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela which they recognized as a threat to their interests. To the working-class, it appears Zelaya was ousted because the elite felt threatened by his efforts to improve their lives — most notably with a 60 percent increase in the minimum wage to about US$9.60 a day from about $6 a day. Some who protested in support of Zelaya had never voted for him.
Zelaya presidency
Manuel ZelayaManuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
, a businessman born into a wealthy Honduran family, was elected in 2005
Honduran general election, 2005
General elections were held in Honduras to elect the President of Honduras, Vice-President, and deputies to the National Congress of Honduras on 27 November, 2005. For the 2005 election the constitution was amended to create a single vice-president...
as the candidate of the country's historically powerful Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
. Since taking office, Zelaya's economic and social policies earned him praise from labor unions and civil society groups, but alienated him from parts of his own party. which were particularly upset by Zelaya's forging a regional alliance with the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America is an international cooperation organization based on the idea of social, political, and economic integration between the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean...
(ALBA), established by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
and other leaders in Latin America as a counter to the trade and security policies sponsored by the United States. Zelaya also planned to convert the Soto Cano Air Base ("Palmerola"), where one of the three United States Southern Command
United States Southern Command
The United States Southern Command , located in Miami, Florida, is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning and operations in Central and South America, the Caribbean The United States Southern Command...
Task Forces is located, into a civilian airport (it is already in use for many civilian flights because of safety concerns about Toncontín International Airport
Toncontín International Airport
Toncontín International Airport or Teniente Coronel Hernán Acosta Mejía Airport is a civil and military airport that serves Tegucigalpa, Honduras...
), partly using financing from ALBA and Petrocaribe
Petrocaribe
Petrocaribe S. A. is a Caribbean oil alliance with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment. The alliance was launched in June 2005. The payment system allows for a few nations to buy oil on market value but only a certain amount is needed up front; the remainder can be paid...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reports that much of Zelaya's support is derived from labor unions and the nation's poor, while the middle
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
and upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
fear Zelaya is seeking to establish Hugo Chávez’s
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
type of socialist populism with a powerful leader in the country.
Zelaya's government was accused of harassing journalists and also accused by The Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
(OAS) of imposing "subtle censorship" in Honduras.
According to The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, "Mr. Zelaya’s presidency has been marked by a rise in crime, corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
scandals and economic populism." By April 2009, a Mitofsky
Warren Mitofsky
Warren Mitofsky was an American political pollster.Mitofsky graduated in 1957 from Guilford College and was executive director of the CBS News election and survey unit from 1967 to 1990...
opinion poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
showed that, of those consulted, only one in four respondents approved of Zelaya - the lowest approval rating of 18 regional leaders.
Alliance with ALBA
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
. In fact, he said that the country had been an "observer member" "four or more months". The Associated Press, citing Manuel Orozco of the Inter American Dialogue, said that "His [Zelaya's] campaign for changing the constitution has energized his support base of labour groups, farmers and civil organisations who have long felt marginalized in a country where a wealthy elite controls the media and much of politics."
The Honduran right opposed the ALBA alliance, and were concerned that Zelaya would move to eliminate his term limit
Term limit
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...
as had other ALBA leaders, whom they considered would-be dictators.
According to National Party analyst Raul Pineda Alvarado, Zelaya's attempt to modify constitution was a "carbon copy" of what has happened in Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua. US Republican Newt Gingrich wrote in the Washington Examiner that Chavez has used ALBA to create "a tide of incipient dictatorship" flowing out of Venezuela into other countries in Latin America. He noted that Chavez has subverted democracy in Venezuela to ensure his rule will be uncontested for decades, and "one-by-one, each of the members of ALBA have followed Chavez's lead and changed their constitutions to remove limits on the number of terms their presidents can serve." However, the notion of extending term limits in Latin America is not unique to ALBA countries, as efforts in Colombia have been made towards allowing President Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
to seek reelection.
Constitutional assembly plans
As early as August 2006, Central America Report stated that "liberal sectors" were proposing to reform "obsolete articles" in the constitution, including one against presidential reelection. The Report said that this was causing controversy. Debate regarding the convening of a constituent assemblyConstituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
took place in Honduras, with support from many groups. "The constitution has since 1980 been tweaked in other areas around thirty times, to the point where politicians of all camps are convinced that the document in no longer adequate. This is where the formal change proposed by Manuel Zelaya comes in: that in the November 2009 election-round, the voters will be presented with four ballot-boxes - the fourth one being used for a referendum on the question: "Do you agree with convening a constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution?"
On 11 November 2008, President Zelaya announced a non-binding referendum to see if the people wanted to have a fourth ballot box
Honduran fourth ballot box referendum
The cuarta urna or fourth ballot box referendum was a plan by Honduran president Manuel Zelaya to run a non-binding referendum to consult the public regarding the administration of a second, binding referendum to convoke a constitutional assembly, which was planned to be polled concurrently with...
(or "Cuarta Urna") during the November 2009 election. The fourth ballot would ask voters whether they wanted to hold a National Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution.
Zelaya, whose presidential term was to expire on 27 January 2010, would be ineligible, under the term-limitations of the present constitution, to run in the 2009 election.
On December 22, 2008 Zelaya issued two emergency executive agreements ("acuerdos"), both numbered 46-A-2008, which each authorized transfer of 30 million lempiras of public money to advertising of his fourth ballot box. Only one was published in the official Gazette. The supposed advertisers paid no sales tax. The Supreme Audit Court's investigation of the advertising money raised concerns of irregularities
Financial irregularities during the Manuel Zelaya administration
Alleged Financial irregularities during the Manuel Zelaya administration received attention of many Hondurans.In late 2008, Zelaya went as far as refusing to send Congress a budget, claiming that it was impossible to come up with numbers, even though the constitution required the president to...
.
On February 17, at a public showcasing of tractor equipment received from Venezuela, Manuel Zelaya states that he will propose a fourth ballot box.
On 24 March 2009, Zelaya called for a preliminary poll to be held on 28 June 2009 to gauge popular support for including the Constituent Assembly question in the November 2009 election.
Constitutionality of referendum
The President of the Congress, Micheletti, observed that Article 374 of the constitution states that no referendum can be used to alter the entrenched articles in the constitution that are specified in article 384. He went on to insist that even to announce such a referendum privately is a crime (" . . . porque eso, incluso, anunciarlo privadamente es un delito.")Article 373 of the Constitution of Honduras
Constitution of Honduras
The Political Constitution of the Republic of Honduras was approved on 11 January 1982, published on 20 January 1982, amended by the National Congress of Honduras 26 times from 1984 to 2005, and 10 interpretations by Congress were made from 1982 to 2005. It is Honduras' twelfth constitution since...
states that the constitution can be modified by a two-thirds majority of the National Congress. Article 374, however, specifies that several articles are permanently entrenched
Eternity clause
The eternity clause is Article 79 paragraph of "this Basic Law" for the Federal Republic of Germany . This clause prohibits outright certain amendments to the German constitution. It was included in the original text of "this Basic Law," as enacted in 1949...
; that is, they cannot be modified under any circumstances (Spanish: "en ningún caso"). The entrenched clauses include those on the system of government that is permitted, and the presidential succession. Article 239 specifically prohibits the president from attempting to amend restrictions on succession, and states that whoever does so will cease "immediately" in his or her functions. Zelaya's statement--"[t]he only one who can't be re-elected is the President, but re-election is a topic of the next National Constitutional Assembly"--is a declaration that some have argued violates Article 239. Article 239, however, is not mentioned at all in the judicial case file.
The plan is officially ruled illegal
On 25 March, the Attorney General's office formally notified President Zelaya that he would face criminal charges of abusing power if he proceeded with the referendum.In late May the court of contentious administration ruled the poll illegal. Honduras’ Supreme Electoral Tribunal also ruled that such a poll would be illegal. The lower court's injunction, against the poll, was upheld by the Supreme Court. In late June the intended consultative poll was also rejected by Congress.Also New York Times, 29 June 2009, op cit.
On June 3, Congress passed a resolution warning Zelaya to correct his administrative conduct.
On June 11, the Bar Association of Honduras unanimously agreed that Zelaya was violating the law. It asked Zelaya to stop the illegalities and recommended officials not follow his illegal orders.
On 23 June 2009, Congress passed a law forbidding holding official polls or referenda less than 180 days before the next general election, which would have made the 28 June poll illegal.
Since this bill was passed after the poll was scheduled, Zelaya rejected its applicability to this case.
The military is in charge of security and logistics in elections in Honduras. Zelaya asked them to perform their election role for the poll, but the head of the military command, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez
Romeo Vásquez Velásquez
Romeo Vásquez Velásquez is a retired Brigadier general turned politician. He was head of the armed forces of Honduras from January 11, 2005 to January 25, 2010. He was born in Siguatepeque, Comayagua. In 1972 he joined the army, and he attended the School of the Americas at least twice, in 1976...
, refused the order to pass out the poll materials because the Supreme Court had ruled the poll to be illegal. On 24 June Zelaya fired him. Later that day, the defense minister and heads of the army, navy and air force resigned. On 25 June the Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that General Velásquez be reinstated. Tribunal member David Matamoros affirmed the Electoral Tribunal’s support for the military's actions.
On June 24, surveillance cameras captured how about $2 million in cash was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Honduras
Central Bank of Honduras
The Central Bank of Honduras is the central bank of Honduras. The current president is Maria Elena Mondragón.On June 24, 2009, surveillance cameras captured how about $2 million in cash was withdrawn from the Central Bank and driven to the office of Enrique Flores Lanza, Manuel Zelaya's chief of...
and allegedly driven to the office of Enrique Flores Lanza, Zelaya's chief of staff. The suspicious money was possibly used to finance the referendum.
Just days before the referendum, Zelaya published executive decree PCM-019-2009, which revoked the earlier decree PCM-05-2009. Zelaya issued a new executive decree PCM-020-2009, another attempt to legalize the referendum. According a legal analysis by former Supreme Court President Vilma Morales, Zelaya stopped being President of Honduras.
Ballots seized
Ballots arrived from Venezuela on a plane and the ballot boxes were kept at the Tegucigalpa airport. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal ordered the illegal ballots to be confiscated. Investigators from the Ministerio Público and the Honduran attorney general's office arrived at the airport.Zelaya led several hundred people to an air force
Honduran Air Force
The Honduras Air Force is the air force of Honduras. As such it is the air power arm of the Honduras Armed Forces.-History:...
base and took possession of the disputed poll ballots, which were then kept in the presidential palace to avoid their destruction.
In late June, there were large marches both for and against the proposed fourth ballot box.
The Supreme Court, Congress, and the military and the National Human Rights Commissioner recommended that voters stay home because the poll would be neither fair nor safe for voters.
Supreme court detention order
On 27 May 2009, the Administrative Law Tribunal issued an injunction against holding the poll at the request of the Honduran Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi. On 16 June the Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the 27 May injunction. On 18 June, the Administrative Law Tribunal ordered Zelaya to comply with the ruling in writing within five days. On 26 June the Supreme Court unanimously found that the Presidency had not complied with the 18 June court order. It also found he was answerable to charges, brought by the Attorney General, for the crimes against the form of government, treason to the motherland, abuse of office and usurpation of functions that damaged the administration. To initiate the case, the Supreme Court appointed member Tomás Arita Valle, who, on 26 June, issued a sealed (secret) order to detain Zelaya for the purposes of taking a statement. Some pro-Zelaya supporters have sought to cast doubt on the Supreme Court's documentation.Zelaya's detention and exile
Soldiers stormed the president's residence in TegucigalpaTegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
early in the morning of 28 June, disarming the presidential guard, waking Zelaya and putting him on a plane to Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
.
In San José, Costa Rica, Zelaya told TeleSUR
TeleSUR
La Nueva Televisora del Sur is a pan-Latin American terrestrial and satellite television network headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela. TeleSUR was launched with the objective of providing information to promote the integration of Latin America....
that he had been awakened by gunshots. Masked soldiers took his cell phone, shoved him into a van and took him to an air force base, where he was put on a plane. He said he did not know that he was being taken to Costa Rica until he landed at the airport in San José
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
. To the media, he described the events as "a coup" and "a kidnapping."
Tanks patrolled the streets and military planes flew overhead. Soldiers guarded the main government buildings. The government television station and a television station that supported the president were taken off the air. Television and radio stations broadcasted no news. The electrical power, phone lines, and international cable TV were cut or blocked throughout Honduras.
Public transportation was suspended.
Later that day, the Supreme Court issued a statement that it had ordered the army to arrest Zelaya. On 30 June, the military's chief lawyer, Colonel Herberth Inestroza, showed Judge Arita's arrest order. Colonel Inestroza later stated that deporting Zelaya did not comply with the court order, but that military leadership had decided to do so in order to avoid violence in Honduras, asking "What was more beneficial, remove this gentleman from Honduras or present him to prosecutors and have a mob assault and burn and destroy and for us to have to shoot?". Inestroza also stated that Zelaya's allegiance to Chávez was hard to stomach and "It would be difficult for us, with our training, to have a relationship with a leftist government. That's impossible. I personally would have retired, because my thinking, my principles, would not have allowed me to participate in that."
Ramón Custodio, the head of the country’s human rights commission, said that Zelaya’s exile was a mistake and that the military made an "error" sending Zelaya into exile rather than holding him for trial. Honduras’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case brought by a group of lawyers and judges arguing that the military broke the law taking Zelaya out of the country. In August 2009, Micheletti himself said that a mistake was made when Zelaya was exiled.
Alleged impeachment and presidential succession
A document purporting to be a resignation letter written by President Zelaya, dated 25 June, was read to congress.Zelaya has said he did not write the letter. Later that day, in an extraordinary session Congress voted to remove Zelaya for manifest irregular conduct and putting in present danger the state of law.
The President of the National Congress was the next on the presidential line of succession because
Vice-President had earlier quit to run in the 2009 elections. The President of the National Congress was Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...
, a member of Zelaya's party.
By a show of hands, the National Congress – the majority of whom belonged to Zelaya's own Liberal party – named Micheletti to complete the remaining months of the presidential term.
- Under the Articles 1, 2,3,4, 205, 220, subsections 20, 218, 242, 321, 322, 323 of the Constitution of the Republic,
- Disapprove Zelaya's repeated violations of the constitution, laws and court orders.
- Remove Zelaya from office.
- Name the current President of Congress to complete the presidential term that ends on January 27, 2010.
Honduran institutions, including the National Congress
National Congress of Honduras
The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras.The Honduran Congress is a unicameral legislature. The current President of the National Congress of Honduras is Juan Orlando Hernández. Its members are 128 deputies, who are elected on a proportional representation...
, the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Honduras
The Supreme Court of Honduras is the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court of Honduras. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in Honduras.- Structure, power, and duties :...
, and the interim government, maintain Zelaya was replaced constitutionally. Arguments that Zelaya's ouster was illegal because the proper legal procedures were not used has been advanced by several lawyers. Acting Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said forcing deposed President Manuel Zelaya to leave the country, instead of arresting him, was a mistake.
Emergency measures by the interim government
Acting President Roberto Micheletti ordered a curfewCurfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
which initially lasted for the 48 hours from Sunday night (28 June) and to Tuesday (30 June). The curfew law was not published in the official journal La Gaceta and was not approved by Congress.
Originally the curfew ran from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. That curfew was extended, changed, or renewed several times, in ways Amnesty International and the International Observation Mission called "arbitrary". On 1 July, Congress issued an order (decreto ejecutivo N° 011-2009) which extended restrictions between 22:00 and 05:00 local time and also suspended four constitutional guarantees, including freedom of transit, due process, and freedom from unwarranted search and seizure.
The ambassadors of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
stated that on 29 June that they were detained and beaten by Honduran troops before being released. Also, several allies of Zelaya were taken into custody by the military. Among them were: Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas
Patricia Rodas
Patricia Rodas is a Honduran politician. She was foreign minister in the government of Manuel Zelaya who was deposed in the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis in June, 2009...
; the mayor of the city San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
, Rodolfo Padilla Sunseri; several congressmen of the Democratic Unification Party (PUD)
Democratic Unification Party
The Democratic Unification Party is a left-wing political party in Honduras. PUD was founded on 29 September 1992 by the merger of four leftist clandestine or semiclandestine political parties, in the context of the changed political situation in Central America at that period, following the end...
; and several other government officials. A dozen former ministers from the Zelaya government, as well as PUD presidential candidate Cesar Ham
César Ham
César David Adolfo Ham Peña is a Honduran politician. He is a leader of the socialist Democratic Unification Party and a member of Parliament...
, went into in hiding. A Venezuelan state-owned media outlet claimed that Tomás Andino Mencías, a member of the party, said that PUD lawmakers were led away by the military when they tried to enter the parliament building for the 28 June vote on Zelaya's deposal.
Several TV stations, radio stations, and newspaper's websites were temporarily shut down. The Miami Herald reported that the "crackdown on the media" began before dawn on the 28th. It said that only pro-Micheletti stations were allowed to broadcast and that they carried only news friendly to the new government. Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
personnel were detained and removed from their hotel, but later released. A number of local reporters and media sources reported on harassment and restrictions. Alejandro Villatoro, director of Radio Globo
Radio Globo
Radio Globo is a radio station operating in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It is known for its opposition to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état. It is owned by Alejandro Villatoro.The station is headed by David Romero Ellner....
, said that he was arrested and "kidnapped" for some hours by the military.
Honduran newspaper La Prensa
La Prensa (Honduras)
La Prensa is an independent newspaper with the biggest circulation in Honduras. It has a daily circulation average of 60,000 units , with full color and tabloid-sized pages...
reported on 30 June that an armed group of Zelaya supporters, attacked its main headquarters by throwing stones and other objects at their windows, until police intervened.
Events after 28 June
On 30 June, the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
unanimously adopted a resolution which called for the reinstatement of Zelaya as the President of Honduras. Zelaya spoke in front of the General Assembly where he was applauded several times. In his speech, Zelaya promised not to seek another term as President and said that he would not accept a second term if he were asked to serve again.
30 June also saw the first rally in support of Zelaya's removal take place in the capital, as thousands of Zelaya opponents took to the main square. Roberto Micheletti made an appearance and said that the November general elections
Honduran general election, 2009
The Honduran general election, 2009 was held in Honduras on 29 November 2009, including presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Voters went to the polls to elect:*A new President of Honduras to serve a four-year term starting January 27, 2010....
will be held as scheduled and that a new president will be sworn in on 27 January 2010. General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez
Romeo Vásquez Velásquez
Romeo Vásquez Velásquez is a retired Brigadier general turned politician. He was head of the armed forces of Honduras from January 11, 2005 to January 25, 2010. He was born in Siguatepeque, Comayagua. In 1972 he joined the army, and he attended the School of the Americas at least twice, in 1976...
also attended and spoke at the rally.
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
on 4 July, after the Micheletti government ignored an ultimatum by the OAS to re-instate Zelaya as president. OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza
José Miguel Insulza
José Miguel Insulza Salinas is a Chilean politician and statesman. He is currently the Secretary General of the Organization of American States. He is nicknamed El Panzer, for his tank-like drive and reputation due to his ability to take political heat with little apparent damage...
had arrived in Honduras the previous day to negotiate Zelaya's return.
Zelaya met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on 7 July. At this meeting, Zelaya agreed to a U.S.-backed proposal for negotiation talks with Micheletti government representatives in Costa Rica set for 9 July. The talks, with Costa Rican President Óscar Arias
Óscar Arias
Óscar Arias Sánchez is a Costa Rican politician who was President of Costa Rica from 2006 to 2010. He previously served as President from 1986 to 1990 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars then raging in several other Central American countries.He is also a...
serving as mediator, proved unsuccessful, as both sides remained far apart according to regional leaders. The participants only agreed to meet again sometime in the future, as Zelaya left Costa Rica to gather more international support.
Meanwhile, Micheletti announced that he accepted the resignation of his Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez
Enrique Ortez
Enrique Ortez Colindres is a Honduran politician and member of the Liberal Party who came to prominence during his time as Foreign Minister in the interim government of Roberto Micheletti in 2009.-Racial comments concerning Obama:...
, who, in a TV interview, had called U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
"[un] negrito que no sabe nada de nada" ("a little black man who knows nothing about nothing"). The U.S. Embassy in Honduras strongly condemned the comments, which Micheletti described as "a scandalous epithet". However, Micheletti immediately reinstated Ortez as Minister of Government and Justice.
In mid-July Honduran Roman Catholic Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga said that he supported Zelaya's removal from office, saying that Zelaya now "doesn’t have any authority, moral or legal", while opposing his expulsion from the country.
On 15 July 2009, interim president Roberto Micheletti stated he would be prepared to step down "if at some point that decision is needed to bring peace and tranquility to the country, but without the return, and I stress this, of former President Zelaya."
In a 16 July interview President Óscar Arias said that he had a mandate from 34 world governments to restore constitutional order in Honduras, by which he meant restore President Zelaya. He rejected Micheletti's proposal to step down if Zelaya did not return to power. He said, "we will see if we can talk of an amnesty, and for who, over political crimes (veremos si se puede hablar de una amnistía, y para quiénes, sobre delitos políticos)". "Zelaya must abandon his goal of installing a fourth ballot box", he continued. Arias indicated he intended to propose a reconciliation government headed by Zelaya combined with political amnesty.
Meanwhile, both pro- and anti-Zelaya demonstrations continued on an almost daily basis throughout the deeply polarized country.
Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba
After Zelaya's exile, Chavez alleged that the Venezuelan ambassador was assaulted by Honduran soldiers; Chavez said that if the ambassador were killed or the Venezuelan Embassy were violated, this would constitute an act of war requiring a military response.On July 2, Honduran police arrested several Cubans and Nicaraguans present at demonstrations, and police sources claimed Venezuelans were active in the anti-coup movement.
On July 5, Venezuelan media showed Hugo Chávez watching Zelaya's attempt to land. Accidentally visible in Chávez's office was the text "051345JUL09 Swarm of africanized bees, Presidential Podium, wounded by stings and desperation of the people", the military-style code for July 5, 13:45 coincided with a violent confrontation in Honduras.
On July 8, Colombia arrested 80 Venezuelans who attempted to travel to Honduras.
On July 27, police confiscated a booklet in a car owned by Carlos Eduardo Reina, a leader of pro-Zelaya operations. It allegedly contained a list of 15 receipts, dated July 24, and references to a meeting near Nicaraguan border. The receipts totaled 160,000 U.S. dollars.
Hugo Chávez has allegedly made payments to ambassadors of Honduras.
In October 2009, Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
hinted that the "Resistance" is searching for weapons and training centers. Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
said "I'm just warning... no one to be surprised if there is an armed movement in the mountains of Honduras".
Opposition to the interim government
Much of the opposition to the de facto Micheletti government and its actions were coordinated through a wide coalition of grassrootsGrassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organisations and political parties and movements formerly known as Frente Nacional contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras (FNGE), now Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular. The FNGE aimed to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
in replacement of the de facto Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...
government, which is perceived by the participating organisations as a dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
, considering the documented human rights violations since the coup de'etat and the reappearance of figures involved in disappearances and torture in former coup's deétat. The FNGE supports a process of participatory democracy
Participatory democracy
Participatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
that should lead to a national constituent assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
.
FNGE held marches every day since June 28, except the days when a curfew was imposed, where demonstrations took place in grassroot neighborhoods. Notable marches on July 5, September 15, and January 27 involved over 200,000 people per day.
Human rights complaints
A number of groups have published reports, including COFADEHComité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras is a human rights NGO in Honduras founded in 1982 by 12 families of disappeared Hondurans, including Bertha Oliva de Nativí , whose husband Professor Tomás Nativí was disappeared in 1981.-Background:Honduras...
, International Federation of Human Rights
International Federation of Human Rights
The International Federation for Human Rights is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the oldest international human rights organisation worldwide and today brings together 164 member organisations in over 100 countries.FIDH is nonpartisan,...
, "La Misión Internacional de Solidaridad, Observación y Acompañamiento a Honduras", "Quixote Center Emergency Delegation of Solidarity, Accompaniment and Witness", Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States .Along with the...
(IACHR), and Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
that documented instances of sexual violence, excessive use of military force, arbitrary detentions
Arbitrary arrest and detention
Arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention are the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law...
, threats at gunpoint against judges responsible for habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
detention and beating members of the media and several confirmed deaths and disappearances allegedly attributable to the de facto government.
19-year-old Isis Obed Murillo Mencías, was shot in the head on 5 July when Zelaya's plane was trying to land at Toncontin Airport; Roger Iván Bados, former union leader, member of the Democratic Unification Party
Democratic Unification Party
The Democratic Unification Party is a left-wing political party in Honduras. PUD was founded on 29 September 1992 by the merger of four leftist clandestine or semiclandestine political parties, in the context of the changed political situation in Central America at that period, following the end...
and Bloque Popular, shot dead on 11 July while entering his home in San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
; 40-year-old campesino
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
leader and Democratic Unification Party
Democratic Unification Party
The Democratic Unification Party is a left-wing political party in Honduras. PUD was founded on 29 September 1992 by the merger of four leftist clandestine or semiclandestine political parties, in the context of the changed political situation in Central America at that period, following the end...
member Ramón García on 12 July, after he was forced by unknown people to get off a bus; 23-year-old Pedro Magdiel Muñoz Salvador, allegedly detained by police during anti-coup protests and taken to an El Paraíso
El Paraíso
El Paraíso is a municipality in the Honduran department of El Paraíso. The capital is Yuscaran.The town is the site of a cigar factory operated by Nestor Plasencia, in which cigars are made under a variety of labels, including that of Rocky Patel....
police station on 24 July, was allegedly found at 6:30 am the following morning with 42 stab wounds; 38-year-old high school teacher Roger Abraham Vallejo Soriano, shot in the head allegedly by security forces during protests on 31 July, died on 1 August
On 3 July, Radio América journalist Gabriel Fino Noriega
Gabriel Fino Noriega
Gabriel Fino Noriega was a Honduran journalist and radio presenter who presented a daily news show on Radio Estelar. He also worked for Radio America . He was shot dead on July 3, 2009 in San Juan Pueblo, near La Ceiba in the early days of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis. Noriega was in...
was murdered near La Ceiba
La Ceiba
La Ceiba is a port city on the northern coast of Honduras in Central America. It is located on the southern edge of the Caribbean, forming part of the south eastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras...
.
On or just before 4 August 2009, the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) terminated Radio Globo
Radio Globo
Radio Globo is a radio station operating in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It is known for its opposition to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état. It is owned by Alejandro Villatoro.The station is headed by David Romero Ellner....
's transmission frequency rights.
The Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
released a statement on 29 June stating that, "The suspension or closure of local and international broadcast media indicates that the coup leaders want to hide what is happening."
Carlos Lauría of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...
said: "The de facto government clearly used the security forces to restrict the news... Hondurans did not know what was going on. They clearly acted to create an information vacuum to keep people unaware of what was actually happening." However, in an interview published on 9 July 2009 in the Washington Post, Ramón Custodio López, Honduras's human rights ombudsman, said he had received no official complaints from journalists: "This is the first I have heard about an occupation or military raid of a station," he said. "I try to do the best job I can, but there are things that escape my knowledge."
On 21 August 2009, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States .Along with the...
(IACHR) dispatched a six-member delegation which reported accusations it received. The delegation was told of alleged violent confrontations and arbitrary arrests. Someone even accused police of rape. Some alleged that judges were threatened "at gunpoint". According to the received allegations, 3,500 and 4,000 people had been arrested. The IACHR also received accusations that the government has threatened, detained and beaten members of the media. Based on the statements it received, the delegation concluded that there was "an atmosphere of intimidation that inhibits the free exercise of freedom of expression." On the same day, 93 academics and authors, mostly from United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
universities, criticised Human Rights Watch's lack of statements and reports on Honduras between 8 July and 21 August. Four days later, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
published a summary of the IACHR report and stated that it had published reports up to 8 July and that human rights supporters had encouraged the IACHR to "directly [intervene]". ABC News (United States)
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
claimed that HRW had "commissioned" the IACHR report.
Violent confrontations with media continued from both Zelaya supporters and opponents during the week of 12 August 2009.
On 10 October, Honduras' interim leaders put in place new rules that threaten broadasters with closure for airing reports that "attack national security," further restricting media freedom following the closure of two opposition stations.
Zelaya's attempts and eventual return to Honduras
Zelaya made two initial, open attempts to return to his country, which were rebuffed. On 5 July he attempted to return by air, and the Micheletti government responded by closing Toncontín International AirportToncontín International Airport
Toncontín International Airport or Teniente Coronel Hernán Acosta Mejía Airport is a civil and military airport that serves Tegucigalpa, Honduras...
and sending the military to guard the runways. As thousands of Zelaya supporters gathered at the airport to meet him, one was confirmed dead and scores injured, when "several soldiers walked through [the crowd] and began firing indiscriminately".
On 26 July, Zelaya briefly entered into Honduran territory, at a border crossing between Honduras and Nicaragua near Las Manos in El Paraíso Department.
On 21 September 2009, Zelaya and his wife arrived at the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian embassy in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya stated that to reach the embassy he travelled through mountains for fifteen hours, and took back roads to avoid checkpoints, but he did not state from which country he entered Honduras. He stated to Canal 36
Canal 36
Canal 36 is a television station in Honduras. It was briefly closed down by order of the government of Roberto Micheletti on September 28, 2009 during the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, along with Radio Globo, because of its support for deposed President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya, but then...
that "I am here in Tegucigalpa. I am here for the restoration of democracy, to call for dialogue".
Michelletti initially denied that Zelaya had returned. After admitting the return, he issued a curfew and asked the Brazilian government to put Zelaya in Honduran custody to be put on trial. Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim
Celso Amorim
Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim is a Brazilian diplomat who has been Minister of Defence since August 2011. Amorim was the Minister of Foreign Relations from 1993 to 1995 under President Itamar Franco and again from 2003 to 2011 under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.Before his appointment by Lula,...
stated that Brazil did not aid Zelaya's return.
Thousands of Zelaya supporters soon congregated around the embassy. Security Vice Minister Mario Perdomo ordered checkpoints to be placed on highways leading to Tegucigalpa, to "stop those people coming to start trouble." Defense Minister Lionel Sevilla suspended all air flights to Tegucigalpa. Late that day, Honduran security forces used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowds outside the Brazilian embassy. The interim government also surrounded the area with military and several agencies reported that 'hooded men' had stormed the building next to the embassy. About 50 pro-Zelaya supporters have been reported wounded by police.
Electricity was cut off to the embassy area and Canal 36 TV; however, Radio Globo sent out a broadcast that included a call for generators and a pledge by the head of the electrical workers union to send technicians which shortly led to power being restored to the immediate area. The curfew was then extended until 6:00 pm the following day, a drastic measure because it means that all workplaces will be closed during daylight hours.
Installed inside the embassy, Zelaya complained of harassment from the Micheletti government aided by Israeli mercenaries. He claimed they had installed a mobile phone jammer, which he showed to the press, and assaulted the occupants of the embasssy with toxic gases and radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
, which allegedly caused nose or stomach bleeding or related symptoms in over 25 people inside the embassy.
On 24 September, Brazil called an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
. The Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim
Celso Amorim
Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim is a Brazilian diplomat who has been Minister of Defence since August 2011. Amorim was the Minister of Foreign Relations from 1993 to 1995 under President Itamar Franco and again from 2003 to 2011 under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.Before his appointment by Lula,...
told the Security Council that "since the day it has sheltered President Zelaya at its premises, the Brazilian Embassy has been virtually under siege" and that "it has been submitted to acts of harassment and intimidation by the de facto authorities". The UN Security Council defended the inviolability of Brazilian embassy and "called upon the de facto government of Honduras to cease harassing the Brazilian embassy and to provide all necessary utilities and services, including water, electricity, food and continuity of communications".
Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
representative Susan Lee described human rights violations by Micheletti's security forces following Zelaya's return as "alarming". These included a "sharp rise in police beatings" and hundreds of arrests of political demonstrators throughout Honduras, and intimidation of human rights defenders by police firing tear gas canisters into the building of the human rights NGO Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras is a human rights NGO in Honduras founded in 1982 by 12 families of disappeared Hondurans, including Bertha Oliva de Nativí , whose husband Professor Tomás Nativí was disappeared in 1981.-Background:Honduras...
(COFADEH), at a moment when about 100 people were in the COFADEH office, many who were in COFADEH in order to report human rights violations earlier that day. Dozens of the protestors detained were held in unauthorised detention sites in Tegucigalpa on 22 September. Amnesty International also reported limits imposed by the de facto authorities on free speech, in which Radio Globo
Radio Globo
Radio Globo is a radio station operating in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It is known for its opposition to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état. It is owned by Alejandro Villatoro.The station is headed by David Romero Ellner....
and the TV channel 36
Canal 36
Canal 36 is a television station in Honduras. It was briefly closed down by order of the government of Roberto Micheletti on September 28, 2009 during the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, along with Radio Globo, because of its support for deposed President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya, but then...
"suffered power stoppages or constant interruptions to their transmissions which prevented them from broadcasting". Susan Lee stated "The only way forward is for the de facto authorities to stop the policy of repression and violence and instead respect the rights of freedom of expression and association."
On 28 September 2009, after pressure from home and abroad, Micheletti said that he would lift his decree suspending civil liberties. As of 2 October 2009, Mr. Micheletti had not done so, but told a visiting delegation of Republican members of the U.S. Congress that he would lift the decree and restore civil liberties by Monday, October 5, 2009 at the latest, according to a spokesman for a member of the delegation. On 5 October 2009, Micheletti said that he was lifting the decree but also said that the pro-Zelaya media that had been closed down by the de facto government, Radio Globo and Canal 36 TV, would have to appear before the courts in order to regain their broadcast permits. On 19 October 2009, the decree was reversed in the official gazette.
Negotiations and accord
On 29 October 2009, the de facto Micheletti government signed an agreement with Zelaya’s negotiators that would allow the Honduran Congress to vote on whether the ousted president would be restored and allowed to serve out the few remaining months of his term. Zelaya chose not to give a list of candidates for the unity government to Micheletti, arguing that the Congress was unacceptably delaying the agreed-upon vote on his restoration.When Micheletti announced he had, unilaterally, formed the unity government without input from Zelaya, Zelaya declared the agreement "dead" early on 6 November. The United States sent diplomats to help to resurrect the pact, but Zelaya insisted that he would not accept any deal to restore him to office if it meant he must recognize the elections of 29 November.
Elections
With Micheletti indicating that he would temporarily step down to allow voters to concentrate on the upcoming presidential elections, and congressional and judicial leadership refusing to reinstate Zelaya before the elections, Panamá, Costa Rica, and the United States indicated that they would support the outcome, but international support for the elections remained scant leading up to the polls.In the days preceding the elections, United States, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
also announced their intentions to recognize the results of the elections.
On 29 November 2009, a presidential election was held, according to the Honduran constitution. Five candidates ran for president. Many Hondurans sought to move past the crisis with the elections, which had been scheduled previous to Zelaya's ouster. Early returns indicate that conservative Porfirio Lobo was elected with around 55% of the votes. Official numbers for the turnout of the election place it at around 60%, which was subsequently officially revised down to 49% - a considerable decline on the 55% 2005 election turnout.
The European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
did not send obsevers. However, observers were sent by the centre-right European People's Party, who reported a "high degree of civic maturity and exemplar democratic behaviour" during the elections.
Organisations and individuals in Honduras, including the National Resistance Front against the coup d'État in Honduras
National Resistance Front (Honduras)
The National Popular Resistance Front or National People's Resistance Front , frequently referred to as the National Resistance Front, is a wide coalition of Honduran grassroots organisations and political parties and movements that aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya and hold a...
, Marvin Ponce of the Democratic Unification Party
Democratic Unification Party
The Democratic Unification Party is a left-wing political party in Honduras. PUD was founded on 29 September 1992 by the merger of four leftist clandestine or semiclandestine political parties, in the context of the changed political situation in Central America at that period, following the end...
, and Bertha Oliva of Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras
Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras is a human rights NGO in Honduras founded in 1982 by 12 families of disappeared Hondurans, including Bertha Oliva de Nativí , whose husband Professor Tomás Nativí was disappeared in 1981.-Background:Honduras...
, and internationally, including Mercosur
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
, President Cristina Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and
the Union of South American Nations, said that elections held on 29 November under Micheletti would not be legitimate.
Congress rejects Zelaya's reinstatement
On 2 December, the National Congress debated regarding the possible reinstatement of Zelaya to the presidency. A vast majority of the lawmakers voted against Zelaya's reinstatement. The 128 member Congress voted 111 to 14 against reinstating Zelaya, affirming its June 28 decision. This decision was made as part of the Tegucigalpa/San Jose Accord, and called the International Community to respect the decision. Almost all congressmen from Zelaya's own political party as well as the opposition National Party voted against the reinstatement, and supported the victory of Porfirio Lobo Sosa as the new president of Honduras in the November 2009 elections.Zelaya criticized the vote and urged governments not to restore ties with the incoming administration of Porfirio Lobo. "Today, the lawmakers at the service of the dominant classes ratified the coup d'etat in Honduras," Zelaya said in a statement released shortly after the vote. "They have condemned Honduran to exist outside the rule of law.".
On 4 December, Juan Barahona-led activists ended five months of daily protests demanding the reinstatement of Zelaya, saying they are moving on now that Congress has voted to keep Manuel Zelaya out of office. Juan Barahona, who had been leading protests since late June when Zelaya was forced out of the country, said that his supporters are "closing that chapter" of their struggle. Barahona said it's time for Hondurans who support policies in favor of the poor and other themes that Zelaya espoused to shift their focus to the 2014 elections.
Guest of Honor in Dominican Republic
On January 20, 2010, the Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and President-elect Porfirio Lobo agreed to a deal that would allow Zelaya to be transported safely from the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian embassy in Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
where he had been, to the Dominican Republic upon Lobo taking office on January 27. Lobo stated that he would ensure Zelaya would leave safely and "with dignity." Lobo negotiated with Dominican President Leonel Fernández
Leonel Fernández
Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna is a Dominican lawyer, academic, and the current President of the Dominican Republic since 2004. He held the same office from 1996 to 2000...
. Lobo also discussed the situation with former presidential candidates
Honduran general election, 2009
The Honduran general election, 2009 was held in Honduras on 29 November 2009, including presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Voters went to the polls to elect:*A new President of Honduras to serve a four-year term starting January 27, 2010....
who signed a statement on the agreement, as well as requesting that sanctions placed against Honduras as a result of the incident be lifted. The next day, Zelaya agreed to the deal, while a close advisor said he would remain political active and hope to later return to political activity.
Zelaya's return
In May 2011 a court in Honduras dropped all corruption charges against Zelaya, allowing him to return to Honduras. He did so on May 28, 2011 to a massive reception at Toncontin International Airport. On June 1 the OAS voted to re-admit Honduras into the OAS.Public opinion
International reaction
No foreign government recognized Micheletti as president. US President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, along with leaders and officials of governments throughout the hemisphere and the rest of the world, condemned the removal of President Zelaya as undemocratic and called the action taken against him a coup d'état.
Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
-based international organizations such as the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
, Mercosur
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
, and the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America is an international cooperation organization based on the idea of social, political, and economic integration between the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean...
also condemned the events. Over ten Latin American countries, as well as all European Union countries, agreed to withdraw their ambassadors from Honduras until Zelaya is returned to power.
- A one-page resolution, passed by acclamationAcclamationAn acclamation, in its most common sense, is a form of election that does not use a ballot. "Acclamation" or "acclamatio" can also signify a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval in certain social contexts in ancient Rome.-Voting:...
in the then 192-member body, condemned the removal of Zelaya as a coup and demanded his "immediate and unconditional restoration" as president. The resolution calls "firmly and categorically on all states to recognize no government other than that" of Zelaya. - The OAS called for an emergency meeting on Sunday, where it approved a resolution demanding "the immediate, safe and unconditional return of the constitutional president, Manuel Zelaya." Secretary General José Miguel InsulzaJosé Miguel InsulzaJosé Miguel Insulza Salinas is a Chilean politician and statesman. He is currently the Secretary General of the Organization of American States. He is nicknamed El Panzer, for his tank-like drive and reputation due to his ability to take political heat with little apparent damage...
called the situation "a military coup." On 4 July 2009, the OAS carried out a prior ultimatum by unanimously suspending Honduras. - The United States condemned the ouster of Zelaya and continued to recognize him as the only constitutional president of Honduras. Although U.S. officials characterized the events as a coup, suspended joint military operations on 1 July, suspended all non-emergency, non-immigrant visas, and cut off certain non-humanitarian aid to Honduras, they have held back from formally designating Zelaya's ouster a "military coup", which would require them to cut off almost all aid to Honduras. The United States subsequently warned the Micheletti government that it might not recognize the results of the November 29 elections if Zelaya was not allowed to return to power first, but ultimately recognized the elections at the last second, despite Zelaya not having been returned to power.
- The European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
called on the Honduran military to release the president and "restore constitutional order". All EU ambassadors had left the country by 2 July.
- The World BankWorld BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
: World Bank President Robert ZoellickRobert ZoellickRobert Bruce Zoellick is the eleventh president of the World Bank, a position he has held since July 1, 2007. He was previously a managing director of Goldman Sachs, United States Deputy Secretary of State and U.S. Trade Representative, from February 7, 2001 until February 22, 2005.President...
stated that the World Bank had "paused" all lending for development programs to Honduras, said to be around US$80 million for the next fiscal year.
- The nine members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas announced in a joint statement that they would not recognize any new government in Honduras.
- In a press release, CARICOM denounced the coup and voiced its concern over the treatment of Honduran and diplomatic officials during the coup. "The Caribbean Community condemns the military action which has interrupted the democratic process in Honduras and which contravenes the principles of the Inter-American Democratic CharterInter-American Democratic CharterThe Inter-American Democratic Charter was adopted on 11 September 2001 by a special session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, held in Lima, Peru. It is an inter-American instrument with the central aim of strengthening and upholding democratic institutions in the...
. The Community therefore calls for the immediate reinstatement of President Zelaya."
- The Association of Caribbean StatesAssociation of Caribbean StatesThe Association of Caribbean States was formed with the aim of promoting consultation, cooperation, and concerted action among all the countries of the Caribbean. It comprises twenty-five member states and four associate members...
condemned the coup in a statement and called for Zelaya's reinstatement. Additionally it stated, "we highlight our condemnation of the brutal treatment that Honduras military personnel gave to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Patricia RodasPatricia RodasPatricia Rodas is a Honduran politician. She was foreign minister in the government of Manuel Zelaya who was deposed in the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis in June, 2009...
as well as the Ambassadors of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. This situation is a serious violation of International law, and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic RelationsVienna Convention on Diplomatic RelationsThe Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. It specifies the privileges of a diplomatic mission that enable diplomats to perform their function without fear of coercion or...
."
and
Paraguay: President of Paraguay and current president pro temporePro tempore
Pro tempore , abbreviated pro tem or p.t., is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a locum tenens in the absence of a superior, such as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate.Legislative...
of Mercosur Fernando Lugo
Fernando Lugo
Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez is the current President of Paraguay and a former Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of San Pedro.-Early life:...
condemned the coup and said that no member state of Mercosur will recognize a Honduran government that is not led by Manuel Zelaya. Lugo also called for those behind the coup to be punished by serving prison sentences.
and
Chile: Chilean president Michelle BacheletMichelle Bachelet
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Social Democrat politician who was President of Chile from 11 March 2006 to 11 March 2010. She was the first woman president of her country...
, speaking on behalf of her government and UNASUR, condemned the coup.
- The Inter-American Development BankInter-American Development BankThe Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...
(IADB): IADB President Luis Alberto MorenoLuis Alberto MorenoLuis Alberto Moreno Mejía is the 4th and current President of the Inter-American Development Bank.-Life:Luis Alberto Moreno was elected president of the Inter-American Development Bank during a special meeting of the Bank's Board of Governors at IDB headquarters in Washington, D.C...
stated that the IADB is pausing all new loans to Honduras until democracy is restored.
- The Central American Bank for Economic Integration: Central America's development bank says it is provisionally freezing credits to Honduras.
Reactions of individual countries are dealt with in the International reaction to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état.
External links
- Honduran Constitution (in Spanish)
- Supreme Court documentation of Zelaya prosecution (in Spanish)
- Armed Forces of Honduras Timeline of events with many scanned documents (in Spanish)
Images
- Slideshows by the Verdad en Honduras
- Unrest in Honduras slideshow by the Los Angeles Times
- Honduran Military Launches Coup by the Washington Post
- Honduras Coup Photos from Daylife
- Military Coup In Honduras slideshow by CBS News
- In Pictures: Honduran President Ousted by BBC News
- Honduras: Protests Against Presidential Coup slideshow by The Huffington Post
Video
- Democracy is Alive and Strong in Honduras, giving a version of events alleged to have led to Zelaya's removal from office
- The Real News Network report with video featuring Zelaya stating: "The only position in Honduras that cannot be reelected is the president. But, reelection will be a topic of the coming National Constitutional Assembly." (subtitled, from 10:04-10:22)
- Surveillance camera footage showing how $2 million in cash was transported from the Central Bank of Honduras to the office of Zelaya's chief of staff
- Honduran Elections Exposed Investigative journalist Jesse FreestonJesse FreestonJesse Freeston is a Canadian video journalist and filmmaker. His work focuses primarily on social movements in North and Central America, but he has also done investigative work around topics such as the military-industrial complex, the global economic crisis, and undocumented migration...
reports from inside the Honduran Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) with proof that the TSE invented fake participation figures.
Analysis
- 21st Century Socialism Comes to the Honduran Banana Republic, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, May 25, 2009
- Honduran Taliban Vows to Protect Sharks by Jesse FreestonJesse FreestonJesse Freeston is a Canadian video journalist and filmmaker. His work focuses primarily on social movements in North and Central America, but he has also done investigative work around topics such as the military-industrial complex, the global economic crisis, and undocumented migration...
, Pulse Media, 1 October 2010. - Crisis in Honduras - What was really behind the removal of President Manuel Zelaya, and is he likely to be reinstated?, Poder magazine's October 2009 issue
- Mel fought the law, and the law won, a timeline of events by F.W. Blake on the Honduras Weekly
- In a Coup in Honduras, Ghosts of Past U.S. Policies by Helene Cooper, The New York Times, 29 June 2009.
- Totalitarian Rightists Put Orwellian Spin on Honduras Coup by John Nichols, The Nation, 2 July 2009
- Honduras' non-coup - Under the country's Constitution, the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya was legal, Miguel A. Estrada, Miguel A. Estrada, Los Angeles Times, July 10, 2009
- Understanding The Mess In Honduras by William Ratliff, Forbes, September 28, 2009
- In Honduras Coup, the Truth is as Strange as any 'Banana Republic' Fiction by Philip Sherwell, Daily Telegraph, 5 July 2009
- Why Honduras Sent Zelaya Away by Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal, 13 July 2009
- Waiting for Zelaya by Greg Grandin, The Nation, 28 July 2009
- The Millennium Challenge Corporation and Economic Sanctions: A Comparison of Honduras With Other Countries, Center for Economic and Policy ResearchCenter for Economic and Policy ResearchThe Center for Economic and Policy Research is a progressive economic policy think-tank based in Washington, DC, founded in 1999. CEPR works on Social Security, the US housing bubble, developing country economies , and gaps in the social policy fabric of the US economy.According to its own...
, August 2009 - HONDURAS: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ISSUES, U.S. Congress, The Law Library of Congress, Directorate of Legal Research for Foreign, Comparative, and International Law, August 2009
- Golpe de Estado contra el Presidente Zelaya. Consecuencias de la impunidad en Honduras, Derechos Human RightsDerechos Human RightsDerechos Human Rights or Derechos humanos is an International human rights organization with their primary focus being on Latin America. It was founded in 1995 as the first internet-based human rights organization...