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Showdown at Honduran Airport
Ousted President Manuel Zelaya was not allowed to fly into his home country on Sunday as military tanks blocked the runway and police fired into a crowd of Zelaya supporters, killing at least one. Though Zelaya was accompanied by the U.N. General Assembly president, Honduran officials diverted the plane carrying their deposed leader into Nicaragua after the aircraft made two sweeps over the crowd of protesters, who cheered. Police used tear gas on the thousands of protesters gathered at the airport to welcome Zelaya. The Organization of American States voted on Saturday to suspend Honduras from its 34-member group, and Nicaraguan military carried out troop movements near the Honduran border as a show of support for leftist Zelaya. If Zelaya does succeed in re-entering the country, the violence is expected to escalate.
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In the past, the US supported coups and military regimes in Latin America, but those were highly repressive and unpopular. It would be a grave mistake for us to turn back the clock and back up dictatorships like these again. In fact, it would be better for Honduras to abolish the army completely, as Costa Rica did in 1948. If there's no more army, then there will be no more coups or military dictatorships ruling on behalf of the elite and aristocracy.
There will be no progress in Latin America at all if regimes like those are back in power, therefore it's better to take a stand against them here and now. They belong back in the bad old days, not the 21st Century.
I'm against military coups to solve problems when democratically elected leaders are out of line. Honduras really does need to adopt a viable impeachment process and a way to have special elections.
They have one. they chose not to use a formal impeachment because they were scared of Zelaya remaining in country and stirring up support. They also have a proceedure to amend the constitution, but Zelaya missed the date to submit for referendum (supposed to be six months before an election, pretty sloppy); which is why this attempted referendum was non-binding.
This whole thing is based on a technicality used to justify avoiding a plebicite!
It was not a coup! Dag people! A coup would have been if Zelaya has gotten his way and the army would have backed him in his bid to go against the Supremes and Constitutional law! Geez, at least understand what a coup is!
Squiggy:
It was most certainly a coup d'etat. When the elites get so nervous about the elected president of their country calling a completely non-binding poll to gauge the level of public support for a measure that they have the military kidnap him at gunpoint in his pajamas, that's a coup.
The Honduran oligarchy was transparently afraid of the anticipated result of the NON-BINDING referendum as it would show that Zelaya has popular support for a constitutional convention to be called in order to discuss amending their right-wing toilet paper "constitution" written by the oligarchs, for the oligarchs.
mcm,
I love the Costa Rican example: no army & thousands of teachers!
But since they do have an army which believes it is acting in accordance with its constitution, how do they settle this without massive bloodshed?
There has been a shift in the hearts and minds of people around the world.After seeing america get fired up to get rid of our own tyrant dictators (Bush,Cheney) in the 2008 elcetions.People felt the shock of the young voters and old and it rippled out into world."NOW" is the time Good is fighting bad and Good will pervail .This might sound crazy but I can fill it in my heart and seeing it with my eye's . President Obama I am praying for you and Good is on your side.....!
Obama is a tyrant who is telling people how to live. I don't want national healthcare forced on me! I don't want to be charge for not having health insurance. I want freedom!
Keep your own fucking Insurance policy, Einstein!
I am glad they said ousted instead of coup. No one in the government changed but him. Big difference. If he wants to change the ballot he needs to get permission from the Supremes. He didn't and he is out. Good lesson for those who want to rule a banana republic, it ain't happening! Good for Honduras! The hell with the OAS. We don't cowtow to the UN and never should.
His plane tried to land but the banana peels on the runway sent him right back up in the air! You get what you pay for and I am thankful there was someone there to collect!
Squiggy:
You are arguing on behalf of the small, unpopular Honduran wealthy oligarchy when at least 40% of their country's population lives on a dollar or less per day. Zelaya wanted to raise the minimum wage by 60%! No wonder the Honduran wealthy class hated him!
You are arguing for the kidnapping at gunpoint of the democratically elected president of Honduras based on a technicality in their ridiculous fascist "constitution" which was written by the Honduran elite with the intention of preventing any leftist radical from being in office long enough to enact meaningful changes to the social order. What Zelaya was calling for was a completely NON-BINDING POLL to be held to test public support for amending the constitution. This poll would have legally changed exactly NOTHING. It wouldn't have let him run for reelection, wouldn't have crowned him king of Honduras or president for life or whatever insane b.s. propaganda the Honduran elite is putting out to try to justify their COUP against their elected president.
The reason it so frightened the Honduran wealthy class is because it would have given Zelaya a great deal of MORAL LEVERAGE for his case for actually amending their "constitution" by showing he has the backing of a majority of the Honduran electorate. Simple deductive reasoning should tell you Squiggy that the outcome of the referendum would have been one of support for amending it or else the elite would have let him hold the referendum and fail, embarrassing himself, instead of taking the jackbooted fascist route of a military coup just beforehand, preventing it from being held. Think about it. So in sum: This was most definitely a coup and you are defending the anti-democratic Honduran yacht club set in their illegal move to militarily depose their elected president rather than even allow their own people to express non-binding support for amending their one-sided b.s. "constitution".
I don't agree with his being exiled in the fashion he was but if he doesn't want to follow constitutional law, the only thing which makes them not a banana republic, then I have to side with the oligarchs, as you say. Slave, I am all for him helping the people but not at the expense of the law. This is how we and every other power made them a banana republic. There will be another chance for the ballot initiative and he could have waited but he didn't. Why is that? He doesn't understand the law or he thinks he is above it or he thinks the people are more important than the law? I am arguing for procedure and protocol, not oligarchs in charge. That's all.
Squiggy:
What part of this being based on a technicality don't you understand? And Squiggy, no real constitution prevents any president from being reelected, only keeping him to a single term so as to prevent any leftist radical from being in office long enough to change the status quo. This is a one-sided right-wing scrap of paper written by the oligarchs in 1982 that's grandiosely called their "constitution". And what Zelaya was calling was a completely NON-BINDING POLL which would have legally changed NOTHING in it.
Why, if Zelaya is this dictator who is abusing the "constitution" of Honduras, why on earth wasn't he brought up on trial and impeached? Removed from office like countries that aren't banana republics do? Why was it so absolutely so urgent that he had to be removed right then, immediately? Use your head and you'll figure it out Squiggy. It was because it had to be before the referendum could be held. What does that tell you about the outcome? That the Honduran electorate would have almost certainly sided with Zelaya's idea and wanted a constitutional convention to be held to discuss amending it. This was an unacceptable scenario for the Honduran bourgeoisie so he was kidnapped in a coup in his pajamas at gunpoint.
You think you're arguing for the rule of law but you're actually arguing for the will of the Honduran people to be supressed and their elected president to be ousted at gunpoint on a ridiculous technicality rather than let the Hondurans express their support for a measure in a non-binding poll. The world sees through the Honduran elite's crap Squiggy. Please join us.
In a country with 50% unemployment, the aristocrats running this little banana republic should be thankful that they are not dragged through the streets and hanged. Few people would miss them if they were. They seem like an arrogant and cruel bunch, at least from their comments on the Internet, and the US should definitely not be backing people like these. I suppose Bush Junior thought that was a good idea, but most of his ideas were never very good as it turned out.
Let us all wish the Honduran people the best of luck and a few wise men and wise women to sort this out.
Thank you.
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