by Larisa Alexandrovna
There is a very strange word game being played with regard to the Honduras “bloodless” coup. Many on the right have decried the use of the term “coup” in describing last week’s military arrest and deportation of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. More importantly, the right wing has co-opted the Honduran coup as a political umbilical cord tying President Obama to Castro and Chavez in much the same way as they tried to tie Obama to terrorists during the 2008 election.
This propaganda war by the far-right raises once again the serious question of how far the extreme right will go to destroy President Obama and – as Rush Limbaugh has often prayed for – make sure that his tenure in office is a complete failure.
First, the Coup
I am going to try to explain the recent events in Honduras as simply as possible, not using legal or political verbiage, but simple language to make this complex situation more understandable.
Before I begin, however, I would like to make absolutely clear that I am no fan of Manuel Zelaya. I am also no fan of former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. The latter’s inclusion here serves a purpose which I will explain later.
According to the Honduran Constitution – remember, I am simplifying the language – a person who has served as president cannot run for president again or attempt to change the Constitution to alter this provision. A person engaged in this activity will be stripped of the presidency and charged with violations of the law. This person will also not be able to hold any public office for 10 years.
What did Zelaya do? In essence, he ordered what could be called a poll (non-binding referendum) to measure the public sentiment regarding this provision of the Constitution. Or perhaps a better way to say this is that he wanted to hold a Constitutional Assembly. It is unclear if he intended to extend his own presidency, but that point is immaterial. I am no lawyer, and certainly no expert on Honduran Constitutional law, so I am unable to say if Zelaya’s actions were illegal or legal.
I would suggest that you read this analysis if you want to get a good understanding of what Zelaya attempted to do and the questions about the legality of his actions.
That said, what is clear is that even assuming Zelaya’s action were indeed illegal, there was a process by which he could have been removed from office and charged accordingly.
It is the process that is in question for me.
I have no doubt that former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens is guilty. We have all seen the evidence against him. Yet the process by which he was indicted and prosecuted was entirely corrupt and illegal. Respecting the process and working within ethical and legal boundaries to bring a law-breaker to justice is more important than any single individual or crime. This is simply the law and how it works in a democracy – or should work.
The removal of Zelaya, regardless of his perceived guilt or innocence, was entirely illegal.
I have read and re-read the Honduran Constitution and there is no mention of a military removal and forced deportation of the head of state. For all of the claims that the rule of law has been restored and the people of Honduras have been set free from tyrannical rule, I have yet to see a single legal defense that can explain how the coup’s players acted legally.
Take for example this op-ed from Octavio Sánchez, a Honduran lawyer. He explains what Zelaya did and why he believes it is illegal. Again, I don’t know the nuances of the Honduran law, so I am not going to question his argument.
Yet he fails to explain how the people involved in the ousting of Zelaya themselves acted within the law. Again, the Honduran Constitution does provide a legal remedy for the removal of an official, but does not legally allow the way Zelaya was removed.
Consider some of the evidence that illustrates how shady Zelaya’s ouster was:
1. A fake resignation letter
2. No charges brought, despite claims that Zelaya acted outside of the law
3. Deported out of the country by the military
4. A hastily convened Congressional meeting AFTER the fact
Obama and the Socialists
More troubling for us domestically is the American right wing’s use of the Honduran coup in an attempt to paint President Obama as a socialist and a Castro ally. This is political exploitation and opportunism at its most cynical.
Never mind that the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the entire world have condemned the coup in Honduras. The right wing has made a point of claiming over and over that President Obama sided with Zelaya, as though he were alone in the condemnation of what is absolutely an illegal remedy by the Honduran coup leaders.
One such Obama critic writes the following:
"Barack Obama has fundamentally shifted our foreign policy away from our own national interests in Honduras. He aligns us with the interests of Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and a long list of South American drug cartels.
The Honduran people, wise to the ways of Latin American politics, adopted a constitution that prohibits any president from serving more than one term. Presidents in Latin American countries, like herpes, have a habit of never going away. Furthermore, the Honduran Constitution requires that any referendum put to the voters must be approved by the Honduran Congress."
The situation in Honduras at the moment is such that one could hardly call it a democracy. The coup leaders have set a curfew, declared martial law, and dispatched riot police to square off with protestors. Does that sound like the people of Honduras are pleased about the recent turn of events? Moreover, the world has condemned this coup. Obama has sided with world opinion, not with drug cartels or with Fidel Castro – who is in no position or health to side with anyone on anything.
The New York Daily News comes up with the same claims:
"President Barack Obama has made it clear that he does not want the United States to be seen as "meddling" in Iran's internal politics. Never mind that the Islamic Republic has been "meddling" in our affairs for the past three decades, if such a bland word can be used to characterize the seizure of our embassy in 1979, the killing of 229 American servicemen in 1983 and the planting of roadside bombs to kill our soldiers in Iraq. The Obama administration apparently believes that words and actions in support for the Iranian people in their struggle against religious fascism will hurt their cause, even though the mullahs have never needed a pretext for blaming their self-inflicted wounds on the West.
The administration's response to the events in Iran was predictable given its obsession with "engaging" a regime that shows no interest in returning the favor.
Yet while distancing ourselves from democratic forces in Iran under the guise of respect for that government's sovereignty, we have been quite eager to "meddle" in the domestic politics of Honduras. Worse, we have wound up on the wrong side."
Hopes that Obama will be removed by US Military
What is remarkably strange in these talking points is the absence of world condemnation of this coup. Over and over, in countless examples, Obama is being painted as a Castro and Chavez ally, a left-wing radical who supports tyranny. The talking points are so similar and so numerous that the only logical explanation is that this is a coordinated political effort.
Most importantly, these type of extreme word-games have real world implications. Consider that the turn of events in Honduras and the political attack on Obama using that crisis have some on the extreme-right hoping that our own military will remove President Obama from office to protect “democracy.”
There are plenty of things to criticize Obama for, and I certainly have spent a good deal of time hitting this administration. But using false claims to paint an extreme and dangerous picture is not responsible. There is no reason, for example, to claim that Obama has sided with Castro and Chavez, while leaving out that Obama has sided with world leaders in general – Castro and Chavez are but two of them. Surely siding with Great Britain does not make Obama a card-carrying member of the Columbian drug cartels?
This is - as you can see - political propaganda aimed at undermining our leadership and our nation in order to build the foot-soldiers up for the next election cycle. It is a dangerous game.
Tags: Extreme Right Wing, Honduras Coup, Larisa Alexandrovna, Manuel Zelaya, Obama administration, Political Propaganda
Right wing Republikkklans are the modern day NAZI. Here are just a few of the skunks' values......
George HW Bush - Linda Tripp says had he an affair with a woman named Jennifer Fitzgerald while president.
George W. Bush - Convicted of drunk driving. Lied to congress and US citizens about Iraq's nuclear capability just to justify his pre-emptive war. Covered up Saudi aid to 9-11 hijackers. Lied on a juror form about his arrest record, a felony in Texas. Lawsuit filed by Christian book writer Margie Schoedinger claimed Bush raped and harassed her. She was found dead of a gunshot wound 9 months after filing the lawsuit.
Neil Bush - Fined for his "ethical disability" in Silverado savings and loan investigation. Cost to tax payers: 1 billion dollars (still paying interest), Cost to Bush: $0. The $50,000 fine was paid by a banking deregulation lobby. Admitted that he had sex with prostitutes while on trips to Thailand and Hong Kong.
Jeb Bush - Defaulted on a $4,56 million loan from Broward Federal Savings in Sunrise, Florida. After federal regulators closed the S&L, the office building that gave Jeb used that loan, the $4.56 million to finance was reappraised by the regulators to $.5 million, which Bush and his partners paid, thereby leaving the taxpayers with a $4 million LOSS.
Barbara and Jenna Bush - Arrested at an Austin restaurant, Jenna for trying to use a fake ID and Barbara for being in possession of alcohol. Jenna had received a citation in April 2001 for possessing alcohol. Her boyfriend was jailed in March, 2001, and was released to the Secret Service.
Dick Cheney - Convicted at least twice for drunk driving. Received five draft deferments from serving in Vietnam because he "had other priorities in the sixties than military service."
Tom DeLay - Had to resign in disgrace as House majority leader after a Texas grand jury indicted him on a conspiracy charge stemming from a long-running campaign finance investigation. Admonished by House ethics committee three times for unethical behavior.
Larry Craig - Idaho's anti-gay Republican Senator was arrested and pled guilty to soliciting gay sex in an airport restroom in June 2007.
Glenn Murphy Jr. - Chairman of the Clark County Republican Party and president of the Young Republican National Federation accosted two men by attempting to perform oral sex on them as they slept.
David Vitter - A "family-values far-right conservative" Senator from Lousiana, had an affair with a prositute in 1999 and admitted to a "serious sin" after his telephone number was disclosed by the so-called "D.C. Madam" in 2007. Lost a lawsuit for assulting a woman at a town hall meeting. Had a pack with white supremacist David Duke to suppress the black vote.
John Ensign - Admitted he had an extramarital affair with a staffer after the threat of being blackmailed.
S.C. Governor Mark Sanford - Disappeared for a week without telling anyone, including his wife and State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for him. Later Sanford's spokesman told the press that Sanford was hiking the Appalachian Trail. After returning to duty, he admitted he had actually been in Argentina with his mistress.
Republican Congressman Mark Foley abruptly resigned from Congress after "sexually explicit" emails surfaced showing him flirting with a 16-year old boy.
Ted Haggard - Adviser to George W Bush on "spiritual matters" and fervent homophobe who resigned his leadership of the National Association of Evangelicals and stepped aside as pastor of his church after admitting to having a three year affair with a male prostitute and using methamphetamine.
What are people to conclude based on raw story reporting of the Iranian pro democracy street protests (wall to wall coverage, 24/7, sensationalized and hyped) vs. their coverage of the Honduran pro democracy street protests.........never covered or commented on once over the past 5 days???????????????????????/
Of course raw has to cover the Honduran story, but how different it is than the Iranian story. Of course the Obama war machine supported destabilizing Iran, and it favors the removal of a leftist who double minimum wage and joined a pro people trade bloc, ALBA.
So raw does the predictable thing and turns this into some BS right wing vs. left wing discussion. Who cares what right wing fools are saying about this. They are clueless and irrelevant. But I guess raw feels that focusing on them is more important than covering the real issues in the Honduran coup.
courterpunch.org has several articles on Honduras which show journalistic skill and integrity. So does globalresearch.ca.
This place?? Not so much.
The Iranians have been meddling in OUR affairs? Who was it that toppled THEIR legally elected gov't in 1953? Who was it that has been financing various groups that have been trying to destablize THEM ever since we showed up in the Middle East? The Iranians killed our soldiers? You mean the ones in LEBANON? And as to these IEDs, do you mean the ones set by the IRAQIS who want us out of THEIR country? Its pretty sad when you have to lie, but to try and rewrite history when at least some of us REMEMBER what happened from those times is just plain pathetic. But then, the right wing IS pretty pathetic.
Jesus H. Christ in a wheelchair ... the rabid and ridiculous right is just bat shit crazy. They can't figure out if they're coming or going, their collective right hand hasn't a fucking CLUE as to what their collective left hand is doing.
They criticize Obama for not stepping in; they criticize him for stepping in; they criticize Obama for doing too much; they criticize him for doing too little.
Regardless what Obama does, the rabid and ridiculous right will criticize and act like the five year-old doodie heads the rest of us know they are. Actually, I take that back - most five year-olds act more mature and level-headed than the rabid and ridiculous right does.
The sad thing is that the Right-wing nut jobs in this country knowingly prey on stupid people, the 46% percent who supposedly voted for McCain/Palin and don't know jack s**t about Latin America or where Honduras is on a map other than "down there". Throw in some shouts of "Castro!" and "Chavez!" and a new meme is created.
All I can say is "keep the resignations coming fellas"...Rush is next!
The fake progressives and fake left have been doing the right's work on this one. Both here at Enough Enough and here at Big Bans bling bog.
Go tell them what for.
First time posting on this website, even though I'm a long time reader. I'm also a very liberal democrat, and a supporter of president Obama, and I absolutely despise the right wing noise machine, however, I am disappointed at the coverage of this issue by the my camp, the left.
"I am no lawyer, and certainly no expert on Honduran Constitutional law, so I am unable to say if Zelaya’s actions were illegal or legal."
Exactly, yet you link to an article stating that Zelaya's actions would have been legal if he had in fact tried to abuse a loophole to completely rewrite the constitution, which completely contradicts the idea that Zelaya was just polling the people of Honduras with a innocent "non binding" referendum.... but fine, that's a valid argument. However, I would have liked if you had included in your article a very simple fact: The Honduran Electoral College, Congress, and Supreme Court had declared proceeding with the referendum as illegal. Zelaya defied their ruling, and proceeded anyway. This didn't happen over night and Zelaya knew full well he was acting illegally, because he had been told again and again.
I'm no lawyer, but I do know this. If the constitution, congress, the supreme court and the electoral college says it's illegal... it's illegal. Like it or not, legal or illegal is not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of what's in the books.
That said, ousting him out of the country was not adhering to the rule of law either, and Zelaya should be reinstated as president (in title only), and arrested immediately the moment he touches Honduran soil and tried for his alleged crimes under the Honduran law.
And I know the right wing only cares about this issue because it's an opportunity to attack Obama, but I at least appreciate the fact that they're not just listening to Zelaya and Chavez' side of the story.
CLOWN!!!!
LC... the only problem with your argument is that it's based on the assumption that the Honduran courts were all ruling on the same issue... which they weren't... and that the courts can override the Honduran chain of command.
On the first point, there are two separate court issues involved. The SUPREME COURT said a referendum would be illegal (so, Zelaya, rightly or wrongly decided it was a non-binding referendum, which was not illegal) and the Elections Tribunal said the machinery of the state elections commission could not be involved. Since in dHonduras, the military has a role in elections -- specially safeguarding the ballots -- the Zelaya people decided that a) since these were not ballots which would be handled by the elections commission, the non-binding, non-official referendum could use these ballots, but without the official elections commission processes.
This exact same process has played out in Mexico a couple of times... political parties trying to create a referendum (not binding in Mexico), but arguing over whether these kinds of voting exercises can be handled by the Elections Commissions. In most cases, Mexican courts, like the Honduran courts, have said no. Which doesn't prevent the referendum from being held... just from being anything more than a "talkig point" for the winners to use in pressing for a particular political agenda.
The Honduran Constitution is unusual in that the military chain of command is spelled out. The "Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces" is appointed by Congress, but the President is the C-i-C's commander. Zelaya had fired the C-i-C who was ordered re-instated by the Supreme Court. But the C-i-C resigned, and Zelaya accepted the resignation. However, Congress said the C-i-C could NOT resign. Confusing? Yeah... but under the Constitution, Zelaya was still the overall head of the military chain of command.
It was over the miltiary issue that the Supreme Court issued the "arrest order"... and only after the fact that the justification was made for the "arrest" over the referendum issue. But, even if we accept that the Supremes could over-ride the consititutional chain of command, there is nothing about exiling the president, nor using a supposed resignation letter (so badly faked it had the wrong date!) to justify AFTER THE FACT claiming the Presidet had resigned... and... as of today... coming up with a new justification that the Army had to act to avoid bloodshed.
This has nothing at all to do with the economic theories of Manuel Zelaya (well, maybe in that his leftward tilt angered his party leaders.... "Liberal" meaning in Latin American politics something closer to Reagan, Bush, Clinton era "Free Trade" policies) or his putative allies -- except to spin a narrative to sell what is a disaster for all democratic nations.
Happy 4th of July, claim your independence and keep on rockin in the free world.
the only reason absurdities like this get any traction is the left ignores the fact these hypocrites have an illegal 1000 radio station monopoly blasting this coordinated uncontested repetition 24/7/365 on public airwaves on stations licensed to serve in the public interest while most of the blowhards who say they have the pulse of the nation are too afraid to take real calls from real people.
Should the Obama administration have backed the Honduras Coup?
http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=5663
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Apathy and stupidity, the two most common traits among Americans in 2009.
Arrogance, not as much as there once was, but the ugly American is alive and well.
Shame!
Useless article.
Zelaya's crime is his announcement on 5/31/09, where he declared his intention to have the US military base shut down and converted into an international airport.
Additionally, keep in mind that Zelaya raised the minimum wage by about 60%, which would be identical to Obama raising the minimum wage to about $13 an hour. These are the reasons for his ouster. All Zelaya has tried to do is make the government more representative, more democratic. He endeavors to ask the people of Honduras if they support a new Constitution, which they do.
The US base in Honduras was built by Reagan in 81, and is where North trained his terrorist "Contra" army. The base also served as a drug-running headquarters. It is still serving this purpose today, that's how the CIA pays the bills. That's why opium production has skyrocketed in Afghanistan.
The fascists in Honduras have kidnapped and beaten ambassadors from other countries, along with Patricia Rodas, the foreign minister of Honduras. Media has been locked down ,and there are now reports of boys older than 15 years being kidnapped from their homes by Honduran military and forced to serve in the fascists' Army. One mayor was removed from power by force and replaced with Micheletti's nephew.
Here's how it works. The usual US-funded NGO's (NED, USAID etc.), flush with cash, assemble a "movement", which is fascist in nature but operates under the cover of lofty-sounding "democracy" rhetoric, comprised of the targets' political opposition. Incendiary agitprop is directed against the target, accusing him or her of some kind of extra-constitutional criminality. The coup leaders can then effect a "regime change" under the cover of "restoring democracy".
This is the exact same process under which Chavez was temporarily removed.
The US, on the surface, appears to condemn the coup(Obama), but refrains from using the legal nomenclature(H. Clinton) under which, in accordance with US law, the US govt. would be required to cut the cords to the coup leaders.
That's how the US rolls.
There is one crucial point about Raw story which none of the sites CurlyMoe recommends in #2 have; this very reply feature. Both sites are like chicken little, screaming that the sky is falling but allowing no direct response.
Also, the gratuitous insults in #13 is not recommended for productive conversation.
Thanks, Rusty.
And not one word of what YOU say has anything to do with the fact that Obama supports this CIA influenced coup in Honduras while ignorant Obama worshiping fools stand by and do nothing.
I guess you are just fine with all of that. Hence the insults in 13.
CurlyMoe?
Would you have us believe Leon Panetta has used the CIA to encourage a coup in Honduras? No, you used the word 'influenced' in such triple speak you must mean the Bush CIA engineered this one; something like the Bay of Pigs?
Speak up! Say what you really mean, other than Raw readers being ignorant Obama worshipping fools.
On the contrary Rusty, most raw readers are pretty smart and well informed.
Smart enough to see through the Obama BS, and through that of his trolls.
The comments here usually show that.
You the status quo defending establishment Democrat, would be in the minority here.
As for Panetta continuing on with the Bush doctrine of using the CIA to do the bidding of corporate America? Of course it is highly probable. Not up for debate is the fact that Obama is continuing forward with virtually all of the Bush doctrine, why not Panetta?
You corporate Democrats who talk peace and make war are no longer being given a free pass as the shine has gone off your fake messiah. His actions say much more than his smooth BS rhetoric.
Nader, Kucinich, McKinney.
People like this with third party options are the way forward. The US needs to be rid of the criminal scum who have taken complete control of the Repuglians and the Democrats. That idea frightens you, huh Rusty.
I missed the part where I said I was a Democrat, I missed the part where I said I was for the status quo. I missed the part where I said...
If gratuitous insult is your mode of converse, so be it.
I happen to be a disabled veteran from the Korean War who opposes all CIA inspired coups the Republican presidents have engineered, Eisenhower for two, Reagan for at least one, Nixon also. Then there are the recent direct assaults on sovereign integrity to back up our coup efforts.
But you go right along with your fantasies about who I, and the rest of the Raw crowd, might be. It just shows what a jerk-off you are.
"Take for example this op-ed from Octavio Sánchez, a Honduran lawyer. He explains what Zelaya did and why he believes it is illegal. Again, I don’t know the nuances of the Honduran law, so I am not going to question his argument.
Yet he fails to explain how the people involved in the ousting of Zelaya themselves acted within the law. Again, the Honduran Constitution does provide a legal remedy for the removal of an official, but does not legally allow the way Zelaya was removed."
In fact, the army itself has admitted that what they did was a crime. End of story.
"In an interview with The Miami Herald and El Salvador's elfaro.net, army attorney Col. Herberth Bayardo Inestroza acknowledged that top military brass made the call to forcibly remove Zelaya -- and they circumvented laws when they did it.
It was the first time any participant in Sunday's overthrow admitted committing an offense and the first time a Honduran authority revealed who made the decision that has been denounced worldwide.
''We know there was a crime there,'' said Inestroza, the top legal advisor for the Honduran armed forces. ``In the moment that we took him out of the country, in the way that he was taken out, there is a crime."
http://www.miamiherald.com/1506/story/1125872.html
The pro-coup leaders allies in forum debates in the US show how little US citizens respect democracy.
URGENT STORY: PHOTOS and video OF HONDURAN MILITARY SNIPERS AT AIRPORT, AWAITING ARRIVAL OF PRESIDENT ZELAYA!
Please run this story. It is extremely urgent and newsworthy.
Here are the fotos and there is a video of the snipers at the bottom of this link.
http://www.rnv.gov.ve/noticias/index.php?act=ST&f=41&t=101640
Thank you.
Matt Dubuque