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HONDURAS: Lobo Sworn In; Zelaya
Heads into Exile
By Thelma Mejía
TEGUCIGALPA (IPS) - Porfirio Lobo, who was sworn in
Wednesday as president of Honduras, urged the people of
his country and the international community to "forget
the past" and move ahead towards reconciliation.
Shortly after Lobo's inauguration, Manuel Zelaya, who
was ousted as president in a Jun. 28 coup, boarded a
plane to the Dominican Republic, where he will stay
briefly before settling in Mexico with his family.
In a short message, he promised to return to Honduras
and expressed his confidence that the new administration
would be able to bring about reconciliation.
Many Hondurans hope Zelaya's departure into exile and
Lobo's swearing-in will mark an end to seven months of
turmoil triggered when "Mel" - as the deposed leader is
known - was pulled out of his house by the military at
gunpoint and put on a plane to Costa Rica.
Zelaya, who was granted safe-conduct by Lobo and was
personally escorted from the Brazilian Embassy - where
he has been holed up since sneaking back into the
country in late September - by the new president and
Dominican President Leonel Fernández, was cheered at the
airport by thousands of supporters. Many of them cried,
and some even brought him letters and traditional
Honduran dishes.
Even army chief General Romeo Vásquez personally showed
up to say good-bye, telling the press that "I came to
say farewell because he's an ex-president and a dear
friend; it's a pity that we were the ones that had to
carry out an order because he was trying to do something
illegal" - an allusion to Zelaya's attempt to organise a
non-binding referendum on Jun. 28 on the election of a
constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution, which
was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court and Congress.
In his inaugural address, meanwhile, Lobo stressed
unity, forgiveness and reconciliation, in a country that
remains highly polarised between those who backed Zelaya
and his attempts to usher in timid social and economic
reforms and the wealthy elites - a sector he formed part
of but which he alienated with his shift to the left.
International isolation continues
The only presidents at Lobo's inaugural ceremony were
the Dominican Republic's Fernández, Ma Ying-jeou from
Taiwan and Ricardo Martinelli of Panama. Also present
was Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos.
In a reflection of the international isolation that
Honduras continues to face, delegations were sent by
only around 30 countries.
The delegations were headed by foreign ministers,
ambassadors and business attachés, with the exception of
the United States, which sent a high-profile delegation
led by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western
Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela and Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Craig Kelly.
De facto President Roberto Micheletti did not attend the
ceremony, in a concession to international pressure.
Lobo called on the international community to follow a
path of "dialogue and reconciliation with Honduras,
because dialogue is the most powerful tool for
overcoming differences and building peace."
Very few nations have formally recognised the results of
the November elections that brought Lobo to power.
However, Guatemala and El Salvador announced that they
would do so as soon as the new president was sworn in.
In his speech, Lobo said the world "should understand
that making it to this day has not been easy; we are
emerging from the worst political crisis in the
democratic history of Honduras, but we have proven that
we are a peace- and freedom-loving nation."
He also said November's vote was "the freest and most
transparent election, with the highest turnout, in our
history.
"I want to thank the delegations accompanying us, Costa
Rican President Óscar Arias for his efforts to reach a
solution to the crisis, as well as (U.S.) Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton and the Organisation of American
States for their efforts on behalf of democracy in
Honduras," he added.
"I hope we will soon be back in the bosom of the
international community, because this crisis has
deprived us of two billion dollars in aid, which in the
long run affects the poor."
Polarisation
But the crowd in the national stadium where the
inaugural ceremony was held booed when Lobo expressed
his gratitude to Arias. There were also boos and
catcalls for Fernández, OAS Secretary-General José
Miguel Insulza and U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens - a sign
that achieving the reconciliation called for by Lobo
will not be an easy task.
The loudest cheers, by contrast, were for Secretary of
State Clinton, Panamanian President Martinelli and
Colombian Vice President Santos, along with the Honduran
military.
In what was interpreted as a sign of reconciliation, he
signed into law an amnesty passed Tuesday night by the
governing National Party legislators, who hold 71 of a
total of 128 seats in Congress.
The amnesty was opposed by the leftwing Democratic
Unification party, while the Liberal Party (to which
both Zelaya and Micheletti belonged) and the Social
Democratic Innovation and Unity Party (PINU) abstained.
Critics of the amnesty said it should not be approved
until a truth commission is set up to investigate the
developments leading up to and following the coup. Lobo
announced that such a commission would be established in
the near future.
But the National Party lawmakers argued that the amnesty
was a promise made by Lobo to show the international
community that Honduras is on the route to
reconciliation and forgiveness - a position that was
echoed by the new president himself when he signed it
into law.
In an attempt to overcome the polarisation, Lobo tried
to include representatives of all five of Honduras'
political parties in his cabinet, but only four
accepted, including the leftist Democratic Unification
party. PINU declined the offer. |
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