 Day 15
Click here for all
the stories from day 1
Fidel
Castro: The Coup Dies or Constitutions Die
Havana (Prensa Latina) - Leader of the
Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro said that now
Honduras is not only a country occupied by
putschists, but it is also a country
occupied by the armed forces of the United
States.
In an article titled The Coup Dies or
Constitutions Die, released by Cubadebate
website, Fidel Castro considers that if
President Manuel Zelaya fails to be returned
to his position, a wave of coups threatens
to sweep away many governments in Latin
America or these will be left at the mercy
of ultra right-wing military, trained in the
security doctrine of the School of the
Americas, an expert on torture,
psychological war and terror.
The Cuban leader adds that the authority of
many civilian governments in Central and
South America will be weakened. Those dark
days are not very far back in time. The
putschists would not even pay any attention
to the civilian US administration.
Prensa Latina posts below the full text
version of these reflections.
Reflections by Comrade Fidel:
THE COUP DIES OR CONSTITUTIONS DIE
The countries of Latin America were
struggling against history's worst financial
crisis within relative institutional order.
When US President Barack Obama -- while on a
trip to Moscow to discuss vital topics on
the subject of nuclear weapons -- was
declaring that the only constitutional
president of Honduras was Manuel Zelaya, the
ultra right-wing and the hawks in Washington
were making manoeuvres for Zelaya to
negotiate a humiliating pardon for the
illegalities attributed to him by the
perpetrators of the coup.
It was obvious that before his people and
the world such an act would be tantamount to
his disappearance from the political stage.
It is a proven fact that when Zelaya
announced he would be returning on July 5th,
he had decided to fulfil his promise to
share the brutal repression of the coup with
his people.
Travelling with the president was Miguel
d'Escoto, the president pro tempore of the
UN General Assembly, along with Patricia
Rodas, the Honduran foreign minister, a
Telesur journalist and others, a total of 9
persons. Zelaya maintained his decision to
land. I know for a fact that in mid-flight,
when they were nearing Tegucigalpa, he was
informed from the ground about Telesur
broadcasting the moment when the enormous
mass of people awaiting him outside of the
airport was being attacked by soldiers with
tear gas and automatic rifles fire.
His immediate reaction was to request that
they took up altitude in order to denounce
the events on Telesur and to demand of the
commanding officers of those troops that
they ceased the repression. Then he informed
them that he would carry on with the
landing. The high command then ordered the
landing strip to be blocked. In a matter of
seconds, motorized transport vehicles were
obstructing the runway.
The Falcon jet made three passes, at a low
altitude, over the airport. Specialists
explain that the tensest and most dangerous
moment for pilots is when fast, small planes
-- like the one carrying the president --
reduce speed for touchdown. That's why I
think that attempt to return to Honduras was
audacious and brave.
If they wanted to put him on trial for
alleged constitutional crimes, why not allow
him to land?
Zelaya knows that it was not only the
Constitution of Honduras what was at stake,
but also the right of the peoples of Latin
America to elect the people who govern them.
Today Honduras is not just a country
occupied by a coup, but it is also a country
occupied by the armed forces of the United
States.
The military base at Soto Cano, also known
by its name of Palmerola -- located less
than 100 kilometres from Tegucigalpa and
reactivated in 1981 under the Ronald Reagan
administration -- was used by Colonel Oliver
North when he was running the dirty war
against Nicaragua, and from there the US
government directed the attacks against the
Salvadoran and Guatemalan revolutionaries
that cost tens of thousands of lives.
That is the location of the US Joint Task
Force-Bravo -- made up of personnel from the
three forces -- that occupies 85 percent of
the area of the base. Eva Golinger reveals
its role in an article published on Rebelión
web site on July 2, 2009, entitled "The US
military base in Honduras at the centre of
the coup". She explains that "the
Constitution of Honduras does not legally
allow for foreign military presence in the
country.
A �handshake-like' agreement between
Washington and Honduras authorizes the
important and strategic presence of hundreds
of US soldiers on the base, under a
�semi-permanent' deal. The agreement was
reached in 1954 as part of the military aid
the United States was offering Honduras�the
third poorest country in the hemisphere."
She adds that "�the agreement that allows
the military presence of the United States
in the Central American country can be
removed with no notice given".
Soto Cano is also home of the Aviation
Academy of Honduras. The components of the
US military task force are partly made up of
Honduran soldiers.
What is the objective of the military base,
the planes, the helicopters and the US task
force in Honduras? Without any doubt they
are only adequate for use in Central
America. The war on drug trafficking does
not require those weapons.
If President Zelaya is not returned to his
position, a wave of coups threatens to sweep
away many Latin American governments, or
these will be at the mercy of the ultra
right-wing military, educated in the
security doctrine of the School of the
Americas, an expert in torture,
psychological warfare and terror. The
authority of many civilian governments in
Central and South America will become
weakened. Those dark days are not very far
back in time. The military perpetrators of
the coup would not even pay any attention to
the civilian administration of the United
States. It can be very negative for a
president who wants to improve that
country's image, like Barack Obama does. The
Pentagon formally obeys the civilian power.
The legions have not yet taken over control
of the empire as they did in Rome.
It would not be understandable for Zelaya to
now admit to stalling manoeuvres that would
wear out the considerable social forces that
support him and only lead to an irreparable
attrition.
The illegally overthrown president does not
seek power, but he defends a principle, and
as Marti said: "One just principle from the
depths of a cave can be mightier than an
army."
Fidel Castro Ruz
July 10, 2009
|
