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HONDURAS:
President Overthrown in Military Coup
By Thelma Mejía
TEGUCIGALPA (IPS) - A group of at least 100 soldiers
surrounded the residence of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya
early Sunday morning, hauled him out of bed, took him to an
air force base and put him on a plane for Costa Rica.
Congress, which decided late Thursday to investigate whether
the president was fit to govern on the grounds that he
"failed to pay due attention to problems of national
interest and did not obey legal decisions, to the detriment
of the rule of law," planned to meet at noon (18:00 GMT) to
complete the process.
The head of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, will be named
acting president, as Zelaya’s constitutional successor.
General elections are due in Honduras in November, and
Zelaya’s term ends in January.
Blackout
There is virtually no power or Internet in the Honduran
capital in the wake of the coup d’etat. Electricity was
gradually cut throughout the city, which is being overflown
by war planes and helicopters. The few media outlets that
continue to broadcast are only airing music.
The police have reportedly fired tear gas to disperse the
growing crowds that have taken to the streets to protest.
There is also a blackout in some neighbourhoods in San Pedro
Sula, the second largest city in this Central American
nation.
The Organisation of American States (OAS) has convened an
emergency meeting on the situation, at its headquarters in
Washington, D.C.
In a statement, OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza
strongly condemned the military coup and called on the
Honduran people, the countries of the Americas and the
international community "to join forces against this grave
disturbance of the democratic process" in the region.
U.S. President Barack Obama said "I am deeply concerned by
reports coming out of Honduras regarding the detention and
expulsion of President Manuel Zelaya. As the Organisation of
American States did on Friday, I call on all political and
social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the
rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic
Charter. Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved
peacefully through dialogue free from any outside
interference."
Officials in the White House reported that Obama and
National Security Adviser James Jones met early Sunday to
discuss the situation in Honduras.
Zelaya’s plans to hold a non-binding popular referendum
Sunday asking voters whether or not to hold a formal vote in
November on creating a constituent assembly to rewrite the
constitution put him at loggerheads with the Supreme Court,
the military and Congress, including members of his own
party, the Liberal Party.
The situation deteriorated quickly over the last few days.
On Wednesday the president dismissed the military chief,
General Romeo Vásquez and accepted the resignation of
Defence Minister Edmundo Orellana after the armed forces
commanders refused to help organise the referendum by
distributing ballot boxes and providing security.
The Supreme Court ruled that the referendum was illegal, and
voted to reinstate Vásquez. But Zelaya refused to accept the
military chief’s reinstatement, and went ahead with the
distribution of voting materials.
The opposition maintains that Zelaya’s aim was to change the
constitution to allow presidents to run for re-election.
Sunday’s unofficial referendum was deemed illegal on the
argument that it violates the constitutional stipulation
that referendums cannot be held during an election year.
The European Union has called on the Honduran military to
release Zelaya and restore constitutional order. "The EU
strongly condemns the arrest of the constitutional president
of the republic of Honduras by the armed forces," Foreign
Minister Jan Kohout of the Czech Republic, which holds the
rotating EU presidency, told reporters in Corfu, Greece.
"This action is an unacceptable violation of constitutional
order in Honduras," said Kohout. "The EU calls for the
urgent release of the president and a swift return to
constitutional normality."
Zelaya was elected as the candidate of the centrist Liberal
Party, but soon after taking office he took a turn to the
left. |
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