Army overthrows Honduras president, protests erupt

[Joanne98]

Source: Reuters

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Honduran army ousted and exiled leftist President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday in Central America's first military coup since the Cold War. Angry Zelaya supporters took to the streets and set up barricades.

The dawn coup was strongly condemned by Zelaya's regional ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez -- who has long championed the left in Latin America. Chavez put his military on alert in case Honduran troops moved against his embassy or envoy there.

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, the European Union and a string of other foreign governments also voiced backing for Zelaya, who was snatched by troops from his residence and whisked away by plane to Costa Rica.

Zelaya, in office since 2006, had upset the judiciary, Congress and the army by seeking constitutional changes that would allow presidents to seek re-election beyond a four-year term.

Pro-Zelaya protesters, some of them masked and wielding sticks, set up barricades in the center of the capital, Tegucigalpa, and sealed off road access to the presidential palace


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE55R24E20090629

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PICTURES OF PROTESTERS AT THIS LINK

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5948304&mesg_id=5948304

[Joanne98]

1. OAS OFFICIAL STATEMENT

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5947973&mesg_id=5947973

[Ken Burch]

2. President Obama, for the first time in Latin American history, should do the right thing

And send in the Marines to RESTORE democracy to a Latin American country.

Zero tolerance for fascism!

NO PASARAN!

[Teaser]

3. eh,no.

no more interventions like this please. even if it's for a "good cause"

[Ken Burch]

4. Then it's over and the fascists win. And Honduras will be run by the rich forever.

n/t.

[Teaser]

5. apply pressure other ways

I'm just not into sacrificing American troops for yet another foreign adventure.

[EFerrari]

16. The Marines always make more trouble than they fix in these situations.

Let's see how the White House does. Zelaya has all of Latin America behind him right now.

[ngant17]

7. that was also my gut reaction

by on second thoughts, it would play into the hands of the rightwing.

Keep out the marines, it would be counterproductive.

Better to slowly turn up the heat on the Honduras junta, and work within the UN to get the tables turned again.

What needs to be done, once the generals have been deposed, is to have a wholesale shake-up of the Honduran military and put a lot of these top dogs in prison for a long time.

No doubt they will be running out into the jungles and working with their own private armies and allies, i.e., the Columbian paramilitaries, as Uribe will be their natural ally being a rightwing fascist himself. Other than that, I wouldn't think the Honduras generals will have much support elsewhere in Latin America. They will run out of ammunition if they can't get anything from Uribe or CIA.

[Alamuti Lotus]

8. Why would you expect an intevention in such a fashion?

Every American President would laugh heartily at this naivety, including Obama.

[Joanne98]

6. Broadcast from Costa Rica LIVE

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/100-Noticias

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[Critters2]

10. Wasn't Zelaya democratically elected? nt

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

14. Right Wing Talking Point Alert.

There is no way the process could have finished in time for Zelaya to run again. But, thanks for playing!

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

18. It's not an opinion. It's basic math. And apparently you have a big disconnect

with every world body and all of Latin America because they have all lined up behind him.

Hint: You don't take sitting presidents out of their beds at gunpoint. That's barbarism.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

21. Oh, baloney. Different branches of government have clashes all the time.

And claiming there was no coup is pathetically hilarious.

These people disagree. And as one student said not an hour ago, if there was no coup, why are there helicopters in the sky?

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

25. Right wing spin. Do you mean to tell me that the elected president of Honduras

believed that he was the head of the government and so had the power to fire military personnel? What an arrogant jerk. :sarcasm:

Your own argument reveals how much power the military wields. And your allegations / insults against Zelaya are silly, as is your assertion that removing an elected president at gunpoint and replacing him with the military's pick has anything at all to do with democracy.

[Judi Lynn]

23. Also, why did they cut their electricity, phones, cell phones, and enforce a curfew

which will extend throughout at least this Friday, then have the soldiers shoot out the tires on the buses transporting protesters to the city, and why are there soldiers surrounding the pro-coup tv stations which are allowed to broadcast but which are not discussing the coup, and why did Micheletti (Pinochetti) remove the 2nd largest city's mayor and put his son in his place.

All this conducted while the ENTIRE WORLD has condemned their forced kidnapping, police round-up and arrest of cabinet members and Zelaya's party officials, and the cheap, violent coup.

[EFerrari]

26. Didn't you hear, Chavez is coming!

lol

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

30. LOL. This sounds like it came straight out of the Heritage Foundation.

"Pay no attention to the man behind the screen."

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

35. You don't have to know constitutional law to recognize right wing propaganda.

You only have to be able to read.

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

40. Sure. Spinning a kidnapping into a triumph of the law is bullshit.

How's that?

[Judi Lynn]

38. It's safe to assume any article brandished proudly by "Lucianne" is fool proof, eh?

http://www.lucianne.com/main2/?fcnt=479579

The author served under the previous, U.S. conservative puppet:

Ricardo Rodolfo Maduro Joest is a former President of Honduras and Bank of Honduras chairman. Maduro graduated from the Lawrenceville School and later Stanford University. He was President between January 27, 2002, and January 27, 2006, representing the National Party of Honduras (PHN).

Maduro's first marriage to Miriam Andréu produced three daughters and a son, Ricardo Ernesto, who was kidnapped at age 25 on April 23 1997. Ricardo Ernesto's body was discovered two days later. His death inspired Maduro to aspire to the presidency and gave him the popularity that allowed him to first register and then be elected as a presidential candidate, in spite of a constitutional ban on those not born in Honduras from becoming President. This constitutional ban created great controversy before the 2001 elections. Having been chosen as the PNH candidate, he was eventually allowed to stand.....

More:
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ricardo_Maduro#encyclopedia

Another man of the people, NOT.

How does he explain to his fellow snots how his previous boss was able to bypass their constitutional ban against a non-Honduran-by-birth candidate serving as their President?

On edit, am adding at no additional cost, a photo of your exalted great conservative thinker, and beloved conservative celebrity sage, "Octavio Sánchez."

http://www.revistazo.com.nyud.net:8090/nov-03/imagenes/octavio.jpg

www.revistazo.com/nov-03/octavio.htm

[EFerrari]

15. Top Honduran Military Lawyer: We broke the law

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x17439

[Judi Lynn]

20. It's good to know you are a fellow truth-seeker here. I'm sure you would appreciate this:

~snip~
The poll was certainly non-binding, and therefore also not subject to prohibition. However it was not a referendum, as such public consultations are generally understood. Even if it had been, the objective was not to extend Zelaya’s term in office. In this sense, it is important to point out that Zelaya’s term concludes in January 2010. In line with article 239 of the Honduran Constitution of 1982, Zelaya is not participating in the presidential elections of November 2009, meaning that he could have not been reelected. Moreover, it is completely uncertain what the probable National Constituent Assembly would have suggested concerning matters of presidential periods and re-elections. These suggestions would have to be approved by all Hondurans and this would have happened at a time when Zelaya would have concluded his term. Likewise, even if the Honduran public had decided that earlier presidents could become presidential candidates again, this disposition would form a part of a completely new constitution. Therefore, it cannot be regarded as an amendment to the 1982 Constitution and it would not be in violation of articles 5, 239 and 374. The National Constituent Assembly, with a mandate from the people, would derogate the previous constitution before approving the new one. The people, not president Zelaya, who by that time would be ex-president Zelaya, would decide.

It is evident that the opposition had no legal case against President Zelaya. All they had was speculation about perfectly legal scenarios which they strongly disliked. Otherwise, they could have followed a legal procedure sheltered in article 205 nr. 22 of the 1982 Constitution, which states that public officials that are suspected to violate the law are subject to impeachment by the National Congress. As a result they helplessly unleashed a violent and barbaric preemptive strike, which has threatened civility, democracy and stability in the region.

http://www.counterpunch.org/thorensen07012009.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=405&topic_id=17289

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

27. Unfortunately for them, the Honduran constitution is written down

and available for anyone to read.

[Judi Lynn]

28. Maybe you could make a speech for the General Assembly and explain to the WHOLE WORLD

why all the countries are wrong now, and the U.S. sociopathic right-wing is the correct interpreter of Honduran law.

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

33. There is no provision for a sitting US president to be "removed"

in the middle of the night by soldiers who have to hide their faces under hoods.

Nor is there in the Honduran constitution. How embarrassing, to defend this thuggery.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

39. Yes, embarrassing. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

41. According to your own views, a constitution may be side-stepped altogether,

as it was when the author whose piece you are thrilled to post, Octavio Sánchez, served a President who ignored the constitution altogether to run, when there was actually a constitional BAN existing against someone not born in Honduras serving as their President.

Do you have anything ELSE you could do today besides coming here and attempting to insult people who happen to agree with the ENTIRE WORLD about your filthy, dishonest, underhanded coup?

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

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[Judi Lynn]

42. If you resent the Democratic President why not grace another message board, instead?

This is a forum designed as a meeting place for progressives, Democrats, as it clearly indicates.

[EFerrari]

43. Because Honduras is so rich that heaven forbid poverty should be cut in half

as it has been in Venezuela?

[Canuckistanian]

11. They weren't protesting

They just got a little carried away throwing flowers.

[EFerrari]

13. They were embracing the army's ammo with their bus tires!

To the naked eye, it looks like the army is firing on vehicles heading to the capitol to protest the coup -- I mean, the "impeachment".