Micheletti's not so new proposal
With the possibility of further U.S. sanctions looming, Roberto Micheletti has offered what he calls a new plan. But you know things aren't going well when even the New York Times pokes fun of you for it:
“I’m ready to present my resignation,” he said in a brief telephone interview organized by aides.
But then he got around to his conditions, many of which had a familiar ring to them because they had been proposed before and had failed to bridge the huge political divide that has left Mr. Micheletti and the man he helped oust from the presidency, Manuel Zelaya, both claiming to lead Honduras.
It turns out his plan — which aides said would be sent Thursday to President Óscar Arias of Costa Rica, who is overseeing negotiations — is probably neither bold enough nor new enough to bring Honduras back together.
The plan does not allow Zelaya to come back to the presidency, and as RAJ points out, does not offer amnesty from the various charges levied at Zelaya after the coup, all of which should be viewed with suspicion at the very least.
This is the same thing I wrote about 10 days ago. Micheletti does his best to appear reasonable while rejecting the core of the San José Accord. Fortunately, it appears that strategy is not working as well as it once did.
6 comments:
The court ruling confiscating the ballots, and Zelaya's open and public refusal to accept that ruling, both happened prior to June 28. There is nothing 'suspicious' about those charges.
Will Zelaya supporters finally accept that Zelaya has arrest warrants issued by legitimate institutions, and so if he returns it should be to face trial? Of course not.
Under Micheletti's proposal, those pre-coup political charges would come under the amnesty, so they are not relevant to the post-coup charges. So your stance is in fact currently more hardline than Micheletti's.
Micheletti's proposal of amnesty is part of a bigger package, which includes both Zelaya and Micheletti resigning to the presidency. Personally i'd be OK with that tradeoff.
But until any such arrangement is reached the fact remains that there are outstanding arrest warrants on Zelaya from legitimate institutions. This is a point that neither Zelaya or his supporters ever address.
Next time Zelaya holds a press conference it would be useful if someone asked him if he thought that as president he could simply ignore court rulings he disagreed with.
From the OAS charter:
Chapter 1 Article 1:
The Organization of American States has no powers other than those expressly conferred upon it by this Charter, none of whose provisions authorizes it to intervene in matters that are within the internal jurisdiction of the Member States.
Chapter 1 Article 2:
b) To promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention.
Chapter 2 Article 3:
e) Every State has the right to choose, without external interference, its political, economic, and social system and to organize itself in the way best suited to it, and has the duty to abstain from intervening in the affairs of another State. Subject to the foregoing, the American States shall cooperate fully among themselves, independently of the nature of their political, economic, and social systems.
Chapter 3 Article 19
No State or group of States has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State. The foregoing principle prohibits not only armed force but also any other form of interference or attempted threat against the personality of the State or against its political,
economic, and cultural elements.
What part of "KEEP OUT OF OUR INTERNAL AFFAIRS!" does the OAS not understand?
Anon, I take it you are reading the original charter, and therefore not realizing there have been amendments since then related to the OAS role when democratic governments have been overthrown?
Greg: Micheletti does his best to appear reasonable while rejecting the core of the San José Accord. Fortunately, it appears that strategy is not working as well as it once did.
And yet, State Department officials appear to be heading out for cocktails without having taken any more action today. Please call the State Department (202-647-4000) and ask Secretary Clinton to immediately sign the formal declaration of a military coup in Honduras.
Write Sec. Clinton with the same request, and ask her to denounce the coup regime's ongoing and serious human rights abuses. Ask that the Department announce U.S. support for an OAS resolution explicitly denying recognition of the upcoming elections unless Pres. Zelaya is restored to office this coming week (when campaigns officially begin).
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