Interim President Roberto Micheletti published this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, and I for one am not all together sure what to make of it. As far as I can tell, it represents to the most direct appeal from Micheletti to international public opinion since June 28, and at the same time, ably manages to say nothing new at all. Most importantly, he gives no mention whatsoever to his heretofore ardent stance against the possibility of Zelaya returning to limited power, the most controversial aspect of the so-called San Jose accord which Micheletti himself has repeatedly refused to endorse.The article, most likely edited, if not written, by Lanny Davis' team, may serve mostly to further stoke conservative US support (which has a short attention span for non-drug related Central American drama) for the legality of the interim regime and the continuation of major US aid programs to Honduras, of which over $150 million hangs in the balance:
"Regardless of what happens, the worst thing the U.S. can do is to impose economic sanctions that would primarily hurt the poorest people in Honduras. Rather than impose sanctions, the U.S. should continue the wise policies of Mrs. Clinton. She is supporting President Arias’s efforts to mediate the issues. The goal is a peaceful solution that is consistent with Honduran law in a civil society where even the president is not above the law. "
The appeals to Clinton's and Arias' roles and rationales struck me as odd, since I was under the impression that Micheletti has been among the most strident voices to date against Arias' plan and his "meddling" in Honduran affairs, and even received a phone call from Clinton last week which supposedly called him to task for not being more productive in the talks. Lastly, I know it was a busy weekend on the Nicaragua-Honduras border, but I have to admit I was a bit surprised to see a real dearth of analysis on this letter -- both in analyst circles and on related blogs, but it suggests to me that either a) The letter's content was so insubstantial that it simply simply slipped through the cracks, b) People no longer care what Micheletti has to say (evidence of his 15 minutes coming to an end shortly, or c) a combination of both.
I've been pretty hard on Zelaya for both his pre- and post-June 28 behavior, but I have also thought that Micheletti and his damage control team hass been anything but. To date, they've done little service to Hondurans towards resolving what they had refused to acknowledge was a crisis until recently, and as far as I can read, this letter doesn't help much.
Thanks for posting any good commentary on this letter that pops up.
5 comments:
First of all,
Why are the Wall Street Journal and other American publications so interested in supporting Micheletti and this coup government? Is it because they are really only interested in maintaining the status quo in Honduras?
Besides-- can this Micheletti man even speak English? His "essay" in the WSJ was in English. I think somebody else wrote it. Hilary Clinton perhaps? She might as well. She's on the same page as Dole Fruit Company, Lanny Davis, John McCain, Russell Athletic, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times,etc.
President Zelaya’s leftist policies certainly run contrary to the views of many Americans, however the biggest issue here is, do we believe in democracy enough to support it, even we don’t like the outcome? This is a clear Coup funded and motivated by the Honduran Oligarchy, it is designed to keep the poor in their place. I have visited Honduras many times and can attest to the absolutely shocking conditions of poverty under which a large proportion of the population live. Mel Zelaya had brought considerable measures of relief to many Hondurans and annoyed the wealthy class through a government mandated increase in the minimum wage (we just had one of those here in the US last week!)
New elections are due in Honduras in November 2009. America should support an immediate return of the deposed president to finish out his term. In well monitored elections later this year we will really see where the sentiments of the Honduran people lie. This is a test for President Obama in our own backyard and I urge him to confirm our country’s commitment to democracy.
To the first poster: I'm sure someone else did write it, but that doesn't make it inaccurate! Micheletti was named interim president in accordance with the Honduran constitution, he didn't "lead a coup", and no one is interested in maintaining the status quo, only in making sure that a man who committed crimes is held accountable.
To Nick Texas: Zelaya is part of the same "oligarchy" you condemn: a wealthy landowner from Olancho, one of the most prosperous areas in Honduras. The Congress consists of representatives of all of the political parties - how very democratic! Are they all part of the "oligarchy" because they are educated and have been elected? That is too facile an explanation. If you had read the article, you would know that the Congress voted almost unanimously to remove him from office, not because they didn't like him, but because he was insisting on carrying out illegal and unconstitutional actions, and stated that he would defy the Supreme Court. Can you imagine what would happen here if President Obama refused to obey a Supreme Court ruling??? He would probably be impeached. If they didn't think it was critical, they could have just waited him out for the remaining six months of his term. The reason they acted to impeach him (or carry out the equivalent according to the Honduran constitution) was because he was following Chavez's script to become a "democratically-elected" dictator. If you speak Spanish, you can read the Honduran Constitution to see exactly what it says. If you don't read Spanish, then find a translation you trust (don't take my word for it, but at least do some research instead of just spouting opinion that isn't actually based on any facts). Zelaya most certainly did NOT bring measures of relief to the Honduran poor, he actually made things much worse by increasing the minimum wage by 60 % overnight. Most small and medium-sized businesses couldn't afford this, and had to let many people go, thus contributing to even higher rates of unemployment, and higher rates of inflation. Did the minimum wage need to be increased? Definitely - but not by 60% in one day. If Obama truly has a commitment to democracy (and I believe he does, which is why I voted for him), then he will do what he says he wants to do: LISTEN before he makes any judgments. Which is what you should do, too! What the military did was wrong and illegal, but Zelaya's removal from office was legal and constitutional, and was equivalent to impeachment. That should stand, because that was the democratic process at work. The fact that the military did something stupid and illegal doesn't mean that a criminal should be reinstated. The military should be held accountable for what they did, but so should Zelaya.
To the 1st anonymous:
What does it matter whether Mr. Micheletti speaks English or not? There are people called "translators" who can put your text in any language, did you know?
To Nick Texas:
Well, Anonymous #2 said things much better than me so I won't repeat them. Just be careful with that "backyard" way of thinking, you could wake up one day and find out that you were not the Center of the Universe after all ;)
Nick Texas, Reasses your place in the world. If you were relatively "wealthy" in a third world country, would you move away, just to not look like the "oligarchy" or would you give all yout things away? Or would you try to take advantage of the resources you have, and work locally to make a better place?
In a sense, you live in a "third world WORLD," which has vast extremes in the spread of wealth...
That's the problem with public opinion- despite so much information out there, it's still opinionated and not based on fact, as is anyone's opinion who would back Zelaya on his Liberty breaking actions.
There are complex issues out there, which merit more attention, and once in awhile in your life, you might just have to stand up for what you know is right, eventhough it might take balls to do it.
As someone who cares dearly for the region, true systems of liberty, and peace, I say YES to Micheletti and his cabinet.
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