Pressure mounts vs. Micheletti decrees

De facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti has faced plenty of international pressure in the three months since the ouster of Manuel Zelaya. The demands against Micheletti have mounted after he issued a series of highly controversial decrees this week.

Last Sunday the de facto government declared a “state of siege” and suspended a number of civil liberties including barring public gatherings and permitting warrantless arrests. The measures were done- according to a government statement- with the goal of guaranteeing “peace and public order in the country” and also included the temporary closing of a pair of media outlets supposedly loyal to Zelaya.

The decrees were met with region-wide outrage and strong words from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. The response from the U.S. has been mixed, however; the State Department urged Micheletti to rollback the decrees. Yet the U.S. representative to the Organization of American States criticized Micheletti but also had some choice words against Zelaya:

W. Lewis Amselem, the acting American representative, called Mr. Zelaya “irresponsible and foolish” for returning to Honduras before a negotiated settlement was reached.

“The president should stop acting as though he were starring in an old movie,” Mr. Amselem said.

Micheletti said earlier today that he would promise to reverse his edicts yet claimed that it cannot be done until a "most opportune time” for the security of Honduras. Costa Rican President and previous peace broker Oscar Arias “commended” Micheletti for his promise (assuming he keeps it) but also blasted him for “not moving an inch” towards a peaceful resolution.

Image- AP (“A journalist, carrying a video camera, walks among soldiers and police officers outside Globo radio station after its closure in Tegucigalpa, Monday, Sept. 28, 2009.”)
Online Sources- Miami herald, Voice of America, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist