Deserting the sinking ship and other news

The sinking ship

Zelayistas and journalists are deserting the sinking ship of the Brazilian Embassy. Yesterday, Salvadoran Padre Andrés Tamayo left. Deserters are escorted away by police and, I believe, are examined by doctors prior to release, which seems a wise move so that false accusations of ill effects from death rays, toxic gases, mind control radiation and whatever else they dream up cannot be claimed later. In one photo of a Zelaya follower telling a doctor about his symptoms, a Brazilian blogger notes with humor the skepticism in the face of a journalist (in the blue shirt) standing by watching.

The fact that Padre Tamayo himself asked to leave, supposedly for a family emergency involving his sister, did not stop Cholusat Sur TV from interrupting programming yesterday with an Ultima Hora! report saying that Tamayo had been arrested - Ullllllltima Hora! - and was in the custody of Immigration officials - Ulllllltima Hora! - and implying all sorts of probable abuse of the priest.

Padre Tamayo has been in Honduras for years organizing environmental protests, a worthy cause. The hypocrisy of his new found association with Zelaya, whose notorious logging family is credited with much of the massive destruction of the mountain forests in Olancho, is not lost on anyone with a brain. Unfortunately, Padre Tamayo began organizing disruptive political protests and calling for boycott of elections. Interfering with elections is prohibited in the constitution and political activism is specifically prohibited to foreigners.

Callers discussed this lamentable situation. One caller even cried. Minutes later, a conversation with a Zelaya follower in the Embassy proved that Tamayo left of his own free will. Host Esdras Amado López disappointedly made the correction, but then, using logic that only Channel 36 and its listeners understand, they continued to discuss Tamayo's departure as if it was forced against his will.

In a big blow to the Zelayistas, Radio Globo host Eduardo Maldonado jumped the Zelaya ship as well. He has been viciously condemning the coup d'etat, promoting boycott of elections, and making outrageous personal attacks up to and including Cardinal Rodriguez for the past 4 1/2 months.

All of a sudden, in a 180 degree turn, a new kinder, gentler Maldonado is a good Liberal again, will vote for Elvin Santos, and is encouraging everyone to vote as the "only way" to restore democracy. It is kind of fun to watch him trying to reprogram his listeners. Unfortunately (that they are so easily manipulated) or fortunately (that they are now on the side of free elections), reprogramming after 4 1/2 months isn't as hard as you might think. While some listeners express their anger or confusion ("but yesterday you were saying....."), it is absolutely amazing how many of the listeners jumped ship with him and are now saying they will vote.


Would you chew gum in a meeting with President Obama?

Craig Kelly from the US State Department arrived today again for the third time in a month, reportedly to get Zelaya to comply with the agreement. While discussing the current visit, the noon news showed video of his last meeting with President Micheletti and others. Though I'd seen this video several times, I happened to be watching on the big TV this time and realized that US Ambassador Hugo Llorens was chewing gum (or something)! Are you kidding me? How rude and disrespectful. I wish I could have made him take it out and wear it on his nose like one of my teachers used to do when someone was caught chewing gum in class.

By the way, the video (from the last visit) showed Micheletti and Kelly sitting side by side in arm chairs, leaning in toward each other chatting. Micheletti seemed very relaxed and was laughing. Sitting a little way off was Llorens, watching them and looking uncomfortable.

Micheletti mentioned that his meeting with Kelly was at 4 p.m. El Heraldo's minuto a minuto column reported that Kelly and Llorens headed to the Brazilian Embassy about 7:30 p.m. The 10 p.m. news showed a caravan of SUVs leaving the Brazilian Embassy. The reporter said they were headed back to another meeting with Micheletti.

Kelly's meeting with Zelaya wasn't very long as El Heraldo reported at 8:50 p.m. that Zelaya spoke to Radio Globo after the meeting. Zelaya insisted that the US clarify US position on his restitution and complained "They are talking about an agreement that we have already left for dead." Telesur has a little more. [google translation] It seems that Zelaya wants to send Patty Rodas to talk with Hillary Clinton. Oh, I would love to be a fly on the wall in that meeting!

There is much speculation that Kelly is here to force a third-party president despite the hypocritical diplospeak that the US will support a Honduran solution. The US has no right to select Honduras' president, even if it is only for 70 days.


Even the ancianos protest

While the Resistance (all 50 of them) continued their protest in front of the congress yesterday, some old men were also protesting with loud speakers (I didn't catch where, but I think it was in front of the Election Tribunal or possibly the congress). One old man talked directly to the news cameras, wagging his finger: "We are going to vote! We are going to vote! Listen to me. We are free! Forget the world! My whole family and I are going to vote! We are going to vote for democracy, for freedom, just like we have now. We are going to vote! Vaaaaamos a votar!"

That is an attitude that I hear from many Hondurans: "This is OUR country. We will select OUR president and we really don't give a flip what any other country thinks about it."

If Hondureña Maria is any example, the voter turnout should be good. She told me that she and her husband are flying in from Japan to vote. Now that is someone who believes in democracy! Oooooh! It gives me shivers. How about you?

Zelaya's letter

Zelaya logic

Mel Zelaya's letter to Barack Obama was widely misreported or misinterpreted by the media within and outside of Honduras as claiming that he had renounced any intention to return to the presidency, when, of course, that was not the case. He renounced the Accord, not his claim to the presidency. I can only assume that the local media are using the same Chávez-style media disinformation tactics that Zelaya uses. He, as well as opposition media, have been so incessantly busy denying the statement that they haven't had much time to wreak havoc in other areas.

At this point in time, 71 days before the scheduled end of his term, any decent, patriotic person who loved his country and his people, no matter how much 'in the right' he thought he was, would offer to resign and work toward "unity and reconciliation".... uh, like for example Micheletti has done. Not Zelaya. His ego won't let him, though I can't imagine how his ego has survived 57 days of being locked in a foil-lined cage wearing the same clothes day after day. He really believes that his position as president is more important than any hell that Honduras could go through.

AP reports: "Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya insisted late Saturday that he will not accept any deal to restore him to office if it means he must recognize elections later this month." Hasn't everyone from Honduras been saying that stopping elections and staying in power was and is Zelaya's ultimate goal? Aaron at Pensieve credits Zelaya for at least being more honest with this comment. See another Honduran's viewpoint at My Roatan.

Zelaya's letter (in English and Spanish) is posted on the fake Honduran Embassy website. You can find it right beneath the large graphic telling Hondurans not to vote - does that tell you anything about zelayistas attitude toward democracy? The actual Honduran Ambassador to the US was fired by Zelaya because he would not sign a loyalty agreement. I don't know who maintains this Zelaya propaganda site.

Most of the letter has not been quoted in the press. I suppose that even AP and Reuters have enough sense to know that much of what he claims is false. "I achieved the best economic indicators and the greatest reduction of poverty in the 28 years of democratic life...." Does anyone actually believe that? Even the UN has publicly disputed his manufactured statistics in the past.

Zelaya wrote that 3,500 people have been "detained". He and the human rights folks love that word 'detained' because it implies so much more than it is. If a police officer stops your car and checks your drivers license, you've been detained. If you are involved in a violent riot, are taken to the police station and then released, you've been detained. If you violated a curfew and had to spend the rest of the night sitting on a bleacher, you've been detained. But the word 'detained' sort of implies that you have been and still are illegally locked away somewhere devoid of all human rights, doesn't it? Even considering all of the above, the number is ridiculous, as are his completely unsupported numbers for injuries and murders.

Just like in the cartoon above, he takes his own unconstitutional failure to submit a 2009 budget and turns it into a strike against the "golpistas", saying that they are illegally spending funds because the (austere) budget passed by congress in July was not approved by himself.

Zelaya bides his time by plotting revenge against the coup plotters, who he has defined as virtually everyone within and outside of government. He frequently revels about the long prison terms they will serve. Interestingly, maybe because the congressional vote has not occurred yet, he has decided to remove the congressmen from his long list. He said that they were tricked into voting for his ouster by the "fake" resignation. Depending upon the outcome of the vote, I'm sure that list will be expanded by 100 or so names later.

In part of his rant on CholusatSur TV the other day, he ominously declared to his followers that "We must carry on to the ultimate consequences". He spent 15 or more minutes condemning the anti-democratic, fraudulent elections, which could not possibly be held with the people under military oppression. "It is a burla (mockery)! A bofetada (slap in the face) to the international community!" He spits out those words contemptuously. Corrrrrrecto!

He also said that he will not talk with any golpistas, ever. Another interesting thing is that when asked more than once about his visits from US State Department representatives, he always answered by reiterating Clinton's and Obama's previously stated position that he was the legally elected president and should be restored to office. He avoided referring to any discussions with others from the State Department, even when asked directly. To those of us who have known this man before June 28, that says a lot. If there was any scrap of support for denying elections, or indication of pressure against the golpistas, he would have been working that to the nth degree. Corrrrrrecto!

How anyone can still take this guy seriously is beyond me.

No agreement on the agreement

Mel Zelaya
Photo: AP

Everyone knows that Mel refused to provide his nominations for the Unity and Reconciliation Government, being insulted that the "golpista" Minister of the Presidency dared to request the names, a perfectly reasonable response according to OAS's Jose Insulza. Has anyone pointed out that if the OAS 'for show' members, President Lagos and US Labor Secretary Hilda Solís had only stuck around longer than 24 hours, we might not have had this mess? It made no sense to me that they left the day before the first deadline.

President Roberto Micheletti did his best to comply by consulting with the various political parties and civic groups as required by the Accord and came up with a list of nominations agreed upon by all by the November 5 deadline. He did not announce the names, indicating that the cabinet must be approved by the Verification Commission. (prior article: Honduras Accord did not fail)

As a result, pro-Zelaya Channel 36 began saying that golpistas violated the Accord by not installing the unity government by the deadline, therefore the Accord is null and void. (Sorry, I'm only reporting the zelayista thinking.) Of course, they do not mention that Mel Zelaya began renouncing the Accord within 24 hours of its signing. Zelaya has since thrown around terms like fraud, cheat, trap, slap in the face, manipulation, blah, blah, blah, as well as issuing more ultimatums, including one to Barack Obama telling him that he expected a quick response to his letter.

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In order to comply with Item 5 of the Accord (the executive power) a committee of the National Congress asked for a consultation with the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Public Prosecutor, and the Commissioner of Human Rights regarding the restitution of Mel - completely in accordance with item 5 of the Accord which states in part: "in consultation with relevant bodies that they consider pertinent, such as the supreme court of justice."

This is widely reported outside of Honduras as 'dithering' but had the congress met immediately and made a quick decision not to reinstate Zelaya, no doubt there would be outraged reports that the congress did not comply with the Accord by considering the opinions of others. If you can't win (in the media or with the "international community") no matter what you do, you might as well do it your own way.

The Honduran Supreme Court is expected to pronounce tomorrow regarding the restitution of Mel Zelaya. The Attorney General will submit his report next week. He said that their report will be based on the law. The other requested reports have been received by the congress but have not been made public. Today's La Prensa wrote that Congress will convene a session the day after all of the reports are received, however, on the noon news, it was reported that Congress will convene on Wednesday, December 2, three days after the elections. Heheheh.