An incident with great ramifications is unsurprisingly getting very little in the way of news coverage, and that is the constitutional crisis that is now occurring in Honduras. And when the media does cover the crisis they disparagingly label it as a military coup, immediately bringing up images of Central America's violent and unstable past. But this incident has very little in common with these past coups. Instead of a military leader usurping the power of the president to accumulate more power for himself, in this case all three branches of government, along with the military, acted to depose a president who was actively looking to rewrite Honduras' constitution. Law was upheld, and a criminal grab for more power was averted.
President Manuel Zelaya had attempted to set the stage for the writing of a new constitution in order to prepare for his own future reelection, which was not allowed under the current constitution. Zelaya, who models himself after Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, attempted to hold a referendum that would seek to erase this ban on reelection.
Apparently, under Honduras law, a 2/3rds majority is needed in congress in order to amend the constitution, but certain articles are entrenched and unable to be amended. One of those articles that can't under any case be amended is the subject of presidential succession. And it further states that any president who tries to amend the law on term limits must step down from his or her position.
Now this is where the "coup" comes in. President of Congress Roberto Micheletti warned Zelaya that his move to rewrite the constitution was illegal. That's from the legislative branch. Zelaya's own attorney general warned Zelaya that he would face criminal charges if he continued to pursue the referendum. That's from the executive branch. And the Supreme Court put the final nail in the coffin when they declared that the referendum proposed would be unconstitutional. And there you have it from the judicial branch.
If there was any failure of the constitution, it was because it lacked a clear cut way to impeach Zelaya and remove him from power. Impeachment proceedings were started, but lacked any clear direction and went absolutely nowhere.
Here's where the military finally comes in. The armed forces were ordered to storm the presidential mansion, detain President Zelaya, and throw him on a plane to Costa Rica so he could live in exile. Roberto Micheletti became interim president until new elections could be held, at which time he would step down and let democracy resume.
Here's the part that gets me. Just about every nation in the world condemned the "coup" including the United States. The United Nations adopted a resolution calling for Zelaya's reinstatement. Zelaya spent the last few months in Washington trying to get Obama and Hillary Clinton to impose sanctions on Honduras, which they did. What a great thing for Zelaya to do: impose sanctions on his own people. He tried to defy the exile by returning to his country with a few heads of state from foreign nations who support his rule, but was denied access to airspace. And now, finally, after all of that, he has traveled back by land and surprised everybody by showing up in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.
My question to everybody, is this. Why has basically every nation condemned the exile of Zelaya? In this case, the constitution of Honduras was upheld. All three branches of government acted to protect the constitution from an unlawful rewriting. If anything, the only thing the constitution lacks is a clear cut way to impeach the president, which could easily be amended by a lawful majority. The military acted, in this case, only as an arm of the congress and an extension of the constitution, to defend the law of the people and protect them from an action that would restrain their liberty. So why has everyone from Obama to Putin, from Chavez to Ahmadinejad, moved to try and have Zelaya reinstated?
Quick answer. Because they are all scared of it happening to them. When a leader abuses a country's constitution he has everything to fear, and each of those above leaders knows what it is like to abuse the law set down by the people. (In the case of Ahmadinejad, he's seen plenty of people take to the streets in protest of his reelection.)
If Micheletti is successful in keeping Zelaya from power, then it only proves to the world that a constitution can work and that not one head of state can escape trying to subvert it. I wish all of America can take Honduras' example to heart. Perhaps one day, we will all be lucky, and Obama will wake up in the night, get thrown on a plane and sent back to Kenya, far far away from the America that he abused. And you know what? We should throw in a certain Bush so Obama can at least have a traveling buddy.
Read the rest of the article HERE.
Honduras Curfew As Zelaya Returns
Mr Zelaya has taken refuge in Brazil's embassy in Tegucigalpa. Many of his supporters later gathered outside.
He said he had crossed mountains and rivers to return to the capital, where he said he was seeking dialogue.
In a televised address, interim leader Roberto Micheletti demanded that Brazil hand over Mr Zelaya to stand trial.
Mr Micheletti said Brazil would be held responsible for any violence.
"A call to the government of Brazil: respect the judicial order against Mr Zelaya and turn him into Honduran authorities," he said....
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