Goriletti has caved in

[rabs]

and opened the door for the restitution of Zelaya and return to pre-June 28.

Awaiting verification that Zelaya will sign the accord tonight.

Goriletti agreed to have the national Congress decide on the restitution, with previous review by Supreme Court, which had been proposed weeks ago by Zelaya. So it is now up to the Congress that approved the ouster of Zelaya to reverse course and put Zelaya back in office. Simple majority of vote will do the trick, according to Globo analysis.

No date of when this could happen yet but looks like there was some heavy-duty arm twisting by Shannon and company on Goriletti. U.S. plane just landed at Soto Cano and looks like Shannon will be leaving tonight instead of tomorrow, as was announced earlier.

No word either from the milicos.

Truth commission will be formed to investigate golpista crimes post-June 28.

Resistance reported celebrating in streets.

[flamingdem]

1. good news so far! nt

[rabs]

2. zelaya about to give news conference

http://www.globotvhonduras.com/

[Judi Lynn]

3. Shocking shift, rabs. I'll bet no one thought they'd get anywhere.

There must have been some heavy duty threats involved, that, or promises of immunity down the road...

Thank you for breaking this news. We are lucky to hear it here first.

Not a word about it in our corporate media, of course!

[rabs]

5. Zelaya just said his restitution will be in "the next few days"

Everyting will be retro-active to June 28.
The accord has 11 points and dates, details will be made known later.
Z. said accord will be signed tomorrow morning.
He said it was a return to peace and democracy.
He called on Hondurans to remain calm.
Thanked the U.S. mission, OAS, EU, UN.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Retroactive to June 28. Doesn't seem possible.

So much repair work, so little time.

Hope the side with the human beings on it will be able to get a plan for this immediate election.

This is wonderful news.

Hope Zelaya will be safe, and protected, and the OTHER decent Hondurans.

Hope that truth commission WILL proceed. They'll have so much to do.

[struggle4progress]

4. Maybe. Times in the UK is headlining "Zelaya to return" while saying it's not clear

he'll sign: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6896536.ece

AP is headlining "Honduras interim gov't touts agreement on coup": ... Zelaya's team is not saying whether it intends to sign the agreement, which Micheletti called a "significant concession" on his part. But the accord announced Thursday appears to contain the same stumbling blocks that have stymied previous talks ... http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAkMGKIUDg_ngUiZboxQbYj5_DPwD9BL71PG0

[rabs]

6. Zelaya just said it would be signed tomorrow (Friday) morning.

Llorens speaking now. "Historic day for Honduras."

[rabs]

8. Zelaya was asked when he will leave the Braz. Embassy

He said it was not "a night to day" process, it will be in the "next few days." He said a "calendar" will be established tomorrow for the process to go through the Supreme Court and the Congress. Precise dates expected to be announced tomorrow.

No word on whether the milicos will lift the blockade of the embassy.

Z. said he had no doubts that the Congress will approve his restitution, that he was "satisfied and optimistic.

(All of this information is coming live from Radio Globo.)

[Judi Lynn]

9. He's going to need complete assurance he can get sufficient protection

first before leaving the embassy.

Who will he be able to trust, considering the police people were pulverizing and beating people senseless and worse, terrorizing the population, as well as the military.

Zelaya DID say, however, he had contacts in the military who helped him on his trip back into the country.

Good to hear those comments. He sounds optomistic.

If he makes it back to his elected position, he's going to have so much to do.

[rabs]

10. Yes, his safety is being discussed on Honduran chat rooms

No telling yet what will be the reaction of the "white" and "perfumed" shirts. Shudder to think what would happen if Z. is harmed.

Big celebratory caravan forming outside Globo at this hour, 12:45 Honduras time.

One of the Zelaya backers (did not catch his name) said the U.S. mission had told business leaders that unless an accord was reached, Honduran exports to U.S. Atlantic ports would be blocked and that Honduras would be decertified as a nation participating in the war on drugs. Both measures would have bashed the oligarchs in the wallet.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Didn't expect them to get this stern with the golpistas this late in the game, did you?

Very interesting approach, smacking them in the wallet.

Hoping CholosatSur will show the people celebrating. They're still on now, in case you hadn't checked.
http://www.cholusatsur.com/

On edit, sounds as if they are really optomistic about this. A lady caller said they are very happy.

[rabs]

13. Listening to Globo

don't think CholosatSur has cameras in the streets. Huge vehicle caravan is heading for the Brazilian Embassy at this hour. There was a report earlier that milicos were withdrawing some of the troops from outside the embassy. Shannon and Llorens were with Zelaya until past midnight.

Have been fascinated all night because a military-civico coup has been reversed by people power, the humble people of Honduras. I hope the Resistance is nominated for the Peace Prize next year.

What is unclear is what will happen to goriletti. He could return to his post as president of the national Congress, but kinda doubt it, he is just too burned.

Also unclear is how the golpista general Romeo Vasquez will react.

It is going to be tense the next few days.

No English stories yet?

Ah, about the U.S. getting stern -- Shannon and company could hardly return to Washington empty handed, so they leaned HARD on the golpistas and the oligarchs.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Just found these very short ones:

Clinton hails breakthrough in Honduras presidential standoff
Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:15am EDT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised on Friday the end of a political stalemate in Honduras that will see the return of President Manuel Zelaya, who was toppled in a military coup four months ago.
"We were very clearly on the side of the restoration of the constitutional order, and that includes the elections," Clinton told reporters during a visit to Pakistan.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE59T0NV20091030?rpc=401

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clinton hails ‘historic agreement’ in Honduras (AFP)

30 October 2009 ISLAMABAD - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday hailed a deal aimed at ending months of political crisis in Honduras as an “historic agreement.”

She was speaking after Honduras’s de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said he had agreed to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

“I want to congratulate the people of Honduras as well as President Zelaya and Mr Micheletti for reaching an historic agreement,” Clinton told reporters accompanying her on a visit to Pakistan.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2009/October/international_October2037.xml§ion=international&col=

[Judi Lynn]

12. Deal reached to reinstate ousted Honduran president

Deal reached to reinstate ousted Honduran president
Americas News
Oct 30, 2009, 6:16 GMT

Tegucigalpa - The Organization of American States (OAS) announced Thursday night an agreement between the Honduran interim president Roberto Micheletti and the ousted president Manuel Zelaya to reinstate Zelaya and bring an end to the political crisis in Honduras.

The deal should lead to the formation of a government of national reconciliation, Micheletti said. Elections scheduled for late November should take place as planned.

Zelaya was toppled on June 28 as he was seeking to change Honduras' constitution to allow him another term in office. Instead, he was thrown out of the country by the armed forces.

The international community and the OAS see Zelaya as the legitimate president and have repeatedly demanded his return to office.

More:
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1510296.php/Deal-reached-to-reinstate-ousted-Honduran-president-1st-Lead

[struggle4progress]

14. ... "It is a triumph for Honduran democracy," .. Zelaya said ... "We are satisfied. We are

optimistic that my reinstatement is imminent" ...

Honduras' Zelaya Set to Return to Power
By REUTERS
Published: October 30, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/10/30/news/news-us-honduras.html

[Judi Lynn]

18. Interesting info. concerning control of the army. From the article you posted:

He said Zelaya could return to office after a vote in Congress that would be authorized by the country's Supreme Court. The deal would require both sides to recognize the result of a November 29 presidential election and would transfer control of the army to the top electoral court.

Micheletti said the deal would create a truth commission to investigate the events of the last few months, and would ask the foreign governments to reverse punitive measures like suspended aid and canceled visas.

It would be good to know how the truth commission will be chosen. If it's an honest truth commission they will deliver conclusions which will lead to ripping the faces off of these golpistas.

[Peace Patriot]

22. I believe that transfer of control over the military to the electoral court is a Constitutional

provision, and occurs just during elections. The military is supposed to guarantee safety and orderliness at polling places, under the electoral court's direction. I suppose it was intended to prevent a president from ordering the military to nix election results that the president didn't like. The electoral court is supposed to be neutral--but nothing in the Honduran government is neutral these days. They purged all Zelaya appointees and supporters, and even just "rule of law" types (people who disapproved of the coup), and persecuted some people (beyond firing them). I don't know if they have done anything to the electoral court. But then, starting conditions in Honduras (back in June) were that the "ten families" run everything.

I am glad that Zelaya and his family and cabinet and others in the embassy are safe, and that Zelaya will be restored to some semblance of his rightful office, but I have to say that he should have had the four months of his term that they stole from him--and from the Honduran people--restored--and the elections should have been re-started with the primaries and should have been postponed for four months. There is no way that this election can be fair to leftist candidates. There are still many leftist activists in jail. Some are dead. Some are recovering from beatings, rapes, torture, threats, fear. And the two lackluster major party candidates--Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum--both supported the coup. What kind of choice is that?

A semblance of order is better than martial law, and I hope the persecutions and death squad killings stop. But I don't see how Honduras can proceed without the fundamental reform that all the unions and grass roots groups have been calling for, for a long time. A great leftist democracy movement has been galvanized by these events, and that is hopeful. I think they will eventually reform Honduras. But I think we need to be very wary about what just occurred.

Why did the Obama administration wait four months to send a top level envoy to Honduras? And if they can turn things around so quickly, with economic hammers, why didn't they do it four months ago?

Also, why did the US military stand down, when the plane carrying the kidnapped president stopped for refueling at the US airbase in Honduras? Were Obama/Clinton collusive? Or were they dealing with a Bushwhack insurrection? And why isn't this political agreement fairer to Zelaya and to the poor majority in Honduras? If Obama/Clinton have such clout, why didn't they say, "oh, no you don't! You give Zelaya back his four months, re-do the election from the start, and create a reform commission to discuss the constitution that you so casually ripped up."

This democracy struggle is far from over. And Obama/Clinton policies are far from clear.

[struggle4progress]

16. ... Juan Barahona, a protest leader and former negotiator for the ousted leader, said in a telephone

interview ... the question remains whether Zelaya could be restored before Nov. 29 elections, as the U.S., European Union and Latin American countries have demanded. “On which day will the president be back in the presidential palace?” he asked. “The chronology must still be defined” ...
Honduran Congress to Have Final Say on Zelaya Return (Update1)
By Blake Schmidt
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aft4dShLLrhM

[Judi Lynn]

17. Reuters: Zelaya set to return to power in Honduras

Zelaya set to return to power in Honduras
Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:39am EDT

(Reuters) - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is set to return to power after the country's de facto leadership bowed to U.S. pressure and agreed a deal to end a long crisis sparked by a June coup.
The breakthrough followed renewed pressure from senior U.S. officials who traveled to Honduras for a last-ditch effort to end a crisis that handed Washington a foreign policy headache.

Here are some facts about the ousted president:

* An unlikely working class hero, Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales was born on Sept 20, 1952 to a wealthy ranching family in the region of Olancho, known for pistol- and machete-toting men with a macho streak. He made money from cattle and logging before being elected to Congress in 1985.

* Nicknamed Mel and known for his bushy mustache and white cowboy hat, Zelaya rose in the Liberal Party ranks and was elected Honduran president as a moderate in 2005. He turned to the left once in office, raising the minimum wage, pushing social spending and creating powerful enemies by aligning himself with socialist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE59T0RU20091030

They don't drop the hard spin for a second, do they?!

[rabs]

19. Zelaya just spoke again on Globo

Once again called for Hondurans to remain calm, because he recognized that there is "resentment" among some sectors. (Talk about an understatement.)

Globo news shutting down for the night, station has gone over to Resistance music. Very nice.

http://www.globotvhonduras.com/

About Reuters, I don't pay much stock in its reporting. Superficial most of the time.

Good night.

[Judi Lynn]

20. Honduras' ousted president set to return to power

Honduras' ousted president set to return to power

http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com.nyud.net:8090/archive/00306/Manuel_Zelaya_306021gm-a.jpg

Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya, left,
shakes hands with U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State Thomas Shannon inside the Brazilian
embassy in Tegucigalpa. Edgard Garrido/Reuters

Sean Mattson

Tegucigalpa — Reuters
Published on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 4:06AM EDT

Honduras' de facto government buckled under international pressure and agreed to allow the return to power of President Manuel Zelaya, who was toppled in a military coup four months ago.

The breakthrough late on Thursday followed renewed pressure from senior U.S. officials who traveled to Honduras this week for a last-ditch effort to end a crisis that had handed U.S. President Barack Obama a foreign policy headache.

“It is a triumph for Honduran democracy,” the leftist Mr. Zelaya said after the rival sides agreed to a deal that should see him restored to office in the coming days.

“We are satisfied. We are optimistic that my reinstatement is imminent,” he said.

More:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/honduras-ousted-president-set-to-return-to-power/article1344911/

[Vidar]

21. Thanks for the great & unexpected news, rabs.

[struggle4progress]

23. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ibI4EPZz2k

[eridani]

24. Great! A shout-out to you and all the other Latin America watchers on DU

--for keeping us updated on this and other situations.

[L. Coyote]

25. Let's celebrate after the implementation. Seeing is believing.

The devil may be lurking in the details!

[Downwinder]

27. Wonder what effect the bases in Colombia had on this.

[Bacchus39]

29. yeah, details like the Congress will decide if he gets restored

are rather important.

[L. Coyote]

31. Details like the details will be negotiated later today!

That's the big one. Shannon flew home, and the two sides have to work out the deal today!!

[Bacchus39]

33. here it is. what if the Congress says no? Zelaya agreed to that condition it seems

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091030/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_honduras_coup

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Representatives of ousted President Manuel Zelaya finally reached an agreement with the interim government that could help end the monthslong dispute over Honduras' June 28 coup, and possibly pave the way for Zelaya's reinstatement.

The Organization of American States announced the deal late Thursday but did not release a text of the accord, in which Zelaya appears to have agreed to throw his fate into the hands of a congress that has largely supported interim President Roberto Micheletti.

"We are optimistic because Hondurans can reach agreements that are fulfilled," Zelaya told Radio Globo, an opposition station. "This signifies my return to power in the coming days, and peace for Honduras."

The agreement, if it holds, could represent a much-needed foreign policy victory for the United States, which dispatched a senior team of diplomats to coax both sides back to the table.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called it "an historic agreement," noting "this is a big step forward for the inter-American system."

The agreement appears to soften Micheletti's previous stance that the Supreme Court — which has already rejected Zelaya's reinstatement — decide the issue. Instead, the high court would make a recommendation, but the final decision would apparently be left to a vote in Congress.

The agreement would create a power-sharing government and bind both sides to recognize the Nov. 29 presidential elections. The international community had threatened to not recognize the vote if Zelaya is not reinstated, but on Thursday, OAS Political Affairs Secretary Victor Rico told reporters that "the United States and the OAS will accompany Honduras in the elections" as a result of the accord.

Clinton said the elections would go forward and the U.S. will work with Honduras to ensure the election is legitimate.

The deal was greeted by all sides as a victory in the long-running dispute that has polarized the country and mired it in diplomatic isolation.

"Tonight I am pleased to announce that ... I authorized my negotiating team to sign a final accord that marks the beginning of the end to the political situation in the country," Micheletti said in a televised address.

The team of U.S. diplomats had worked over the last two days to coax both sides back to the table.

"This is a great moment for Honduras, and its people should be proud that Hondurans have achieved this accord," said Tom Shannon, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who arrived with the U.S. delegation Wednesday.

Rico said "they (the negotiators) are the heroes of Honduran democracy ... and this is a great moment for Honduras." The OAS had tried for months to bring the two sides together.

Micheletti called the pact a "significant concession" on his part, and said that one point would require foreign powers to drop sanctions or aid cutoffs imposed after the coup, and send observers to the elections.

The Supreme Court has already rejected Zelaya's return, saying he was replaced as president on June 28 because he violated the Constitution by pressing for a vote on potential constitutional reforms. Zelaya's opponents accuse him of attempting to end a ban on presidential term limits — something the leftist leader denies.

Zelaya, who is holed up at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, the capital, has said Congress should make the decision on his reinsatement, even though he currently enjoys the support of only about a fifth of the legislators.

Zelaya was flown out of the country by soldiers on June 28, but slipped back in Sept. 21. It was unclear if he would be allowed to leave the Brazilian Embassy under the deal.

The interim government has vowed to arrest Zelaya if he leaves the diplomatic mission, and filed a complaint Thursday at the U.N.'s highest court accusing Brazil of meddling in Honduran affairs by giving Zelaya refuge. The International Court of Justice declined to comment on whether it would hear the case, and Brazil's Foreign Ministry said the government was evaluating the complaint.

Brazil supports Zelaya's fight to return to power and has not pressured him or his supporters to leave.

Earlier on Thursday, police fired tear gas to disperse a march of about 1,000 Zelaya supporters as they neared the hotel where the talks were taking place.

[L. Coyote]

26. Parallel LATEST: Deal reached to reinstate ousted Honduran president

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4125418

[Bacchus39]

28. excellent, I hope the Congress says no. n/t

s

[L. Coyote]

30. WTF? Why would you want the GOPistas to stay in power?

[Bacchus39]

32. its up to the Honduran Congress to decide, ask them

that is the agreement chief.

[Judi Lynn]

34. Path cleared for deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya to return to power

Path cleared for deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya to return to power
Under the agreement, Zelaya would serve out the final few months of his term and both sides would recognize the results of a November election. The U.S. helped broker the deal.

By Tracy Wilkinson
October 30, 2009 | 9:29 a.m.

Reporting from Mexico City - After months of resistance, the de facto government of Honduras relented today and agreed to a deal to restore deposed President Manuel Zelaya to power.

"This is a triumph for Honduran democracy," Zelaya, ousted in a military-backed coup on June 28, said from the Brazilian Embassy in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. Zelaya was deported in the coup but sneaked back into the country on Sept. 21 and took refuge in the diplomatic mission.

The breakthrough came when the coup-installed government succumbed to U.S. pressure. Thomas Shannon, the Obama administration's senior diplomat for Latin America, arrived in Honduras earlier this week and met repeatedly with both sides of the crisis, which has isolated and divided the impoverished Central American nation.

"This is a major concession by our government," de facto President Roberto Micheletti, who replaced Zelaya, said in a middle-of-the-night speech to his country. "We had been firm in our position . . . but we understand that the people of Honduras desire to turn the page."

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-honduras31-2009oct31,0,5615575.story

[Judi Lynn]

35. Tune into Cholasatsur, the only non-coup-supporting tv station.

The tv guy is standing in front of their Congreso Nacional, and people seem to be very excited.

http://www.cholusatsur.com/

On edit:

Their live transmission has been interrupted but the studio guy is still on.

On edit:

Briefing with Canadian ambassador at Mariott Hotel. Hugo Llorens, the US ambassador, just left in his car.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

36. The New York Times article on the agreement needs some leftist love

So far the comments are dominated by right wingers, Cuban expats, and general idiots, including one who says that everyone in Roatan is against Zelaya.

Roatan, that's the "retirement haven" where North American Libertarians go to buy beachfront estates for $100,000 and hire full-time servants for $100 a month each.

Yeah, I bet they do hate Zelaya on the golf course at Roatan.

[Peace Patriot]

37. Al Giordano has detail on Hond. Congress and believes they will approve Zelaya return.

But he says there is a Supreme Court hitch. Golpistas are saying SC has to approve it. Zelaya people saying that's not what they signed. What they signed was SC advises only and then Congress votes.

Downwinder posted it here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x25650

Original
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/3567/reports-deal-honduras-are-premature

[rabs]

38. Don't think the SC will be a hitch

Last night Zelaya team member said it did not matter what the SC says. Zelaya negotiators said should be in the presidency within days.

The accord as of this morning is in the Congress where the issue will be resolved. Giordano mentions the U.S. getting all the ducks in a row in reaching to accord. It would be naive to think Shannon and company did not and they forced goriletti to cave in. (In the next few days it should become known what pressure was applied, but last night there was talk of decertification of Honduras in the drug war and severe economic sanctions.

Remember that it was Zelaya who proposed a congressional solution weeks ago. The gorilettis later added the SC clause, which the Shannon team may have granted as a cosmetic concession to goriletti. Zelaya would NEVER NEVER agree to an accord unless all the duckies were aligned and that is apparently what happened yesterday.

About the elections, the UN, OAS, EU and everyone who has a magnifying glass will be there. There is probably not enough time but suspect Liberal and Nationalist parties have been seriously damaged. Pepe Lobo of the Nationalists is polling way ahead of Elvin Santos of the Liberals, who supported the coup and is considered by the Resistance a traitor to the party.

What I would like to see is a new party arise from the Resistance. I look for Cesar Ham and H. Carlos Reyes to be major players.

They are alternate smaller party candidates to the Liberals and Nationalists and could follow in the footsteps of the Concertacion in Chile, the Frente Amplio in Uruguay, the MAS that put Evo in power, Lula's Workers Party, the downfall of the PRI in Mexico, Lugo breaking the stranglehold of the Colorado Party in Paraguay, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and so on.

[Peace Patriot]

39. Yeah, I was thinking that, too--that both Shannon and Zelaya wouldn't allow that hitch,

but the golpistas are both treacherous and erratic, so it is certainly believable that they would start lying about the agreement and in particular trying to mess with Zelaya. I also wonder about that arrest warrant that is still outstanding--and all the stories about Colombian mercenaries (death squads) in the country and leftists getting offed by drive-by shooters, etc. Zelaya's chief danger to the junta is that he will be a rallying figure for serious reform. He will be above the fray, in a revered position as the leader who returned, despite the dangers, and the only one willing to champion the poor majority in very dangerous circumstances. This will greatly help the movement for change, and that is what the golpistas fear most--reform. I agree that a new party is likely the way to go, and what Zelaya will likely involve himself in--pulling together all the disaffected Liberal Party members (especially the purged--there will be a big contingent of former officials and government workers who were badly treated by the Liberal coupsters), the unions, the human rights groups, religious advocates of the poor, the small leftist parties, small businesspeople and others, and, of course, the well organized and dauntless resistance movement, which has already drawn many of these groups together. The powers-that-be have been exposed for what they are--and the momentum for change could result in more treacherous/erratic actions.

[Bacchus39]

40. well apparently the Congress thinks it matters what the SC says

I love how all the Mel lovers think that the other Honduran institutions are irrelevant in all of this.

[Peace Patriot]

41. Honduras' "institutions" (clubs for the rich) have acted in such a way to make themselves

irrelevant. All they have is violent military and police power. They have forfeited any moral authority that they may have had. They have done this to themselves. And this is especially true of the Supreme Court which concocted a ridiculous case against Zelaya, after he was violently kidnapped and expelled from the country, that was so absurd they didn't dare face him with it and allow him to defend himself. They really and truly just plain ripped up the Constitution, and unleashed violent, lawless military and police forces against their own people.

They are a disgrace to the legal profession. And the Congress isn't much better. Those many labor unions, human rights groups, religious advocates of the poor, grass roots political groups and others who have called for fundamental reform in Honduras are right on. Their system stinks. And the Supreme Court, who should have had some respect for the law, is the stinkiest of the lot.

Whatever charade they are going to go through, to get their booty back from the United States, has nothing to do with their legitimacy or "sacred" Honduran "institutions." Good grief! They concocted that outrage. Now they'll concoct this, and if the Supreme Court doesn't go along, they will be replaced, cuz we're talking serious booty now--the "war on drugs," billions of dollars right out of my pocket and yours, into theirs. They want that money, but they also don't want a real president in the next four weeks (or ever, really), so they might just dick around with it for as long as Shannon lets them.

What a contemptuous lot of greedbags and jerks!

[Downwinder]

42. +1

[Bacchus39]

43. they might be all of that, but they are the ones who are going to decide on Zelaya's return

that's what Zelaya agreed to. and there is nothing in the accord as far as I've seen that require the Congress or the SC to give Zelaya a favorable decision.

[Braulio]

44. I would give him the presidency

After all, he's got less than 30 days to the election, and less than 90 days, period, plus he won't control the army, and they can always force him out again if he starts making trouble. Zelaya will be remembered as a failed president, who created nothing but trouble with his silly scheme to force a referendum on a new constitution.

[Bacchus39]

45. yeah, a good day Honduras will be Nov. 30 and a better day Jan. 27 I believe

the day after the election and the inauguration.

funny, even if Zelaya gets his 90 days, the conservative candidate may well get 4 years or whatever it is in Honduras. and people are wondering why the Liberal Party candidate, like Zelaya and Mitch, isn't doing so well.

[Peace Patriot]

48. "...if he starts making trouble." Yeah, trouble like doubling the minimum wage,

lowering the cost of bus tickets for poor workers and providing school lunches for poor children, in a country with one of the poorest populations in the hemisphere, and furthermore responding to the people in their call for fundamental reform by insisting on an advisory vote of the people on forming a Constituent Assembly, even though there is no way he could benefit by it in the immediate future and it put him at risk from the vicious powers that run Honduras!

A real "trouble-maker" of a president, actually serving the people!

Zelaya has a 67% approval rating. He will not only "be remembered" as the courageous advocate of the poor majority, and the first real president of Honduras--the one who challenged the "ten families" and the Honduran "School of the Americas" trained military, and US corpo-fascist powers--but he is going to be an active and inspiring figure, in the coming months and years, for reform of Honduras' putrid political system. He is already a legend for his heroic return to the country. And if some day the leftist democracy movement in Honduras--the labor unions, human rights groups, religious advocates of the poor, community activists, environmentalists and grass roots groups of every kind--succeed in reforming the Constitution, and provide the president with more than one term and/or non-consecutive terms--he will be back, believe me. He is is a young man, a legend and a visionary leader in the FDR mold.

Funny, how some DU posters always seem to oppose leaders who side with the poor, and support the rich no matter how awful--illegal, criminal, anti-democratic, anti-human rights, violent and murderous--they are. Let us hear your seething contempt for martial law as a method of "democracy," for shutting down opposition media--for pouring acid on their broadcast equipment and trashing their studios--for midnight shootings up of the elected president's home, and spiriting him out of the country at gunpoint; for military checkpoints to prevent peaceful protest; for the use of live ammunition on protestors; for killing teachers and breaking the bones of leftist candidates for public office; let us hear your condemnation of poverty in Honduras and your plan for correcting it; so that we see that you even believe in democracy.

Your seething contempt for Zelaya--"...if he starts making trouble"--gives you away. Democracy IS "trouble," don't ya know? It IS the right to agitate, to challenge the ruling powers, to cause them ceaseless 'trouble" if they are corrupt and unjust, to insist on government "of, by and for" the people, and nothing less, to protest the "powers that be," to organize against them, to give them big aching headaches, and to throw them out by any peaceful means possible, if their vulture grip on a country's institutions cannot be broken through those corrupted institutions--by civil disobedience, strikes, boycotts, marches, clandestine radio stations, 'illegal' meetings, and toil and sacrifice of every kind.

"Of, by and for" the people is big trouble for entrenched power, Braulio, And you, my friend, talk like the entrenched powers that democracy was created to overcome. You want to be rid of "the troublemaker" who proposed a vote of the people on reform of the system that is oppressing them. And I can only presume that you want "the rabble" who support him in such huge numbers to shut up and go away as well.

[Braulio]

49. It would have helped if he had sent a budget to the Congress

I understand Zelaya failed to submit a budget to the Congress, as required by the Constitution. It's hard to tell if he was using Venezuelan money or what, but I read the numbers didn't add up. Honduras is indeed a very poor country, but Zelaya failed because he didn't create steady, permanent change for the better. What he achieved was to destabilize society.

And now what? He gets to be president for a few months, and then he's out. The candidate from the right seems to be ahead in the polls, probably because the recent coup de etat, the subsequent violence, and fear of Chavism is throwing the elections to the right. What's the use to have a guy like Zelaya when all he accomplishes is negative in the end?

[Peace Patriot]

50. Sounds like you only listen to coup-approved media.

"What he achieved was to destabilize society."

Um, WHO kidnapped the elected president at gunpoint, and threw him out of the country? WHO declared martial law, suspended all civil rights, and started using live ammunition on peaceful protestors? WHO shut down the opposition media? WHO has been bashing heads, invading homes, firing teachers who oppose the coup, torturing and raping political prisoners, filling the streets with troops and tear gas?

All Zelaya did was PROPOSE A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE ON AN IMPORTANT ISSUE.

So, you're saying if Arnold Schwarzenegger was late getting his budget to the legislature in Sacramento, the California National Guard should shoot up his house, put him on a plane with no windows and deport him to Mexico?

Your logic is amazing to me. Mel Zelaya did not "destabilize" Honduran society. The golpistas DID. And what are you doing here on a Democratic board? Our own president said from Day One that Zelaya should be restored to his rightful office. Are you saying Obama was wrong? Obama didn't buy that crap from the Junta, that Zelaya did this and Zelaya did that, and therefore they get to rip up the Constitution and do whatever they damn please to anybody who objects. Why do YOU buy it? And why are you touting it here?

[Judi Lynn]

46. I highly doubt they thought he would have the nerve to return, considering they have control

of the military and the police.

Don't think they had a backup plan. Being so brilliant, as well as greedy, they appear to have had it all figured out, or maybe not.

Sure hope we will see the day they haul their asses before the ICC.

[Judi Lynn]

47. Honduras: Investigate Abuses, Repeal Repressive Measures

Honduras: Investigate Abuses, Repeal Repressive Measures
October 30, 2009

(Washington, DC) - The restoration of constitutional order in Honduras should be accompanied by the immediate repeal of repressive decrees issued by the de facto government, and a full investigation of abuses committed in the aftermath of the coup, Human Rights Watch said today.

The de facto government of Honduras and the deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, announced today that that they had struck a deal on the evening of October 29, 2009, to restore Zelaya to office. The exact terms of the accord are unknown.

"Honduras urgently needs to address the serious damage to human rights since the coup," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas Director at Human Rights Watch. "Honduras needs to roll back repressive legislation and give unequivocal orders to security forces to end their abuses and cooperate with the investigations of the human rights unit of the Attorney General's office."

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/10/30/honduras-investigate-abuses-repeal-repressive-measures