NarcoNews: " Honduras: Enter Oscar Arias"

[magbana]

Go to website to view the two videos referenced in this article.

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/honduras-enter-oscar-arias

Honduras: Enter Oscar Arias
Posted by Al Giordano - July 7, 2009 at 10:39 pm

By Al Giordano

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez, 69, will mediate the first (it could well end up being the only) face-to-face encounter since the June 28 coup d’etat between Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the gorilla coup "president" Roberto Micheletti on Wednesday in San José. Costa Rica.

Arias is best known for his 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in mediating negotiations to end civil wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador. The Central American left and right both have ambivalent feelings toward him, a social democrat turned neoliberal capitalist but one with very strong tendencies regarding democracy and human rights, tendencies that have built-in conflicts with each other. The paradox is that it is the fact that neither ideological pole completely trusts him that makes him strangely palatable as mediator to both. That’s what happened in the 1980s and it will be attempted again tomorrow in San José.

Last weekend, Arias broadcast the above five-and-a-quarter-minutes message to Costa Ricans on national TV. If his voice sounds a little bit funny, it may be because, last year, he was diagnosed with cyst on his vocal chords.

In that video he said (I'll translate these key passages):

In the dawn of Sunday June 28 President Jose Manuel Zelaya was taken by force and expelled from Honduras by soldiers of the army. From any point of view, that is unjustifiable. What happened before it loses all relevance in light of this coup d’etat.

And then at 58 seconds into his talk, ominous music begins to play under his voice, as the broadcast shows images of the military coups in Latin America in the 60s and 70s. Arias continued:

For those that don’t remember, there was an era in Latin America when the armies decided who was president, how, and until when. It was the darkest era of our history.

Thousands died or were tortured. Millions had to flee from their country. Force was more important than the law. Fear more powerful than the popular will. Our people were never more unhappy and less free than when the capacity to govern was in the hands of the military…

It is unacceptable that in the 21st century some celebrate a coup d’etat… To topple him by violent means it was Honduran democracy and not him who suffer from a mortal coup…

We have called to reestablish the Coinstitutional order and restore the elected president…

The whole world, without exception, has repudiated this coup d’etat…

We’ll see what, if anything, happens when Zelaya and Micheletti (they once were political allies) come face to face in the presence of Arias on Wednesday.

I certainly can’t predict what, if anything, will ensue. This is not like an election day with a fixed yes or no outcome on a certain deadline.

This is the path that the legitimate president of Honduras, Mel Zelaya, has chosen. If we believe that the Honduran people's choice for president is the only legitimate president no matter what one's opinion about that president may be, as we do, then that therefore extends to the decisions he makes in this process. And so far, we haven’t heard complaint from Insulza or Chávez or any other leader in América about this next step, which is your first indication that Zelaya is pleased with it, and the rest are as curious as we are to see whether anything comes of it.

And so we wait… It could be an adventure in futility... Or it could be the face-saving pretext for the Simian Council behind the coup to give up their illegitimate grasp on the country after their coup-in-clown-shoes in which everything that could go wrong did.

Update: I'll add another well-informed thought to this analysis.

Some are scratching their heads, asking, "how can it be possible that both the United States - and its allies - and Venezuela - and its allies - say they oppose this coup?"

And a related question: "What can the coup plotters be thinking that they can do without US and World Bank and PetroCaribe funds?"

The answer is that there is indeed a powerful network behind this coup. It is an attempt by a certain element of organized crime to resurrect the Batista experiment of Cuba in the 1950s - a safe haven for narco-trafficking, money laundering and right-wing terrorism in the hemisphere, with billions of dollars already in its combined coffers. That is the power behind Micheletti and his Simian Council.

There is a scene from The Godfather Part II that portrays what was attempted in the late 1950s to set up just such a safe haven in Cuba:

Understand that governments are secondary players in this globalized uber-state of capitalism. There are organized crime groups that have far more money at their disposal today than the $3.5 billion dollar annual budget of Honduras. This is not something that is viewed as positive in either Washington, or Caracas, or in any other national capital in this hemisphere (except among some, apparently, in Tegucigalpa). This coup is a play by a twenty-first century mafia to win itself a flag to fly over its banks and business interests, and render them untouchable by any legitimate government. The stakes are, thus, high for all aspiring democracies, not just that in Honduras.

[flamingdem]

1. The new order of things is revealing

Obama is the main reason for a new unity of interests in the hemisphere. He will ultimately help the left and of course will receive, (is receiving) the ire of the right for this. Of course there is more to do regarding repression but this unprecedented unity in the hemisphere is a start.

Now I have to wonder about the media. Whose side is CNN espanol on as well as other media outlets? What interests are behind them since they seemed to be supporting the coup initially. Is the Latin American mainstream media a half step removed from the narco-trafficing dollars and influence? Only Al Giordano knows! He's doing a great job unearthing the narco connection.

This coup could help in the long run to enlighten Obama as to how to handle his hemispheric enemies and his enemies at home. John McCain would have had the simians back, we know that for certain.

[EFerrari]

2. What?! Obama is not the main reason for unity of interests in the hemisphere.

He has yet to show he is even interested in that unity so hard won by Latin American leaders and their supporters. This has been trending for a long time and has nada to do with Obama at all, although most democratic leaders in LatAm were very much hoping he would take the White House.

[flamingdem]

3. I'm referring to the previous obstacles to unity as in Bush or if he won, McCain

Plus, the Latin leaders seem to trust him generally speaking. We'll see if it lasts.

[EFerrari]

4. Latin America is more unified today, because of Bush, than it ever has been. n/t

[Bacchus39]

5. I think you attribute too much influence to Obama

Bush earned his reputation as the bogeyman but Obama has taken that away from certain leaders.

Obama will certainly be a force for a partnership in latin america rather than the us vs. them "unity" derived from Bush.

funny though, how the anti-US attitude is emotional and just on the surface though. Look at where Zelaya's family went right after the overthrow, look at Bolivia wanting their free trade preference back, look at the number of countries that still want or have an FTA with US, and of course everyone is looking for immigrant rights and protections. Obama is someone latin america can work with.

[flamingdem]

6. I've lived in L.A. and was always surprised

when people said that the US is seen as the "adult" and they are like "children".

It's quite difficult to put oneself in their shoes. There are many with complexes
about the level of development in their countries so they look up to the USA even
if it's giving them a raw deal, or was, historically speaking.

It's more of an awe than an admiration however.