Honduras - How To Undo A Coup

The Obama Administration speaks with a forked tongue – but both must leave Hondurans wondering just whose fence the U.S. is falling off.

Whilst leaders around the world, including the United Nations, on Sunday unequivocally condemned the coup and demanded Zealya’s reinstatement, Obama expressed only deep concern and no demand for his return, and Hillary said everyone should condemn the ouster but failed to actually do so.

On Monday, protests grew throughout the country, the military regime cut off all non-coup-backed communications, violently detained journalists, and fired tear-gas on the crowds. Obama must have had second thoughts - s peaking at a brief press appearance in Colombia with President Alvaro Uribe, he referred to Sunday's events as a "coup."

Maybe he forgot to tell Hillary - later that day she announced the U.S. government is refraining from formally declaring it a "coup." After all, if they did, that would mean they would have to cut off economic aid to Honduras – according to the Foreign Assistance Act, U.S. aid cannot be given to countries whose elected heads of government are removed by military coups.

And that in turn means cutting off aid to the groups and political parties that staged the coup, who strangely enough receive funding from USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

A coup is a coup, and we all know that’s what went down in Honduras on Sunday.

If Obama is serious about his country’s purported abhorrence of the events in Honduras, they have a very effective tool – they could, like the rest of the world, speak with one voice and publically acknowledge the coup for what it is. Then they could pull the economic plug on the usurpers WHILE negotiations for the peaceful return of Zelaya take place.

Anything less can only be seen as US support of the coupsters.

Notes:
The critical situation in Honduras means reliable information is difficult to obtain, and/or verify. Additional information:

• Correction - Cesar Ham has now been reported to be alive and in hiding in a safe house with other social movement leaders (source - http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/internacionales/2009-06-28/un-mar-de-pueblo-hondureno-esta-en-las-calles-pidiendo-que-vuelva-zelaya)
• Update - Patricia Rodas, Honduras' Foreign Minister, travelled to Mexico on Monday after being released by coup forces following strong pressure from international public opinion.
• Update - Adriana Sivori, Telesur correspondent in Tegucigalpa, was detained, along with her cameraman, by military forces in Honduras under orders by the coup. Concerns have also been expressed about Dick Emanuelsson and his wife, the photographer Mirian Hueso.
• Update – there are reports that two Honduran military battalions have turned against the coup regime (source http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/al-giordano/2009/06/reports-two-military-battalions-turn-against-honduras-coup-regime)

ENDS

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