PRI's The World » Honduras

Global Political Cartoons: March 12 – 18, 2011

Carol Hills — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:00:41 +0000

The Land of the Rising Sun has become for some The Land of Rising Radiation Levels. The aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami has cartoonists morphing the red disc in Japan’s flag into everything from a radiation hazard symbol to a skull.

Global Political Cartoons: March 5 – 11, 2011

Carol Hills — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:00:27 +0000

The massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan spawn multiple images of a famous Japanese woodblock print. The tangled role of oil in the world’s response to Libya, and the space shuttle Discovery retires into the arms of another beached phenom.

Global Political Cartoons: February 26 – March 4, 2011

Carol Hills — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 10:00:07 +0000

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has always had a cartoon quality about him but as he defies all calls to step down, his image is morphing from that of a comical and clueless Charlie Sheen to a savage dictator ready to aid and abet a blood-letting against his own people.

Manuel Zelaya, Honduras’ former president in exile

The World — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:14:20 +0000

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A year ago leftist Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was kidnapped in his pajamas by the Honduran military. He made a dramatic return by sneaking back into the country in the trunk of a car and hiding out in the Brazilian embassy. These days Zelaya is living in exile in the Dominican Republic. Reporter Enrique Rivera caught up with him. (Photo: Enrique Rivera)

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MARCO WERMAN: Last year, leftist Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the Honduran military and flown into exile. The international community, including the United States, condemned the action as a coup. Violent protests erupted, and human rights groups say Zelaya supporters were tortured and murdered. Zelaya made a dramatic return, after sneaking into Honduras in the trunk of a car and hiding out in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. But one year later, Manuel Zelaya is again living in exile in the Dominican Republic. Reporter Enrique Rivera spent some time with Zelaya at his new home.

ENRIQUE RIVERA: Life has changed for Manuel Zelaya. He’s no longer President of Honduras, but he’s no longer sleeping on the floors of the Brazilian embassy of Tegucigalpa either. Today, he’s living in a modest home in a middle class neighborhood in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. And he spends much of his time playing the Spanish guitar, a passion he’s had since he was a boy.

SPANISH SPEAKING

MANUEL ZELAYA: I started playing guitar when I was 11 or 12, just like that, on the street. I never had classes or a teacher. I just picked it up on my own. Practicing, playing, just learning little by little.

RIVERA: Zelaya’s new home is guarded by several Dominican soldiers who wear jeans and t-shirts and boast enormous machine guns that stretch down from their waist to their ankles. Two of the guards follow Zelaya whenever he leaves the house. But the deposed president mostly stays at home, playing his guitar.

SPANISH SINGING

RIVERA: Just as the song’s plaintive tone suggests, Zelaya seems desolate as a result of his exile. His wife and two daughters are with him in the Dominican Republic, but his mother and two sons are still in Honduras. Zelaya says that his family’s been torn apart and that he’s broke. Everything he has now, he says, is thanks to the generosity of the Dominican government. Zelaya admits his family owns some property in Honduras, but he claims it’s not worth much.

SPANISH SPEAKING

ZELAYA: The only thing we have is land, but that land is worth little. Not enough to say we’re rich. We just don’t have any money. And remember I practically stopped working and earning money during the ten years I dedicated to my political career.

RIVERA: Zelaya’s political career was cut short by last year’s coup. His critics say Zelaya brought the coup on himself by staging an illegal referendum to extend his grip on power. But Zelaya is convinced there were larger forces behind what happened in Honduras.

SPANISH SPEAKING

ZELAYA: It was a campaign against Hugo Chavez, against communism, against a bunch of falsehoods and lies. It was part of an ideological war, like going back to the days of the Cold War.

RIVERA: Zelaya blames the US for his plight. Washington condemned the coup last year and argued for Zelaya’s reinstatement. The Obama administration later threw its support behind the new president who was elected in November and took office in January when Zelaya’s original term expired. Zelaya now says the US was behind the coup all along and is responsible for his still being in exile.

SPANISH SPEAKING

ZELAYA: While the United States is protecting the coup-mongers, it’s practically impossible to reach a political accord in Honduras. Because the US is a power that controls international organizations, and has influence all over the world. So it’s hard to fight for a political agreement if the US doesn’t want one.

RIVERA: The State Department calls Zelaya’s claims ridiculous. The ousted president says he’d likely to return to Honduras. But he admits the odds don’t look good right now. So for now, Zelaya remains in exile, playing his guitar. But he insists he’s not just a throwback to the Cold War. Another Central American leftist, deposed, forgotten, and abandoned by the rest of the world. For The World, I’m Enrique Rivera, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

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Polache

The World — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:00:31 +0000

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Honduran singer-songwriter Polache wrote this song, “Mira a Honduras,” for an ad campaign to promote tourism. The song became a hit in the Central American country.

‘Mira a Honduras’ turned Polache into a household name in Honduras. But his career took a turn for the worse in June.

Now, Polache’s songs don’t get played much on Honduran radio and TV. Reporter John Otis has written about the singer for Global Post.com.

Hondurans hope election will help economy

The World — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:26:50 +0000

The political unrest in Honduras has scared away tourists and foreign investors and it’s driven up unemployment. Hondurans are set to choose a new president on Sunday. Many of them hope the election will defuse the crisis and get the country’s economy back on track. Correspondent John Otis reports from Tegucigalpa. Download MP3

MARCO WERMAN: The economy of Honduras is also at the breaking point. The Central American nation was already hurting from the Global Economic Slowdown. Then in June the Honduran Army ousted the President, Manuel Zelaya. The political unrest has scared away tourists and foreign investors, and it’s driven up unemployment. Hondurans are set to choose a new president on Sunday. Many of them hope the election will diffuse the crisis and get the country’s economy back on track. Reporter John Otis sets the scene.

JOHN OTIS: American businessman Chris Haughey is trying to set up a toy factory on the outskirts of the capital, Tegucigalpa.

CHRIS HAUGHEY: So what you see in the factory here is roughly 50% of the machines were purchased here in country and the rest were, you know, have been brought in from the U.S.

OTIS: But shortly after Haughey broke ground, a military coup ousted President Zelaya. Street protests led to curfews, and that caused construction delays at Haughey’s plant, pushing back the start-up date for toy production.

HAUGHEY: The impact for us has mostly been with delays. You know, providers not showing up because there’s a curfew for all or part of the day and so they’re not going to come out to the factory.

OTIS: Haughey is determined to stick it out, but most new business ventures in Honduras have been put on hold. Now the Honduran economy is expected to contract by 4% this year. But the economic problems began even before Zelaya was forced out of office. Most Honduran exports go to the United States, but the U.S. financial crisis depressed demand for the country’s coffee, bananas and apparel. Remittances from Hondurans living in the U.S. also plummeted. Last January, President Zelaya boosted the monthly minimum wage to about $300. He also decreed that domestic workers are entitled to Social Security Pensions. Those moves prompted a wave of layoffs and turned the Honduran business community against Zelaya. Then came the military coup. Reductions in foreign aid to the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti soon followed. Now, many Hondurans are buying only buying essential items. Alaba Castaneda runs a printing press that turns out books, envelopes, and calendars. But since the political crisis began, Castaneda has laid off 5 of her 18 workers. Sales have dropped by 40%.

ALBA CASTANEDA: [Interpreted] There were curfews. We couldn’t leave home. It seemed like war could breakout. So people only bought the bare essentials, like food, because people have to eat.

OTIS: Hotel owners claim the coup has been even worse for business than Hurricane Mitch, which laid waste to much of Honduras in 1998. Ana Maria Maradiaga runs the Hotel Escuela Madrid, a training school for future hotel and restaurant employees. She says aid workers flooded into Honduras after Hurricane Mitch and stayed in hotels for months. But the coup led to an exodus of tourists and a wave of cancellations.

ANA MARIA MARADIAGA: Tegucigalpa was completely empty. Big hotels, small hotels, restaurants. I mean, everywhere, the tourism in Tegucigalpa was dead.

OTIS: Honduras is the third poorest country in Latin America with nearly 70% of the population living below the poverty line. But the ongoing political crisis has put much needed aid projects on hold, says the American toymaker Chris Haughey.

HAUGHEY: There are constantly groups coming down from the U.S., from Canada, from other developed nations to assist with social project; water projects, health, you know, poverty alleviation. And those groups have basically put their plans on hold as well.”

OTIS: President Zelaya remains holed up in the heavily guarded Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa and it’s unclear whether he will be reinstated before his term ends in January. Unlike the left-wing Zelaya, the two leading candidates in Sunday’s presidential election are mainstream politicians with close ties to business and to the United States. U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens has pushed for Zelaya’s return. But he also maintains that the swearing in of a democratically elected president to replace the de facto government could go a long way towards stabilizing the economy.

HUGO LLORENS: Our hope is that democracy can be restored, the country’s situation can be normalized, its relations with the international community so that Honduras can again become a place for growth and investment.

OTIS: For The World, I’m John Otis, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Honduras vote

The World — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:30:34 +0000

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Honduran President Manuel Zelaya (pictured) was ousted in a coup five months ago and it now seems unlikely that he’ll be returned to power before his term ends in January. On Sunday, Hondurans will go to the polls to elect Zelaya’s successor. Many Latin American countries are refusing to recognize the elections which are being organized by the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti. Yet some Hondurans consider choosing a new president the first step toward ending the country’s political crisis. From Tegucigalpa, John Otis reports.

MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman and this is The World, a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI, and WGBH Boston. Honduras’ strange political saga comes to a head this weekend. That’s Hondurans elect a new president. Their last elected leader, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted five months ago but he remains in limbo at the Brazilian embassy there. Many Latin American countries are refusing to recognize the elections organized by the defacto government of Roberto Micheletti. Yet some Hondurans say this weekend’s election could be the first step towards ending the country’s political crisis. John Otis reports from the capital Tegucigalpa.

PORFIRIO LOBO: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

JOHN OTIS: During a televised debate presidential front runner, Porfirio Lobo, pledges to attack corruption and reduce poverty in Honduras. Lobo’s main challenger, Elvin Santos, offers a similar message in his campaign speeches.

ELVIN SANTOS: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

OTIS: But the issue neither candidate mentions is what to do about deposed president Manuel Zelaya, a leftist with close ties to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. Zelaya was removed from office by the Honduran military on June 28^th amid fears he would try to change the constitution to remain in power. He was flown into exile. But he later snuck back in to Honduras and now remains holed up in the heavily guarded Brazilian embassy. Last month US diplomats announced they had brokered a deal to reinstate Zelaya for the remainder of his term. But the agreement hinged on the approval of the Honduran congress and most legislatures opposed Zelaya. They were also busy campaigning for re-election and have postponed their decision on Zelaya’s fate until next month. Miguel Gutierres is Honduran newspaper publisher claims congress is simply trying to run out the clock.

MIGUEL GUTIERRES: This has been a delay and a delay and a delay. I don’t personally believe that they will reinstate Zelaya back. Meanwhile Roberto Micheletti, Honduras’ provisional president is pushing ahead with the elections.

ROBERTO MICHELETTI: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

OTIS: To appease the international community Micheletti last week announced he would assume a low profile and make no more public appearances until after the voting. Still the elections are going forward under a cloud of suspicion. The organization of American states has refused to send electoral observes to Honduras. Brazil, Argentina, and other Latin American nations say they will not recognize the results. One presidential hopeful and dozens of pro-Zelaya legislative candidates have withdrawn saying their participation would only legitimize the coup.

[PROTESTORS CHANTING]

Anti-government marches have been banned in the capital Tegucigalpa but everyday Zelaya supporters meet in front of congress. They’re calling on Hondurans to stay home on election day and protest. Juan Barahona is one of the main opposition leaders.

JUAN BARAHONA: [SPEAING SPANISH]

TRANSLATOR: This is a coup regime. One that’s illegal and illegitimate therefore the electoral is illegal and illegitimate.

OTIS: Micheletti as well as the two leading presidential candidates are betting that relatively clean elections will make people forget about Zelaya. Daniel O’Connor is an American business man and a member of the Democratic Civic Union, a group that strongly backs Micheletti.

DANIEL O’CONNOR: I think there’s a strong expectation that the elections will be free, fair, and transparent. That the results will be ultimately recognized.

OTIS: The US government has cut off military and other non-emergency aid to Honduras yet critics say Washington could have taken a tougher stance. Instead American diplomats have hinted they will recognize the elections whether or not Zelaya is reinstated and that may have stiffened the resolve of the Micheletti government. US Ambassador Hugo Llorens says there’s still time for Zelaya to return to the presidency. He insists voters have the right to go to the polls next week and the condemning the elections would be akin to blaming the entire Honduran population for the coup.

HUGO LLORENS: We’ve worked very hard. We’ll continue very hard to restore the democratic order. But certainly free, fair, and transparent elections will be a part of the solution in Honduras.

OTIS: The next president will be sworn in on January 27^th. On that day all eyes will be on the figure handing over the presidential sash to the new Honduran leader. Lisa Haugaard of the Washington-based Latin America Working Group says that if Micheletti rather than Zelaya presides over the ceremony it will send a dangerous message to the rest of the region.

LISA HAUGAARD: We have thought that coups were things of the past and it’s very disturbing that there can be a coup that is more or less successful.

OTIS: For The World I’m John Otis in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

[MUSIC]

Honduras rivals end deadlock

The World — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:40:10 +0000

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Ousted Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya and his political opponents have signed off on an agreement that will allow him to return to office and create a power-sharing government. Zelaya has been holed up in the Brazilian embassy in Honduras for weeks during the impasse. Anchor Katy Clark finds out more from someone who’s also been in the embassy all this time, Andres Conteris, of the US-based group “Democracy Now en Espanol.”

KATY CLARK: There was one other item on Secretary of State Clinton’s agenda today – Honduras. While still in Pakistan, Clinton announced a breakthrough for the Central American nation. Ousted President Manuel Zalaya and the interim leader Roberto Micheletti have agreed to a US broker deal. The agreement calls on the Honduran congress to decide if Zalaya should be reinstated as president. The agreement also binds both sides to recognize the result of this month’s presidential election. Neither Zalaya nor Micheletti are candidates. Zalaya was ousted from Honduras in coup four months ago. He slipped back into the country in September. That’s when he took refuge with supporters at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. Andreas Conteris is one of the people inside the embassy. He’s with the US based Democracy Now en Espanol. Andreas we spoke to you a few weeks ago and you were clearly in support of Mr. Zalaya’s reinstatement. What is the mood inside the embassy today as we speak?

ANDREAS CONTERIS: Well the mood here is one of I would say cautious celebration. Because it clearly is a step forward in terms of what many, many Hondurans want – their president to be reinstated. But it’s also the overwhelming majority of the international community that has been demanding that President Zalaya be restored as the democratically elected leader of this country. So the accord is definitely a step in that direction. However there may be a number of loopholes in it which will permit the coup regime to continue to stall for quite a bit of time which is now a very precious commodity before the elections coming up November 29^th.

CLARK: The election is coming up very soon as you say. What do you expect will happen?

CONTERIS: It really depends on when President Zalaya is allowed to be restored as the president of the country. As I said, the delaying tactics could continue even though there is a signed accord which could last for at least two or three more weeks. But if that doesn’t happen. If he’s allowed to be president again soon, then he will have a lot more influence in terms of encouraging the electorate to look at his point of view in terms of which candidate he might support.

CLARK: And I’m just wondering you’ve been in the Brazilian embassy in Honduras for some 38 days now. How are conditions?

CONTERIS: Well conditions initially were very difficult because there was no way to prepare for hundreds of people moving into a building that is not set up for housing whatsoever. Over time some of us have been able to get air mattresses. But actually most of the people here have been sleeping on the floor – hard floors. And food for a while was hard to come by but then lately it’s been more regular. Both electricity and water has been cut off on occasion. But also really what has been done by the military and police have been what could be described as psychological warfare tactics. Using all-night loud music and animal grunts. The first morning we were victims of what is known as long-range audio devices. A very high pitched shrieking sound which is used as a weapon. So it’s been really difficult in that sense. But more recently we’ve acclimated to the situation and now we’re definitely ready to move on from here.

CLARK: Well Andreas is there much celebrating going on at the moment?

CONTERIS: Actually there has been some celebrating here last night. At the embassy there was celebrations. There was some fireworks that went on in the city of Tegucigalpa itself. So yes there is definitely jubilation and joy at this step in the process. But it’s important to point out that it’s also met with quite a bit of caution because it’s really uncertain how quickly the process will move forward for the president to be reinstated.

CLARK: Andreas Conteris is with Democracy Now en Espanol. He spoke to us from the Brazilian embassy in Honduras where ousted President Manuel Zalaya is holed up today. Thank you.

CONTERIS: Katy, it’s been a pleasure.

Standoff continues in Honduras

The World — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:24:23 +0000

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The stand-off in Honduras entered its fifth day today. Deposed president Manuel Zelaya is holed up inside the Brazilian embassy. Anchor Marco Werman speaks one of the people inside the embassy, Andres Conteris of the US-based non-profit group “Nonviolence International.”

MARCO WERMAN: The standoff in Tegucigalpa, Honduras continues. Deposed president Manuel Zelaya is now in his fifth day holed up inside the Brazilian embassy there. Today, Brazil asked for a UN Security Council meeting on the situation. The council condemned the de facto government of Honduras for harassing and intimidating those inside the embassy. Honduran troops have the building surrounded and are poised to arrest Zelaya if he steps out onto Honduran soil. Zelaya was forced out of power, and out of the country, by a coup in June. He appeared back in Honduras on Monday, seeking refuge inside the Brazilian embassy. Since then, Zelaya has held talks with representatives of de facto president Roberto Micheletti. So far, no breakthrough – and conditions inside the embassy are reportedly getting uncomfortable. Andres Contreis is among those inside the embassy with Zelaya. He’s with the US-based nonprofit group Nonviolence International.

ANDRES CONTREIS: Inside the embassy, there is a lot of both positive energy in terms of expectation that the Security Council at the United Nations will put forward a positive framework to come towards a resolution on the one hand. And then there’s a very, very grave concern with regard to the ongoing repression by this de facto regime all around the city of Honduras of extreme violations of human rights – beating, shootings, there have been some killings and imprisonment and hospitalization. So the concern of the president of his people in the country is repeated constantly, and it makes it all the more urgent to move forward with the process to resolve this crisis.

WERMAN: There have been some reports that the Honduran government had cut off electricity and water to the building. Are those reports true?

CONTREIS: They’re definitely true. However, at this time they’ve been restored. There’s sort of an arbitrary nature to some of the measures that are being taken by the de facto regime. It was

discovered some cell phone devices that are designed exactly to interfere with communication, so that was captured as evidence. That was one of the many things these authorities are doing.

WERMAN: Now, Andres, you’re with this US-based nonprofit called “Nonviolence International”. Why are you there in the embassy, exactly? What’s your role right now?

CONTREIS: I work as a volunteer with Nonviolence International. I’m the Director of the Program of the Americas. It’s a nonprofit organization that focuses on nonviolent social change.

WERMAN: It’s fair to say, though, that you’re an advocate of reinstatement of Mr. Zelaya as President?

CONTREIS: I am not only an advocate; every single country in the world who signed on to the United States declaration shortly after the coup, they are advocates for a return to democracy in this country. The organization of American states is an advocate in that sense, in that they signed a declaration urging that democracy be restored to this country. President Zelaya clearly has said that he is wanting to come here in a spirit of dialogue and – but the framework of that dialogue has to take place within the context of the United Nations declaration and the US declaration, as well as the San Jose Accords, which are mediated by President Oscar Arias from Costa Rica.

WERMAN: Tell us – what is Mr. Zelaya holding out for right now?

CONTREIS: What he wants is a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the context of the international community’s demand that he be restored as President of this country.

WERMAN: Andres Contreis, of the group Nonviolence International, speaking inside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where deposed President Manuel Zelaya has sought refuge. Andres, thank you very much.

CONTREIS: You’re so welcome, Marco. Thank you.

Ousted President Zelaya returns to Honduras

The World — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:27:05 +0000

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The World’s William Troop reports on the stand-off in Honduras, where deposed president Manuel Zelaya is holed up in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya is demanding that he be allowed to return to power, while the de facto government that replaced him is demanding that Brazil turn Zelaya over to be arrested.

BBC coverage: In pictures
BBC coverage: Q&A

Honduras standoff

The World — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:16:57 +0000

Honduras’ interim president said talks may begin Saturday to address the political crisis enveloping the country since the military deposed the country’s sitting president two weeks ago. Anchor Jeb Sharp gets the latest from Jennifer McCoy, director of the Americas Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta. Listen

JEB SHARP: No more curfew this week in Honduras. The country’s interim government lifted the restriction last night for the first time in two weeks. But the standoff continues over the status of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. Zelaya was removed from office and thrown out of the country by the army. Critics say he was planning an illegal referendum to amend the constitution to allow himself to run for a second term as president. Zelaya, who was democratically elected, had six months left in his first term. Jennifer McCoy directs the Americas Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Professor McCoy, give us a little perspective. Why is the issue of being President for more than one term such a loaded one there in Honduras, and indeed, in Latin America?

JENNIFER MCCOY: Well, after Honduras went through a period of dictatorship, and returned to democracy in 1980, they wrote a new constitution to prohibit re-election in order to avoid the recurrence of presidents saying in power through illegal means, and turning into a new dictator. They were really trying to avoid the repeat of the historical legacy of much of Latin America having long-term strong men in office, who sometimes stayed in office through manipulated elections in the 19th and 20th centuries.

JEB SHARP: So even though this situation in Honduras is being seen as a kind of illegal coup, is your reading of the current situation that the motivation for removing Zelaya was a real fear that democracy would be endangered if he stayed in office?

JENNIFER MCCOY: Well, there was an added element in terms of the fear, in this particular case, and that was that president Zelaya had been growing increasingly closer to Venezuela. And so there were some important sectors in Honduras who feared that alliance with Venezuela, that he would intend to bring Honduras to a more leftist and anti-US policy. So that was an added component to, I think, this gear about his intentions. And the assumption was, that he would be asking for re-election. But, we’re seeing a growing trend across the board in Latin America, to change those single terms, and begin to allow for re-election. And this is the majority of the countries today, that now have this prevision.

JEB SHARP: And can you take us further back, and give us a sense of the history of term limits? I mean, when did they start being established in the first place, and where and why?

JENNIFER MCCOY: Yes. Most of the countries, as they were implementing democracy throughout the 20th century, did put in single term limits, again, to counter that historical past, especially from the 19th century at the strong men dictators. But, by the 1990′s, there was a desire, in certain cases, particularly Brazil and Argentina, I think, of those new democratic president to have a longer chance to implement the reforms, especially the economic reforms, that they were trying to carry out. And they actually started the trend toward changing the constitution to allow for re-election for at least one additional term.

JEB SHARP: Jennifer McCoy is a professor of political science at George Estate University, thanks so much.

JENNIFER MCCOY: Thank you.

Global Political Cartoons: June 27 to July 3, 2009

Clark Boyd — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:48:33 +0000

Bernie Madoff’s 150-year prison sentence provides plenty of inspiration for this week’s global political cartoons. So do the mullahs behind the scenes in Iran, a coup in Honduras, a new Russian law that moves gambling to the Siberian hinterlands…and yes, plenty more visual commentary on the death of Michael Jackson. Click on the image at right to start the cartoon slideshow.

US stance on political crisis in Honduras

The World — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:26:24 +0000

The Obama Administration has condemned this week’s coup in Honduras. That puts the US in the unusual position of siding with traditional foes Venezuela and Cuba. The World’s Katy Clark reports.
Listen

MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman, this is The World. It’s a waiting game in Honduras, people in the capital Tegucigalpa appear to be waiting for the next step in the leadership crisis that’s rocked the Central American nation. Last Sunday their President, Manuel Zelaya was deposed in a military coup and kicked out of the country. The US has joined much of the world in condemning his ouster, that’s left Washington in an unusual position, sitting with Venezuela’s leftist president, Hugo Chavez, on the issue. The World’s Katy Clark has the story.

KATY CLARK: It’s not often the president’s of the United States and Venezuela agree, here’s Barack Obama.

BARACK OBAMA: President Zelaya was democratically elected, he had not yet completed his term. We believe that the coup was not legal, and that President Zelaya remains the president of Honduras.

KATY CLARK: Using slightly more colorful language, Hugo Chavez also denounced events this week in Honduras.

HUGE CHAVEZ: [SPEAKS IN SPANISH]

KATY CLARK: The Venezuelan leader called it a Trogdlodyte Coup D’etat, and urged Honduran soldiers to use restraint against unarmed citizens. Never mind that Chavez himself threatened military action of his ambassador in Honduras was harmed. The Interim Government of Honduras has indicated it would consider early elections there if that would satisfy the international community. But the end of the political stand off remains far from certain. Michael Shifter is with the Inter American Dialogue, a Washington think-tank. He cautions that the apparent agreement that President Zelaya ought to be restored to power may be more superficial than appears.

MICHAEL SHIFTER: The are some differences for the motivation for why the United States came to the position that it did, and why countries like Venezuela and Bolivia, Ecuador have also condemned what happened. For those countries, they are governments identify of the left. Zelaya became an ally of them, so there is a kind of a political support there, which is different, I think, from the US’s point of view, which is trying to stake out a position in support of the rule of law democratic principles, which were clearly violated in this case.

KATY CLARK: Previous US presidents haven’t always taken this position. Most recently, when Hugo Chavez was temporarily ousted in a coup in 2002, the Bush Administration kept quiet.

LARRY BIRNS: The United States is clearly aiming for a new trajectory in its regional policy.

KATY CLARK: Larry Birns is director of the council on Hemispheric Affairs.

LARRY BIRNS: This provides a high visibility opportunity, for the United States to take a leadership position in establishing firmly that no extra constitutional overturn of a government by the country’s military will be tolerated by the Inter American community. That’s a good thing, to take place.

KATY CLARK: The message being the US might not like the person in power, but the democratic process must prevail. Jennifer McCoy of the Carter Center calls the political stand off in Honduras the result of democracy’s growing pains in parts of Latin America.

JENNIFER MCCOY: That could be the silver lining or part of the explanation for the crisis.

KATY CLARK: The crisis may come to a head soon. Honduras’s ousted president has vowed to return this weekend. For The World, this is Katy Clark.

Entire program – June 29, 2009

The World — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:00:19 +0000

Today on The World: international pressure on Honduras after the country’s president is ousted in a coup; on the day of Bernie Madoff’s sentencing, we hear from the son of a British man who lost all his money to Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, then took his own life; and Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor finds a new setting, in Africa.Listen

Honduras under international pressure

The World — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:58:55 +0000

The new leaders of Honduras are under intense pressure from the United States and other nations a day after a military coup. But the country’s new president says the move was legal. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Frances Robles of the Miami Herald who is in the capital Tegucigalpa.Listen

LISA MULLINS: I’m Lisa Mullins, and this is the World. There’s a nationwide curfew in Honduras today, but it couldn’t stop hundreds of demonstrators from taunting Honduran soldiers outside the Presidential palace. The demonstrators denounced the man who is now the acting President of Honduras. He replaced President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted yesterday. Zelaya had insisted on going ahead with a referendum that might have allowed him to stay in power beyond the one-term limit. But the Honduran military kicked him out of the country. One protester today said Hondurans want United Nations peacekeepers to intervene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: [TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH] We want the blue helmets. We want an army to liberate us. We don’t want this man who usurped power. We want our President.

LISA MULLINS: Frances Robles of the Miami Herald is there in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. She spoke with us earlier this afternoon.

FRANCES ROBLES: What’s really interesting, I’m standing outside the Presidential palace, and what I can see, I would say about two blocks, as far as I can see are young men. Some of them with handkerchiefs around their faces, other ones carrying clubs. And a number of just families and older people demanding the return of the President. But what’s more interesting is that there’s quite a contradiction in reaction here. If you watch the television news media, they’re carrying on as if nothing has happened, frankly. They’re playing soap operas and cartoons.

LISA MULLINS: When you say that some of the protestors have handkerchiefs around their faces, what’s the purpose of that? Are they feeling they’re at risk by being out?

FRANCES ROBLES: I think they’re trying to look menacing [INDISTINCTIVE] [LAUGHS], because I don’t see any authorities here making any effort to stop them from protesting. So I don’t know if they’re trying to hide their identity. I think some people are just trying to cover their mouths from smoke. You see a lot of people wearing the medicine masks that you see for the people protecting themselves from swine flu, because there are burning piles of trash and tires and things of that nature.

LISA MULLINS: And those things that are burning are part of the protest?

FRANCES ROBLES: Part of the protest, yes, absolutely.

LISA MULLINS: [TALKS OVER] What do we hear in the background there right now, Frances?

FRANCES ROBLES: What you’re hearing is a number of people on loud speakers demanding the return of the President, and saying that they will not recognize Roberto Micheletti as the President of Honduras. They say that they’re not leaving here until Manuel Zelaya comes back.

LISA MULLINS: Until he comes back. And is there any indication that the former President will indeed be back?

FRANCES ROBLES: I don’t have that sense because they have an uphill battle. Because what I’m sensing here is a vast majority of the population [INDISTINCTIVE] establishment. You have the Attorney General’s office, you have the military, you have the supreme court, and you have congress decidedly on the side of this new President saying, you know, “Zelaya had to go, and this is the way we had to do it, and we did it [INDISTINCTIVE]. And then you have a small percentage of the population that I’m watching now in front of the Presidential palace saying, “No, no, no. That’s not the way things should be done.”

LISA MULLINS: And meanwhile, there is pressure coming in from the United States, maybe you can tell us how significant that may or may not be with Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, saying that they support the President who was ousted yesterday. That they believe that democracy should reign in Honduras. Here is what the acting President though has to say. This is Roberto Micheletti, who is speaking to Spanish TV.

ROBERTO MICHELETTI: [SPEAKS IN SPANISH]

LISA MULLINS: Frances, I don’t know if you caught enough of that for me to ask you to translate for us. Did you hear that?

FRANCES ROBLES: I did heard. And actually, what he says is, nobody has the right, not Barack Obama or Hugo Chavez, has the right to come and threaten Honduras. Because there had been some comments from Hugo Chavez, sort of suggesting that this warrant of military action.

LISA MULLINS: To what extent does he fear what either Hugo Chavez, or certainly Barack Obama has to say about the coo that happened that brought him to power yesterday. I mean, the United States has been close to the Honduran military, but then we have the military, the supreme court of Honduras, the congress of Honduras, the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church, all coming out in favor of this coo. I mean, what does that say in terms of how the US and its influence is viewed there.

FRANCES ROBLES: The US is in a bit of a tight spot because what you have here is enough institution that we’re in fear of the President, what looked like the President was about to conduct some kind of power grasp, where he was going to conduct this referendum despite the fact the Supreme Court has a little bit of ego, that the Attorney General has a little bit of ego, and that the Armed Forces refuse to participate in it. And then you have people who, “Oh okay. If that’s the case, then we’re gonna get this guy out of the country, we’re gonna [INDISTINCTIVE] him away. So what’s the United States supposed to do? On the one hand, I think they recognize that perhaps President Zelaya was perhaps up to no good. On the other hand, there’s ways to get rid of a President, than perhaps breaking into his bedroom in the middle of the night, is not the way you’re supposed to do it.

LISA MULLINS: Alright. Thank you very much. Speaking to us from the Presidential Palace in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Frances Robels from of the Miami Herald. Thank you.

FRANCES ROBLES: Thank you.