Monday, October 19, 2009

Honduran Law and Self-determination must be Respected

By Jerry Brewer

Was the removal of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya an illegal coup or an action of real democracy?  Zelaya has since been described as a former centrist who morphed into a radical leftist.  He is accused of violating his nation's Constitution by sponsoring a referendum that was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.  This, an action to eliminate term barriers to reelection as other leftist Latin American leaders have recently done.

Honduran officials were quick to fly a pajama-clad Zelaya into exile on the orders of the Supreme Court.  Zelaya’s term was to end in 2010.

Roberto Micheletti Bain (66) was sworn in as de facto president by the National Congress through this constitutional crisis; a term that will end in January 2010.  Micheletti had previously presided as President of the National Congress, where he served as an elected deputy since 1982.  Micheletti resided in the U.S. for two years, (completing high school) in the early 1970s in New Orleans and Tampa.

Many believe that Zelaya’s removal fell in line with the legitimacy of the rule of law in Honduras, and the Constitution.  However a good number of leftist leaders within the Americas, among other world leaders, cried foul.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela called for armed action.  Nicaragua was accused, in reports, of troop movements near the Honduran border, which President Daniel Ortega denied.

Calling the Honduran debacle a coup appears to be a matter of knee-jerk conjecture, but is it the truth?

There are facts within this fiery and nebulous fiasco.  Zelaya was in fact elected constitutionally as President of Honduras, effective January 27, 2006.  And members of the unicameral National Congress of Honduras, with 128 seats, are elected “proportionally by department to serve four-year terms.”  Too, the Honduran Constitution, although amended many times, was most recently effective in January 1982. 

The Honduras legal system has its roots in Spanish and Roman civil law, with “increasing influence of English common law.”

Rule of law emanating from the Honduran Constitution is further vested via the Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia), whose 15 judges are elected by the National Congress and serve seven-year terms.  An additional and critically important fact is that Zelaya was removed from office “with the backing of Congress and the Supreme Court.”  This action, by the Republic of Honduras government via a viable Constitution that had censured Zelaya, forcing him to stop acts that were “considered illegal under the Constitution.”

Zelaya’s persistence, shown in ordering the military to help him, demonstrated a democratic refusal to comply with his office by generals, as did his eventual removal.

Quick to respond and come to the aid of Zelaya was Venezuela’s Chavez, who is described as Zelaya’s “top ally.”  Chavez called for military intervention by the United Nations if the Honduran government shows any aggression toward Zelaya.  This heady rhetoric from a leftist leader who served two years in prison for leading an unsuccessful military coup against President Carlos Andres Perez in 1992.  While in prison, Chavez called for “insurrection,” and a second coup was attempted.

President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, an ardent supporter of Chavez, offered his assistance to accompany Zelaya back to Honduras.

As U.S. diplomats scramble to evaluate stagnant intelligence production and analysis in the region for source and content validity, their reaction has been lukewarm and somewhat non-committal.  A preliminary statement by the State Department indicated that “Washington sees no acceptable solution other than Mr. Zelaya’s return to power.”

Intelligence and public statements on the narcotics front prompted the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to “neither confirm or deny a DEA investigation” related to former Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez’s  claim that the DEA was aware of Zelaya’s ties to organized crime.  Too, there were allegations that Zelaya was facilitating the transfer of U.S.-bound cocaine “from Venezuela through Honduras.”

Insofar as leftist-led nations in Latin America continue to crush political demonstrations,  remove elected officials, strip powers of the legislature and judiciary, and shut down and censor media within their own homelands, they must not facilitate actions contrary to a democratic nation’s rule of law without due process and proper due diligence.

The Republic of Honduras must maintain the territorial integrity of its borders, as well as the supremacy of national laws as they apply to all within.  No one can be above, nor exempted from, the laws enacted.  Those quick to make judgment and perpetuate and lead Honduran government opposition to Zelaya’s status, and question the constitutional order, should patiently await the official and factual record of the Republic’s actions.

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Jerry Brewer is C.E.O. of Criminal Justice International Associates, a global risk mitigation firm headquartered in Miami, Florida.  His website is located at www.cjiausa.org.