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10-27-2009, 07:28

President Zelaya leads supporters to recover
ballot boxes from Air Force base
24 June, 2009.
(Foto: La Prensa)On 24-Jun-09 President Zelaya ordered the Military to distribute the 28-Jun-09 referendum ballot boxes and when the military refused to participate in the illegal act, he fired the Defense Minister and the Head of the Armed Forces. The heads of the Honduras Army, Air Force and Navy also resigned in protest. The President then led a group of supporters to the Acosta Mejia Air Base where they broke down the gates and recovered the ballot boxes and slips that had been supplied from Venezuela.

On 25-Jun-09, the Attorney General (who is not part of the Executive Cabinet) that Congress vote to prosecute President Zelaya ffor repeated illegal and unconstitutional acts, which they did in a unanimous vote (even though the majority of the Honduras Congress members are from the same political party as Mel Zelaya). Article 313 of the constitution provides a mechanism to prosecute a sitting president or other public official who has broken the law, which is to say that the Supreme Court may begin proceedings against him, and the court may use the armed forces to arrest the president. Unfortunately, (and I am not a constitutional lawyer, there appears to be no clear constitutional mechanism for impeaching a sitting President). Also on this day the Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that Zelaya violated the Head of the Armed Forces constitutional rights by firing him without cause and ordered he be reinstated.

On the 26-Jun-09, President Zelaya held a press conference stating he would continue with the ballot and denying that he had fired the Head of the Armed Forces. The Congress initiated a commission to investigate the conduct of the President under Article 205, paragraph 20 of the Constitution which empowers the Congress to approve or reject the conduct of the President and arguably remove a President if it can be shown they have an "inability to govern". Apparently the Honduras Constitution does not have an impeachment process. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (the equivalent of the USA Federal Election Commission) ordered the military to confiscate the ballot materials ahead of 28-Jun-09.

On 28-Jun-09 around 5:00 am, the Honduras Military acting under the order of the Honduras Supreme court executed the warrant to detain President Zelaya. It is reported that 200 soldiers surrounded the Presidential House and 15 entered, over-powering his bodyguards. He was deported to Costa Rica (which was not legal and arguably a political mistake, but done to prevent potential rioting, bloodshed and pitting Honduran against Honduran). Now the international media was paying attention.

Roberto Micheletti
Interim President of Honduras
May, 2008.
(Foto: Honduras Government)Also on 28-Jun-09 the President of the Congress (essentially the Speaker of the House), and constitutionally the next in-line following the resignation of the Vice-President earlier in the year, was over-whelming elected interim President.

In my opinion, the only issue that has not been confirmed as being 100% factual, was if Mel Zelaya’s really did sign his resignation letter (which was read out in Congress on the morning of Sunday 28-Jun-09) and that this letter really was witnessed by two members of Congress. The letter may well be a fake as Mel is claiming since apart from it being read out in Congress on Sunday morning, it has not been mentioned since. When Zelaya arrived in Costa Rica early Sunday morning, he held a press conference, reported on CNN, in which he variously claimed he was kidnapped, attacked, that the USA Government had overthrown his Presidency, etc, etc.

Watching Honduras television news on Mon 29-Jun-09, everything in the streets of Honduras was quiet during the curfew hours and the news reporters were struggling to find anything to report. The general feeling in Honduras is that the large majority of the population is glad to see President Zelaya gone. I am guessing about 90% of the population supports the interim Government and about 10% want Mel Zelaya to be reinstated. While curfews between the hours of 9:00pm and 6:00 am have continued, there appears to be few complaints about this and everyday life continues.

On 1-Jul-09 the Honduras Congress issued a list of 18 criminal charges against ex-President Zelaya.

The above is my understanding of the current situation (gleaned from watching Honduras national and local commercial television channels). Personally, I am feeling relaxed and confident that due process was followed as best it could in an increasingly difficult political situation. It could so easily have gone the other way.

Arguably, the greatest current concern of the Honduran people is what will happen when Mel Zelaya returns to Honduras, which is anticipated to be on Sat 4-Jul-2009. In the meantime the interim government seems to be functioning at least as well as (if not better than) the previous Zelaya administration. In Utila life goes on as normal, the only noticeable change being a drop in the number of visiting tourists.

[/QUOTE]

10-27-2009, 07:28	#2
armymom1228 Guest Posts: n/a	part 2 President Zelaya leads supporters to recover ballot boxes from Air Force base 24 June, 2009. (Foto: La Prensa)On 24-Jun-09 President Zelaya ordered the Military to distribute the 28-Jun-09 referendum ballot boxes and when the military refused to participate in the illegal act, he fired the Defense Minister and the Head of the Armed Forces. The heads of the Honduras Army, Air Force and Navy also resigned in protest. The President then led a group of supporters to the Acosta Mejia Air Base where they broke down the gates and recovered the ballot boxes and slips that had been supplied from Venezuela. On 25-Jun-09, the Attorney General (who is not part of the Executive Cabinet) that Congress vote to prosecute President Zelaya ffor repeated illegal and unconstitutional acts, which they did in a unanimous vote (even though the majority of the Honduras Congress members are from the same political party as Mel Zelaya). Article 313 of the constitution provides a mechanism to prosecute a sitting president or other public official who has broken the law, which is to say that the Supreme Court may begin proceedings against him, and the court may use the armed forces to arrest the president. Unfortunately, (and I am not a constitutional lawyer, there appears to be no clear constitutional mechanism for impeaching a sitting President). Also on this day the Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that Zelaya violated the Head of the Armed Forces constitutional rights by firing him without cause and ordered he be reinstated. On the 26-Jun-09, President Zelaya held a press conference stating he would continue with the ballot and denying that he had fired the Head of the Armed Forces. The Congress initiated a commission to investigate the conduct of the President under Article 205, paragraph 20 of the Constitution which empowers the Congress to approve or reject the conduct of the President and arguably remove a President if it can be shown they have an "inability to govern". Apparently the Honduras Constitution does not have an impeachment process. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (the equivalent of the USA Federal Election Commission) ordered the military to confiscate the ballot materials ahead of 28-Jun-09. On 28-Jun-09 around 5:00 am, the Honduras Military acting under the order of the Honduras Supreme court executed the warrant to detain President Zelaya. It is reported that 200 soldiers surrounded the Presidential House and 15 entered, over-powering his bodyguards. He was deported to Costa Rica (which was not legal and arguably a political mistake, but done to prevent potential rioting, bloodshed and pitting Honduran against Honduran). Now the international media was paying attention. Roberto Micheletti Interim President of Honduras May, 2008. (Foto: Honduras Government)Also on 28-Jun-09 the President of the Congress (essentially the Speaker of the House), and constitutionally the next in-line following the resignation of the Vice-President earlier in the year, was over-whelming elected interim President. In my opinion, the only issue that has not been confirmed as being 100% factual, was if Mel Zelaya’s really did sign his resignation letter (which was read out in Congress on the morning of Sunday 28-Jun-09) and that this letter really was witnessed by two members of Congress. The letter may well be a fake as Mel is claiming since apart from it being read out in Congress on Sunday morning, it has not been mentioned since. When Zelaya arrived in Costa Rica early Sunday morning, he held a press conference, reported on CNN, in which he variously claimed he was kidnapped, attacked, that the USA Government had overthrown his Presidency, etc, etc. Watching Honduras television news on Mon 29-Jun-09, everything in the streets of Honduras was quiet during the curfew hours and the news reporters were struggling to find anything to report. The general feeling in Honduras is that the large majority of the population is glad to see President Zelaya gone. I am guessing about 90% of the population supports the interim Government and about 10% want Mel Zelaya to be reinstated. While curfews between the hours of 9:00pm and 6:00 am have continued, there appears to be few complaints about this and everyday life continues. On 1-Jul-09 the Honduras Congress issued a list of 18 criminal charges against ex-President Zelaya. The above is my understanding of the current situation (gleaned from watching Honduras national and local commercial television channels). Personally, I am feeling relaxed and confident that due process was followed as best it could in an increasingly difficult political situation. It could so easily have gone the other way. Arguably, the greatest current concern of the Honduran people is what will happen when Mel Zelaya returns to Honduras, which is anticipated to be on Sat 4-Jul-2009. In the meantime the interim government seems to be functioning at least as well as (if not better than) the previous Zelaya administration. In Utila life goes on as normal, the only noticeable change being a drop in the number of visiting tourists. [/QUOTE]