Honduran Manifesto to the International Community

L-R, Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias,and Honduran President-elect Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo. Photo: El Heraldo, Honduras

The International Community expressed its intention to honor an accord convened by both sides of the Honduran crisis and promised that things would go back to normal for Honduras and its people if it was honored.

They have repeatedly demanded that the Micheletti government honor its side of the bargain, which it has done. Every point in the accord has been honored by the Micheletti government in time and essence: The installation of the Verification Commission, naming its representatives to the Unity government, supporting the electoral process and respecting the results, accepting Congress’s decision to re-instate or not Zelaya and supporting the transition to the newly elected government.

Meanwhile, the Zelaya side has broken every one of its commitments: He retracted his representatives to the Verification Commission; he has continued calling for insurrection and threatening with violence; He called for a boycott of the elections, he has declared that he doesn’t accept the vote in Congress, he is calling on the International Community to reject the electoral process and the newly elected government.

Now the International Community demands new conditions on the Micheletti government while it keeps silent about Zelaya’s flagrantly dishonorable actions.

First, they demand that Zelaya be awarded political amnesty, an issue that was not excluded from the accord but instead, amply discussed and rejected by both sides.

Second, they are asking that Micheletti resign as President. This option was offered to Zelaya in good time and form, before Congress made its decision, and was rejected by Zelaya with the support of the International Community. Now that Congress has made its decision and Zelaya will not be re-instated, they want to return to an option that had previously been rejected and is not part of the Tegucigalpa – San Jose Accord. It's like he had been offered a tie, and after he lost, wanting to go back and accept the tie.

Apparently, the International Community has not fully understood the depth of the decision by Congress on December 4th. Congress didn’t vote directly on the question whether to re-instate Zelaya or not. They reviewed the legal proceedings of June 28th and by an overwhelming majority 111-14 deemed the procedure legal. Thus, they not only voted NOT to re-instate Zelaya, but upheld the legality of Micheletti’s succession, making him a legal, constitutional successor to the Presidency.

The Honduran people are tired of the International Community playing games with our government and our people.

Zelaya has caused enormous damage to the Honduran people. After having reduced our foreign debt to manageable levels in the previous government, with great sacrifices by the Honduran people, to achieve reasonable macroeconomic stability, Zelaya initiated his term with a “served table”, the resources ripe for the great social actions that would combat poverty and move Honduras to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Enough is enough. As long as the International Community doesn’t start demanding that Zelaya honor his commitments, that Brazil resolve its diplomatic bungling in the crisis and that the ALBA nations cease their threats and attacks to our nation, the Honduran people will not accept any conditioning not included in the Tegucigalpa – San Jose Accord. Micheletti stays and no amnesty.