| Spain bars entry to Honduran representatives but Belgium remains its ambassador | |
| European Commission rejects Custodio | |
The EC rejects Custodio The attitude of the European Commission's representative in Micheletti government has been consistent with the decisions of the General Affairs Council composed of EU foreign ministers. Although Honduras ambassador was summoned on 3 September by the Head of Unit EuropeAid B / 2, Basile Papadopoulos, for signing the financing agreement addendum to Euro-Solar Program, the September 9 The cabinet of the Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, corrected the situation and prevented Custodio his signature on this agreement, as has learned this through community sources who did not want to reveal his identity . That same day, Custodian, hereby required, after Congress refused to sign this agreement and was surprised by reports today released eurotribune.eu. Custodian informed not only the means of the actual situation of this signature, but that contradicted information provided by community spokespersons for the desconvocatoria who made the EU executive, an unusual diplomatic precedent for not only lied to the public but he accused of false information provided by the European Commission itself. According to the sources mentioned above, the ambassador of Honduras in Belgium, Ramon Custodio, lied to the public as it has in the various scandals that emerged during his tenure as head of both the Embassy of Honduras in Brussels as consul in Washington. Corruption As published this week hereby Belgium's attitude contrasts with other European foreign ministries. According to EU sources consulted by this newspaper, does not understand the position the Belgian Foreign Ministry to keep Custodio. According to these sources, the Belgian Foreign Ministry should convene custody, the term of their accreditation as ambassador and instruct you to leave as soon as possible, as other countries have done. These same sources suspect a Belgian Foreign Ministry official who would "protect" the Honduran ambassador preventing this is deposed. Other sources claim that in the event that Custodian deposed, it could create a parallel government embassy considered "coup" by the European Union together with other officials and collaborators with the government of Micheletti, as has been done in other countries. |
Responses to the Coup d'etat in Honduras on Sunday June 28, with special emphasis on producing English-language versions of commentaries by Honduran scholars and editorial writers and addressing the confusion encouraged by lack of basic knowledge about Honduras.
http://www.eurotribune.eu/htm/3871_2_Spain_bars_entry_to_Honduran_representatives_but_Belgium_remains_its_ambassador.htmWednesday, September 16, 2009
"Candidates 'support' the San Jose Accord, but avoid referring to Zelaya"
Reuters, continuing a pattern of English-language media incompletely reporting the actual positions of Honduran coup supporters, today assured us that the major candidates for the election back a negotiated solution to the constitutional crisis, stating
Leave it to the Spanish-language media, though, to make clear what really is happening here: Candidatos “apoyan” el acuerdo de San José, pero evitan referirse a Zelaya, was the headline in Costa Rica Hoy's article on the meeting of Oscar Arias with the Honduran candidates.
The headline and part of the Costa Rica Hoy story parallels that from the Spanish news agency, EFE, but EFE's report goes on in some detail about the actual statement signed by four of the five candidates who traveled to Costa Rica. This statement said that to "subscribe to the Accord of San Jose could offer a measured solution to the crisis".
Sounds good, right? Well, maybe not:
Cesár Ham, of the leftist UD party, refused to sign because he said that there needed to be a clear statement calling for the restoration of Zelaya and censuring the violations of human rights by the de facto regime.
Liberal Party candidate Elvin Santos asserted yet again that he backs the San Jose Accord, but added that "both parties should evidence a level of sacrifice". Like most de facto regime supporters, he "supports the process and what may result from it", as if the existing Accord is not the product of a completed process, awaiting signature, but simply was a discussion paper.
National Party candidate (and likely next president of Honduras) Porfirio Lobo Sosa, agreed that it would be nice if there were a real continuing dialogue in which both parties would be flexible.
Christian Democrat Felicito Ávila said any Accord that was signed would have to be in agreement with the Constitution, a familiar argument used by de facto regime adherents to make it seem like they are cooperating when in fact they are stonewalling.
The prize for honesty goes to the candidate from PINU, Bernard Martínez, who said the candidates recognizing the San Jose process was fine, but also, the November elections have to be internationally recognized.
Pepe Lobo concurred, saying the election is unrelated to the events of the coup.
And Elvin Santos called for ending all sanctions, since the condition of the country cannot resist the pressure and lifting sanctions cannot wait for the election of a new president, thus suggesting that he believes the elections will solve the whole mess-- and that recognition will inevitably follow the election.
This of course is a widely-shared interpretation of the fuzzy language from the State Department that may have been intended to threaten not to recognize the election, but instead is seen as defining conditions for recognition ("transparent and free" elections). So we see candidates claiming the elections will be transparent and free, ignoring the lack of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and threats to freedom of the press, not to mention human rights violations and the intimidating prospect of Armed Forces guarding polls in the wake of military repression.
Nor was the head of the de facto regime exactly absent from the scene, choosing today to characterize Oscar Arias as a "puppet" in remarks reported by Telesur. The puppet master? the "international community". Or to quote Micheletti, Arias
Posted by RAJThe candidates said they supported the efforts of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to resolve the crisis touched off by the June coup that forced Zelaya into exile....The candidates stressed they were not speaking on behalf of the de facto government....Reuters, to do it justice, did note that they "stopped short" of calling for the return of President Zelaya, which is of course the non-negotiable first step in the Arias-negotiated San Jose Accord.
Leave it to the Spanish-language media, though, to make clear what really is happening here: Candidatos “apoyan” el acuerdo de San José, pero evitan referirse a Zelaya, was the headline in Costa Rica Hoy's article on the meeting of Oscar Arias with the Honduran candidates.
The headline and part of the Costa Rica Hoy story parallels that from the Spanish news agency, EFE, but EFE's report goes on in some detail about the actual statement signed by four of the five candidates who traveled to Costa Rica. This statement said that to "subscribe to the Accord of San Jose could offer a measured solution to the crisis".
Sounds good, right? Well, maybe not:
Cesár Ham, of the leftist UD party, refused to sign because he said that there needed to be a clear statement calling for the restoration of Zelaya and censuring the violations of human rights by the de facto regime.
Liberal Party candidate Elvin Santos asserted yet again that he backs the San Jose Accord, but added that "both parties should evidence a level of sacrifice". Like most de facto regime supporters, he "supports the process and what may result from it", as if the existing Accord is not the product of a completed process, awaiting signature, but simply was a discussion paper.
National Party candidate (and likely next president of Honduras) Porfirio Lobo Sosa, agreed that it would be nice if there were a real continuing dialogue in which both parties would be flexible.
Christian Democrat Felicito Ávila said any Accord that was signed would have to be in agreement with the Constitution, a familiar argument used by de facto regime adherents to make it seem like they are cooperating when in fact they are stonewalling.
The prize for honesty goes to the candidate from PINU, Bernard Martínez, who said the candidates recognizing the San Jose process was fine, but also, the November elections have to be internationally recognized.
Pepe Lobo concurred, saying the election is unrelated to the events of the coup.
And Elvin Santos called for ending all sanctions, since the condition of the country cannot resist the pressure and lifting sanctions cannot wait for the election of a new president, thus suggesting that he believes the elections will solve the whole mess-- and that recognition will inevitably follow the election.
This of course is a widely-shared interpretation of the fuzzy language from the State Department that may have been intended to threaten not to recognize the election, but instead is seen as defining conditions for recognition ("transparent and free" elections). So we see candidates claiming the elections will be transparent and free, ignoring the lack of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and threats to freedom of the press, not to mention human rights violations and the intimidating prospect of Armed Forces guarding polls in the wake of military repression.
Nor was the head of the de facto regime exactly absent from the scene, choosing today to characterize Oscar Arias as a "puppet" in remarks reported by Telesur. The puppet master? the "international community". Or to quote Micheletti, Arias
one day appears saying lets go to elections and the next day says noSo yes-- great news! everyone believes a process of negotiation would be a good thing to continue while the election campaign goes on because elections will magically heal the polarized nation and restore constitutionality.
Honduras' interim president: US revoked my visas
AP – A supporter of Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya shouts slogans against interim President Roberto … The interim government expects the United States to revoke the visas of at least 1,000 more public officials "in the coming days," Information Minister Rene Zepeda told The Associated Press.
Interim President Roberto Micheletti said losing his diplomatic and tourist visas would not weaken his rejection of the return of Zelaya, who was toppled in a June 28 military-backed coup and flown into exile.
Micheletti said he was expecting the action and called it "a sign of the pressure that the U.S. government is exerting on our country."
The move "changes nothing because I am not willing to take back what has happened in Honduras," he said on Radio station HRN.
Washington on Friday revoked the diplomatic and tourist visas for 14 Supreme Court judges, the armed forces chief, the foreign relations secretary and Honduras' attorney general, presidential spokeswoman Marcia de Villeda said Saturday.
U.S. State Department spokesman Darby Holladay said later Saturday that he could not comment. "By law we are not allowed to comment on the revocation of visas."
There was no immediate reaction from Zelaya, who is currently in Nicaragua.
Last week, Washington cut off millions of dollars in aid to the Honduran government in response to Micheletti's refusal to accept a mediated accord that called for returning Zelaya to power with limited authority until elections set for November.
The accord was brokered by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, who won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in helping end Central America's civil wars.
Washington recently revoked the U.S. visas of some of Micheletti's Honduran allies and supporters. The U.S. also has stopped issuing most visas at its embassy in Tegucigalpa.
"I'm OK because I expected the decision and I accept it with dignity ... and without the least bit of resentment or anger at the United States because it is that country's right," Micheletti said.
However, Micheletti complained that the letter he received from the State Department addressed him as president of Congress, his position prior to Zelaya's ouster, and not president of Honduras.
"It doesn't even say 'Mr. president of the republic' or anything," he said.
Micheletti reiterated that "the United States has always been a friend of Honduras and will continue being one forever, in spite of the actions it has taken."
The eliminated U.S. aid includes more than $31 million in non-humanitarian assistance to Honduras, including $11 million remaining in a more than a $200 million, five-year assistance program run by the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
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