Termination of Assistance and Other Measures Affecting the De Facto Regime in Honduras
Ian Kelly
Department Spokesman
Department Spokesman
Washington, DC
September 3, 2009
The Department of State announces the termination of a broad range of assistance to the government of Honduras as a result of the coup d’etat that took place on June 28. The Secretary already had suspended assistance shortly after the coup.
The Secretary of State has made the decision, consistent with U.S. legislation, recognizing the need for strong measures in light of the continued resistance to the adoption of the San Jose Accord by the de facto regime and continuing failure to restore democratic, constitutional rule to Honduras.
The Department of State recognizes the complicated nature of the actions which led to June 28 coup d’etat in which Honduras’ democratically elected leader, President Zelaya, was removed from office. These events involve complex factual and legal questions and the participation of both the legislative and judicial branches of government as well as the military.
Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a return to democratic, constitutional governance in Honduras.
The Department of State further announces that we have identified individual members and supporters of the de facto regime whose visas are in the process of being revoked.
A presidential election is currently scheduled for November. That election must be undertaken in a free, fair and transparent manner. It must also be free of taint and open to all Hondurans to exercise their democratic franchise. At this moment, we would not be able to support the outcome of the scheduled elections. A positive conclusion of the Arias process would provide a sound basis for legitimate elections to proceed. We strongly urge all parties to the San Jose talks to move expeditiously to agreement.
The Secretary of State has made the decision, consistent with U.S. legislation, recognizing the need for strong measures in light of the continued resistance to the adoption of the San Jose Accord by the de facto regime and continuing failure to restore democratic, constitutional rule to Honduras.
The Department of State recognizes the complicated nature of the actions which led to June 28 coup d’etat in which Honduras’ democratically elected leader, President Zelaya, was removed from office. These events involve complex factual and legal questions and the participation of both the legislative and judicial branches of government as well as the military.
Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a return to democratic, constitutional governance in Honduras.
The Department of State further announces that we have identified individual members and supporters of the de facto regime whose visas are in the process of being revoked.
A presidential election is currently scheduled for November. That election must be undertaken in a free, fair and transparent manner. It must also be free of taint and open to all Hondurans to exercise their democratic franchise. At this moment, we would not be able to support the outcome of the scheduled elections. A positive conclusion of the Arias process would provide a sound basis for legitimate elections to proceed. We strongly urge all parties to the San Jose talks to move expeditiously to agreement.
US could withhold funds to Honduras over coup
MEXICO CITY — The United States is increasing pressure on the interim Honduras government, threatening to cut off millions of dollars promised for farming and transportation projects if the ousted president isn't returned to power.The U.S. — Honduras' top trade partner and source of foreign aid — has been supporting President Manuel Zelaya since military officers flew the pajama-clad leader into exile in June. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was scheduled to meet with Zelaya on Thursday, and the U.S. Embassy in Honduras has stopped issuing most visas.
But Washington has not pulled its ambassador, which almost every other country in the world has done. Nor has the U.S. stated whether it's going to recognize the outcome of presidential elections in November.
Next week the board of directors of the U.S.-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation, headed by Clinton, will meet to decide whether to cut off its aid to Honduras, which includes $215 million over four years.
"The concern with cutting foreign aid is that if it is used for popular purposes or humanitarian aid, you're punishing the people more than the leaders," said Jennifer McCoy, a Honduras expert at the Carter Center. "However, since the U.S. has already tried other options aimed at the leaders, especially revoking visas, this is the natural next step."
McCoy said more than the Millennium Challenge Corporation funds could be at stake. The U.S. has a role in deciding what loans Honduras receives from other institutions including the World Bank.
She said that so far, neither the negotiations nor the threats to cut funding have made a difference to the government of Roberto Micheletti, the interim leader named by the Honduras Congress.
"The Hondurans in power seem to be counting on the fact that they can withstand the economic pressure in the short term," she said. "They expect that the international community will change their position and recognize a new government once elected."
So far, $80 million of the $215 million allocation has been spent. Another $111 has been committed to contracts, and $25 million is unobligated, according to the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Spokeswoman Neneh Diallo said it would be premature to predict how much of the funding might be cut.
Dana Frank, a historian at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said the latest threats to cut funding are "sending mixed signals to Micheletti. Why haven't they already frozen all bank accounts and funding? Why are we still at an Air Force base there?"
Some countries, like Canada, continue to provide aid. Others have blocked funding; the European Union has suspended more than $90 million.
Associated Press writer Freddy Cuevas contributed to this report from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
U.S. Suspends $30 Million to Honduras
Jewel Samad/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The deposed president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, talked to reporters on Thursday after meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the State Department.
Some outside the Obama administration, however, wondered whether it was much of a signal at all, saying that formally terminating the money would not have much of a practical effect because the aid had been suspended immediately after the coup. In addition, the United States will continue providing tens of millions of dollars in development and humanitarian aid.
“They are doing these piecemeal steps to see how the de facto regime responds,” said Vicki Gass of the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights group. “And each time the de facto regime remains intransigent, they up the ante, but it takes them way too long.”
Mrs. Clinton’s announcement came as she met with Mr. Zelaya, who had urged the administration to issue a finding that his ouster fit the legal definition of a military coup. Senior administration officials said such a determination — which was not made — would not have obligated the United States to cut aid further.
A legal determination would have required certification by Congress, where some Republicans support Honduras’s de facto government. Reaction to Thursday’s announcement suggested that there might be a fight brewing anyway.
“Today’s decision by the State Department to cut aid to Honduras is an outrage,” said Representative Connie Mack, Republican of Florida, who called the cuts “simply over the top.”
Next Article in World (17 of 35) » A version of this article appeared in print on September 4, 2009, on page A6 of the New York edition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/world/americas/04honduras.html?_r=2&hp
Berman: Call Honduras crisis a coup
By Tony Romm - 09/03/09 10:28 AM ET
The House Foreign Affairs chairman is calling on the White House to get tough on the ouster of the Honduran president.
The declaration of the ouster as a coup, which the State Department must officially make, would require the United States to suspend most of its foreign aid to the Central American country until democratic governance is restored, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman (D-Calif.) wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday.
"This one looks, walks and quacks like a duck. It's time to stop hedging and call this bird what it is," Berman wrote in the Los Angeles Times. "And if, for whatever reason, the State Department lawyers do not conclude that this was a coup, Congress should examine other ways by which it can directly affect the flow of aid."
It remains to be seen whether the State Department will agree with Berman, but it is likely that a coup declaration — or any effort to further limit U.S. aid — would anger congressional Republicans, many of whom support former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya’s ouster.
In recent days, some GOP lawmakers — including Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s ranking Republican — have even called on the Obama administration to offer more assistance to the interim, contested Honduran government.
“It is difficult to understand how U.S. interests are served by the strong-arm tactics the U.S. is employing to force Manuel Zelaya’s return to the Honduran presidency in violation of the Honduran constitution and rule of law," Ros-Lehtinen said last week. “Now is not the time to cut further assistance ... I urge the State Department to take a step back and consider the long-term impact of our current policy approach to the Honduran political situation."
The federal government, meanwhile, has approached the crisis in Honduras rather quietly, Berman wrote. With the help of the United Nations, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have tried to negotiate a settlement between interim leader Roberto Micheletti and Zelaya, but the talks remain stalled. Both Clinton and Zelaya, however, will meet again Thursday to discuss the evolving political situation.
The U.S. has already suspended military aid to the de facto government and revoked the diplomatic visas of officials including the supreme court judge who signed the order to arrest Zelaya.
But the White House's faith in a diplomatic solution has not stopped a number of other countries, including the entire European Union, from suspending billions in aid to Honduras. Berman hopes the United States — in light of the Central American nation’s upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections — will soon follow suit.
"Cutting off assistance is a blunt instrument, one that should not be wielded lightly. It can affect livelihoods and families and industries, in addition to targeting those at the top," Berman said. "But Honduras will hold presidential and parliamentary elections Nov. 29, and every passing day gives Micheletti and his associates the chance to tighten their illegitimate hold on the reins of power.”
The declaration of the ouster as a coup, which the State Department must officially make, would require the United States to suspend most of its foreign aid to the Central American country until democratic governance is restored, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman (D-Calif.) wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday.
It remains to be seen whether the State Department will agree with Berman, but it is likely that a coup declaration — or any effort to further limit U.S. aid — would anger congressional Republicans, many of whom support former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya’s ouster.
In recent days, some GOP lawmakers — including Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s ranking Republican — have even called on the Obama administration to offer more assistance to the interim, contested Honduran government.
“It is difficult to understand how U.S. interests are served by the strong-arm tactics the U.S. is employing to force Manuel Zelaya’s return to the Honduran presidency in violation of the Honduran constitution and rule of law," Ros-Lehtinen said last week. “Now is not the time to cut further assistance ... I urge the State Department to take a step back and consider the long-term impact of our current policy approach to the Honduran political situation."
The federal government, meanwhile, has approached the crisis in Honduras rather quietly, Berman wrote. With the help of the United Nations, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have tried to negotiate a settlement between interim leader Roberto Micheletti and Zelaya, but the talks remain stalled. Both Clinton and Zelaya, however, will meet again Thursday to discuss the evolving political situation.
The U.S. has already suspended military aid to the de facto government and revoked the diplomatic visas of officials including the supreme court judge who signed the order to arrest Zelaya.
But the White House's faith in a diplomatic solution has not stopped a number of other countries, including the entire European Union, from suspending billions in aid to Honduras. Berman hopes the United States — in light of the Central American nation’s upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections — will soon follow suit.
"Cutting off assistance is a blunt instrument, one that should not be wielded lightly. It can affect livelihoods and families and industries, in addition to targeting those at the top," Berman said. "But Honduras will hold presidential and parliamentary elections Nov. 29, and every passing day gives Micheletti and his associates the chance to tighten their illegitimate hold on the reins of power.”
