UN rights council condemns abuses in Honduras coup, supports restoration of overthrown gov't
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. top rights body is condemning abuses following the June 28 coup in Honduras.
The 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed Thursday a proposal by Latin American countries, including Cuba, calling for an immediate end to all human rights violations.
The Geneva-based council, of which the United States is a member, also called for the restoration of the ousted government of President Manuel Zelaya.
Honduras' interim leaders suspended some civil liberties Sunday and empowered police and soldiers to break up unauthorized public meetings, arrest people without warrants and restrict the news media.
The decision came after Zelaya called on supporters to stage mass marches to protest the coup.
So much peace goes on ever since this San José Accord has been trying to be forced upon the de facto government!
drama queen: Micheletti said that "if everyone agrees, he will immediately leave the post"
Tegucigalpa, Oct 1 (EFE) .- The de facto president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, has assured that, if institutions determine who should go and reinstate the deposed Manuel Zelaya, he will leave office immediately, and has complained that there people who are making "outrageous"proposals to solve the crisis.
In an interview with EFE Micheletti said the state of siege in which the country is, isn't to last 45 days and that some politicians are distancing themselves for "bringing water to his mill" before the elections on 29 November.
"At the moment the population at the time in which the Supreme Court, at the time that the prosecution at the time that the Congress say that I should go, I will immediately get out of the picture and I'll go to my house, "continued Micheletti. "I was assigned president,and now I am responsible for everything," he said.
The man who runs Honduras since the military ousted the country by force and power to Manuel Zelaya on June 28 said he feels just as backed by the political parties as that day.
They are responsible for my being here, Weren't they the ones who voted in Congress for me to get to this position?" He asked.
. But Micheletti said that these same political parties "might not very much agree" with it "because they have aspirations to attract all voters in the country."
He justified the siege claiming that Zelaya was calling for an uprising guerrilla warfare, to fight, weapons that can be considered a call to sedition in a 'next breath and said "that it is not going to last 45 days, guarantees will be returned as soon as possible. "
"Friday we may call the Council of Ministers and together decide what the situation is going to be, the decision will be done on Friday, announced less than a week after issuing the decree.
But Micheletti maintained that the decision "at no time was foolish."
He said he understands complaints from the political state of siege, but said the government has done its own survey among the population "and 87, 90 percent say it is consistent with what has happened."
"We did not have any fear ever (...) always believed that his arrival could be anytime," he replied when asked about the return of Zelaya, whom he said, has "no personal animosity" and shared "friendship in recent times".
However, he acknowledged that "people are very concerned with the return of this gentleman."
In this regard, he also noted that the proposals that have emerged in recent days, as submitted by the entrepreneur Adolfo Facussé which provides for the replacement of Zelaya to become confined to his home and the deployment of a multinational force are "unprecedented , have no real legal meaning. "
"Here we were able to confuse feelings and begin logically to create these ideas so that will be no bloodshed," he said.
He insisted, as in all this time, that Zelaya has to present himself in court to answer economic and political charges against him .
"If the court released him immediately I run away from here to let him take charge," he added.
He stated that he believes in the Pact of San Jose led by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, and which provides for the replacement at the power of Zelaya, but noted that "neither the San José dialogue will say you have to do this."
Micheletti said he wants to "be optimistic" about the mission of foreign ministers of the Organization of American States, which has been invited to the country next 7th of October and he wants to be prepared for a delegation that will arrive tomorrow, Thursday.
"We will listen what they say those preparing the scenarios and what you can do for dialogue, and then I imagine that (the ministers) will come, if there is any dialogue on the table, otherwise I do not think they're coming to walk here to see each other, to fight with us again, "he continued.
Last week the UN Security Council spoke out against "intimidation" of de facto government of Honduras against the Brazilian Embassy.
"What intimidation?. We maintain isolated (the place) the whole population so that there is absolutely nobody who can come to attack them or insult them nothing-they are quiet inside," Zelaya said, adding that is "using the Internet to all sorts of things, even to transmit messages.
Honduras
The double standard of factual sectors
Calling for dialogue, but continue to repress the people
Giorgio Trucchi Giorgio Trucchi
Campesinos sometidos luego del desalojo del Instituto Nacional AgrarioFoto Ap
Un periodista de Radio Globo se manifiesta frente a la Casa PresidencialFoto Reuters
El reportero brasileño Sergio Otsch discute con soldados que cercan la embajada de su país
Foto Ap
The Executive Order issued by the illegal de facto government has come to open a first crack in the granite unit exhibited thus far by economic sectors and politicians who have orchestrated the coup. . A surprise proposal for dialogue by private enterprise arises in a context of constant violation of the rights of those sectors of the Honduran people who refuse to accept the institutional breakdown of last June 28.
For the second consecutive day the Resistance could not perform their usual place in Tegucigalpa.Pursuant to Executive Order is curtailing individual freedoms and collective population and seems to be a new and destabilizing error of de facto government Roberto Micheletti, over 200 heavily armed troops to shut out hundreds of people converged at the Pedagogical University,
Besides being illegal for its publication in the Official Gazette before they were approved by the National Congress, the decree opened an important debate among sectors that have orchestrated and approved the coup.
While the presidential candidates and members of traditional parties asked Micheletti to reconsider the content of the Decree and the international community demanded a solution to the crisis caused by the coup, as a surprise the company submitted a proposal that private reiterates some of the points contained in the Agreement of San Jose and that President Manuel Zelaya left without any real instrument to govern.
In that proposal, by a well known businessman Adolfo Facussé, says they would accept the return of President Manuel Zelaya as President, but submitted immediately to the courts.
The new ministers would be appointed by political parties in proportion to the votes obtained in the last election and could be removed only by vote of two thirds of Congress, while the command of the armed forces would be in charge of the cabinet.
A multinational force, composed of about 3 thousand military or police in Canada, Panama and Colombia would monitor compliance with the agreement, and the international community should wholeheartedly support the development of the elections on 29 November, while Roberto Micheletti would be assigned a position deputy with the guarantee of a seat for life.
In the next few hours are expected reactions by President Zelaya and the National Front Against the Coup.
Dialogue and repression
While the word "dialogue" continues to fill the headlines of major media controlled by the economic powers of Honduras, repression against the people of Honduras does not cease an instant.
Yesterday, September 29 policemen arrived at the National Agrarian Institute (INA) with the intention to execute the eviction of members of peasant organizations and labor for three months to maintain a peaceful takeover of the institution.
"Despite constant threats, peasant organizations and the Union of Workers of the National Agrarian Institute (SITRAINA) we are firm in our resistance against the coup-declared Sirel Samuel Sanchez, of SITRAINA, an affiliate of the IUF - .
We have taken INA facilities throughout the country and request international support for anything that might happen in the coming hours. We will Come to the end and we know that the IUF and other international bodies will give us their support. "
During a press conference, leaders of the National Peasant Confederation (CNC), Honduran Confederation of Rural Women (CMHC) and the Coordinating Council of Peasant Organizations of Honduras (COCOCH) reported that "Our presence in the INA is the only way guarantee to the rights of peasants, because with this assumption we are protecting the implementation of Decree 18/2008, with which to resolve the issue of agricultural dwelling, benefiting land titles to over 300 thousand farmers, "said Ramon Navarro of COCOCH.
We have suffered persecution and repression, and we, the peasants, we have rebelled against an illegal and despotic government . We are here taking care of the records of thousands of peasants because they believe that a usurping government can develop a genuine agrarian reform.
Hemos recuperado la tierra para producir alimentos, la hemos abonado con la sangre de nuestro pueblo –continuó Navarro– y no vamos a permitir que nos avasallen más. We have recovered the land to produce food, we paid with the blood of our people, "continued Navarro and we will not allow us to further victimized. Our movement is part of the resistance front and if we are to leave the fight it does not end here, but we will mobilize otherwise "he said.
Legal offensive
The attempt to stop the resistance against the coup has also moved to the courts, where dozens of prosecutors and lawyers are trying to counter aware the crackdown against those who protest against the de facto government.
Yesterday, Tuesday 29, several people who were evacuated off the Brazilian embassy were accused of sedition and sent to jail.
For Agustina Flores Lopez, sister of Bertha Caceres, a member of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) and the collegial leadership of the National Front Against the Coup d'Etat, the mere fact of being part of the Resistance has been classified by the judge as sedition.
"I was captured and savagely beaten, and now they want to condemn me without any proof. We are in an experiment of this de facto government to try to break the resistance imposing terror and fear, "said Noelia Nunez Lopez-Flores's lawyer.
Justice here is increasingly blind. An inquisitor and oppressive system which guarantees nothing in this, as in many other cases, individuals considered dangerous just because of mainstream resistance movement against the coup.
I am outraged as a person and professional. They rejected the alternative proposal to her and just sent her to jail, "concluded Nunez and is a clear signal they are sending to the Resistance and sister as popular leader.
Giorgio Trucchi Rel-UITA Rel-IUF Giorgio Trucchi
http://www.rel-uita.org/internacional/honduras/la_doble_moral.htm http://www.rel-uita.org/internacional/honduras/la_doble_moral.htm
Micheletti Needs More Opinions
Decreto PCM-M-016-2009 remains in effect. Roberto Micheletti says he needs to hear more opinions before he decides what to do about this decree that suspends the constitution. In the meantime, it remains in effect. Even though Congress told him they would not vote to approve it should he insist it come to a vote, Micheletti has refused to rescind the decree so far. Congress must approve it for it to become legal.
Micheletti heard from the Election Tribunal yesterday, which urged him to rescind it because it taint's the election. But Micheletti says he wants to wait until he hears from the Supreme Court and the College of Lawyers before he decides what to do.
Even Ramon Custodio, the Human Rights Commissioner/coup apologist called for the rescension or regulation of the decree. He said suspending the constitutional guarantees "is to accept that we are no longer able to maintain public order, peace, and is a tacit acceptance which does not reflect the situation in which we are living."
"The intention is to rescind the decree approved in the Council of Ministers in an opportune moment when we have consensus from all sectors"
And while Daniel Restrepo of the White House called for the restoral of all constitutional guarantees, he failed to say they should be restored immediately.
There are 15 motions before the 5 member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court seeking to either have the decree declared unconstitutional or illegal. The first two cases were reviewed yesterday, and returned to the lawyers for clarification of some legal points.
In the meantime, the National Police continue to enforce its provisions selectively.
Posted by rnsMicheletti heard from the Election Tribunal yesterday, which urged him to rescind it because it taint's the election. But Micheletti says he wants to wait until he hears from the Supreme Court and the College of Lawyers before he decides what to do.
Even Ramon Custodio, the Human Rights Commissioner/coup apologist called for the rescension or regulation of the decree. He said suspending the constitutional guarantees "is to accept that we are no longer able to maintain public order, peace, and is a tacit acceptance which does not reflect the situation in which we are living."
"The intention is to rescind the decree approved in the Council of Ministers in an opportune moment when we have consensus from all sectors"
And while Daniel Restrepo of the White House called for the restoral of all constitutional guarantees, he failed to say they should be restored immediately.
There are 15 motions before the 5 member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court seeking to either have the decree declared unconstitutional or illegal. The first two cases were reviewed yesterday, and returned to the lawyers for clarification of some legal points.
In the meantime, the National Police continue to enforce its provisions selectively.
Anselem's Statement Creates Problems for Llorens
If the State Department apologist Phil Crowley needs the proof that the rest of us see as obvious, that backup ambassador to the OAS Lew Anselem's ridiculous statements in the OAS have caused damage, one only needs to look at the Honduran newspapers this morning. Many of them are running a story like this one in La Tribuna, quoting the de facto government's Minister of Government, Oscar Matute, saying Anselem is not saying the same thing as our ambassador Hugo Llorens is.Hugo Llorens held a damage control meeting with business leaders yesterday morning in which he said the US message has been consistant, "we support democracy in Honduras, and in any other country," he told them. He would not have had to say that without idiot Anselem's statement.
Oscar Matute not only noted that what Llorens said, and what Anselem said, aren't the same message, but he specificially noted that Anselem said the way out was the November 29 elections, the same claim as the de facto government. ANSELEM'S STATEMENTS DIRECTLY ECHOED THE DE FACTO GOVERNMENT'S STATEMENTS.
Matutue also indicated he believes the words of Anselem over Llorens because Anselem operated with the thinking of the US government. "Llorens does not coincide with the official expression of the representative of the United States in the OAS," he insisted.
Here's the question and part of the answer Phillip Crowley gave to reporters yesterday in the State Department daily briefing.
Q: And so is there any comment? Is there any change in the U.S. policy on this matter?
Mr. Crowley: Not at all. Not at all.
So why is it that Hondurans can see the difference, and Mr. Crowley cannot? Damage Control?
Arias calls for support for Honduras November election
President Arias who is acting as a mediator in the Honduras crisis since the ousting of elected President Manuel Zelaya last June, called on both sides of the conflict to sign and abide by his proposal which contemplates the reinstatement of Zelaya and an amnesty for the military involved in his ousting.
Arias currently in Miami said that last Monday he was on the phone with interim Honduran president Roberto Micheletti who told him he was willing to lift the decree imposing a state of siege so the electoral process could advance.
“He agreed with me that without individual rights and constitutional guarantees suspended no electoral campaign can take place”, said Arias.
“The worst that can happen to Honduras is that a majority of countries do not recognize the winner of elections scheduled for November 29”, he emphasized.
Meanwhile the main business organization of Honduras proposed a plan which reinstates Zelaya, with limited powers, and the deployment of a multinational force to ensure peace and transparency of the whole electoral process.
Micheletti heard from the Election Tribunal yesterday, which urged him to rescind it because it taint's the election. But Micheletti says he wants to wait until he hears from the Supreme Court and the College of Lawyers before he decides what to do.
Even Ramon Custodio, the Human Rights Commissioner/coup apologist called for the rescension or regulation of the decree. He said suspending the constitutional guarantees "is to accept that we are no longer able to maintain public order, peace, and is a tacit acceptance which does not reflect the situation in which we are living."
"The intention is to rescind the decree approved in the Council of Ministers in an opportune moment when we have consensus from all sectors"
And while Daniel Restrepo of the White House called for the restoral of all constitutional guarantees, he failed to say they should be restored immediately.
There are 15 motions before the 5 member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court seeking to either have the decree declared unconstitutional or illegal. The first two cases were reviewed yesterday, and returned to the lawyers for clarification of some legal points.
Arias currently in Miami said that last Monday he was on the phone with interim Honduran president Roberto Micheletti who told him he was willing to lift the decree imposing a state of siege so the electoral process could advance.
“He agreed with me that without individual rights and constitutional guarantees suspended no electoral campaign can take place”, said Arias.
Meanwhile the main business organization of Honduras proposed a plan which reinstates Zelaya, with limited powers, and the deployment of a multinational force to ensure peace and transparency of the whole electoral process.
Micheletti Needs More Opinions
Decreto PCM-M-016-2009 remains in effect. Roberto Micheletti says he needs to hear more opinions before he decides what to do about this decree that suspends the constitution. In the meantime, it remains in effect. Even though Congress told him they would not vote to approve it should he insist it come to a vote, Micheletti has refused to rescind the decree so far. Congress must approve it for it to become legal.Micheletti heard from the Election Tribunal yesterday, which urged him to rescind it because it taint's the election. But Micheletti says he wants to wait until he hears from the Supreme Court and the College of Lawyers before he decides what to do.
Even Ramon Custodio, the Human Rights Commissioner/coup apologist called for the rescension or regulation of the decree. He said suspending the constitutional guarantees "is to accept that we are no longer able to maintain public order, peace, and is a tacit acceptance which does not reflect the situation in which we are living."
"The intention is to rescind the decree approved in the Council of Ministers in an opportune moment when we have consensus from all sectors"
And while Daniel Restrepo of the White House called for the restoral of all constitutional guarantees, he failed to say they should be restored immediately.
There are 15 motions before the 5 member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court seeking to either have the decree declared unconstitutional or illegal. The first two cases were reviewed yesterday, and returned to the lawyers for clarification of some legal points.
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