Some Opinion Pieces on Honduras and its "Coup"

Just thought I'd drop in some opinion pieces on Honduras. They offer a little background on the immediate history of Honduras that many in the television MSM networks seem to be glossing over. I must confess that I know very little about Honduras' history and have never visited the country-- however I've studied the histories of various South American countries (Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia) for about eleven years now, so I am not completely unfamiliar with the region (yes, I know Honduras in in Central America).

Here's an op/ed by Alvaro Vargas Llosa in The Washington Post (h/t to Anne Leary at Backyard Conservative), detailing Zelaya's rather abrupt shift from center-right to socialism. From the article: "A member of the rancid oligarchy he now decries, Zelaya took office in 2006 as the leader of one of the two center-right parties that have dominated Honduran politics for decades. His general platform, his support for the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and his alliances with business organizations gave no inkling of the fact that halfway into his term he would become a political cross-dresser.

"Suddenly, in 2007, he declared himself a socialist and began to establish close ties with Venezuela. In December of that year, he incorporated Honduras into Petrocaribe, a mechanism set up by Hugo Chávez for lavishing oil subsidies on Latin American and Caribbean countries in exchange for political subservience. Then his government joined the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean (ALBA), Venezuela's answer to the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, ostensibly a commercial alliance but in practice a political conspiracy that seeks to expand populist dictatorship to the rest of Latin America."

Here's a short bit by columnist Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun Times (once again via Anne Leary at Backyard Conservative visit her site listed in My Blog List at the side). According to paleontologist Sue Hendrickson Sneed's friend and currently residing in Honduras, sent these notes:

"• • 1. 'The event should be taken as an arrest against a Honduran citizen, Manuel Zelaya, who broke the constitutional Honduran law in multiple occasions over the last few days.

• • 2. 'This SHOULD NOT be taken as a coup d'etat.

• • 3. 'The vast majority of Hondurans firmly oppose Manuel Zelaya and are in favor of his arrest.

• • 4. 'The current news being portrayed in international networks appear to be heavily tilted toward a contrarian view of most Hondurans.

• • 5. 'The majority of Hondurans are not in favor of Manual Zelaya and are extremely proud of our congress and military for their stance in favor of democracy and peace.

• • 6. 'The events happening today were caused by an attempt by Manuel Zelaya to manipulate our country and its constitution to fulfill his ultimate goal of remaining in power indefinitely.

• • 7. 'The world should be proud of Honduras as we are the first Latin American country to stand against a tyrannical leader who has tried to topple democracy and peace in our country.

• • 8. 'Declarations made by Hugo Chavez should be discredited immediately. He should, as President Obama said, allow Hondurans to solve this issue through open communication following LEGAL processes.

• • 9. 'It is NOT ONLY in the interest of Honduras and its citizens that democracy prevails (supported by the events today and Manuel Zelaya's arrest) but also in the interest of the UNITED STATES that no other countries align with Hugo Chavez (and his puppets) to build his empire against democracy and peace.

• • 10. 'In case Hugo Chavez tries to use military force in Honduras, we hope and pray we can count on the United States to stand along side Honduras in the fight against tyranny and oppression.'"

On that last note (#10), I'm, with deep regret, not holding my breath with Obama in charge-- and neither is Hugo Chavez (without the regret, of course).

And this last opinion piece "The Wages of Chavismo" The Wall Street Journal via BARCEPUNDIT.

From the piece: "As military 'coups' go, the one this weekend in Honduras was strangely, well, democratic. The military didn't oust President Manuel Zelaya on its own but instead followed an order of the Supreme Court. It also quickly turned power over to the president of the Honduran Congress, a man from the same party as Mr. Zelaya. The legislature and legal authorities all remain intact.

"We mention these not so small details because they are being overlooked as the world, including the U.S. President, denounces tiny Honduras in a way that it never has, say, Iran. President Obama is joining the U.N., Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez and other model democrats in demanding that Mr. Zelaya be allowed to return from exile and restored to power. Maybe it's time to sort the real from the phony Latin American democrats."

Don't let this situation get swept under the rug in a month as the jobless rate rises and Obama moves on to his next "crisis." For good or ill, remember what Obama says and does regarding this incident, and let's not forget his half-hearted and late condemnation of the Iranian crackdowns either.