Honduran Delegation Back in Chicago

Four CRLN board and staff members returned from a delegation to Honduras on October 30th. They are planning a report-back event for November 11th, please watch for place and time info. The delegation was able to meet with groups opposing the coup and gain insight into the newly announced agreement to return President Zalaya to office. Sharon Hunter-Smith, one of the delegation participants, has compiled and commented on the following:

What has been reported in the U.S. media is that the U.S. State Department, represented by Thomas Shannon, brokered an agreement between the legitimate president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, and the coup-installed President, Roberto Micheletti, that President Zelaya would be reinstated as president. In fact, the agreement reached contained the following points, followed by commentary on the import of those points:

1. Formation of a government of "unity and reconciliation" by Nov. 5 at the latest: President Zelaya will be reinstated, but not so for the Cabinet members he appointed when he was elected. The coup-appointed government leaders will get to name half of his cabinet members. This part of the agreement essentially rewards those who carried out the military overthrow of the government June 28 by giving them power within the executive branch that they did not have before the coup.

2. Renunciation of a constitutional assembly: President Zelaya agreed to renounce any attempt to convene a national assembly to discuss possible changes in the current constitution or to reform the constitution in any way not allowed by the current constitution. A constitutional assembly is something that the social movements in Honduras have been working toward for 10 years, and their representatives do not agree to this condition.

3. Holding of elections on November 29 and transference of government: Both parties agreed to hold general elections and to encourage the public to refrain from any demonstrations opposing the elections. The import of this decision severely disadvantages those who have been resisting the coup, because the independent candidate they support, while he is on the ballot, withdrew his candidacy until President Zelaya is reinstated, so he has not begun to campaign. The other main candidates have been campaigning now for over a month.

4. Putting the army and national police at the disposal of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to guarantee the smooth operation of the elections: The Electoral Tribunal is staffed by people who were supportive of the coup government. The army and police, totally unprovoked, have beaten, tear-gassed, and killed people in the resistance movement for their participation in peaceful protests and marches. Putting them in charge of the election is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.

5. Subjecting the reinstatement of President Zelaya to approval by Congress, in consultation with the Supreme Court: President Zelaya has not been reinstated yet. The Congress has said it will meet tomorrow to decide whether to ratify the agreement reached by Micheletti and Zelaya.

6. Formation of a Verification Commission coordinated by the Organization of American States (OAS) to ensure the fulfillment of this agreement and formation of a Truth Commission in the first quarter of 2010 to identify the acts that led to the political crisis so that it will not happen again. Any difference in opinion that arises in how to interpret this agreement will be given to these bodies to resolve, so it will be very important to see who gets named to these commissions. There will be 2 international representatives and 2 national representa-tives (one from each of the main political parties, neither of which has historically worked for the benefit of the majority of Hondurans) will sit on the Verification Committee. The newly elected government will appoint the Truth Commission.

7. Renouncing amnesty: Both sides agreed that they would not avoid legal charges against them for their actions before, during or after the coup. However, at the moment, the only legal charges outstanding are against Zelaya for treason (the word they have given to his refusal to abide by a Supreme Court order to cease holding a non-binding referendum on whether to hold a constitutional assembly). So far, there are no Honduran legal charges against the coup leaders for treason for conducting a military takeover of the government.