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(from WSJ)
The administration has in fact come out unequivocally in favour of the President, stating that they recognised him as the President of Honduras (and no one else).
At first glance, it seems as if the President was acting unconstitutionally. Constitutions never really lay out what you're meant to do in such circumstances. Apparently impeachment mechanisms don't exist for this situation in Honduras. The arrest--and indeed the President's organising a referendum, contrary to the court's ruling--are both in a bizarre legal black hole, it seems to me.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Soldiers stormed the house of leftist President Manuel Zelaya in a predawn raid Sunday, arresting him and removing him from power amid a growing crisis over Mr. Zelaya's plans to try to get re-elected.
"I was awakened by shots, and the yells of my guards, who resisted for about 20 minutes," Mr. Zelaya told a news conference at the San Jose airport in Costa Rica. "I came out in my pajamas, I'm still in my pajamas….when they came in, they pointed their guns at me and told me they would shoot if I didn't put down my cell phone."
Mr. Zelaya called the action a kidnapping, and said he was still president of Honduras.
The Honduran Congress named its leader, Roberto Micheletti, to replace President Manuel Zelaya following his military ouster and forced exile in Costa Rica. A resolution read on the floor of Congress accuses Mr. Zelaya of "manifest irregular conduct" and "putting in present danger the state of law," a reference to his refusal to obey a Supreme Court ruling against holding a constitutional referendum.
By a show of hands, the Congress voted on Sunday to remove Mr. Zelaya, and appointed Mr. Micheletti as the new chief executive, as is mandated by the constitution. Congress earlier had approved a supposed letter of resignation from Mr. Zelaya, but he said the document was false.
In Honduras, television stations were off the air, and electricity was out in parts of the capital, Tegucigalpa. Military jets streaked overhead.
"This is a tragic day. Hopefully it will be a historic day," said Carlos Sosa, Honduras's ambassador to the Organization of American States, in an interview on CNN en Español. The ambassador said he was told about the unfolding coup by Mr. Zelaya's family after soldiers entered the house.
Reaction to the apparent coup was swift. U.S. President Barack Obama said he was "deeply concerned" and called on all political actors in Honduras to "respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference," he said.
The Obama administration worked in recent days to prevent President Zelaya's ouster, a senior U.S. official said. The State Department, in particular, communicated to Honduran officials on the ground that President Obama wouldn't support any non-democratic transfer of power in the Central American country.
"We had some indication" that a move against Mr. Zelaya was a foot, said a U.S. official briefed on the diplomacy. "We made it clear it was something we didn't support."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined Mr. Obama Sunday in criticizing the Honduran coup and calling for the restoration of the democratic process.
"We call on all parties in Honduras to respect the constitutional order and the rule of law, to reaffirm their democratic vocation, and to commit themselves to resolve political disputes peacefully and through dialogue," Mrs. Clinton said in a statement.
The European Union called on the Honduran military to release Mr. Zelaya. "The EU strongly condemns the arrest of the constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras by the armed forces," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout told reporters.
Fears of violence in Honduras grew as soldiers surrounded the presidential palace, keeping at bay a growing group of protesters who gathered to support the ousted president. They burned tires, sending up black plumes of smoke. Helicopters circled overhead.
"We want the people's vote to be respected," said Freddy Huezo, a lawyer who had taken to the streets to support Mr. Zelaya.
Mr. Zelaya called on unions, workers and peasant and indigenous organizations to demonstrate peacefully for his return. "I ask the people of Honduras to be calm, but for them to defend their democracy and their rights," he said. "There are forms of protesting without hurting anybody…there should be demonstrations everywhere."
Mr. Zelaya, an ally of Venezuela's populist President Hugo Chávez, has been locked in an increasingly bitter battle with the rest of Honduras's political establishment, including members of his own party, over the president's plans to hold a referendum to scrap the constitution and potentially allow re-election, something currently barred under Honduran law.
Honduras's Supreme Court had declared the referendum illegal, and last week the military said it wouldn't help the president distribute the ballots. The president responded by firing the top military chief, leading to growing tensions within the army. The Honduran Congress had also considered having Mr. Zelaya declared "unfit" for office.
Things came to a head on Sunday, the day that had been slated for the referendum.
The president's term ends in January, following November presidential elections. But Sunday's referendum would have allowed voters in November to call for a new constitution. The president's opponents say he planned to use a new constitution to scrap term limits and run for re-election when his four-year term ends in January.
Voicing the fears that sparked the military's action, retired Honduran Gen. Daniel López Carballo justified the move against the president, telling CNN en Español that Mr. Zelaya was a stooge for Mr. Chávez. He said that if the military hadn't acted, Mr. Chávez would eventually be running Honduras by proxy.
Mr. Chávez himself survived a brief coup in 2002. He was arrested by top Venezuelan officers who refused his order to fire on a huge demonstration as protesters headed toward the presidential palace. Taken to a naval base on a remote island, he nevertheless came back to power two days later after the military refused to back a civilian who was sworn in as his successor, and Mr. Chávez's supporters took to the streets.
Mr. Zelaya has been a sharp critic of U.S. policies in Latin America, maintaining a close alliance with Venezuela's populist President Hugo Chávez and criticizing Washington's economic embargo on Cuba. Still, Honduras receives more than $200 million in development aid from Washington annually and relies on the U.S. market for a large portion of its exports.
Latin America analysts said the Honduran coup will complicate President Obama's efforts to re-engage a region where anti-Americanism has flourished in some areas. These experts said they expect Mr. Chavez , in particular, to seize on the Honduran crisis to try to depict Central Americas under an ongoing attack by capitalist and Western forces.
As a result, some say, Mr. Obama will need to call for the reinstatement of Mr. Zelaya, despite U.S. concerns that he's seeking to mirror Mr. Chavez's campaign to secure limitless rule.
"It's very important for the U.S. to come out against the coup and make the point that the U.S. supports democracy unequivocally," said Kevin Casas-Zamora, Costa Rica's former vice president and a senior fellow at Washington's Brookings Institution. "This would prevent Chavez from stealing the show."
Mr. Casas-Zamora and other regional analysts, however, said the coup raised questions about just how much influence Washington has in Central America, given the Obama administration's failed effort to avert it. "There's an open question as to how much influence the State Department has," he said.
"I was awakened by shots, and the yells of my guards, who resisted for about 20 minutes," Mr. Zelaya told a news conference at the San Jose airport in Costa Rica. "I came out in my pajamas, I'm still in my pajamas….when they came in, they pointed their guns at me and told me they would shoot if I didn't put down my cell phone."
Mr. Zelaya called the action a kidnapping, and said he was still president of Honduras.
The Honduran Congress named its leader, Roberto Micheletti, to replace President Manuel Zelaya following his military ouster and forced exile in Costa Rica. A resolution read on the floor of Congress accuses Mr. Zelaya of "manifest irregular conduct" and "putting in present danger the state of law," a reference to his refusal to obey a Supreme Court ruling against holding a constitutional referendum.
By a show of hands, the Congress voted on Sunday to remove Mr. Zelaya, and appointed Mr. Micheletti as the new chief executive, as is mandated by the constitution. Congress earlier had approved a supposed letter of resignation from Mr. Zelaya, but he said the document was false.
In Honduras, television stations were off the air, and electricity was out in parts of the capital, Tegucigalpa. Military jets streaked overhead.
"This is a tragic day. Hopefully it will be a historic day," said Carlos Sosa, Honduras's ambassador to the Organization of American States, in an interview on CNN en Español. The ambassador said he was told about the unfolding coup by Mr. Zelaya's family after soldiers entered the house.
Reaction to the apparent coup was swift. U.S. President Barack Obama said he was "deeply concerned" and called on all political actors in Honduras to "respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference," he said.
The Obama administration worked in recent days to prevent President Zelaya's ouster, a senior U.S. official said. The State Department, in particular, communicated to Honduran officials on the ground that President Obama wouldn't support any non-democratic transfer of power in the Central American country.
"We had some indication" that a move against Mr. Zelaya was a foot, said a U.S. official briefed on the diplomacy. "We made it clear it was something we didn't support."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined Mr. Obama Sunday in criticizing the Honduran coup and calling for the restoration of the democratic process.
"We call on all parties in Honduras to respect the constitutional order and the rule of law, to reaffirm their democratic vocation, and to commit themselves to resolve political disputes peacefully and through dialogue," Mrs. Clinton said in a statement.
The European Union called on the Honduran military to release Mr. Zelaya. "The EU strongly condemns the arrest of the constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras by the armed forces," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout told reporters.
Fears of violence in Honduras grew as soldiers surrounded the presidential palace, keeping at bay a growing group of protesters who gathered to support the ousted president. They burned tires, sending up black plumes of smoke. Helicopters circled overhead.
"We want the people's vote to be respected," said Freddy Huezo, a lawyer who had taken to the streets to support Mr. Zelaya.
Mr. Zelaya called on unions, workers and peasant and indigenous organizations to demonstrate peacefully for his return. "I ask the people of Honduras to be calm, but for them to defend their democracy and their rights," he said. "There are forms of protesting without hurting anybody…there should be demonstrations everywhere."
Mr. Zelaya, an ally of Venezuela's populist President Hugo Chávez, has been locked in an increasingly bitter battle with the rest of Honduras's political establishment, including members of his own party, over the president's plans to hold a referendum to scrap the constitution and potentially allow re-election, something currently barred under Honduran law.
Honduras's Supreme Court had declared the referendum illegal, and last week the military said it wouldn't help the president distribute the ballots. The president responded by firing the top military chief, leading to growing tensions within the army. The Honduran Congress had also considered having Mr. Zelaya declared "unfit" for office.
Things came to a head on Sunday, the day that had been slated for the referendum.
The president's term ends in January, following November presidential elections. But Sunday's referendum would have allowed voters in November to call for a new constitution. The president's opponents say he planned to use a new constitution to scrap term limits and run for re-election when his four-year term ends in January.
Voicing the fears that sparked the military's action, retired Honduran Gen. Daniel López Carballo justified the move against the president, telling CNN en Español that Mr. Zelaya was a stooge for Mr. Chávez. He said that if the military hadn't acted, Mr. Chávez would eventually be running Honduras by proxy.
Mr. Chávez himself survived a brief coup in 2002. He was arrested by top Venezuelan officers who refused his order to fire on a huge demonstration as protesters headed toward the presidential palace. Taken to a naval base on a remote island, he nevertheless came back to power two days later after the military refused to back a civilian who was sworn in as his successor, and Mr. Chávez's supporters took to the streets.
Mr. Zelaya has been a sharp critic of U.S. policies in Latin America, maintaining a close alliance with Venezuela's populist President Hugo Chávez and criticizing Washington's economic embargo on Cuba. Still, Honduras receives more than $200 million in development aid from Washington annually and relies on the U.S. market for a large portion of its exports.
Latin America analysts said the Honduran coup will complicate President Obama's efforts to re-engage a region where anti-Americanism has flourished in some areas. These experts said they expect Mr. Chavez , in particular, to seize on the Honduran crisis to try to depict Central Americas under an ongoing attack by capitalist and Western forces.
As a result, some say, Mr. Obama will need to call for the reinstatement of Mr. Zelaya, despite U.S. concerns that he's seeking to mirror Mr. Chavez's campaign to secure limitless rule.
"It's very important for the U.S. to come out against the coup and make the point that the U.S. supports democracy unequivocally," said Kevin Casas-Zamora, Costa Rica's former vice president and a senior fellow at Washington's Brookings Institution. "This would prevent Chavez from stealing the show."
Mr. Casas-Zamora and other regional analysts, however, said the coup raised questions about just how much influence Washington has in Central America, given the Obama administration's failed effort to avert it. "There's an open question as to how much influence the State Department has," he said.
At first glance, it seems as if the President was acting unconstitutionally. Constitutions never really lay out what you're meant to do in such circumstances. Apparently impeachment mechanisms don't exist for this situation in Honduras. The arrest--and indeed the President's organising a referendum, contrary to the court's ruling--are both in a bizarre legal black hole, it seems to me.
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