Honduras 14 months on: Time for a dose of diplomatic realpolitik

By David Roberts




So, those who plotted the coup in Honduras at the end of June last year got their way, after all. The coup-backers' bogeyman, President Manuel Zelaya, was successfully overthrown and remains in exile in the Dominican Republic, and the new government led by Porfirio Lobo has been recognized as democratic, or very close to democratic, by Washington, the EU and most of the countries that cut off ties when Zelaya was ousted.

The latest countries to recognize the Lobo government and restore full diplomatic relations were Chile and Mexico, both citing a report by the Organization of American States - which expelled Honduras after the coup - that concluded Lobo has made "considerable progress in the cause of restoring democracy and freedoms in the Central American country."

Still holding out are the left-leaning Latin American nations inspired by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, and, most notably, Brazil and Argentina. So was it right for the US, the EU, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and others - including all of Honduras' Central American neighbors except Nicaragua - to recognize the Lobo government? And if the answer is yes, should those who haven't done so follow suit?

Whatever the rights and wrongs of last June's coup - those behind it justified their move by arguing that Zelaya was trying to change the constitution illegally so he could run for another term in office - not having diplomatic relations with a country should not be used as a "punishment" for events in the past, nor as a means of protest because one nation does not like another nation's system of government. Otherwise, western-style democracies simply would not have diplomatic ties with most countries in Africa and the Middle East, nor with quite a few in Asia.

Nor of course with Cuba, although the argument that if a country is going to have diplomatic relations with Havana then there's no excuse for not having them with Tegucigalpa doesn't entirely stand up, as Cuba was not a democracy when the present incumbents took power.

Of course, withdrawing ambassadors and cutting ties can and should be used as a means of expressing disapproval of a serious breach of the democratic "rules of the game," as happened in Honduras last year, but times move on and the de facto government has given way to one that has earned a certain legitimacy.

Like it or not, Lobo was democratically elected, although Zelaya should be allowed to return without having to face criminal proceedings - and perhaps those who carried out the coup should face at the very least a full investigation (although not necessarily criminal punishment as Chavez and company maintain). But in deciding whether to restore relations, a nation needs to give priority to the current situation, and, of course, practical issues such as its own political, business and cultural interests, along with the interests of its own citizens.

In conclusion: Breaking off diplomatic relations may be a useful means of protest but in itself it doesn't solve anything, and over time has negative effects in other areas such as trade, investment, travel and cultural exchange. In the case of Honduras, it's time for the Venezuela-led bloc to fall in line with the rest of the region.

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Bahamas Blog International

Cuba minister says Obama has not met policy change promises

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- President Barack Obama has not fulfilled his promises to change US foreign policy and may not be fully in control of the government, Cuba's foreign minister told the United Nations on Monday.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Bruno Rodriguez said Obama had done little to mend US-Cuba relations and had taken other steps that were at odds with his promises to break with the policies of predecessor George W. Bush.

"The most serious and dangerous aspect about this new situation is uncertainty about the real capacity of current authorities in Washington to overcome political and ideological currents that, under the previous administration, threatened the world," he said.

"The neoconservative forces that took George Bush to the presidency ... have very quickly regrouped and still have the reins of power and considerable influence, contrary to the announced change," Rodriguez said.

The Cuban minister pointed to the June 28 military coup in Honduras, saying that while Obama had said ousted President Manuel Zelaya must be returned to office, "the American fascist right, represented by (former Vice President Dick) Cheney, openly supports and sustains the coup."

Zelaya, bundled into exile by soldiers in the summer coup, secretly returned to Honduras a week ago and is currently sheltering in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.

"The world reacted with profound optimism to the change in government in Washington," Rodriguez said. But he added Obama's words, including promises to make changes in several US policies, do not "coincide with reality".

"The detention and torture center at Guantanamo Naval Base, which usurps part of Cuban territory, has not been shut down. The occupation troops in Iraq have not been withdrawn. The war in Afghanistan is expanding," he said.

Regarding Cuba, Rodriguez said Obama had taken "positive" steps" by allowing Cuban Americans to travel and send money freely to the communist-ruled island.

He added US-initiated talks with Havana on migration and on the possible reinstatement of direct postal service between the long-time foes had been "respectful and fruitful."

But he said many other issues had not been addressed, above all the 47-year-old US trade embargo against Cuba, which the Cuban government blames for most of its economic problems.

Rodriguez said Obama had acted "contrary to what all the American public opinion polls reflect" when he signed two weeks ago a yearly renewal of the act that imposes the embargo.

"The crucial thing is that the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba remains intact," he said.

The embargo was imposed in 1962 to undermine the Cuban government that turned to communism after the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro, 83, ceded the Cuban presidency last year to his younger brother Raul Castro, 78, citing health grounds.

Rodriguez said the US embargo would never achieve its goal. "Those who try to put an end to the revolution and bend the will of the Cuban people are suffering from delusions," he said.

September 29, 2009

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Blog Bahamas

A revolution is being born there

Reflections of Fidel

ON July 16, I stated textually that the coup d’état in Honduras "was conceived of and organized by unscrupulous individuals on the extreme right, dependable officials of George W. Bush and promoted by him."

I quoted the names of Hugo Llorens, Robert Blau, Stephen McFarland and Robert Callahan, yanki ambassadors in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, appointed by Bush in the months of July and August of 2008, the four of them following the line of John Negroponte and Otto Reich, both of a shady history.

I indicated the yanki base of Soto Cano [Palmerola] as a central support point for the coup d’état and that "the idea of the a peace initiative from Costa Rica was transmitted to the president of that country from the State Department when Obama was in Moscow and stated, in a Russian university, that the only president of Honduras was Manuel Zelaya." I added that "the Costa Rica meeting called into question the authority of the UN, the OAS and other institutions which had committed their support to the people of Honduras and that the only correct thing to do was to demand that the United States should end its intervention in Honduras and withdraw the Joint Task Force from that country."

The response of the United States in the wake of the coup d’état in that Central American country has been to draw up an agreement with the government of Colombia for the creation of seven military bases, like the one in Soto Cano in that sister country, which are a threat to Venezuela, Brazil and all the other nations of South America.

At a critical moment, when the tragedy of climate change and the international economic crisis is being discussed in a summit meeting of heads of state of the United Nations, the coup perpetrators in Honduras are threatening to violate the immunity of the Brazilian embassy, where President Manuel Zelaya, his family and a group of his followers who were forced to take shelter in that building are to be found.

It has been confirmed that the government of Brazil had nothing whatsoever to do with the situation that has been created there.

It is therefore inadmissible, moreover inconceivable, that the Brazilian embassy should be assaulted by the fascist government, unless that government is attempting to be the instrument of its own suicide by dragging the country into a direct invasion by foreign forces, as was the case in Haiti, which would signify a direct invasion of yanki troops under the flag of the United Nations. Honduras is not a distant and isolated country in the Caribbean. An intervention by foreign forces in Honduras would unleash a conflict in Central America and create political chaos in all of Latin America.

The heroic struggle of the Honduran people after almost 90 days of incessant battling has placed in crisis the fascist and pro-yanki government that is repressing unarmed men and women.

We have seen a new awareness emerge in the Honduran people. An entire legion of social fighters has been hardened in that battle. Zelaya fulfilled his promise to return. He has the right to be reestablished in government and to preside over the elections. New and admirable cadres are standing out among the combative social movements, capable of leading that nation along the difficult roads that await the peoples of Our America. A revolution is being born there.

The UN Assembly could be a historic one, depending on its correct decisions or errors.
World leaders have expounded issues of great interest and complexity. They reflect the magnitude of the tasks that humanity has ahead of it and how scant the time available is.

Fidel Castro Ruz

September 24, 2009

1.23 p.m.

Translated by Granma International

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Bahamas Caribbean Blog International