Arrest warrants issued for Honduran military high command

[Judi Lynn]

Arrest warrants issued for Honduran military high command
January 6, 2010 9:07 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- Honduran prosecutors on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for the country's six top military commanders for abuse of power in connection with the June 28, 2009, coup that ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya.

The Honduran high command, including Gen. Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, the country's top military chief, face charges for bursting into Zelaya's residence and transporting the president to neighboring Costa Rica, Attorney General Luis Rubi said.

The action deepened a political crisis that remains unresolved, despite a new president being elected in November.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/06/honduras.political.turmoil/index.html

~~~~~~~~~~
Honduras Prosecutor Requests Arrest of Army Chief, EFE Says
By Andres R. Martinez

Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- A Honduran prosecutor asked the Central American nation’s Supreme Court to issue an arrest warrant for the head of the army in connection with the exile of former President Manuel Zelaya, EFE reported.

Federal prosecutor Henry Salgado filed a request seeking arrest warrants for General Romeo Vazquez and five members of his staff, the Spanish news agency said. The six are being investigated for abusing authority and unlawful expatriation, according to the report.

Vazquez said he was unaware of the request, EFE reported, citing local media.

Zelaya was removed from office June 28 and the military flew him to Costa Rica that day. The former president re-entered the country Sept. 21 and has been staying at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa since then.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aHJlieMBm3LM

~~~~~~~~~~
Honduras military chiefs charged with 'abuse of power'
January 7, 2010 - 1:54PM

Honduras' attorney general charged the country's top military chiefs with "abuse of power" for a coup that ousted president Manuel Zelaya, a Supreme Court spokesman told AFP.

"They are various commanders, and the crimes are abuse of power," said Danilo Izaguirre, adding that the court had three days to respond to the charges filed by Attorney General Luis Rubi.

Armed forces chief of staff General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, Air Force chief Venancio Cervantes and Navy chief Luis Javier Prince were among those accused over the arrest and expulsion of Zelaya to Costa Rica on June 28.

An army spokesman told local radio America that Vasquez had called on military lawyers to take on the case.

Rights groups had called on the country's legal institutions to denounce the military for their involvement in the coup and heavy-handed clampdowns on protests by Zelaya supporters in its aftermath.

More:
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/honduras-military-chiefs-charged-with-abuse-of-power-20100107-lvw8.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. De facto president objects to US request he leave

De facto president objects to US request he leave

Wednesday, January 6, 2010; 4:05 PM

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- De facto president Roberto Micheletti responded harshly Wednesday to U.S. suggestions that he resign weeks before a new president takes office on Jan 27.

Micheletti has been serving as president since a June coup deposed his long-time political rival President Manuel Zelaya, who later took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa and remains there.

"The U.S. wants me to withdraw on Jan. 15," said Micheletti, calling U.S. diplomacy erratic. "Washington should respect the sovereign decisions of our people."

U.S. State Department diplomat Craig Kelly is currently in Honduras attempting to reunite leaders in the bitterly divided Central American nation.

Micheletti's interim government has said Zelaya faces arrest on various charges if he leaves the embassy under any terms other than an asylum arrangement in another country. President-elect Porfirio Lobo has hinted that he will be more conciliatory.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/06/AR2010010603315.html

[Judi Lynn]

2. US offered aid to step down: Micheletti

US offered aid to step down: Micheletti
January 7, 2010 - 7:39AM


Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti accused the United States of offering "millions of dollars in aid" to Honduras if he steps down, in a television interview on Wednesday cited by print media here.

Micheletti's comments came during a two-day visit to Honduras by the second highest US diplomat for Latin America, Craig Kelly, who sought to help resolve the deep crisis set off by a June 28 coup.

"The United States wants me to withdraw on January 15 with the promise to grant many millions of dollars in aid to Honduras," said the de facto leader, who took over power after the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya, in comments on Canal 5 television, cited by local press.

The United States, along with the European Union and international organisations, froze millions of dollars of much-needed aid to Honduras after the military-backed coup.

More:
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/us-offered-aid-to-step-down-micheletti-20100107-luq8.html

[Judi Lynn]

3. Honduran president-elect backs U.S. in having Micheletti pack his bags

Honduran president-elect backs U.S. in having Micheletti pack his bags
2010-01-07 09:50:55

TEGUCIGALPA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- When the Honduran president-elect does his house-cleaning before taking office, what he needs is probably more than just a victory in a constitutional election.

Already, Porfirio Lobo Sosa has backed the United States to add momentum to the run-up to his inauguration, which is scheduled for Jan. 27 by the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord.

U.S. diplomats helped to ink the accord that started to break the political impasse which almost brought the country a standstill since the June 28 coup last year.

During his interview with local Radio America, the president-elect quoted a U.S. State Department spokesman as saying that it is prudent for post-coup de facto leader Roberto Micheletti to leave now.

Craig Kelly was quoted as saying that his government is aware that there is not enough time, and that is why it thinks it is prudent that Micheletti leave his charge.

But the de facto leader seems neither ready to leave the scene nor interested in attending the swearing-in of Lobo Sosa.

"The National Congress (of Honduras) appointed me till Jan. 27,and I am not going to change because someone wants to push me," Micheletti said.

"The National Congress (of Honduras) appointed me till Jan. 27,and I am not going to change because someone wants to push me," Micheletti said.

More:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/07/content_12769232.htm

[Judi Lynn]

11. Honduran generals face coup charges

Honduran generals face coup charges

Honduras' attorney-general has charged the country's senior military chiefs with "abuse of power" for a coup that removed Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president, according to a supreme court spokesman.

Danilo Izaguirre told the AFP news agency that the court had three days to respond to the charges.

"They are various commanders, and the crimes are abuse of power," he said.

Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, the armed forces chief of staff; Venancio Cervantes, the air force chief; and Luis Javier Prince, the navy chief, were among those accused over the arrest and expulsion of Zelaya to Costa Rica on June 28.

An army spokesman told local radio that Vasquez had called on military lawyers to take on the case.

More:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/01/2010174720841310.html

[Downwinder]

4. Better late than never. Wonder what prompted it. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

6. Too bad they didn't feel inspired to do this before they tortured and killed so many, isn't it?

The only reason I can imagine is that they want to give the appearance of a new government which seeks justice, then they'll punish these clowns they needed to steal the government from the elected President, pin it all on them, and keep the booty they could never have gotten any other way since the people have been wanting democratic progress for a very long time, and would ONLY vote for the progressives if they ever got a chance.

That's why they had to hospitalize and intimidate the progressives who had intended to run until the only ones left were fascist maggots.

They flush away the ones who carried out THEIR wishes, and everyone looks "clean" again to the right-wingers.

Dirtballs.

We'll SEE how serious they are with their prosecution.

[Bacchus39]

9. hint: it coincides with the US visit n/t

s

[Judi Lynn]

5. U.S. presses for truth commission on Honduras crisis

Wednesday January 6, 2010
U.S. presses for truth commission on Honduras crisis

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The United States urged Honduras on Tuesday to form a unity government and establish a truth commission to investigate the country's June coup, suggesting that U.S. aid may hinge on these conditions.

Washington recognized the results of a November presidential election in the Central American nation over the objections of other regional governments but has said the vote itself is not enough to resolve the region's worst political crisis in decades.

"We have some decisions to make, in terms of the nature of our relationship, the nature of assistance in the future," U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

Craig Kelly, a senior U.S. diplomat, is visiting Honduras this week to urge Honduras' president-elect Porfirio Lobo and ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who was toppled by an army-backed coup on June 28, to seek an end to the country's deep political divide.

More:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/6/worldupdates/2010-01-06T084025Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-451769-1&sec=Worldupdates

[EFerrari]

7. That's hilarious. Who will they turn themselves into?

[Downwinder]

8. Does not look like everybody got the word.

Honduras - Garifuna Community Radio Attacked

http://www.quixote.org/honduras-garifuna-community-radio-attacked

[Judi Lynn]

12. You're right. This is really low. It's not too hard to see a connection to the coup people who cut

off government support of the Garifuna clinic as soon as they forcibly took it from the people's elected President. From the link:

Honduras - Garifuna Community Radio Attacked
Wed, 01/06/2010 - 1:18pm | jennya

Urgent! Attack against Garifuna community radio in Triunfo de la Cruz

Today, early this morning, the Faluma Bimetu community radio was the victim of an attack carried out by unknown authors who set fire to the room where the community radio was installed.

Faluma Bimetu has been around for more than a decade, during which it has focused on strengthening Garifuna culture, as well as participating in the creation of an early alert system, programs concerning HIV/AIDS, and providing general information that goes beyond the habitual distortion that is normally promoted by mass media.

The Garifuna community radios fulfill a social function without any profit motive, especially Faluma Bimetu, which has been transmiting in an area that has been converted into a highly conflictive region by the powerful Honduran elites, because of the interest that financial groups have in displacing the Garifuna communities to use our beaches for their tourism projects.

In recent years, the Municipality of Tela has divided the community by way of a parallel Community Council (“Patronato,” the State-recognized form of local government) that favours the interests of tourism businesspeople. The Faluma Bimetu radio has been one of the champions of the defense of ancestral territory.

Eyewitnesses to the attack report that the humble building where rthe radio was housed has been destroyed, and that equipment has been lost. This incident is an enormous loss for the community of Triunfo and for the Garifuna people in general.

I wonder if this could be connected to the people who went into Canal36 and the progressive radio station, and poured chemicals into their equipment and destroyed it.... and then went back again and unplugged and walked off with their replacement equipment the next time, all caught on video?

Hope the Garifuni get back to broadcasting soon, somehow. A station like that would be a beacon of light in a very dark, scary world.

[flamingdem]

10. Wow. Who knew? Anyway, it's better than nothing, I think nt

[rabs]

13. Best not to make too much of this

It looks like a golpista ploy merely to generate favorable headlines, especially internationally. Odd that the charges came on the day Craig Kelly arrived in Teguz. :shrug:

Today the 15-member Supreme Court (golpistas all) appointed the president of the court (uber-golpista) to study whether the charges by the attorney general (golpista) against Romeo Vasquez (golpista) and the other generals (golpistas) have "merit" or not.

There have been reports that there will be a goriletti general amnesty around Jan. 15, so even if the charges against the golpista military commanders are accepted, the amnesty (if it comes) would absolve them.

Think it is best to wait a few days.

[Judi Lynn]

14. Amnesty! Of course! This is a familiar pattern, unfortunately. Thanks for the insight, rabs. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

17. Mark Weisbrot: Proposed Amnesty Serves to Whitewash Honduran Coup

Mark Weisbrot: Proposed Amnesty Serves to Whitewash Honduran Coup
Saturday 09 January 2010

by: The Center for Economic and Policy Research

Vote expected next week to absolve Honduran Military of crimes, even as murders continue.

Washington, DC - The international community should offer no support for planned amnesty for the perpetrators of the Honduran coup, Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said today. Noting that both ousted President Manuel Zelaya and coup leaders previously agreed on a deal to resolve the crisis that did not include amnesty for crimes, Weisbrot cautioned that current efforts to grant amnesty to the coup leaders would be merely an attempt to "whitewash the coup."

"The international community should remember that this is a regime that not only dealt a deadly blow to Honduran democracy through a military coup, it has also attempted to turn back time to a dark period of bloody dictatorships, death squads, disappearances, tortures, and murders," Weisbrot said. "Only international pressure will stop these abuses."

The Honduran congress is expected to vote early next week to approve amnesty for the perpetrators of the June 28 coup d'etat that ousted President Manuel Zelaya - who is still recognized as the legitimate president by the international community - and then imposed a dictatorship. This week the Attorney General, Luis Rubi, stated that armed forces head General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez and other military chiefs had violated Honduras' constitution by forcibly deporting Zelaya, but stopped short of charging them for removing Zelaya from power or for other crimes including the killing of unarmed demonstrators and other serious human rights violations.

In reaction to the Attorney General's charges against the military leaders, President Zelaya issued a statement Wednesday saying that Rubi is supporting the "impunity of the military by accusing them of lesser crimes and abuse of authority, and not for serious crimes they have committed: treason, murder, human rights violations, torture," and that "it is clear what is being done are preparatory acts for the impunity of the military and to avoid punishment for the material and intellectual authors of the military coup."

More:
http://www.truthout.org/109101weisbrot

[Downwinder]

15. Supreme Court Assigns Judge in Military Case

The Supreme Court, after meeting as a whole today, assigned the Chief Justice, Jorge Alberto Rivera, to hear the case presented by the Public Prosecutor against the 5 generals of the military high command and to decide whether the case has merit and can proceed, according to El Heraldo's Minute by Minute column. On Tuesday, the Public Prosecutor, Luis Rubi, filed a complaint with the court accusing the generals of the military high command of "abuse of authority" in forcibly exiling President Manuel Zelaya on June 28. Today lawyers for the generals requested that the court not issue arrest warrants for them since they would be willing to come before the court whenever it requests their presence. Rivera will have six days to review the filing and make a finding.

http://hondurascoup2009.blogspot.com/2010/01/supreme-court-assigns-judge-in-military.html

[Judi Lynn]

16. Hondurans reject amnesty

Saturday, 9 January 2010

Hondurans reject amnesty
For crimes since the coup:

Honduras: Social organizations and human rights defenders rejected the plans of the Honduran coupist Government to approve an amnesty for those people responsible for crimes committed since the coup in June 28.

“The humanity crimes will have their punishment sooner or later, and their authors will pay before the justice,” said a communiqué issuedby the National Front against the Coup, which gathers a wide number of groups and politicians. Members of the National Congress announced they had the decree to absolve those involved in crimes derived from the June 28 coup.

Rolando Dubon, head of the Parliament Amnesty Commission, said a meeting was held with a group of lawyers to adjust every fragment of the document, which will be submitted to vote on Monday.

Berta Oliva, coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of Disappeared and Arrested People (COFADEH) warned that if the indult is approved they would take the case to the International Penal Court.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/01/09/wld02.asp



Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya march during
a protest rally in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Jan. 7, 2010. Hundreds of
Zelaya followers protested Thursday in the streets of Tegucigalpa
against solving the political crisis by using political amnesty for
Zelaya and demanding strict punishment for military chiefs who
participated in the military coup. (Xinhua/Rafael Ochoa)