2009 Honduran constitutional crisis

The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis is an ongoing political dispute over plans to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras, which culminated in the forcible removal and exile of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military, preempting a poll whether to hold a referendum to convene a constituent assembly to change the constitution. Opponents called these plans a veiled attempt to unconstitutionally eliminate presidential term limits and usher in Chavez-style socialism. Zelaya and his supporters claim that he was attempting to modernize the Honduran Constitution to better serve the country, noting that any reforms would be enacted after Zelaya's term. The Honduran Supreme Court had upheld a lower court injunction against the 28 June poll, and on 26 June – while Zelaya ignored the injunction – it issued a secret order for his detention.

On the morning of 28 June 2009, approximately one hundred soldiers stormed the president's residence in Tegucigalpa, took Zelaya to an airbase, and flew him to San José, Costa Rica, actions which he immediately called a "coup" upon his arrival there. Later that day, the National Congress voted to remove Zelaya, having read without objection a letter of resignation that Zelaya says was forged. Roberto Micheletti, the Speaker of Congress and next in the presidential line of succession, was sworn in as Interim President. A "state of exception" suspending civil liberties was declared on 1 July by Micheletti's government.

On 21 September 2009, Zelaya surreptitiously returned to Honduras, after several attempts to return had been rebuffed. It was announced that he was in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. The following day five constitutional rights were suspended for 45 days by the Honduras government.

International reaction to the 2009 Honduran military coup was universally negative with widespread condemnation of the events as a coup d'état. No foreign government recognized Micheletti as president. The United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), the United States, and the European Union condemned the removal of Zelaya as a military coup. The OAS suspended Honduras on Saturday, 4 July, after the caretaker government refused to reinstate President Zelaya. Domestic opinion remains very much divided, and there have been demonstrations for and against Zelaya.

Efforts by Costa Rican President Óscar Arias and the United States to produce an effective diplomatic solution between Micheletti and Zelaya ultimately failed, the two parties unwilling to come to any lasting agreement.. Zelaya also insisted that he would not recognize the elections of 29 November as a precondition to returning to power.

Honduran leaders refused to reinstate Zelaya before the elections, and international support for the elections remained scant leading up to the polls. Many Hondurans sought to move past the crisis with the elections, which had been scheduled previous to Zelaya's ouster. While Zelaya had urged abstention from the vote, official returns indicate a larger than usual turnout, around 60%, a figure Zelaya disputes. Some Honduran activists have ended daily protests demanding the reinstatement of Zelaya since he was ousted in a coup, saying they're moving on now that Congress has voted to keep Manuel Zelaya out of office.

Background

The political and socioeconomic divide in Honduras

An estimated 60% of Hondurans live in poverty, and 36% cannot meet minimum nutritional requirements. Rural poverty in Honduras is among the most severe in Latin America. Approximately 53% of the population is rural, and it is estimated that 75% of the rural population lives below the poverty line, unable to meet basic needs. The country still has high rates of population growth, infant mortality, child malnutrition and illiteracy. These and other social and economic factors reflect its status as the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, after Haiti. Zelaya supporters, largely from labor unions and the poor, claim conservative business leaders are actually concerned because Zelaya had sharply increased the minimum wage. Víctor Meza, formerly Zelaya's interior minister, stated that: "The impression that stuck with the traditional political class and with the most conservative business leaders of the country was that Zelaya had taken a dangerous turn to the left, and therefore that their interests were in jeopardy." "We underestimated the conservatism of the Honduran political class and the military leadership." According to John Donaghy, of Caritas, the real conflict in Honduras is between the poor and wealthy: "It's a system that has kept the poor down for years." To some members of Honduras’s small upper class, Zelaya was ousted because of his blossoming leftist alliance with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela which they recognized as a threat to their interests. To the working-class, it appears Zelaya was ousted because the elite felt threatened by his efforts to improve their lives — most notably with a 60 percent increase in the minimum wage to about US$9.60 a day from about $6 a day. Some who protested in support of Zelaya had never voted for him.

Zelaya presidency

Manuel Zelaya

Manuel Zelaya, a businessman born into a wealthy Honduran family, was elected in 2005 as the candidate of the country's historically powerful Liberal Party. Since taking office, Zelaya's economic and social policies earned him praise from labor unions and civil society groups, but alienated him from parts of his own party. which were particularly upset by Zelaya's forging a regional alliance with the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), established by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and other leaders in Latin America as a counter to the trade and security policies sponsored by the United States. Zelaya also planned to convert the Soto Cano Air Base ("Palmerola"), where one of the three United States Southern Command Task Forces is located, into a civilian airport (it is already in use for many civilian flights because of safety concerns about Toncontín International Airport), partly using financing from ALBA and Petrocaribe. The New York Times reports that much of Zelaya's support is derived from labor unions and the nation's poor, while the middle and upper class fear Zelaya is seeking to establish Hugo Chávez’s type of socialist populism with a powerful leader in the country.

Zelaya has had a somewhat adversarial relationship with his country's large media outlets. According to The Economist, "Mr. Zelaya’s presidency has been marked by a rise in crime, corruption scandals and economic populism." By April 2009, a Mitofsky opinion poll showed that only one in four Hondurans approved of Zelaya. For the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, however, "there are no reliable polls in Honduras".

Independence of judiciary

Main article: Supreme Court of Honduras

The fifteen members of the Supreme Court are appointed by agreement between the two main political parties for a seven year term. The Honduran Judiciary remains deeply politicized with the highest judicial offices still being distributed between the two main parties. By requiring them to be re-elected it makes them subject to policies of their sponsoring party. The U.S. State Department has noted that the judiciary and Attorney Generals's office is subject to corruption and political influence.

Constitutional assembly plans

Main article: Honduran fourth ballot box referendum

As early as August 2006, Central America Report stated that "liberal sectors" were proposing to reform "obsolete articles" in the constitution, including one against presidential reelection. The Report said that this was causing controversy. Debate regarding the convening of a constituent assembly took place in Honduras, with support from many groups.

On 11 November 2008, President Zelaya announced a non-binding referendum to see if the people wanted to have a fourth ballot box (or "Cuarta Urna") during the November 2009 election. The fourth ballot would ask voters whether they wanted to hold a National Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. Zelaya, whose presidential term was to expire on 27 January 2010, would be ineligible, under the term-limitations of the present constitution, to run in the 2009 election. On 24 March 2009, Zelaya called for a preliminary poll to be held on 28 June 2009 to gauge popular support for including the Constituent Assembly question in the November 2009 election.

Constitutionality of referendum

The President of the Congress, Micheletti, observed that article 374 of the constitution states that no referendum can be used to alter the entrenched articles in the constitution that are specified in article 384. He went on to insist that that even to announce such a referendum privately is a crime (" . . . porque eso, incluso, anunciarlo privadamente es un delito.")

Article 373 of the constitution states that the constitution can be modified by a two-thirds majority of the National Congress. Article 374, however, specifies that several articles are entrenched; that is, they cannot be modified under any circumstances (Spanish: "en ningún caso"). The entrenched clauses include those on the system of government that is permitted, and the presidential succession. Article 239 specifically prohibits the president from attempting to amend restrictions on succession, and states that whoever does so will cease "immediately" in his or her functions. Zelaya's statement--"[t]he only one who can't be re-elected is the President, but re-election is a topic of the next National Constitutional Assembly"--is a declaration that some have argued violates Article 239. Article 239, however, is not mentioned at all in the judicial case file.

On 25 March, the Attorney General's office formally notified President Zelaya that he would face criminal charges of abusing power if he proceeded with the referendum.

In late May the court of contentious administration ruled the poll illegal. Honduras’ Supreme Electoral Tribunal also ruled that such a poll would be illegal. The lower court's injunction, against the poll, was upheld by the Supreme Court. In late June the intended consultative poll was also rejected by Congress. On 23 June 2009, Congress passed a law forbidding holding official polls or referenda less than 180 days before the next general election, which would have made the 28 June poll illegal.

Since this bill was passed after the poll was scheduled, Zelaya rejected its applicability to this case.

Developments towards the referendum

The military is in charge of security and logistics in elections in Honduras. Zelaya asked them to perform their election role for the poll, but the head of the military command, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, refused the order to pass out the poll materials because the Supreme Court ruled the poll to be illegal. On 24 June Zelaya fired him. Later that day, the defense minister and heads of the army, navy and air force resigned. On 25 June the Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that General Velásquez be reinstated. Tribunal member David Matamoros affirmed the Electoral Tribunal’s support for the military's actions.

Zelaya led several hundred people to an air force base and took possession of the disputed poll ballots, which were then kept in the presidential palace to avoid their destruction.

In late June, there were large marches both for and against the proposed fourth ballot box.

The Supreme Court, Congress, and the military and the National Human Rights Commissioner recommended that voters stay home because the poll would be neither fair nor safe for voters.

Coup d'état

Main article: 2009 Honduran coup d'état

Supreme court detention order

On 27 May 2009, the Administrative Law Tribunal issued an injunction against holding the poll at the request of the Honduran Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi. On 16 June the Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the 27 May injunction. On 18 June, the Administrative Law Tribunal ordered Zelaya to comply with the ruling in writing within five days. On 26 June the Supreme Court unanimously found that the Presidency had not complied with the 18 June court order. It also found he was answerable to charges, brought by the Attorney General, for the crimes against the form of government, treason to the motherland, abuse of office and usurpation of functions that damaged the administration. To initiate the case, the Supreme Court appointed member Tomás Arita Valle, who, on 26 June, issued a sealed (secret) order to detain Zelaya for the purposes of taking a statement. Some pro-Zelaya supporters have sought to cast doubt on the Supreme Court's documentation.

Zelaya's detention and exile

Soldiers stormed the president's residence in Tegucigalpa early in the morning of 28 June, disarming the presidential guard, waking Zelaya and putting him on a plane to Costa Rica. In San José, Costa Rica, Zelaya told TeleSUR that he had been awakened by gunshots. Masked soldiers took his cell phone, shoved him into a van and took him to an air force base, where he was put on a plane. He said he did not know that he was being taken to Costa Rica until he landed at the airport in San José. To the media described the events as "a coup" and "a kidnapping."

Tanks patrolled the streets and military planes flew overhead. Soldiers guarded the main government buildings. The government television station and a television station that supports the president were taken off the air. Television and radio stations broadcast no news. The electrical power, phone lines, and international cable TV were cut or blocked throughout Honduras. Public transportation was suspended.

Later that day, the Supreme Court issued a statement that it had ordered the army to arrest Zelaya. On 30 June, the military's chief lawyer, Colonel Herberth Inestroza, showed Judge Arita's arrest order. Colonel Inestroza later stated that deporting Zelaya did not comply with the court order, but that military leadership had decided to do so "in order to avoid bloodshed". Inestroza also stated, "It would be difficult for (the military), with our training, to have a relationship with a leftist government (like Zelaya's)."

Ramón Custodio, the head of the country’s human rights commission, said that Zelaya’s exile was a mistake and that the military made an “error” sending Zelaya into exile rather than holding him for trial. Honduras’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case brought by a group of lawyers and judges arguing that the military broke the law taking Zelaya out of the country. In August 2009, Micheletti himself said that a mistake was made when Zelaya was exiled.

Congress votes to replace Zelaya with Micheletti

The National Congress was called into an extraordinary session, where not all legislators were notified or present, and presented with what was claimed to have been Zelaya's resignation letter, dated 25 June. Zelaya has said he did not write the letter. Congress voted to remove Zelaya for "manifest irregular conduct" and "putting in present danger the state of law." By a show of hands, the National Congress – the majority of whom belonged to Zelaya's own Liberal party – appointed the President of the National Congress Roberto Micheletti, a member of Zelaya's party, to succeed Zelaya.

A clash between pro-Zelaya protesters and the Honduran military

Legality

The interim government, including the National Congress and Supreme Court maintain Zelaya was replaced constitutionally. Arguments that Zelaya's removal was illegal have been advanced by numerous Honduran scholars of Constitutional Law and others. Acting Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said forcing deposed President Manuel Zelaya to leave the country, instead of arresting him, was a mistake.

Other detentions and human rights abuses

Acting President Roberto Micheletti ordered a curfew which initially lasted for the 48 hours from Sunday night (28 June) and to Tuesday (30 June) and has continued since then in an arbitrary way. The curfew law was not published in the official journal La Gaceta and was not approved by Congress. Originally the curfew ran from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. That curfew was extended, changed, or renewed several times, in ways Amnesty International and the International Observation Mission called "arbitrary". On 1 July, Congress issued an order (decreto ejecutivo N° 011-2009) at the request of Micheletti suspending four constitutional guarantees, including freedom of transit, due process, and freedom from unwarranted search and seizure, during the hours the curfew is in effect.

The ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua said that on 29 June that they were detained and beaten by Honduran troops before being released. Also, several allies of Zelaya were taken into custody by the military. Among them were: Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas; the mayor of the city San Pedro Sula, Rodolfo Padilla Sunseri; several congressmen of the Democratic Unification Party (PUD); and several other government officials. A dozen former ministers from the Zelaya government, as well as PUD presidential candidate Cesar Ham, went into in hiding. Tomás Andino Mencías, a member of the party, reported that PUD lawmakers were led away by the military when they tried to enter the parliament building for the 28 June vote on Zelaya's deposal.

Immediate media restrictions

Reuters on 29 June 2009, describing the situation in Honduras as a "media blackout," reported that the military had shut down several TV stations, radio stations, and newspaper's websites. Among the TV stations closed were CNN en Español, TeleSUR, and "a pro-Zelaya channel." Reuters said that "the few television and radio stations still operating on Monday [the 29th] played tropical music or aired soap operas and cooking shows," and "made little reference to the demonstrations or international condemnation of the coup. . . ." A government health worker interviewed by Reuters said that the anti-Zelaya newspapers El Heraldo and La Tribuna, and "some television channels controlled by the opposition" were the only ones still broadcasting on the morning of the 29th. The Miami Herald reported that the "crackdown on the media" began before dawn on the 28th. It said that only pro-Micheletti stations were allowed to broadcast and that they carried only news friendly to the new government. On 29 June, four Associated Press personnel were detained and removed from their hotel, but then released. A number of local reporters and media sources reported on harassment and restrictions. Also, several pro-Zelaya broadcast media were raided by police or soldiers, and/or shut down temporarily. Alejandro Villatoro, director of Radio Globo, said that he was arrested and kidnapped for some hours by the military forces.

"Honduras’ two leading radio networks, Radio América and Radio HRN, have urged Hondurans to resume their normal routine and not to protest." Honduran newspaper La Prensa reported on 30 June that an armed group of Zelaya supporters, attacked its main headquarters by throwing stones and other objects at their windows, until police intervened. According to the paper, it was discovered that the group was led by Venezuelan and Nicaraguan nationalities.

Events after 28 June

Main article: Interim Presidency of Roberto Micheletti

See also: Chronology of events of the 2009 Honduran coup d'état

Pro-Zelaya protesters marching in Tegucigalpa

Protests against the coup began almost immediately, as several thousand Zelaya supporters gathered near the Presidential Palace, confronting the guarding soldiers and lit tires on fire. In response to daily pro-Zelaya protests, Congress approved a decree on 1 July that applied an overnight curfew and allowed security forces to arrest people at home and hold them for more than 24 hours.

On 30 June, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution which called for the reinstatement of Zelaya as the President of Honduras. Zelaya spoke in front of the General Assembly where he was applauded several times. In his speech, Zelaya promised not to seek another term as President and said that he would not accept a second term if he were asked to serve again.

30 June also saw the first rally in support of Zelaya's removal take place in the capital, as thousands of Zelaya opponents took to the main square. Roberto Micheletti made an appearance and said that the November general elections will be held as scheduled and that a new president will be sworn in on 27 January 2010. General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez also attended and spoke at the rally.

Anti-Zelaya demonstrators in Tegucigalpa

Honduras was formally suspended from the Organization of American States on 4 July, after the Micheletti government ignored an ultimatum by the OAS to re-instate Zelaya as president. OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza had arrived in Honduras the previous day to negotiate Zelaya's return.

Zelaya met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on 7 July. At this meeting, Zelaya agreed to a U.S.-backed proposal for negotiation talks with Micheletti government representatives in Costa Rica set for 9 July. The talks, with Costa Rican President Óscar Arias serving as mediator, proved unsuccessful, as both sides remained far apart according to regional leaders. The participants only agreed to meet again sometime in the future, as Zelaya left Costa Rica to gather more international support.

Meanwhile, Micheletti announced that he accepted the resignation of his Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez, who, in a TV interview, had called U.S. President Barack Obama "a little black man who knows nothing about nothing". The U.S. Embassy in Honduras strongly condemned the comments, which Micheletti described as "a scandalous epithet". However, Micheletti immediately reinstated Ortez as Minister of Government and Justice.

Honduran Roman Catholic Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga opposed the return of Zelaya. On 15 July 2009, interim president Roberto Micheletti stated he would be prepared to step down "if at some point that decision is needed to bring peace and tranquility to the country, but without the return, and I stress this, of former President Zelaya."

In a 16 July interview President Óscar Arias said that he had a mandate from 34 world governments to restore constitutional order in Honduras, by which he meant restore President Zelaya. He rejected Micheletti's proposal to step down if Zelaya did not return to power. He said, "we will see if we can talk of an amnesty, and for who, over political crimes (veremos si se puede hablar de una amnistía, y para quiénes, sobre delitos políticos)". "Zelaya must abandon his goal of installing a fourth ballot box", he continued. Arias indicated he intended to propose a reconciliation government headed by Zelaya combined with political amnesty.

Meanwhile, both pro- and anti-Zelaya demonstrations continued on an almost daily basis throughout the deeply polarized country.

Reports from human rights organizations

The human rights organisation COFADEH, founded in 1982 by 12 families of people who disappeared during the previous year, reported that 609 people, of whom at least 61 minors, were detained for "political scandal" (participation in political demonstrations), and 158 were detained for violating curfew, between 28 June and 12 July. COFADEH also reported several murders and detentions of journalists, that it attributed to the coup d'état.

Several international human rights missions visited Honduras and published reports. A mission of the International Federation of Human Rights and many human rights groups published a major report on 6 August. La Misión Internacional de Solidaridad, Observación y Acompañamiento a Honduras published a brief report on 30 July, The Quixote Center Emergency Delegation of Solidarity, Accompaniment and Witness published a short summary of their findings in an open letter on 7 August. On 19 August, Amnesty International released a report detailing alleged human rights abuses of the de facto government. According to CNN's reading, several hundred people have been arbitrarily arrested and beaten by government forces. The report includes testimony from, and photographs of, several people who were baton-whipped and detained by police officers. On 21 August 2009, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released a preliminary report documenting instances of sexual violence, excessive use of military force, about 3500 to 4000 arbitrary detentions, threats at gunpoint against judges responsible for habeas corpus and several confirmed deaths and disappearances allegedly attributable to the de facto government. The IACHR also alleged that the government has threatened, detained and beaten members of the media, creating "an atmosphere of intimidation that inhibits the free exercise of freedom of expression." Four days later, Human Rights Watch published a summary of the IACHR report and stated that it had published reports up to 8 July and that human rights supporters had encouraged the IACHR to "directly [intervene]".

Extrajudicial killings

Main article: Human_rights_in_Honduras § Extrajudicial_executions

Extrajudicial executions that have been attributed to the de facto Micheletti government include 19-year-old Isis Obed Murillo Mencías, shot in the head on 5 July when Zelaya's plane was trying to land at Toncontin Airport; Roger Iván Bados, former union leader, member of the Democratic Unification Party and Bloque Popular, shot dead on 11 July while entering his home in San Pedro Sula; 40-year-old campesino leader and Democratic Unification Party member Ramón García on 12 July, after he was forced by unknown people to get off a bus; 23-year-old Pedro Magdiel Muñoz Salvador, detained by police during anti-coup protests and taken to an El Paraíso police station on 24 July, and found at 6:30 am the following morning with 42 stab wounds; 38-year-old high school teacher Roger Abraham Vallejo Soriano, shot in the head by security forces during protests on 31 July, died on 1 August

Media restrictions

On 3 July, Radio América journalist Gabriel Fino Noriega was murdered near La Ceiba.

On or just before 4 August 2009, the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) terminated Radio Globo's transmission frequency rights.

The Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders released a statement on 29 June stating that, "The suspension or closure of local and international broadcast media indicates that the coup leaders want to hide what is happening."

Carlos Lauría of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said: "The de facto government clearly used the security forces to restrict the news... Hondurans did not know what was going on. They clearly acted to create an information vacuum to keep people unaware of what was actually happening." However, in an interview published on 9 July 2009 in the Washington Post, Ramón Custodio López, Honduras's human rights ombudsman, said he had received no official complaints from journalists: "This is the first I have heard about an occupation or military raid of a station," he said. "I try to do the best job I can, but there are things that escape my knowledge."

Two journalists working for teleSUR and two working for Venezuelan state media were threatened by police on 11 July. The teleSUR journalists had just returned to their hotel, the Clarion in Tegucigalpa, and saw the Venezuelan state media reporters being detained at reception. They in turn were ordered to stay in the hotel and wait for agents from immigration to check their papers, then leave the country as "there's nothing for you to report on here". The Venezuelan state media reporters were taken to a police station and held until 3:30 am on the pretext that their car was listed as having been used in a crime. They also were told to leave the country, and were escorted to the airport on 12 July, accompanied by representatives of Derechos Humanos (DDHH). Another group of four journalists, including an ACAN-EFE reporter, were held by police in their hotel in Tegucigalpa from early hours of the morning until 9 am on 12 July, allegedly on orders to wait for immigration authorities, which never materialized.

Violent confrontations with media continued from both coup supporters and opponents during the week of 12 August 2009. According to the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), soldiers backed by police arrested Alfredo López, the head of Radio Coco Dulce, a community radio station, during a demonstration by the National Front for Resistance to the Coup on 12 August in Tegucigalpa and released him later that night. Reporter Gustavo Cardoza of Jesuit-run Radio Progreso said he was attacked by police while covering the eviction of Zelaya supporters from their housing in Choloma, on 14 August, saying he was beaten at gun point, an account confirmed by witnesses. He was taken to a police station and held for several hours until lawyers from the National Front for Resistance to the Coup interceded. During the same operation, police reportedly manhandled photographer Julio Umaña of the daily Tiempo and confiscated his camera although he had just shown his press accreditation. Journalists working for pro-Micheletti media have also been the targets of violence. On 15 August, five Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Tegucigalpa headquarters of the daily El Heraldo. Several of its reporters and photographers have allegedly been threatened or physically attacked by Zelaya supporters, who accuse it of participating in a conspiracy to oust the president. Members of the National Front for Resistance to the Coup also demonstrated outside the Tegucigalpa headquarters of La Tribuna on 15 August, verbally attacking its editor and staff and two days earlier, four hooded men set fire to one of the newspaper’s distribution trucks.

The above-mentioned Diario El Tiempo is owned by Jaime Rosenthal. His son Yani Rosenthal was for a period a minister in the Zelaya administration.

On 10 October, Honduras' interim leaders put in place new rules that threaten broadasters with closure for airing reports that "attack national security," further restricting media freedom following the closure of two opposition stations.

Opposition to the post-coup government

Main article: Frente Nacional contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras

Much of the opposition to the de facto Micheletti government and its actions is loosely coordinated through a wide coalition of grassroots organisations and political parties and movements called Frente Nacional contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras (FNGE). The FNGE aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya in replacement of the de facto Roberto Micheletti government, which is perceived by the participating organisations as a dictatorship existing since the coup d'état, using methods of civil disobedience and vandalism. The FNGE supports a process of participatory democracy that should lead to a national constituent assembly, frequently makes public statements and, in early August 2009, organised a national march intended to converge on San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa on 11 August.

Zelaya's attempts and eventual return to Honduras

Zelaya made two initial, open attempts to return to his country, which were rebuffed. On 5 July he attempted to return by air, and the Micheletti government responded by closing Toncontín International Airport and sending the military to guard the runways. Protests at the airport turned deadly, with one protestor confirmed dead and scores injured. On 26 July, Zelaya briefly entered into Honduran territory, at a border crossing between Honduras and Nicaragua near Las Manos in El Paraíso Department.

On 21 September 2009, Zelaya and his wife arrived at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya stated that to reach the embassy he travelled through mountains for fifteen hours, and took back roads to avoid checkpoints, but he did not state from which country he entered Honduras. He stated to Canal 36 that "I am here in Tegucigalpa. I am here for the restoration of democracy, to call for dialogue".

Michelletti initially denied that Zelaya had returned. After admitting the return, he issued a curfew and asked the Brazilian government to put Zelaya in Honduran custody to be put on trial. Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim stated that Brazil did not aid Zelaya's return.

Thousands of Zelaya supporters soon congregated around the embassy. Security Vice Minister Mario Perdomo ordered checkpoints to be placed on highways leading to Tegucigalpa, to "stop those people coming to start trouble." Defense Minister Lionel Sevilla suspended all air flights to Tegucigalpa. Late that day, Honduran security forces used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowds outside the Brazilian embassy. The interim government also surrounded the area with military and several agencies reported that 'hooded men' had stormed the building next to the embassy. About 50 pro-Zelaya supporters have been reported wounded by police.

Electricity was cut off to the embassy area and Canal 36 TV; however, Radio Globo sent out a broadcast that included a call for generators and a pledge by the head of the electrical workers union to send technicians which shortly led to power being restored to the immediate area. The curfew was then extended until 6:00 pm the following day, a drastic measure because it means that all workplaces will be closed during daylight hours.

Installed inside the embassy, Zelaya complained of harassment from the Micheletti government aided by Israeli mercenaries. He claimed they'd used had installed a mobile phone jammer, which he showed to the press; and toxic gases and radiation, which allegedly caused nose or stomach bleeding or related symptoms in over 25 people inside the embassy. A doctor corroborated the symptoms but the de facto authorities denied having used any form of chemical weapon against the Embassy. Starting 22 September, Honduran authorities used a Long Range Acoustic Device to cause pain or possible hearing loss among people present at the Brazilian Embassy.

On 24 September, Brazil called an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. The Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim told the Security Council that "since the day it has sheltered President Zelaya at its premises, the Brazilian Embassy has been virtually under siege" and that "it has been submitted to acts of harassment and intimidation by the de facto authorities". The UN Security Council defended the inviolability of Brazilian embassy and "called upon the de facto government of Honduras to cease harassing the Brazilian embassy and to provide all necessary utilities and services, including water, electricity, food and continuity of communications".

Amnesty International representative Susan Lee described human rights violations by Micheletti's security forces following Zelaya's return as "alarming". These included a "sharp rise in police beatings" and hundreds of arrests of political demonstrators throughout Honduras, and intimidation of human rights defenders by police firing tear gas canisters into the building of the human rights NGO Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH), at a moment when about 100 people were in the COFADEH office, many who were in COFADEH in order to report human rights violations earlier that day. Dozens of the protestors detained were held in unauthorised detention sites in Tegucigalpa on 22 September. Amnesty International also reported limits imposed by the de facto authorities on free speech, in which Radio Globo and the TV channel 36 "suffered power stoppages or constant interruptions to their transmissions which prevented them from broadcasting". Susan Lee stated "The only way forward is for the de facto authorities to stop the policy of repression and violence and instead respect the rights of freedom of expression and association."

On 28 September 2009, after pressure from home and abroad, Micheletti said that he would lift his decree suspending civil liberties. As of 2 October 2009, Mr. Micheletti had not done so, but told a visiting delegation of Republican members of the U.S. Congress that he would lift the decree and restore civil liberties by Monday, October 5, 2009 at the latest, according to a spokesman for a member of the delegation. On 5 October 2009, Micheletti said that he was lifting the decree but also said that the pro-Zelaya media that had been closed down by the de facto government, Radio Globo and Canal 36 TV, would have to appear before the courts in order to regain their broadcast permits. On 19 October 2009, the decree was reversed in the official gazette.

Negotiations and accord

Main article: Guaymuras dialogue - Tegucigalpa/San José accord

On 29 October 2009, the de facto Micheletti government signed an agreement with Zelaya’s negotiators that would allow the Honduran Congress to vote on whether the ousted president would be restored and allowed to serve out the few remaining months of his term. Zelaya chose not to give a list of candidates for the unity government to Micheletti, arguing that the Congress was unacceptably delaying the agreed-upon vote on his restoration.

When Micheletti announced he had, unilaterally, formed the unity government without input from Zelaya, Zelaya declared the agreement "dead" early on 6 November. The United States sent diplomats to help to resurrect the pact, but Zelaya insisted that he would not accept any deal to restore him to office if it meant he must recognize the elections of 29 November.

Elections

Main article: Honduran general election, 2009

With Micheletti indicating that he would temporarily step down to allow voters to concentrate on the upcoming presidential elections, and congressional and judicial leadership refusing to reinstate Zelaya before the elections, Panamá, Costa Rica, and the United States indicated that they would support the outcome, but international support for the elections remained scant leading up to the polls.

On 29 November 2009, a presidential election was held, according to the Honduran constitution. Five candidates ran for president. Many Hondurans sought to move past the crisis with the elections, which had been scheduled previous to Zelaya's ouster. Early returns indicate that conservative Porfirio Lobo was elected with around 55% of the votes. Official numbers for the turnout of the election place it at around 60%, which was subsequently officially revised down to 49% - a considerable decline on the 55% 2005 election turnout.

Colombia's conservative President Alvaro Uribe subsequently has agreed to support the next Honduran government following the elections.

Controversy about election legitimacy

Organisations and individuals in Honduras, including the National Resistance Front against the coup d'État in Honduras, Marvin Ponce of the Democratic Unification Party, and Bertha Oliva of Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras, and internationally, including Mercosur, President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina and the Union of South American Nations, said that elections held on 29 November under Micheletti would not be legitimate.

Honduras

In early November 2009, Dagoberto Suazo of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'État in Honduras asked for the international community to continue to refuse to recognise the planned 29 November elections. Marvin Ponce, a member of Congress from the Democratic Unification Party, said that it was not possible to hold the elections in the aftermath of the coup d'état. Bertha Oliva of COFADEH criticised the United States government for stating that Honduras could hold "free elections in less than three weeks" when "Hondurans [were being] subjected to arbitrary arrest, the closure of independent media, police beatings, torture and even killings by security forces". Oliva claimed that it was not possible to have an election campaign when the right to freedom of assembly, freedom of movement and press freedom were absent. She called for elections to be delayed until at least three months after human rights and democracy are restored.

On 6 November 2009, following the failure of Micheletti and Zelaya to together create a "unity cabinet", Zelaya called for a boycott of the 29 November election.

On 9 November 2009, following a national meeting of leaders of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'état, Reyes declared the withdrawal of his candidacy, on the grounds of not legitimising the coup d'état and fraudulent elections. At the time of Reyes' withdrawal, the Honduran newspapers La Tiempo and La Tribuna showed Reyes' right hand in a plaster cast due to an injury sustained during his 30 July beating by Honduran security forces under the control of the de facto Micheletti government. At least 30-40 candidates from various parties and independent candidates, including at least one National Party candidate, Mario Medrano in San Manuel, Cortés, also withdraw in protest. Mario Medrano stated that he withdrew his candidature in order not to legitimise the coup d'état, that this was independent of party membership, and that anyone elected could be removed [if the coup d'état remained legitimate].

International

Mercosur declared on 24 July 2009 that it would not recognise the results of the planned November elections or any other elections organised under Micheletti. President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina stated, "We must condemn any benevolent coup attempt, that is, when through a civilian-military coup legitimate authorities are ousted followed by attempts to legalize the situation by calling new elections. This would be the death kiss for the OAS democratic charter and turning the Mercosur democratic charter in mere fiction". On 10 August, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) also declared that it would not recognise the results of elections held while the de facto Micheletti government remained in power. On 17 August, President Felipe Calderón of Mexico, together with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, made a similar statement. On September 3, the US State Department issued a statement revoking all non-humanitarian assistance to Honduras and said, of the November 29 elections "At this moment, we would not be able to support the outcome of the scheduled elections".

The U.S. has since changed position and announced that it will recognize the results of the election as a part of the San Jose-Tegucigalpa Accord.

In the days preceding the elections, Israel, Italy, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Germany, Costa Rica and Japan also announced their intentions to recognize the results of the elections.

Congress debates Zelaya's reinstatement

On 2 December, the National Congress began debate regarding the possible reinstatement of Zelaya to the presidency.

Later that day, Honduras' Congress overwhelmingly voted against reinstating President Manuel Zelaya. After a 10-hour debate, lawmakers voted 111-14 not to return Zelaya to power for the remainder of his term, which ends 27 January 2010. Zelaya criticized the vote and urged governments not to restore ties with the incoming administration of Porfirio Lobo. "Today, the lawmakers at the service of the dominant classes ratified the coup d'etat in Honduras," Zelaya said in a statement released shortly after the vote. "They have condemned Honduran to exist outside the rule of law.".

On 4 December, Honduran activists ended five months of daily protests demanding the reinstatement of their president since he was ousted in a coup, saying they're moving on now that Congress has voted to keep Manuel Zelaya out of office. Juan Barahona, who had been leading protests since late June when Zelaya was forced out of the country, said that his supporters are "closing that chapter" of their struggle. Barahona said it's time for Hondurans who support policies in favor of the poor and other themes that Zelaya espoused to shift their focus to the 2014 elections.

Public opinion

Main article: Public opinion on the 2009 Honduran coup d'état

Polling organization: Dates of polling: MOE and sample size:	CID-Gallup Aug 2008-Jul 2009 +/- 3.3% (>1000 adults)	COIMER & OP 23–29 Aug. +/− 4% (1,470 surveys)	Greenberg Quinlan Rosner 9–13 Oct. 2009 (621 individuals)
Do you favor Zelaya's expatriation?	Yes 41% / No 46% / NR 13%	Yes 17.4% / No 52.7% / NR 29.9%	Yes 38% / No 60% / NR 3%
Did Zelaya's actions justify his removal from office?	Yes 41% / No 28% / NR 31%
Favor constitutional convention to resolve crisis?			Yes 54% / No 43% / NR 11%
Favorable opinion of Manuel Zelaya?	Favorable 46% / Unfavorable 44%	Favorable 44.7% / Unfavorable 25.7% / "Regular" 22.1% / NR 7.5%	Warm 37% / Cool 39% (Personal opinion) Approve 67% / Disapprove 31% (Government actions)
Favorable opinion of Roberto Micheletti?	Favorable 30% / Unfavorable 49%	Favorable 16.2% / Unfavorable 56.5% / "Regular" 17.1% / NR 10.2%	Warm 28% / Cool 57% (personal opinion) Approve 48% / Disapprove 50% (Government actions)
Favorable opinion of Hugo Chávez?			Warm 10% / Cool 83% (personal opinion)
Zelaya should be restored?		Yes 51.6% / No 33% / NR 15.4%	Yes 46% / No 52% / NR 2% (Full powers) Yes 49% / No 50% / NR 1% (Limited powers)
Elections should go forward even if crisis unresolved?		Yes 66.4% / No 23.8% / NR 2.9%	Legitimate 54% / Illegitimate 42% / NR 4%

International reaction

Main article: International reaction to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état

No foreign government has recognized Micheletti as president. US President Barack Obama, along with leaders and officials of governments throughout the hemisphere and the rest of the world, has condemned the forced ouster of President Zelaya as undemocratic and called the action taken against him a coup d'état.

Americas-based international organizations such as the Organization of American States, Mercosur, and the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas have also condemned the events. Over ten Latin American countries, as well as all European Union countries, agreed to withdraw their ambassadors from Honduras until Zelaya is returned to power.

• United Nations: A one-page resolution, passed by acclamation in the 192-member body, condemned the removal of Zelaya as a coup and demanded his “immediate and unconditional restoration” as president. The resolution calls "firmly and categorically on all states to recognize no government other than that" of Zelaya.

• Americas: The OAS called for an emergency meeting on Sunday, where it approved a resolution demanding "the immediate, safe and unconditional return of the constitutional president, Manuel Zelaya." Secretary General José Miguel Insulza called the situation "a military coup." On 4 July 2009, the OAS carried out a prior ultimatum by unanimously suspending Honduras.

• United States: The United States condemned the ouster of Zelaya and recognizes him as the only constitutional president of Honduras. Although U.S. officials have characterized the events as a coup, suspended joint military operations and all non-emergency, non-immigrant visas, and cut off certain non-humanitarian aid to Honduras, they have held back from formally designating Zelaya's ouster as a "military coup", which would require them to cut off almost all aid to Honduras. The United States subsequently warned the Micheletti government that it might not recognize the results of the November 29 elections if Zelaya was not allowed to return to power first, and ultimately indicated that the November election would not be recognized, persuading the Micheletti regime to refer Zelaya's return to the Honduran Congress.

• European Union: The European Union called on the Honduran military to release the president and restore constitutional order. All EU ambassadors left the country.

• The World Bank: World Bank President Robert Zoellick stated that the World Bank has "paused" all lending for development programs to Honduras, said to be around US$80 million for the next fiscal year.

• The nine members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas announced in a joint statement that they would not recognize any new government in Honduras.

• Caribbean: In a press release, CARICOM denounced the coup and voiced its concern over the treatment of Honduran and diplomatic officials during the coup. "The Caribbean Community condemns the military action which has interrupted the democratic process in Honduras and which contravenes the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The Community therefore calls for the immediate reinstatement of President Zelaya."

• The Association of Caribbean States condemned the coup in a statement and called for Zelaya's reinstatement. Additionally it stated, "we highlight our condemnation of the brutal treatment that Honduras military personnel gave to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Patricia Rodas as well as the Ambassadors of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. This situation is a serious violation of International law, and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."

• Mercosur and Paraguay: President of Paraguay and current president pro tempore of Mercosur Fernando Lugo condemned the coup and said that no member state of Mercosur will recognize a Honduran government that is not led by Manuel Zelaya. Lugo also called for those behind the coup to be punished by serving prison sentences.

• South American Union and Chile: Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, speaking on behalf of her government and UNASUR, condemned the coup.

• The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB): IADB President Luis Alberto Moreno stated that the IADB is pausing all new loans to Honduras until democracy is restored.

• The Central American Bank for Economic Integration: Central America's development bank says it is provisionally freezing credits to Honduras.

Reactions of individual countries are dealth with in the International reaction to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état.

External links

• Honduran Constitution (in Spanish)
• Supreme Court documentation of Zelaya prosecution (in Spanish)
• Armed Forces of Honduras Timeline of events with many scanned documents (in Spanish)
• English and Spanish versions of direct accounts from Honduran resistance to the coup

Images

• Unrest in Honduras slideshow by the Los Angeles Times
• Honduran Military Launches Coup by the Washington Post
• Honduras Coup Photos from Daylife
• Military Coup In Honduras slideshow by CBS News
• In Pictures: Honduran President Ousted by BBC News
• Honduras: Protests Against Presidential Coup slideshow by The Huffington Post

Video

• The Real News Network report with video featuring Zelaya stating: "The only position in Honduras that cannot be reelected is the president. But, reelection will be a topic of the coming National Constitutional Assembly." (subtitled, from 10:04-10:22)

Analysis

• In a Coup in Honduras, Ghosts of Past U.S. Policies by Helene Cooper, The New York Times, 29 June 2009.
• Honduras Against History: By Their Methods You Shall Know Them, by Jorge Majfud Political Affairs, 26 July 2009.
• What’s Behind the Honduras Coup? Tracing Zelaya’s Trajectory interview with Nikolas Kozloff, Democracy Now
• Totalitarian Rightists Put Orwellian Spin on Honduras Coup by John Nichols, The Nation, 2 July 2009
• In Honduras Coup, the Truth is as Strange as any 'Banana Republic' Fiction by Philip Sherwell, Daily Telegraph, 5 July 2009
• Why Honduras Sent Zelaya Away by Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal, 13 July 2009
• The Honduras Coup: Is Obama Innocent? by Michael Parenti, July 2009
• Waiting for Zelaya by Greg Grandin, The Nation, 28 July 2009
• The Millennium Challenge Corporation and Economic Sanctions: A Comparison of Honduras With Other Countries, Center for Economic and Policy Research, August 2009
• HONDURAS: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ISSUES, U.S. Congress, The Law Library of Congress, Directorate of Legal Research for Foreign, Comparative, and International Law, August 2009
• Honduras Election Study Mission