2009 Honduran constitutional crisis

The ongoing 2009 Honduran political crisis resulted from a non-binding referendum on changing the constitution proposed by President Manuel Zelaya but ruled illegal by the country's Supreme Court, attorney general, top electoral body, and human-rights ombudsman. Zelaya nonetheless asked the Army to distribute ballots in accordance with its role in conducting elections. After Army chief Romeo Vásquez Velásquez refused Zelaya dismissed him from office. The dismissal was declared illegal by courts and the parliament. On June 28 2009, shortly before polls were due to open for the referendum, the armed forces deposed Zelaya.

The armed forces of Honduras seized President Manuel Zelaya at his home, holding him at an airbase outside Tegucigalpa before flying him to Costa Rica. During the action, communications and electricity in the city were interrupted for about six hours. Government officials and other politicians suspected of loyalty to Zelaya have been detained. Later in the day the Honduran Supreme Court said that it had ordered the removal of the president.

Roberto Micheletti, the speaker of parliament and next in the Presidential line of succession was sworn in as President by the National Congress.

The Honduran government says that Zelaya was arrested in compliance with the constitution and that the succession has been a completely legal process as set out in Honduran laws, but no foreign governments have endorsed this view and many of them have described the events as a coup d'état. The General Assembly of the Organization of American States is scheduled to meet in a special session on Tuesday 30 June to discuss the situation.

Background

Manuel Zelaya was elected in 2005 for a non-renewable four-year term, as a member of the center-left Liberal Party. In April 2009, only one in four Hondurans approved Zelaya, the lowest approval rating of 18 regional leaders.

President Manuel Zelaya intended to hold a "nonbinding" public referendum on June 28, on whether to call a National Assembly to rewrite the constitution, to take place concurrently with this year's elections. It has been interpreted as a plan to allow his own re-election, something which is strictly forbidden, under pain of loss of office and even citizenship, by the current constitution. Supporters of the referendum argue that the constitutional reforms proposed were not about term limits but rather about the power in the country that international companies have and their tax immunity. Supporters of Zelaya allege that opponents' talk of term limits is a distraction from these issues.. Formally, the draft of the referendum would have asked voters whether they wanted to vote for the convening of a constituent assembly, which would be granted authority to rewrite the constitution of Honduras later this year.

The intended referendum was rejected by Congress, the attorney general, and the top electoral body, and ruled illegal by the Supreme Court, provoking a serious political crisis in the country. The National Congress passed a law forbidding holding referenda less than 180 days before the next general election; as the next elections are set for 29 November 2009, this invalidates the referendum bid. In addition, the Honduran Constitution expressly forbids amendments or reforms altering presidential terms or allowing re-election.

Congress had begun discussing how to impeach Zelaya but lacked a clear constitutional process to do so. Congress, including most of Zelaya's own party, had voted for an urgent investigation of whether Zelaya had violated the constitution and even whether he was "mentally incapable" to hold office. Zelaya responded to the congressional leader Roberto Micheletti, a member of the same party who has since been sworn in as President in his stead, by saying "What's with you, Roberto. I was elected by the people, not the congress. How would you make me ineligible, you're a lousy second-rate congressman who got your post because I gave you space in my party."

The military is in charge of security and logistics in elections in Honduras. Zelaya asked them to perform their election role for the referendum, but the head of the military command, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, refused the order to pass out the election materials because the referendum had been deemed illegal and unconstitutional. Zelaya subsequently removed him from his position but the Honduran Supreme Court ordered the General reinstated. Zelaya staged a protest at an air force base and led a citizen march to take possession of the referendum materials stored there, which were then guarded by the national police.

The Supreme Court, the Congress, and the military recommended that voters stay home because the referendum would be neither fair nor safe to voters. The National Human Rights Commissioner, Ramón Custodio, said "I would tell the people to stay calmly at home in order not to get involved in any incident or any violence by going to vote 'no,' because they might be assaulted by these mobs," referring to Zelaya's supporters. However, unions and farm groups supported the referendum as a necessary precursor to economic reforms favoring Honduras's poor majority.

Developments

The presidential residence was seized by military troops. A group of around 150 people that supported Zelaya gathered outside the building in protest, throwing stones at soldiers and shouting "traitors, traitors". According to the New York Times, "several thousand protesters supporting the (ousted) president faced off against soldiers outside the presidential palace, burning tires." For several hours on Sunday, electricity and communications in the capital Tegucigalpa had been interrupted.

Within several hours of his removal, Zelaya spoke to media in San José, Costa Rica, calling the events "a coup" and "a kidnapping." He stated that soldiers pulled him from his bed and assaulted his guards. Zelaya stated that he would not recognize anyone named as his successor, and that he wants to finish his term in office. He also stated that he will now be meeting with diplomats.

According to Venezuela's ambassador to the OAS, the ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua were taken into custody by the military and transported to the airport. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez stated that the Venezuelan ambassador was assaulted by Honduran soldiers and left by the side of a road.

Also, allies of Zelaya, among them several government officials, have been at least temporarily arrested by the military. Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas and the mayor of the city San Pedro Sula, Rodolfo Padilla Sunseri, have been detained at military bases. Several congressmen of the Democratic Unification Party (PUD) have been arrested, too, and their party's presidential candidate Cesar Ham allegedly hides in a secure location. Tomas Andino Mencias, a member of the party, reports that PUD lawmakers have been arrested by the military when they tried to enter the parliament building for the vote on Micheletti.

Later that day, the Supreme Court issued a statement that it had ordered the army to remove Zelaya from office. The Supreme Court stated "The armed forces, in charge of supporting the constitution, acted to defend the state of law and have been forced to apply legal dispositions against those who have expressed themselves publicly and acted against the dispositions of the basic law".

The National Congress has voted to accept what they claimed is Zelaya's letter of resignation, but Zelaya has said he did not write the letter. Later the Congress voted unanimously to remove Zelaya for "manifest irregular conduct" and "putting in present danger the state of law" and named the President of the National Congress as his successor.

Hugo Chávez and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez have both separately claimed that Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas has been detained by the Honduran military. Rodríguez said that the Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan ambassadors to Honduras had tried but were unable to protect Rodas from a group of masked soldiers who forcibly took her from their grasp. Rodas was sent to Mexico, which offered her asylum and help to resolve the situation.

Acting President Roberto Micheletti ordered a 48-hour curfew which began on Sunday night (June 28) and ends on Tuesday (June 30). The curfew will be held from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

On Sunday night, Reuters reported that hundreds of pro-Zelaya protesters, some masked and wielding sticks, set up barricades of chain link fences and downed billboards in the center of Tegucigalpa and blocked roads to the presidential palace. Reuters witnesses heard gunshots outside the presidential palace that apparently came after a truck arrived at the protest, and an ambulance also appeared. It was not clear who fired the shots. One witness said shots were fired only in the air and there were no initial reports of injuries.

Late at night on Sunday, June 28, Zelaya and Foreign Minister Rodas flew to Managua, Nicaragua, to attend a meeting the next day of the Central American Integration System. Also planning to attend the meeting were several heads of state of the Rio Group and ALBA including Hugo Chavez and Felipe Calderon.

Protests continued the following Monday. Around 1,500 pro-Zeyala protesters taunted soldiers and burned tires just outside the gates of the presidential palace in a face-off with security forces. CNN reported at the end of the day, however, that although the military had fired tear gas into the crowd at some point, the day was "generally calm" in Honduras.

International reaction

Every Latin American nation (besides Honduras), plus the United States, Spain, France, and others, have publicly condemned the forced removal of Zelaya as undemocratic and most have labelled it as a coup d'état. Amongst the many reactions, Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela, said that his nation will respond militarily if the Honduran military enters the Venezuelan embassy and that such an action would indicate a "de-facto state of war". President of Paraguay Fernando Lugo said that the coup participants belong in prison. Americas-based international organizations such as the Organization of American States, Mercosur, and the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas have also condemned the events. No nation has publicly declared support for the Honduran military's actions or for the new acting President Roberto Micheletti, with the exception of Honduras itself.

Reactions

• United Nations: Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon "expresses his strong support for the country's democratic institutions and condemns the arrest today of the constitutional President of the Republic," a U.N. spokesman said in a statement. "He urges the reinstatement of the democratically elected representatives of the country and full respect for human rights, including safeguards for the security of President Zelaya, members of his family and his government. He calls on all Hondurans to engage peacefully and in the spirit of reconciliation to resolve their differences. The Secretary-General welcomes the prompt diplomatic efforts of the Organization of American States, whose Permanent Council is holding a special meeting this morning. The United Nations stands ready to provide assistance in overcoming this crisis." The U.N. General Assembly meets in emergency session Monday afternoon to debate the political crisis.

• 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."

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

• The Association of Caribbean States condemned the coup in a statement and called for Zeyala'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.

• European Union: The European Union called on the Honduran military to release the president and restore constitutional order.

• Unasur and Chile: Chilean president Michelle Bachelet speaking on behalf of her government and Unasur condemned the coup and referred to Zelaya as "legitimately elected by the people".

• Antigua and Barbuda: Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer issued a statement denouncing the removal of Zelaya. "It was with shock and dismay that I received news of the forced removal of President Zelaya and the kidnapping of Foreign Affairs Minister Patricia Rodas and the temporary detention and mistreatment of the Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan Ambassadors." Spencer voiced his support for OAS Resolution 953, the ALBA condemnation of the coup d'etat, and called for the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of President Zelaya. He concluded his statement by calling upon the international community to reject the coup.

• Argentina: Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said: "I'm deeply worried about the situation in Honduras. It reminds us of the worst years in Latin America's history. We will demand that the OAS (Organization of American States) fully comply with the democratic charter that requires unconditional respect for democracy and, above all, the restoration of the Honduran president. I do not hesitate to call this a return to barbarity. All countries of the continent and the entire international community should demand the return of the democratically elected president."

• Bolivia: Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, condemned the military action. "To allow people to participate and decide the future of their country through their vote, it is not possible that some groups ignore this, including the military.".

• Brazil: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned Honduras military coup, considering it "unacceptable", and assured that his peer Jose Manuel Zelaya must return back to his post as the only condition to keep relations with this country. Celso Amorim, the Brazilian Minister of External Relations issued a press release "strongly condemning the military action that resulted in the ousting of the President of Honduras," urging for his "immediate and unconditional return to power," and expressing "solidarity with the Honduran people." the Brazilian ambassador in Honduras, who was on vacation in Brazil, was ordered not to return to Honduras.

• Canada: Peter Kent, the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), stated: "Canada condemns the coup d'état that took place over the weekend in Honduras, and calls on all parties to show restraint and to seek a peaceful resolution to the present political crisis, which respects democratic norms and the rule of law, including the Honduran Constitution. Democratic governance is a central pillar of Canada's enhanced engagement in the Americas, and we are seriously concerned by what has transpired in Honduras."

• Colombia: The Colombian government released a four point statement where they expressed profound concern by the break in constitutional order, rejected the removal by force of the democratically elected President Zelaya, called for the re-establishment of constitutional and legal order, and supported the actions of the OAS in its attempts to find democratic solutions for the crisis in Honduras.

• Costa Rica: In a joint press conference with Manual Zelaya, Costa Rican President Óscar Arias condemned the coup and said that it "indicates that democracy in Latin America and its institutions are fragile and vulnerable". Arias also said that Zelaya was personally in "good condition" and that Costa Rica was offering Zelaya "all the courtesies that he deserves".

• Cuba: The Cuban government condemned the coup d’état.

• Dominican Republic: "This coup d’état represents a step backwards because it violates the Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS)", says Leonel Fernández, President of Dominican Republic.

• Ecuador: Rafael Correa, the President of Ecuador, said he would not recognize any new government in Honduras.

• El Salvador: "(The Government of El Salvador) asks for the immediate restoration of the constitutional president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya", said Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes in a press conference. Funes also said that he had a telephone conversation with Zelaya, in which he expressed "solidarity" with the deposed Honduran president. The Salvadoran Minister of the Defense, David Munguía, said that the Salvadoran military will reinforce three border crossings between El Salvador and Honduras.

• France: The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "France firmly condemns the coup that has just taken place in Honduras. The arrests and expulsions of diplomatic envoys are a grave breach of the Vienna convention. They are unacceptable. The constitutional order must be restored at the earliest opportunity. France calls on all parties to act with respect for the principles and values of democracy."

• Germany: Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the arrest and exile of President Zeyala stating that it is "an act which violates the constitutional order of the Republic of Honduras. It is now vital for Honduras to swiftly return to law and order. I call upon the conflict parties to resume dialogue and to find a peaceful solution which takes due account of democracy and the rule of law."

• Guatemala: Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom said in a press conference that Guatemala "recognizes President Zelaya as the democratically chosen president". Colom said that he will discuss with fellow Central American presidents in Managua about how to restore democracy in Honduras.

• Jamaica: Foreign Minister Dr Ken Baugh, who is also Jamaica's deputy prime minister, said the removal of President Zelaya was in breach of the principles of respect for the rule of law, human rights and constitutional order. "The government of Jamaica maintains its full support for and recognition of President Zelaya and therefore calls for his immediate reinstatement.

• Mexico: The Mexican government condemned the arrest and forced exile of Zelaya to Costa Rica.

• Nicaragua: President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega invited Zelaya to come to Nicaragua and attend the Central American Integration System presidents' meeting. "Come here. We are not going to recognize any spurious, coup government that installs itself in Honduras. We will not recognize it," Ortega said.

• Norway: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the coup, and called on the legally elected government of Manuel Zelaya to be re-instated immediately in order for democracy to return in Honduras.

• Panama: The Panamanian government condemned the coup.

• Peru: José García Belaúnde, the Foreign Minister of Peru, said that his government "strongly condemns" the coup and will push for the re-establishment of democracy in Honduras.

• Russia: A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned Zelaya's overthrow and called it a "gross violation of basic democratic norms." Russia also welcomed the efforts by regional organizations and groups trying "to work out a solution within the framework of international law."

• Spain: A spokesperson for Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero released the following statement: "The head of the government expressed his strongest condemnation for the illegal detention and expulsion of the constitutional president of the Republic of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. The solution to any dispute must always be found through dialogue and respect for democratic rules. There is not, neither can there ever be, a solution to the Honduran crisis outside the country's constitutional framework."

• Switzerland: The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing its concern. It "urges those responsible to re-establish constitutional order and the rule of law. It calls for a democratic and peaceful resolution of the current crisis."

• United Kingdom: Chris Bryant, the British Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, said: "The UK condemns the expulsion of President Zelaya and calls for the restoration of democratic, constitutional government in Honduras. We support the Organisation of American States' call supporting the rule of law and are deeply concerned about the deployment of military personnel onto the streets of Tegucigalpa."

• United States: The United States recognizes ousted President Manuel Zelaya as the only constitutional president of Honduras. President Barack Obama said in a statement he was "deeply concerned" about the events. "I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter." In a written statement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "The action taken against Honduran President Mel Zelaya violates the precepts of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and thus should be condemned by all." Although U.S. officials have characterized the events as a coup, they have held back from formally designating it as such, which would require them to cut off almost all aid to Honduras.

• Uruguay: Vice President of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa condemned the coup and called for the re-establishment of democratic order in Honduras.

• Venezuela: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that the coup called for Obama to speak out because the US "has a lot to do" with what happens in Honduras. A few hours later, Chavez put his military on alert and said he would do everything necessary to abort the coup in Honduras if anything were to happen to its embassy. He also warned that if a new government was sworn in he would "bring them down".