Manuel Zelaya
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Manuel Zelaya | |
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President of Honduras Disputed | |
Assumed office 27 January 2006* | |
Vice President | Elvin Santos (2006-2008) Arístides Mejía (2008-2009) |
Preceded by | Ricardo Maduro |
Succeeded by | Roberto Micheletti* |
Personal details | |
Born | Catacamas, Honduras | 20 September 1952
Political party | Liberal Party |
Spouse | Xiomara Castro |
Alma mater | National Autonomous University of Honduras (Incomplete) |
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José Manuel Zelaya Rosales (born September 20, 1952) is a Honduran businessman and politician. He was the President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 to June 28, 2009. A son of a wealthy businessman, he finished high school but did not finish college. He inherited his father's title "Mel." Zelaya was involved in his ranch, logging and timber trade businesses. During his presidency, Zelaya lost the support of much of his own party.[1] He currently has an arrest warrant in Honduras.
Background
Zelaya was born to Manuel Zelaya Ordoñez and Hortensia Rosales Sarmiento.[2]
Zelaya was born the oldest of four children in Juticalpa, Olancho. He attended Niño Jesús de Praga y Luis Landa elementary school and the Instituto Salesiano San Miguel. He studied industrial engineering in The National University of Honduras (UNAH), but left after four years with 11 courses completed, in order to engage fully in the agri-forestry business sector. Two of his brothers remain alive, one is Carlos Armando and the other is Marco Antonio, while his mother, Ortensia Rosales de Zelaya, has been described as his best campaigner. He has engaged in various business activities, specifically timber and cattle, which were handed down to him by his late father. He is now a landowner in the department of Olancho. His family first lived in Copán, then they moved east to Olancho.
In 1987, Zelaya became manager of the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP), as well as the National Association of Wood Processing Enterprises.[3] The COHEP occupies a particularly important role in Honduran politics, as the Constitution delineates that the organization elects 1 of the 7 members of the Nominating Board that proposes members of the Supreme Court of Honduras.[4]
Horcones Massacre
In 1975, when Manuel Zelaya was 22 years old, his father Jose Manuel Zelaya, Sr. was convicted and later given amnesty for his involvement in the murder of a group of farmers and priests in the Los Horcones massacre.[5] The bodies of the murdered social activists were found on the Zelaya family's ranch Los Horcones, but the Zelayas have denied having been involved in the murders, claiming that it was a coincidence that the bodies were found on their property.
Political career
He joined the Liberal Party of Honduras (Partido Liberal de Honduras, PLH) in 1970 and became active a decade later. He was a deputy in the National Congress three consecutive times between 1985 and 1998. He held many positions within the PLH and was Minister for Investment in charge of the Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS) in a previous PLH government. During the government of Carlos Roberto Flores Zelaya introduced an Open counties programme to decentralize decision making and return power to the local communities. He used both the official division according to Municipality and another method which categorised people according to their indigenous or traditional communities, with said categorisation creating 297 different groups and he planned to revive this scheme during his presidency.[citation needed]
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In the 2005 presidential primaries, his faction was called the Movimienta Esperanza Liberal (MEL). He received 52% of the 289,300 Liberal votes, to 17% for Jaime Rosenthal Oliva and 12% for Gabriela NúÑez, the candidate of the Nueva Mayoría faction.[6] During the election campaign Zelaya promised to double police numbers from 9,000 to 18,000. He also promised to initiate a programme of re-education amongst the Mara Salvatrucha gangs.[citation needed]
Unrest
Zelaya's order to hold a non-binding poll of public opinion [7][8], sheltered in Article 5 of the "Law of Citizen Participation", generally referred to as a referendum by international media, led to a political crisis and a military coup against Manuel Zelaya. [9][10][11][12][13][14] The poll intended to assess the population's desire for a National Constituent Assembly. The Supreme Court of Honduras, Congress, the country's attorney general, and the supreme electoral tribunal opposed the poll. [15][16][17] Congress, including Zelaya's own party, began discussing how to impeach Zelaya.[18] A first instance court in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa deemed the poll unconstitutional, despite the government's claims that it was a non-binding opinion poll, and not a binding referendum about forms of government, presidential periods, re-election or Honduran territory, as Zelaya's opponents claimed. The Honduran Constitution forbids reforms to the articles in the Constitution that refer to these aspects, but it says nothing about the conformation of a National Constitutent Assembly, with a mandate to write a completely new constitution. Zelaya's non-binding opinion poll intended to ask Hondurans what they felt about including a fourth ballot box in November 2009's elections, to ask Hondurans if they wanted to conform such a National Constituent Assembly. This November referendum would have needed additional 2/3 of the votes in Congress in order to take place. This was the case he presented to the court, but his participation in the process was denied. Zelaya unwillingly complied with court orders revoking decrees PCM-005-2009, PCM-019-2009 and PCM-027-2009, which referred to the poll as a consultation. However, the judicial power never treated formally Zelaya's last decree PCM-020-2009, which explained that the Executive intended to perform a non-binding poll, which the Honduran Constitution does not forbid and is sheltered in article 5 of the "Law of Citizen Participation". Therefore, president Zelaya accused the court of judicial activism and violation of the Constitution. The crisis escalated when the court violated the principle of a unitary executive and ordered the head of the Honduran military staff, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez not to distribute the poll materials. When General Vásquez denied to distribute the materials, he was dismissed by president Zelaya. The case moved up the Honduran Supreme Court, which ruled the dismissal of General Vásquez unconstitutional. Days after, president Zelaya formalized decree PCM-020-2009 on 26 June.
The president was removed by the Army on June 28, 2009 and expatriated to Costa Rica, in accordance to the will of the Supreme Court and the Honduran Legislature as well as his own political party, something that has been confirmed by the legal advisor to the Honduran Armed Forces, Col. Bayardo Inestroza [19] The head of Congress Roberto Micheletti succeeded him formally, but no country has recognized the change in office.[20][21][22]
Presidency
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General opinions about his presidency were very divided by political, ideological, party and class lines, although by the time of his ouster in 2009, a CID/Gallup poll showed a meager 25% supported his tenure.[23]
People have expressed their opposition to both his foreign policy, particularly his alliance with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, friendship with Cuba's Raúl Castro and his adhering Honduras to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, as well as for his periodic attacks on the United States, and periodic confrontations with the business sector.
On February 22, 2008, Zelaya called on the United States to legalize drugs, in order, he said, to prevent the majority of violent murders occurring in Honduras. Cocaine smugglers have routinely used Honduras as a transit point between Colombia and the US. Honduras, with a population of 7 million, suffers an average of 8 murders a day, an estimated 70% of which result from the international drug trade. He also said that Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico face the same problem.[24]
On July 22, 2008, Zelaya revealed that he was seeking to incorporate the country into the ALBA. In fact, he said that the country had been "observer member" "four or more months".[25]
The Economist gave Zelaya mixed reviews for his first year in office, saying that "Despite success in fulfilling some of his campaign promises [...] Zelaya’s lack of a coherent programme has limited the government’s ability to address Honduras’s long-standing problems," and that "introducing far-reaching reforms will be difficult" in the face of vigorous opposition and "simmering social tensions."[26] At the time of his ouster, the newsmagazine said "Mr Zelaya's presidency has been marked by a rise in crime, corruption scandals and economic populism".[27]
In 2008, Zelaya's popular approval dropped amid the 2007–2008 world food price crisis and worsening drug-related violence that gave Honduras one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America. [28]
On April 1 2009, Zelaya announced desire to start monitoring all cellular phones in the country. The highly regarded National Committee for Human Rights (CODEH) has called the wiretapping "police terrorism", and has warned that they could lead to the formation of a national police state.[29]
Zelaya refused to give money to National Electoral Tribunal and the National Persons Registry, which oversee elections in Honduras. It is believed that the reason was to "financially asphyxiate the electoral process".[29]
Conflict with media
Since taking office in 2006, president Zelaya, has had a somewhat adversarial relationship with his country's large media outlets. Ownership of the news media in Honduras is highly concentrated: according to Inter Press Service, the vast majority of radio and TV stations, and print publications, are owned by just six families.[30]
According to a paper written by Manuel Orozco and Rebecca Rouse for the InterAmerican Dialogue think tank in the United States, the Honduran media operate as arms of political parties.[31] Honduran journalists say that most of the news media there are unabashedly partisan, allied with political parties and local power brokers.[32] The Orozco and Rouse report states that "One of the largest threats to Honduran democracy is the lack of independence of the Honduran media . . . The media have failed to fulfill their social function as government watchdogs, are controlled by business and political interests and do not practice fair reporting practices."
Zelaya complains that the main media outlets in Honduras are biased against him and do not provide coverage of what his government is doing: "No one publishes anything about me. . . . what prevails here is censorship of my government by the big media."[33]
On May 24, 2007, Zelaya ordered ten two-hour cadenas (mandatory government broadcasts) on all television and radio stations, "to counteract the misinformation of the news media."[34] The move, while legal, was fiercely criticized by the country's main journalists' union, and Zelaya was dubbed "authoritarian" by his opposition.[35] Ultimately, the broadcasts were scaled back to a one-hour program on the government's plans to expand telephone service, a half hour on new electrical power plants and a half-hour about government revenues. According to the University of New Mexico's electronic bulletin NotiCen, "Zelaya's contention that the media distort his efforts is not without merit," citing reports which gave the public the impression that murder rates were rising, when they actually fell by 3% in 2006.[34]
Journalists who have criticized Zelaya's rule have been murdered and harassed.[36] Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) and the United Nations criticized murders of journalists during Zelaya rule.[37] Other critical journalists, such as Dagoberto Rodriguez and Hector Geovanny Garcia, have been forced to exile because of constant murder threats.[38]
In 2008, The Organization of American States (OAS) accused Zelaya of imposing "subtle censorship" in Honduras. A study, "Censura sutil en Honduras: abuso de publicidad oficial y otras formas de censura indirecta", (Subtle Censorship in Honduras: Officially Public Abuse & Other Forms of Indirect Censorship) was released in September 2008.[39]
Constitution
President Zelaya came to international attention in June 2009 when he was overthrown and sent into exile. The crisis that led to his ouster centred around his efforts to change the 1982 Honduran Constitution. Those efforts were strongly opposed by some in Honduras; the forces behind his ouster justified their action on the grounds that Zelaya's efforts towards convening a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution were illegal. They alleged that his real motive was to increase his time in office; his term was due to end in January 2010 and the 1982 constitution prohibits presidents from serving a second term. Zelaya denied that his motive was to stay in office, stating that he intended to step down as scheduled in January 2010.[40]
Debate over changing the constitution began early in Zelaya's presidency. Central America report of 4 August 2006 stated that proposals were being made to reform some articles of the constitution. It did not say whether Zelaya was behind those proposals. It said that the proposals were causing "tension."[41]
Referendum
On November 11, 2008, Zelaya announced that he wanted a fourth ballot box installed at polling places for the upcoming November 29, 2009 general election – an addition to the usual three for Presidential, Congressional, and municipal candidates. The fourth ballot would be to ask voters whether they want to convene a National Constituent Assembly for the purpose of writing a new constitution. [29][42] Later, in March 2009, Zelaya announced that first he wanted to have a preliminary poll – he suggested 28 June 2009 as a date – to ask voters whether they wanted the fourth ballot to be included in the November 2009 election. On 24 March 2009, Zelaya issued executive decree PCM-05-2009 for the National Statistical Institute to hold the national referendum by June 28, 2009.[29] Zelaya has refused to publish the full text of PCM-05-2009.[29]
There has been considerable debate as to why Zelaya wanted to convene a constituent assembly. Article 373 of the Constitution states that the Constitution can be ammended by a two-thirds majority of the normal National Congress. Only eight articles can not be ammended in this fashion; they are specified in Article 374 of the Constitution and include term limits, system of government that is permitted, and process of presidential succession.[29] Because the president can amend 368 of 375 articles without any constituent assembly, some observers concluded that Zelaya's true intention was to extend his term of rule.[29]. In a newspaper interview shortly before his ouster, Zelaya stated that he had every intention of stepping down when his term ends in January 2010.[40] The Associated Press, citing Manuel Orozco of the Inter American Dialogue, said that "His [Zelaya's] campaign for changing the constitution has energized his support base of labour groups, farmers and civil organisations who have long felt marginalized in a country where a wealthy elite controls the media and much of politics."[43] Honduran political analyst Juan Ramon Martinez has argued that Zelaya is attempting to discredit democracy, "There appears to be a set of tactics aimed at discrediting institutions... he has repeated on several occasions that democratic institutions are worthless and that democracy has not helped at all".[29]
The Supreme Court in Honduras ruled that the referendum would be unlawful because of the constitutional ban on reforming some of its clauses.[44] Article 239 of the Honduran Constitution states — "No citizen that has already served as head of the Executive Branch can be President or Vice-President. Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform, as well as those that support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years."
Despite the opposition of the other branches of the government, Zelaya moved forward with his plan to hold a consultative poll on 28 June 2009. In Honduras it is a function of the military to assist with election logistics; accordingly, in late May 2009, Zelaya issued a request to the military to distribute ballot boxes and other materials for the poll. The chief of the military, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, refused to carry this out, however, saying that to do so would be illegal given the court's earlier pronouncements. In response, Zelaya dismissed Vásquez on 24 May. Subsequently, defense minister Edmundo Orellana and several other military commanders resigned in support of Vásquez. Both the Honduran Supreme Court and the Honduran Congress deemed the dismissal of Velásquez to be unlawful.[44][45] By 25 May, the military had deployed hundreds of troops around Tegucigalpa, to "prevent possible disturbances by popular and indigenous organisations that support Zelaya," according to the newspaper La Tribuna. The troops were deployed from the First Infantry Battalion, located 5 km East of the city, to the vicinity of the presidential residence in the West, and the airport, in the South.[46]
By this time, the United States and the OAS (Organization of American States) were expressing fears of a pending coup d'état.
There is some doubt, however, that Zelaya ever actually fired Vásquez. CNN news on 27 June reported that Zelaya on 24 June had said that he would fire Vásquez; but that on 26 June Zelaya said that he had never carried through on his threat and the general had not been fired. "I didn't do it," CNN quoted him as saying.[47]
Besides the Supreme Court, the Congress, the attorney general, and the top electoral tribunal declared Zelaya's proposed referendum to be illegal.[16][17][18] Congress began to discuss means to impeach Zelaya.[48] On June 27 and again on June 30, 2009, thousands of protesters opposed to Zelaya's rule marched through the capital city.[48]
On 26 June 2009, Zelaya and hundreds of supporters made a peaceful march to a military base to take possession of ballots to be used in the June 28th poll. They loaded boxes of ballots onto trucks and took them to the presidential palace, thus preventing them from being voided or destroyed by parties opposed to the poll.[47] Also on the 26th, according to the Associated Press, government supporters began distributing ballots to the 15,000 voting stations around the country.[44]
The Supreme Court, the Congress, and the military have recommended that voters stay home because the referendum would be neither fair to nor safe for voters. The National Human Rights Commissioner, Ramón Custodio, an opponent of Zelaya's, 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.[28]
Zelaya supported Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas in the 2008 presidential primaries. Some of their opponents said Rodas would become Zelaya's puppet until Zelaya's re-election in 2013.[2]
Coup d'état
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On June 28, 2009, President Zelaya was seized by soldiers, acting on the orders of the Honduran Supreme Court,[49] and taken to an air force base.[50][51] Honduran radio station HRN reported that Zelaya had been sent into exile. He was taken to Costa Rica, a neutral country.[52]
Following his ouster, Zelaya spoke to the media from his forced exile in San Jose and described the events as a coup and a kidnapping. He stated that soldiers pulled him from his bed and assaulted his guards. Zelaya stated that he will 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,[53] and plans to attend the Summit of Central American Presidents in Managua, Nicaragua to be held June 30, 2009.[54]
The National Congress unanimously voted to accept what they said is Zelaya's letter of resignation, but Zelaya said he did not write the letter.[55]
National Congress President Roberto Micheletti, the next person in the presidential line of succession, assumed the presidency following Zelaya's removal from office.[56] The National Congress approved Micheletti as interim president by a show of hands, although five members of the pro-Zelaya Democratic Unification Party were not allowed to vote.
Latin American nations, as well as the United States, Spain, France, and others, have publicly condemned the forced removal of Zelaya and many have labeled it as a coup d'état. U.S. President Barack Obama said, "We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the President of Honduras."[57][58] Hugo Chávez threatened to invade Honduras.[59] Venezuela has said it would suspend oil shipments, and Honduras's neighbors—El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua—announced that they would stop overland trade.[60] A one-page United Nations resolution, passed by acclamation in the 192-member body, condemned the coup and demanded his “immediate and unconditional restoration” as president.[61] The resolution calls "firmly and categorically on all states to recognise no government other than that" of Mr Zelaya.[62]
See also
References
- ^ Profile: Honduras' Manuel Zelaya
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ "Manuel Zelaya", Encyclopaedia Britannica http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1108289/Jose-Manuel-Zelaya-Rosales
{{citation}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ Constitution of Honduras, Article 301
- ^ [2]
- ^ U.C. San Diego Library, Latin American election results.
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ "Honduras Lurches Toward Crisis Over Election".
[...] wants to hold a referendum on Sunday [...]
- ^ "Honduran leader forced into exile".
His arrest came just before the start of a referendum ruled illegal [...]
- ^ "Honduran President Ousted by Military".
After Congress declared the Sunday referendum illegal [...]
- ^ "Honduran leader defies top court".
He wants to hold a referendum on Sunday [...]
- ^ "Honduras supreme court 'ordered army coup'".
[...] in recent days ahead of today's planned referendum [...]
- ^ "Honduran president calls arrest a 'kidnapping'".
Zelaya was detained by army troops early Sunday, shortly before he was to have held a controversial referendum [...]
- ^ "Honduran president seeks exile". Al Jazeera. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ a b ALBA bloc leaders' main obsession: indefinite rule Cite error: The named reference "alba" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b Honduras Lurches Toward Crisis Over Election Cite error: The named reference "wsj1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b "Honduras Crisis Opens Regional Rift". Cite error: The named reference "wsj2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Bayardo Inestroza Ejercito Violo la Ley".
- ^ "Honduran Congress names provisional president". CNN. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ "New Honduran government under pressure to quit". UTV News. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ "Comunicado del Buró de Coordinación del Movimiento de Países No Alineados sobre la situación creada como resultado del golpe de Estado militar contra el Presidente constitucional de la República de Honduras". MNOAL. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ AngusReid, President Zelaya Drops to 25% in Honduras
- ^ "Zelaya sugiere a EUA legalizar drogas". La Prensa (in Spanish). February 23, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ [5]
- ^ "Honduras politics: Mixed report card for Zelaya". Economist Intelligence Unit. May 10, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ [6]
- ^ a b Weissert, Will (June 27, 2009). "Honduran leader pushes ahead with divisive vote". The Miami Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h 21st Century Socialism Comes to the Honduran Banana Republic. Council on Hemispheric Affairs
- ^ "Honduras: Government advertising allocation as 'subtle censorship'", IPS via Soros Foundation and Open Society Justice Initiative, October 2008; retrieved July 2009.
- ^ "Honduras new government is censoring journalists", Miami Herald, 1 July 2009; retrieved July 2009
- ^ "In Honduras, One-sided News of Crisis", Washington Post, 9 July 2009; retrieved July 2009.
- ^ IPS, October 2008, op cit., about 2/3 of the way down. Retrieved July 2009.
- ^ a b "HONDURAS' PRESIDENT TAKES ON MEDIA MOGULS FOR ACCESS TO THE PEOPLE". Access my library. 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ Grant, Will (May 25, 2007). "Honduras TV gets government order". BBC News. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ Journalist murdered following threats, government harassment of critical radio station
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ Honduras: Government advertising allocation as 'subtle censorship'
- ^ a b "Honduran President Ousted by Military", Carin Zissis, Council of the Americas, 28 June 2009; the interview was conducted with the newspaper El País.
- ^ Central America Report, excerpted in University of California at San Diego libraries, "Latin American elections statistics", start of 2006 section; retrieved July 2009.
- ^ "Zelaya Leadership Analysis". Honduras News. 2009-05-29.
- ^ "Honduras heads toward crisis over referendum", AP via Yahoo, 26 June 2009; retrieved July 2009.
- ^ a b c Cuevas, Freddy (June 26, 2009). "Honduras heads toward crisis over referendum". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ "Honduran leader defies top court". BBC News. June 26, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ The quote and other material are from [htp://www.latribuna.hn/web2.0/?p=12187 "Militares se despliegan en capital hondureña en medio de agitación politica"], La Tribuna, 25 June 2009; retrieved July 2009.
- ^ a b "Honduras president: Nation calm before controversial vote" CNN, 27 June 2009; retrieved July 2009.
- ^ a b Luhnow, David (June 27, 2009). "Honduras crisis opens regional rift". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ "Leader's Ouster Not a Coup, Says the Honduran Military".
- ^ Flores, Alex (June 28, 2009). "Presencia de nicas y venezolanos en Honduras aceleró captura de Zelaya". El Heraldo (in Spanish). Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ "Secretary: Soldiers arrest Honduran president". Yahoo News. Associated Press. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ Cuevas, Freddy (June 28, 2009). "Honduran military sends president into exile". Toronto Star. Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Honduran president calls arrest a 'kidnapping'". The Washington Post. Associated Press. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ "Exiled Zelaya insists he is rightful Honduran president". Yahoo News. Agence France-Presse. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ Weissert, Will (June 28, 2009). "Honduran military ousts president ahead of vote". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Bremer, Catherine (June 28, 2009). "Q+A: Honduras president ousted in military coup". Reuters. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Obama says coup in Honduras is illegal". Reuters. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
{{cite web}}
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missing|last=
(help) - ^ "Obama Says Coup in Honduras Would Set a "Terrible Precedent"". ABC News. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
{{cite web}}
:|first=
missing|last=
(help) - ^ Venezuela's Chavez threatens invasion of Honduras
- ^ "Two Hondurans Headed for Clash". Washington Post. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
{{cite web}}
:|first=
missing|last=
(help) - ^ "U.N. Backs Ousted Honduran Leader". The New York Times. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ "UN backs Honduras leader's return". BBC News. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- UN Backs Manuel Zelaya, Ousted Honduran Leader by Will Weissert, The Huffington Post, June 30 2009
- Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Discusses Coup, Costa Rica Talks, U.S. Role - video by Democracy Now!