The ousted president of Honduras talks to FIONUALA CREGANabout the coup d'etat that led to his removal and his vision of the country's future
‘For over 100 days, I and the people of Honduras, have been defending democracy and fighting against the return of militarisation in the region. My return to the Presidency is to be a symbolic statement to send a strong message to the perpetrators of the coup d’etat that we do not accept the resurgence of violence and human rights abuses in Central America and that we stand firm in our defence of democracy and peace,” President Manuel Zelaya told The Irish Times in an interview from his refuge in the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa shortly after negotiations with representatives of the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti broke down.
With almost 95 per cent of an agreement reached, the last minute failure of talks hours before the deadline set by Mr Zelaya of midnight October 15th represents a major set back in the possibility of finding a negotiated solution to what represents the worst political crisis in Central America in years.
President Zelaya was ousted from power on June 29th this year during a pre-dawn raid on his home by military forces. Still in his pyjamas and in an event he claims was designed to “humiliate and damage him” he was exiled to Costa Rica. The leader of the congress, Roberto Micheletti, was sworn in as president amid widespread condemnation from the international community, including US president Barack Obama and the European Union which suspended its aid to the nation programme worth €60 million.
After several failed attempts to return to Honduras, the ousted president eventually managed to travel undercover from El Salvador to the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa almost one month ago where the Brazilian Government granted him permission to stay and negotiate his return to serve out the remaining three months of his term in office.
Taken by surprise, the coup government’s initial reaction was to temporarily suspend civil liberties, violently repressing the demonstrations in support of Mr Zelaya which had gathered around the embassy.
At least three people were killed and hundreds more injured while media outlets which supported the resistance movement were closed down by force.
As international pressure began to mount and the prospect of sanctions loomed as the UN Security Council met to discuss the Honduras crisis, a round of negotiations was opened up with the October 15th deadline for agreement.
The problem with the negotiations, Mr Zelaya said is that the “de facto government refuses to acknowledge that they interrupted a democratic process and carried out a coup. Until they recognise this, it will not be possible to reach any form of agreement such as that proposed by the Organisation of American States and others.
“What we are facing is a crisis of abuse of authority by a military regime which came to power through violence. In the past 100 days, 100 Hondurans have been killed during public demonstrations, innocent people who have been calling for a return to democracy.
“Three thousand more people have been arrested for the same reason. If things continue in this way, what we will see in Honduras is a situation of greater instability and increased poverty and social exclusion.
“What the de facto government wants is a solution to this crisis which will grant them impunity for their blood thirsty actions,” he says while reiterating that he has returned to Honduras to prove his innocence.
“I have absolutely nothing to be afraid of, I have done nothing wrong. History will soon reveal and judge the lies of the de facto government.”
While the leaders of the coup justify its actions in ousting Mr Zelaya from power on the grounds that he was seeking to change the nation’s constitution to run for a second term in office, there is little evidence to back up this accusation.
A non-binding referendum on whether to convene a special assembly to reform the constitution had been scheduled for June 29th, the day of the coup. However not only was there no mention of extending presidential terms in the proposal but there was also no plans to begin the process before national elections in November.
Similar constitutional reform has taken place under progressive governments in Latin America such as those of Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Evo Morales in Bolivia and are seen as a major step in challenging social and racial inequalities and breaking away from a series of economic policies which have historically benefited only small elite.
“To say that I wanted to return to power is absolutely false,” said Mr Zelaya, “I never planned to stay even one extra day in power. This is a lie created by the media machine of the economic elite in Honduras.”
When asked if a new round of negotiations will resume, the president said: “I want an agreement to be reached as soon as possible. This is what the Honduran people want – a return to democracy, to respect for human life and freedom of expression, to a situation where the voices of the people are the legitimate sources of power, not guns, not the military and not violence.”