OAS has given 72 hours for Zelaya to be re-instituted.
*facepalm*
Who in their right mind thinks that this is the peaceful, rational solution to solving this problem? Really, OAS? REALLY? That's your solution. An ultimatum? REALLY?
The city is going back to normal. There is no general strike. There is no public transport strike. There are no giant marches in favor of Zelaya. Is ANYONE at the OAS or the UN actually looking at the situation from the point of view of the people of Honduras?
Here's what it comes down to: To a large majority of people inside Honduras, the method of removal was wrong, but the fact that he is gone from power is right. I don't like these "the end justifies the means" situations, and that has me, and many people, conflicted.
And how do we (as peaceful citizens of a democratic country) come to terms with that? How does the international community work with that sentiment?
THAT is the main question here, I think. But really, issuing ultimatums and causing nerves and tension on an already exhausted population is not the way to go about it. We are being treated like unruly, ignorant school children. We have the right to decide for ourselves how to resolve this. We have the ability. We have the reasoning, the intelligence. The fact that we are being told "Take him back--or ELSE!" without looking at the population's view of the situation is offensive, belittling and infuriating.
And before anyone jumps to conclusions: I am NOT saying that the International community should mind its own business or stay the hell away. I am saying that they NEED to take the actual PEOPLE into consideration. Wasn't that what Zelaya claimed he was doing? Giving the people a voice? Let us have it. Please look at the entire picture. That's all we want.
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4 comments:
Fig-
Disregarding the supposition that everyone in Honduras agrees with you that it's better that Zelaya's gone, the whole "the ends justify the means" vibe seems fairly lame. Bush was not a popular president either, and I was not a fan at all, but It would have been unthinkable to have the armed forces somehow remove him before his term were over.
It bothers me as well, Doug. That's why I'm so conflicted. And then I consider the way that things are USUALLY taken care of here is to shoot your opponents first and ask questions later. A trial would have been infinitely better, but the chances that it would have happened with Zelaya here, with his supporters riled up by his presence are very, very slim. I think it would have been a disaster.
I guess the best thing I can say is that it could have been worse. Congress was wrong to wait for so long to raise charges against Zelaya, and they're paying the consequences.
The WSJ article I linked to on my last post suggests that Zelaya was asked to choose between safe conduct out of the country and a trial. I don't know if that is true (the big problem here is that both sides are lying) but it adds another dimension to the matter.
And...while I can see why you used Bush as an example...things are vastly different here. What are the chances that Bush would've gone ahead and conducted a vote on his own to decide to change the constitution, after the Supreme Court had ordered him not to?
Err...sorry that's kind of incoherent but it's been a very long day.
Thanks, that was a very fair reply, probably fairer than my initial comment merited. I understand that Mel was specifically prohibited by the SC and Congress while Bush, with Iraq and Torture, was definitely not. So yeah.. But was the offense so great, and would the referendum have really had any chance? Doesn't seem as if it would have..
I realize a lot of dumb shit has happened this week (Mel trying to fire Flores and Custodio from Panama, extra dumb!), but do you really think he couldn't come back as president and submit himself to a legal process so at least it finishes decently?
I feel bad and understand alot of Hondurans have just had it with all the crazy stuff, but when Honduras gets compared to Iran, that makes me sad, because it totally isn't.
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