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SPECIAL REPORTS -
Friday 08 January 2010 |
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HONDURAS:
Military
Chiefs Face 'Abuse of Power' Charges
By Thelma Mejía
TEGUCIGALPA (IPS) - As the Honduran Congress
prepares to vote next week on an amnesty for
both sides in the conflict triggered by the
Jun. 28 coup in which President Manuel
Zelaya was overthrown, the country's top
military chiefs have been charged with
"abuse of power" for their role in the
ouster.
Attorney General Luís Rubí filed arrest
warrants Wednesday for armed forces chief of
staff Gen. Romeo Vásquez, Air Force
commander Venancio Cervantes, Navy chief
Luis Javier Priand and two other top
generals for having Zelaya removed from his
home at gunpoint and put on a plane to Costa
Rica, still in his pajamas.
They also face charges of illegal
expatriation of a Honduran citizen.
The Supreme Court has three days to decide
whether to accept the charges and initiate a
case against the generals.
Although Zelaya's removal was widely
condemned by the international community,
including the Organisation of American
States (OAS), the European Union and the
United States, the coup government headed by
de facto President Roberto Micheletti - who
was next in line for the presidency, as head
of Congress - argue that it was part of a
constitutional transfer of power.
The series of events that culminated in the
coup were sparked by the left-leaning
Zelaya's attempt to hold a non-binding
referendum to ask voters whether they wanted
to elect a constituent assembly to rewrite
the constitution. The courts and Congress
declared the initiative unconstitutional,
and the Supreme Court issued a warrant for
the president's arrest - but not his exile.
Legal expert Roberto Velásquez said the
charges against the military chiefs simply
pave the way for them to be covered by the
political amnesty expected to be approved by
Congress next week.
The requirement of an amnesty for political
crimes was dropped from the U.S.-brokered
agreement signed by the two sides in late
October to put an end to the political
conflict.
One of the central points in the agreement,
the reinstatement of Zelaya - who snuck back
into the country in September and has been
holed up in the Brazilian embassy since then
- before his term was to end on Jan. 27 has
gone unfulfilled.
Latin America is split with respect to the
Nov. 29 elections, with some countries
refusing to recognise the results and others
congratulating president-elect Porfirio Lobo
on his landslide victory.
Velásquez told IPS that the amnesty will
also cover Zelaya and his associates "for
everything considered a political crime, but
not for common crimes," such as the
allegations of corruption faced by the
former president and his closest allies.
The analyst, who pointed out that the
amnesty was rejected in the negotiations by
both Zelaya and Micheletti, said the issue
"has emerged again in response to pressure
by the international community to create a
kind of 'forgive and forget' mentality in
the country that would allow the new
government of president-elect Porfirio Lobo
to initiate a process of internal
reconciliation and international
recognition."
The current head of Congress, Alfredo
Saavedra, told IPS that the country's
lawmakers are set to approve an amnesty "for
political matters, but not related common
crimes, because that would imply an
acceptance of impunity, which no one wants."
Armed forces chief of staff Gen. Vásquez
said he and his fellow officers were
prepared to go to court because "we respect
the law."
The question of a political amnesty has
generated controversy in this Central
American country for fear that it could be
used to cover crimes like corruption, abuse
of authority and violations of human rights
and free speech.
Innovation and Unity Party (PINU) legislator
Toribio Aguilera told IPS that "these
concerns have been discussed in Congress and
I can assure you that the amnesty will be
for strictly political matters and will not
cover common crimes, because we are tired of
so much impunity."
The charges against the military chiefs
coincided with a two-day visit by U.S.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
Western Hemisphere Affairs Craig Kelly, sent
to Honduras to press for efforts to
implement the agreement signed by the two
sides in October, in order to overcome the
marked polarisation and the political
crisis.
He met separately with Zelaya, Micheletti,
Lobo and business leaders as part of what
U.S. Embassy spokesman Michael Stevens
called an "intensive effort to achieve a
breakthrough agreement" that would put an
end to six months of isolation by the
international community.
Micheletti said Kelly had once again asked
him to step down before Lobo is sworn in on
Jan. 27, in order to gain wider
international recognition of the new
government. But the de facto leader,
complaining about "heavy pressure" that he
called a "lack of respect," said he had
refused.
He added, however, that "for the
tranquillity of Porfirio Lobo and the
international community, I won't attend the
presidential inauguration in the national
stadium; I will watch with my family from
the government house and when the new
president of Congress bestows the
presidential sash…I will leave the
government house with my family."
He added that "Leaving my post now would be
a violation of the constitution that we have
worked so hard to defend."
A U.S. Embassy statement said Kelly's visit
was aimed at "re-establishing the democratic
and constitutional order in Honduras and
promoting national reconciliation," as well
as the "expeditious formation of a
government of national unity and the
establishment of a truth commission" to
investigate responsibilities in the coup.
"Kelly stressed the United States' concern
about the deterioration of the economic
situation (in Honduras) and the importance
of normalising relations with the
international community," it added.
The communiqué also said Kelly had
"expressed the willingness of the United
States to work with President Lobo's new
government to help it meet the challenges it
faces once the Accord has been implemented."
For his part, Zelaya said Kelly's visit
reaffirmed U.S. interest in Honduras'
reinsertion into the concert of nations. But
he added that "the coup plot remains in
place; the coup has been consolidated. The
United States do not have the strength to
remove Micheletti because they are part of
the coup."
With regard to the charges against the armed
forces chiefs, the ousted leader told the
local press they were just "a trick, a
smokescreen to justify the amnesty…an
attempt to give the judiciary a whitewash."
But Lobo, who has suggested that Micheletti
resign and is calling for an amnesty to
boost national reconciliation, said "the
international community has asked for these
requisites in order to restore confidence in
Honduran society."
"Perhaps those who say they don't need (an
amnesty) are actually in greatest need of
it, but don't dare confess in public what
they say in private," he added.
The president-elect said that in
conversations with Micheletti, "he has
reflected on this aspect, and has shown
great willingness, but there are very
conservative groups around him that limit
his maneuvering room." |
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