SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Deal Could Lead to Reinstatement of Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya
Agreement to create power-sharing government paves way for return of leader ousted in military coup
Oct 30, 2009
The interim government of Honduras
yesterday appeared to have succumbed to international pressure as it
agreed a deal that could pave the way for the return of the country's
deposed president, Manuel Zelaya.
Victor Rico, the secretary of
political affairs at the Organisation of American States, said an
agreement had been reached to leave an opening for the reinstatement of
Zelaya - ousted in a military coup in June - by creating a
power-sharing government.
He did not reveal the text of the agreement, but called it "a beneficial accord for Honduras and Honduran democracy".
Zelaya yesterday said he was "optimistic I will be restored to the presidency".
The
interim president, Roberto Micheletti, said the accord would leave
Zelaya's fate in the hands of the supreme court and congress.
Zelaya's
envoys had accused Micheletti of dragging out talks to run down the
clock to 29 November, when elections to choose a new president are due
to take place.
Soldiers arrested the leftwing leader,
who was in his pyjamas, in June, taking him to Costa Rica on a plane.
The president had angered congress, the supreme court and his own party
by allying with the Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez.
He
returned to Honduras last month and has tried to muster support for his
reinstatement from a refuge at the Brazilian embassy, which is
surrounded by troops.
Zelaya has been backed almost unanimously
by the international community, which has also criticised the de facto
Honduran authorities for crackdowns on protesters and the media.
This
week's breakthrough followed renewed pressure from senior US officials,
who travelled to Honduras in an attempt to end the crisis.
"This
is a great moment for Honduras, and its people should be proud that
Hondurans have achieved this accord," Tom Shannon, the US assistant
secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, said.
Micheletti
called the pact a "significant concession" on his part and said one of
its provisions required foreign powers to drop sanctions, reverse aid
cutoffs imposed after the coup, and send observers to the elections.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The interim government of Honduras
yesterday appeared to have succumbed to international pressure as it
agreed a deal that could pave the way for the return of the country's
deposed president, Manuel Zelaya.
Victor Rico, the secretary of
political affairs at the Organisation of American States, said an
agreement had been reached to leave an opening for the reinstatement of
Zelaya - ousted in a military coup in June - by creating a
power-sharing government.
He did not reveal the text of the agreement, but called it "a beneficial accord for Honduras and Honduran democracy".
Zelaya yesterday said he was "optimistic I will be restored to the presidency".
The
interim president, Roberto Micheletti, said the accord would leave
Zelaya's fate in the hands of the supreme court and congress.
Zelaya's
envoys had accused Micheletti of dragging out talks to run down the
clock to 29 November, when elections to choose a new president are due
to take place.
Soldiers arrested the leftwing leader,
who was in his pyjamas, in June, taking him to Costa Rica on a plane.
The president had angered congress, the supreme court and his own party
by allying with the Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez.
He
returned to Honduras last month and has tried to muster support for his
reinstatement from a refuge at the Brazilian embassy, which is
surrounded by troops.
Zelaya has been backed almost unanimously
by the international community, which has also criticised the de facto
Honduran authorities for crackdowns on protesters and the media.
This
week's breakthrough followed renewed pressure from senior US officials,
who travelled to Honduras in an attempt to end the crisis.
"This
is a great moment for Honduras, and its people should be proud that
Hondurans have achieved this accord," Tom Shannon, the US assistant
secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, said.
Micheletti
called the pact a "significant concession" on his part and said one of
its provisions required foreign powers to drop sanctions, reverse aid
cutoffs imposed after the coup, and send observers to the elections.
The interim government of Honduras
yesterday appeared to have succumbed to international pressure as it
agreed a deal that could pave the way for the return of the country's
deposed president, Manuel Zelaya.
Victor Rico, the secretary of
political affairs at the Organisation of American States, said an
agreement had been reached to leave an opening for the reinstatement of
Zelaya - ousted in a military coup in June - by creating a
power-sharing government.
He did not reveal the text of the agreement, but called it "a beneficial accord for Honduras and Honduran democracy".
Zelaya yesterday said he was "optimistic I will be restored to the presidency".
The
interim president, Roberto Micheletti, said the accord would leave
Zelaya's fate in the hands of the supreme court and congress.
Zelaya's
envoys had accused Micheletti of dragging out talks to run down the
clock to 29 November, when elections to choose a new president are due
to take place.
Soldiers arrested the leftwing leader,
who was in his pyjamas, in June, taking him to Costa Rica on a plane.
The president had angered congress, the supreme court and his own party
by allying with the Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez.
He
returned to Honduras last month and has tried to muster support for his
reinstatement from a refuge at the Brazilian embassy, which is
surrounded by troops.
Zelaya has been backed almost unanimously
by the international community, which has also criticised the de facto
Honduran authorities for crackdowns on protesters and the media.
This
week's breakthrough followed renewed pressure from senior US officials,
who travelled to Honduras in an attempt to end the crisis.
"This
is a great moment for Honduras, and its people should be proud that
Hondurans have achieved this accord," Tom Shannon, the US assistant
secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, said.
Micheletti
called the pact a "significant concession" on his part and said one of
its provisions required foreign powers to drop sanctions, reverse aid
cutoffs imposed after the coup, and send observers to the elections.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.