The United States naval force is keeping a sharp eye out on Iran Naval capacity and ability. The United States is currently studying Iran Naval capacity even more aggressively. They acknowledge that Iran is planning to expand its naval reach. They also acknowledge that Iran Naval forces is the bulk of there defenses. The recent United resolution will leave an open door for those who want to use military means as an option. The recent study of Iran Naval capablities is another sign that the United States military will target Iran Naval forces. The small qoute below describes United States naval understanding of Iran capabilities.
Outlook Subtnarines be equipped with torpedoes, naval mines, and Submarines will probably remain a key feature missiles. According to Iran, the QA'EM will of Iran's naval order of battle. Iran is the only be capable of carrying out both defensive and country in the Persian Gulf region with sub- offensive operations. marines, and Iranian naval leaders have stated publicly that they believe submarines are a bet- Additionally, the IRIN Commander, Rear ter value than other weapons systems. The late Admiral Sayyari, announced the production Rear Admiral A.shkbus Daneh-Kar wrote that of a submarine of more than 1,000 tons. This Iran "calculated the deterrent value of subma- may be yet another submarine for the IRIN in rines--submarines could, on a purely self- addition to the QA'EM. sufficient basis, detect surprise attacks launched from far distances and abort them."12 Surface Ships In keeping with this focus on submarines, in August 2008 Iran reported that the Ministry of Defense's Marine Industries Organization inaugurated the production line of the QA'EM-class submarine, reportedly a 450-ton submarine. Iran has stated that this new generation submarine will be built in Iran and will Model of a QA'EM-class coastal ,ubruari,,"I Iran has constructed what it calls the MO\\jclass destroyer-in fact a corvette-that, once accepted into service, will probably be employed in the IRlN's operating area in the Gulf of Oman. More construction of larger ships has occurred in the Caspian. Iran announced that it began a production line of the MO\\j-2 at Bandar Anzali. Also in the Caspian, Iran has built four copies of its COMBATTANTE II-class guided missile patrol boat. These construction programs demonstrate Iran's ability to produce mid- to large-size ships. Coupled with Iran's continuing interest in self-sufficiency, these ship-building programs will likely be followed by others. The IRIN is also retrofitting older surface combatants with upgraded weapons systems. 12Dane/z-Km; .AJ"/zlbl/J; Re(ff .Admiral, "Operational Doctn"ne qftlzeJlao/ qft/ze hlamic Republic qf lrrm, "Sqff, iJ"we}/o. 238, Pi'- 10-12 24 For example, in 2008 Iran announced that it had installed missiles on one of its patrol craft, turning it into a guided missile patrol craft. Iran also substantially upgraded the PF-103- class patrol ship NAGHDI with missiles. This type of retrofitting will allow the IRIN to extend the usefulness of its aging fleet. In contrast to the IRIN, the IRGCN has concentrated on acquiring and developing small, fast boats, some lightly armed and others armed with missiles and torpedoes, and will probably continue this trend. Weapons Naval modernization is one of Iran's highest military priorities and the country continues to focus on weapons acquisition and development programs. Programs of interest include expanding inventories of existing weapons systems and increasingly sophisticated systems. Weapons, such as the Hoot supercavitation high-speed missile torpedo, may be proliferated throughout the Iranian naval inventory, as will longer range anti-ship cruise missiles, such as the Ra'ad. Finally, given the importance of mining to Iranian naval strategy, some effort will continue in this area as well. Changes in Strategy Iran's naval forces are unlikely to make wholesale changes to their naval strategy. However, it is clear that Iran will modify its strategy when appropriate. Rear Admiral Daneh-Kar noted that Iranian planners would review and revise their operational doctrine based on lessons learned from past and current operations, as well as on the capabilities of new weapons systems entering the service. He continued, "We cannot develop the Navy's operational doctrine in isolation."13 Recent activity bears witness to some of this adaptation. IRIN commander Rear Admiral Sayyari has stated that the IRIN will push operations further out into the Gulf of Oman and even the Indian Ocean to protect Iran's maritime interests, and, as mentioned earlier, Iran claims its naval forces are conducting extended patrols. A decade hence may see more frequent IRIN patrols in the north Arabian Sea or Indian Ocean. To support this, the IRIN has a plan to establish new naval bases along the Gulf of Oman by 2015 and strengthen its presence outside the Strait ofHormuz. The IRGCN will likely continue to patrol and operate inside the Persian Gulf, a place where Rear Adru.iralHabibollah Sayyari, COIllIllander of the IRIN, in front of a poster depicting IRIN naval platfoTIlls HDanelz-Km; .AJ"/zlbuJ" Nar .Admiral, "OpnationaiDoctnne iftlze )lacy if the hlamic Republic if fTan, "Sqff, iJ"J"/uJIo. 235, Pi'- 32-35. 25 its asymmetric tactics and numerous platforms are at an advantage. However, its modernization efforts may provide it with more sophisticated platforms. Conclusion «The countries if this region have a sensitive strategic and geopolitical situation and the Islamu Republic if Iran can play a considerable role among these countries. » General Mohammad-Baqer ,<:plqadr Former Deputy Commander Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Iran sees itself as a regional power, and its naval forces, the IRIN and the IRGCN, plan to support this view as they work to expand both their weapons inventories and their capabilities. According to Iranian officials, "extra-regional" forces are neither welcmne nor necessary in the waterways ofthe Middle East, and the Iranian armed forces have "proven during these 30 years of the revolution that they are ready to defend the territory of their country."14
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Brazil has sparked debates and observations all over the world as Luis Inacio Lula de Silva shows the real possibilities of a new, multipolar world. Brazil is becoming a real example of diplomacy, and of course the major powers are angry. Lula defends Iran's nuclear rights and is calling on Western powers to dump the idea of cornering Iran with threats. The question is if the world powers are willing to listen to Lula's advice.
The Honduras situation hasn't changed and in fact the United States Empire has strengthened the Latin American countries stance against imperialism. Every country in the continent of Latin America and the Caribbean are noticing the United States attacks on democracy. The United States diplomatic chess move on Honduras has failed and its imperial attempt in Afghanistan has failed. This so called "democracy" chess move is a disguise of the empire.
http://hondurasenlucha.blogspot.com/
Honduras: isolated, de factos prepare for vote Submitted by WW4 Report on Tue, 11/24/2009 - 22:59. Guatemalan foreign minister Haroldo Rodas announced Nov. 21 that Guatemala was not going to recognize the general elections to be held in Honduras Nov. 29 under the de facto regime installed after the June 28 removal of President Manuel Zelaya. He added that Guatemala would not send observers to the elections. Spain is also planning not to send observers because it "cannot support" elections under these conditions, foreign ministry sources told the Spanish wire service EFE Nov. 21.
Many Latin American governments have rejected the plan to proceed with the elections, although it is supported by the US. The presidents of two of the nations with the largest economies—Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner—confirmed on Nov. 18 that their governments would not recognize the elections if they are held under the coup regime. Ecuador has the same position, according to Foreign Minister Fander Falconí. Organization of American States (OAS) general secretary José Miguel Insulza has said that that organization can't send observers because the representatives of Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela indicated at a special meeting at the beginning of November that their governments wouldn't recognize the elections.
Despite the boycott, a delegation of 250 election observers has been put together. It will include two former center-right Latin American presidents: Vicente Fox Quesada of Mexico (2000-2006) and Alejandro Toledo of Peru (2001-2006). The main Guatemalan business group, the Committee of Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF), has agreed to participate. (Vos el Soberano, Honduras, Nov. 21 from EFE; ADN.es, Spain, Nov. 21 from EFE; Radio YVKE Mundial, Venezuela, Nov. 22; Reuters, Nov. 18)
On Nov. 20 Esdras Amado López, director of the Cholusat Sur Canal 36 television station, said his channel was "off the air because its signal has been interrupted with a signal from a parallel transmitter" playing "pornographic films and some westerns." "[T]errorists paid by the government of [de facto president Roberto] Micheletti" are responsible, according to López. He wrote National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) head Miguel Angel Rodas asking for his "immediate attention to an extremely delicate matter taking place in the moment during which Honduras is getting ready to be present at an electoral process in which freedom of the press is an important bastion for legitimizing the process."
Canal 36 and Radio Globo are the two largest broadcast media that have opposed the coup. The de facto government shut down both of them temporarily in the first days of the coup. (EFE, Nov. 20; Vos el Soberano, Nov. 20; Honduras Coup 2009 blog, Nov. 20)
On the weekend of Nov. 21 the Committee of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees in Honduras (COFADEH), one of the country's leading human rights organizations, warned of a deterioration in the human rights situation as the elections approached. COFADEH reported that there was an unusual deployment of soldiers, police agents and paramilitary groups in the country and that the military had acquired new equipment, including an armored car, a powerful water cannon and a chemical that would enable the authorities to identify anyone hit by the water for 48 hours. The group called for the international community to stay on alert about the situation. (Vos el Soberano, Nov. 22 from Defensoresenlinea.com; Prensa Latina, Nov. 22)
http://ww4report.com/node/7999
The recent developments show Mexico former president Vicente Fox supporting the Honduras coup. This should be condemned immediately and the people of Mexico should hold massive solidarity protest with the people of Honduras. In 2006 a leftist running president election was stolen by the corrupt Mexican government. The leftist candidate has publicly suggested that his country is being controlled by a mafia. The Mexican people should hold massive protest based on election fraud in their own home country and in solidarity with Honduras. They both have something deeply in common when it comes down to democracy.
It recent day's the government of Luis Fortuno has decided to break ties with Venezuela. All news media sources mostly controlled by the United States or waging a propaganda war against the popular Chavez. Below there links to different article's and youtube videos of the propaganda. I denounce the media campaign against my brother Chavez and will personally see that we intesify our operations against the propaganda. Paz.
http://pr.indymedia.org/news/2009/11/40136.php
Gobierno lanza campaña sucia contra la disidencia ...y contra Chávez por Guillermo Morejón Flores Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 at 1:52 AM g.morejon88@hotmail.com
La inagotable ridiculez e ineptitud propia del provincialismo político que caracteriza a nuestro gobierno colonial ha movido a sus voceros a poner las miras de su esperpéntica campaña difamatoria, sobre un blanco inesperado: el Presidente de la República Bolivarianda de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez.
Gobierno lanza campa...
Tras poco menos de un año de haber sido electo con una mayoría avasalladora, el gobernador colonial de turno en Puerto Rico, abogado corporativo y republicano Luis G. Fortuño Burset y su gobierno han desatado una campaña sucia en contra los sectores que luchan ante el tsunami (que no oleada) de políticas neoliberales que le han ido cayendo arriba al pueblo puertorriqueño y que en enero de 2010 habrá logrado dejar en la calle a más de 25,000 empleados públicos. Su mayor logro, cosa que no es fácil: aglutinar a la gran mayoría del país en contra del gobierno ―el nivel de aprobación de Fortuño actualmente es de menos del 30%―, en pie de lucha y de camino a la huelga general. Y José Figueroa Sancha, Superintendente de la Policía de Puerto Rico, ex Director del FBI en San Juan y escogido por Fortuño, ha demostrado ya en más de una ocasión su disposición a ejercer la represión contra las manifestaciones del pueblo. En éste marco de total desprestigio, los medios de comunicación de mayor alcance se han hecho eco de la campaña sucia del gobierno, criminalizando y demonizando sistemáticamente al estudiantado y la juventud en general, al independentismo, los movimientos sociales y a los trabajadores, a quienes el gobierno amenazó el pasado 15 de octubre, día en que hubo un paro nacional, con acusar de terrorismo tal como se contempla en la llamada “Acta Patriota”, o Patriot Act, infame ley antiterrorista aprobada por el gobierno de Bush al calor de los ataques del 11 de septiembre de 2001.
Como si no bastara con las declaraciones del Secretario de Estado, Kenneth McClintock, en las que afirmó que el paro nacional del 15 de octubre no eral realmente un «paro nacional», propiamente dicho, más bien se trataba de un paro “estatal, territorial, insular” puesto que “aquí no va a haber nadie en Cincinnati ni en Seattle parando labores”; la inagotable ridiculez e ineptitud propia del provincialismo político que caracteriza a nuestro gobierno colonial ha movido a sus voceros a poner las miras de su esperpéntica campaña difamatoria, sobre un blanco inesperado: el Presidente de la República Bolivarianda de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez.
Los medios masivos han redoblado las “noticias” contra el líder venezolano con las consabidas acusaciones de “guerrerista”, de dictadorzuelo autócrata, de Venezuela como un narco-Estado corrupto. Entre esos medios, los dos periódicos de mayor tirada del país: “El nuevo día” y “Primera hora”, ambos pertenecientes a la familia Ferrer, tradicionalmente ligada al Partido Nuevo Progresista ―que actualmente ostenta el poder― desde sus inicios. En la pantalla chica, Univisión (canal 11) y la NBC (canal 2) hacen acto de presencia en ésta carnavalesca comparsa anti-chavista. Y el programa noticioso del canal del Estado (canal 6) haría lo propio, de no haber sido eliminado recientemente por el gobernador Fortuño y sus recortes presupuestarios.
¿Pero cómo se logra entremezclar e implicar a Hugo Chávez en el ascendente desprestigio del gobierno colonial? Goebbels se sonrojaría. El 18 de noviembre, con acusaciones que evocan a la época del Libertador, Simón Bolívar, cuando el gobierno colonial ―entonces español― acusaba al independentismo puertorriqueño de ser un germen importado de Venezuela; el senador anexionista y de origen cubano Roberto Arango declaró ante la prensa tener pruebas de que el gobierno venezolano está financiando a grupos disidentes dentro del país. Declaró, además, que tiene intenciones de redactar una resolución en el Senado de Puerto Rico solicitándole al Presidente de los EE.UU., Barack Obama y a la Secretaria de Estado, Hillary Clinton el considerar la posibilidad de cerrar el consulado venezolano en la Isla con motivo de la supuesta financiación a grupos disidentes. “Crear inestabilidad política y crear anarquía en Puerto Rico a través de subvencionar estos grupos en nada es parte de la responsabilidad de los consulados. Los consulados están para traer negocios”, aseguró.
Los comentarios escandalosos del senador Arango vienen a reforzar otra noticia de la campaña sucia que surgió el día anterior. El 17 de noviembre varios periódicos y canales de televisión difundieron la noticia de que que el gobernador lanzó una advertencia a Hugo Chávez ya que éste alegadamente afirmó, en declaraciones que no han podido ser confirmadas aún por ningún medio, que “cuenta con aliados para que Puerto Rico deje de ser una colonia”. Ante las supuestas declaraciones, Fortuño respondió tajantemente con expresiones como: “Nosotros decidimos nuestro estatus, nosotros escogemos quiénes son nuestros gobernantes. No le corresponde a nadie fuera de Puerto Rico escoger por nosotros. Y no lo vamos a permitir”. Palabras bastante grandes si tomamos en cuenta que Puerto Rico es todavía una colonia yanqui y que, encima, el susodicho pertenece al anexionista y asimilista Partido Nuevo Progresista.
No es secreto ni es noticia el apoyo decidido y reiterado a nuestra Independencia por parte del Presidente Hugo Chávez, ni son nuevos los consiguientes comunicados de prensa del partido anexionista condenándole con la paradójica noción de que “aquí mandamos los puertorriqueños”. Pero resulta todavía más paradójico que el gobernador Fortuño, a partir unas declaraciones hasta ahora fantasmas, le acuse por ello de intromisión cuando éste se dedicó a desprestigiar en varias ocasiones la figura del Presidente Chávez y del gobierno venezolano mientras ocupaba el cargo de Comisionado Residente en Wáshington (representante puertorriqueño ante la Cámara de Representantes de EE.UU., sin derecho a voto) durante el cuatrienio 2004 a 2008. Además de distinguirse por multiplicar significativamente su caudal durante su gestión; de ser el representante número cuatro con más ausencias en la Cámara según un estudio del no muy liberal Washington Post, y de despilfarrar una suma de 3.3 millones de dólares en calidad de sueldo para dieciséis “asesores legislativos”; Fortuño encontró tiempo para presentar cuatro resoluciones ante aquella Cámara donde parecía demostrar preocupación por los derechos humanos y libertad de prensa del pueblo venezolano, y censuraba el accionar de su gobierno en una amplia gama de asuntos: desde las relaciones con Cuba, la adopción del nombre “República Bolivariana de Venezuela” y la no-renovación de concesión a la golpista RCTV. Todas las medidas, en su mayoría presentadas conjuntamente con representantes de Florida, fueron rechazadas por esa Cámara.
Para lo que no halló tiempo, evidentemente, fue para elevar a nivel de la Cámara de Representantes, en nombre de los derechos humanos, la indignación que arropó a puertorriqueños de todos los espectros políticos con la vil ejecución de Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Responsable General de la organización clandestina revolucionaria Ejército Popular Boricua (EPB-Macheteros) el 23 de septiembre de 2005, día en que el independentismo conmemoraba la primera proclamación de la República. Éste fue cocido a tiros en su casa por agentes estadounidenses del FBI (habiendo numerosas oficinas de campo de esa dependencia federal en nuestro país) mientras cipayos del patio les custodiaban el perímetro. Se le negó asistencia médica y fue dejado en el piso de su casa a desangrarse como un perro atropellado. Tampoco encontró, el señor Fortuño, tiempo para redactar una resolución, en honor a la libertad de prensa, exigiendo que se investigasen los sucesos acaecidos el 10 de febrero de 2006 donde agentes también estadounidenses del FBI allanaron los hogares de varios independentistas y, en uno de los lugares intervenidos, atacaron desvergonzadamente a periodistas que se habían personado a cubrir la noticia, empujándoles y rociándoles con gas pimienta por alegadamente violar un perímetro. Ante el estupor de la comunidad internacional y la preocupación de organismos como Amnistía Internaconal, entre otros, absolutamente nadie ha sido procesado ni investigado por éstos crímenes. Todos perpetrados por el gobierno federal contra el pueblo puertorriqueño mientras nuestro actual gobernador fungía como Comisionado Residente, con la presunta obligación de hacer valer nuestros intereses y reclamos ante Wáshington.
¿Con qué cara el señor Luis Fortuño se atreve a acusar de intervencionismo y de actitudes dictatoriales al Presidente Chávez? ¿Con qué criterio o lógica afirma que no le corresponde a “nadie fuera de Puerto Rico” decidir sobre nosotros?
Luis Fortuño subió al poder en enero de 2009 tras unas elecciones arrolladoras. Menos de un año después se ha visto obligado a multiplicar su escolta personal, a reducir al mínimo sus apariciones públicas y huír de varias más. Ha redoblado la vigilancia y ha colocado un perímetro permanente alrededor de la histórica residencia de los gobernadores, La Fortaleza, para protegerse del mismo pueblo que lo eligió.
Señor Luis Fortuño: ¿con qué moral te atreves a hablar en nombre de un pueblo contra el que te has tenido que armar?
REFERENCIAS: Advertencia de Fortuño a Chávez http://www.elnuevodia.com/advertenciadefortunoachavez-638789.html
Populares critican gestión de Fortuño http://www.vocero.com/noticia-1246-populares_critican_gestin_de_fortuo.html
‘Ojo federal’ a nexos de Chávez en la Isla http://www.elnuevodia.com/ojofederalanexosdechavezenlaisla-639018.html
Parco el FBI sobre ‘conexión’ Venezuela http://www.vocero.com/noticia-34866-parco_el_fbi_sobre_conexin_venezuela.html
No permitirá intromisión de Venezuela en status local http://www.vocero.com/noticia-34828-_no_permitir_intromisin_de_venezuela_en_status_local.html
Subdirector del FBI a la Superintendencia de la Policía http://www.elexpresso.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1557&Itemid=38
Comunicado de la Embajada de Venezuela en Washington http://www.telesurtv.net/noticias/secciones/nota/12122-NN/comunicado-de-la-embajada-de-venezuela-en-washington/
RESOLUCION EN RECHAZO AL RECLAMO DE HUGO CHAVEZ DE INDEPENDENCIA PARA PUERTO RICO http://www.pierluisi2008.com/ver_noticia.asp?id=139
Periodistas de Puerto Rico critican a parlamentario que continúa atacando al gobierno de Venezuela http://www.aporrea.org/medios/n95465.html
Congresista estadounidense defensora de terrorista Posada Carriles impulsa resolución contra Venezuela http://www.aporrea.org/tiburon/n63423.html
Arrecia el enfrentamiento mediático entre Chávez y Fortuño http://dialogodigital.com/es/node/3356
Se "juye" el gobernador http://pr.indymedia.org/news/2009/11/39965.php
H. CON. RES. 224. 109th CONGRESS. Calling on the Government of Venezuela to uphold the human rights and civil liberties of the people of Venezuela.
H. CON. RES. 328. 109th CONGRESS. Condemning the anti-democratic actions of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should strongly support the aspirations of the democratic forces in Venezuela.
H. CON. RES. 50. 110th CONGRESS. Calling on the Government of Venezuela to uphold the human rights and civil liberties of the people of Venezuela.
H. CON. RES. 77. 110th CONGRESS. Calling on the Government of Venezuela to respect a free and independent media and to avoid all acts of censorship against the media and free expression.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva isn't the only one not surprised about Barack Obama’s "Change" in United States policy. What more could we have expected from the United States? The people of Puerto Rican know all too well about the false promises made by the United States when it comes down to climant change. The people of Vieques would not have expected anything less. The people who live in Vieques continue to live in a land mine of exploded uranium shells and a radioactive waste land that has affected the coral reefs in the small island. Until this day the United States has not cleaned the mess it has made. Emerging reports are pointing out that many people living on the little island of Vieques have been diagnosed with cancer because of agents used by the United States military. The people of Puerto Rico already know about broken promises that are made by America's leadership when it comes down to climinate change policies. But could we have expected any less from a country that plunders the worlds resources? The people of Puerto Rico have something in common with President Lula de Silva and the people of Brazil. We salute our brothers in Latin America for standing on our side in saving humanity.
Lula Disappointed with U.S.-China Stance on Climate Change
ROME – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that he will telephone U.S. counterpart Barack Obama and China’s Hu Jintao to discuss the fight against climate change after Washington and Beijing agreed they are not ready to set targets for emissions reduction.
“I’m disappointed, but not surprised” at the agreement reached in Singapore between Obama and Hu, but “the United States and China must sooner or later propose their targets also, although it won’t be at the Copenhagen Conference,” Lula told reporters after meeting in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The United States and China, the world’s biggest polluters, on Sunday dealt a blow to the climate conference that will begin Dec. 7 in Copenhagen after informing the Danish government that it will not be possible at that summit to achieve an accord that will set targets for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, the main factor in global warming.
Lula emphasized that he will go to Copenhagen regardless to defend Brazil’s climate proposals.
Last Saturday, Lula and French President Nicolas Sarkozy noted that the final objective of the Copenhagen summit is a worldwide reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared to their level in 1990.
Lula is in Rome to attend the World Summit of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. EFE
In recent months Calle 13 also known as Rene has been representing Latin America like never before. He has spoken openly against United States seven military bases in Colombia and Puerto Rico governor Luis Fortuno massive layoffs. He has publicly supported Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and has publicly supported Latin America integration. The situation in Latin America has become more hostile with United States intentions in destabilizing the region. The people of Latin America are fully aware of the United States intentions in the region. Just across South America we can see the people in the Caribbean nation Puerto Rico who have risen like a phoenix straight out of the ashes. They have held a nationwide strike and are planning to hold another one. It is obvious that those in Congress are paying close attention to the Caribbean nation. The threat of uprising in Puerto Rico can lead to a massive uprising here in the United States. I have full faith in my people that they will be able to mobilize stronger and in full force against the Imperial United States.
Washington pushes through deal with Honduran coup regime By Bill Van Auken 31 October 2009 Delegations representing ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the regime that replaced him through the coup of June 28 signed an agreement Friday following the intervention in Tegucigalpa of a high-level delegation from the US State Department.
There is no guarantee that the deal will restore Zelaya to office. If it does, it will be for no more than two months and only as a figurehead president in a government dominated by those who overthrew him.
The terms of the agreement serve to consolidate the central aims of the coup, while betraying the political and social demands of masses of Honduran working people who have resisted the coup and suffered violent state repression for more than four months.
The signing came less than one month before an election to choose Zelaya’s successor. The deal was struck two days after Thomas Shannon, the US assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs and a holdover from the Bush administration, arrived in the Honduran capital together with Dan Restrepo, the Obama administration’s National Security Council advisor on Latin America.
Washington’s central aim is to legitimize the presidential election scheduled for November 29 to choose Zelaya’s successor. It sees this vote as a means of stabilizing the Honduran state and stemming the radicalization of the Honduran masses.
Nearly all of the terms of the so-called Tegucigalpa Accord signed Friday were contained in the San José Accord brokered by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias more than three months ago at Washington’s behest.
These include the formation of a government of “unity and national reconciliation” in which the dominant forces will be the politicians who backed the June coup and the military that executed it. Reportedly, the two sides and the major political parties will select the ministers of such a regime. It is by no means clear, however, what happens to the many other officials who were fired and replaced after the coup. The one institution that will remain untouched is the armed forces.
The deal also includes a renunciation by Zelaya of any effort to convene a national constituent assembly for the purposes of revising the Honduran constitution. The changing of this charter has been a key demand of the mass protests against the coup. The constitution was imposed upon the Honduran people in 1982 by the outgoing military dictatorship in consultation with the US embassy and was crafted to uphold the interests of the oligarchy that monopolizes the wealth of the country.
It was Zelaya’s attempt to hold a vote to determine whether there was popular support for such an assembly that triggered last June’s coup. The coup’s supporters charged that he was attempting to amend the constitution in order to overturn term limits and run again for president. This was patently false, as a vote to actually convene a constituent assembly would have been held concurrently with the election of Zelaya’s successor.
The accord calls for the formation of a verification commission and a truth commission. The first of these is to consist of two Hondurans and two foreigners, to be chosen by the Organization of American States, who will oversee compliance with the agreement. The truth panel will be delegated to investigate the coup and the events leading up to it and those following it. In virtually every country where such commissions have been formed, they have served as a substitute for holding accountable those who have carried out coups and state repression.
While providing a moratorium on criminal prosecutions of either Zelaya or the coup leaders, the final deal excludes an amnesty for political offenses. Initially it was reported that Zelaya opposed an amnesty provision, but it appears that the Honduran generals vetoed it as they still want to see the ousted president tried for “treason.”
Also under the accord, formal authority over the military is to be transferred to the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal in advance of the November presidential election. All parties are bound to support this election, together with the installation of a new government in January.
The final clause concerns the mechanism for returning Zelaya to office. Earlier this month, the two sides broke off negotiations after Zelaya’s delegation demanded that his return to the presidency be decided by the National Congress, while Micheletti’s team insisted that it be determined by the Supreme Court.
In last June’s coup, it was the high court that declared Zelaya’s actions a violation of the constitution, while it was the Congress that voted to replace him with Micheletti. The decision was implemented by the military, which dragged him out of the presidential palace in the middle of the night and forced him onto an airplane that flew him into exile.
The supposed success of the US-led mediation of the past few days was to engineer a compromise under which the Supreme Court would issue a recommendation regarding Zelaya’s status, while the Congress would cast the determining vote.
“Just minutes ago, I authorized the signing of the agreement that marks the beginning of the end of the political problem that has faced the country,” Micheletti announced late Thursday night after this issue was settled.
How soon the “end of the end” will come, however, is by no means clear.
First, the country’s Supreme Court must provide its recommendation to the Congress. Then, even if the legislature ultimately votes to put Zelaya back into the presidential palace, there is no guarantee that this will happen any time soon. The president of the Honduran National Congress, José Alfredo Saavedra, told the local radio station HRN Friday that no one could impose a deadline on the body’s discussion of the accord and the scheduling of a vote. Until then, he stressed, Micheletti would remain president.
For his part, the State Department’s Shannon said that the implementation of the agreement would be “complicated” and that the Congress would determine “when, how and if” Zelaya is reinstated as president.
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg news agency quoted a senior advisor to Micheletti, Marcia Facusse de Villeda, as saying in an interview: “Zelaya won’t be restored. But just by signing this agreement we already have the recognition of the international community for the elections.”
In a statement to Radio Globo, a station that was repeatedly shut down by security forces because of its opposition to the coup, Zelaya described the deal as a “symbol of peace for our country and of the restoration of our democracy.”
He called on the Honduran people to “stay calm,” adding, in an apparent appeal for respect for the coup leaders, that “we are not going to mock anyone, we will not use this to ridicule, but to get peace.” He also warned the population that the situation would not be resolved “overnight.”
The accord did nothing to change Zelaya’s immediate status. He remains in the Brazilian embassy, where he has been holed up for nearly six weeks. Honduran security forces continue to encircle the building.
Zelaya praised US officials for mediating the agreement. “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Shannon, Dan Restrepo and the [US] ambassador [Hugo] Llorens have played a fundamental and key role,” he said.
While he also expressed gratitude to Brazil, which gave him refuge in its Tegucigalpa embassy, and to Costa Rica’s Arias for negotiating the initial agreement, notably absent from this thank-you list was President Hugo Chávez. One of the justifications given for the coup was that Zelaya had grown too close to the Venezuelan president, a relationship cemented with cheap oil contracts.
In Caracas, Chávez said that he welcomed the US-brokered deal if it would “put Honduras back on the road to democracy.”
The signing of the accord in Tegucigalpa within days of the Obama administration dispatching senior officials to the Honduran capital raises the obvious question of why Washington did not conduct such an initiative months ago.
The Honduran political establishment and its military have been dominated by US imperialism for over a century. In the 1980s, the CIA and US embassy had free rein over Honduran territory, using it as its “aircraft carrier” for launching the contra war against Nicaragua and supplying the bloody counterinsurgency campaign in El Salvador. Today, the US accounts for more than half of Honduras’s foreign trade and two-thirds of its foreign direct investment. Clearly, serious pressure from Washington would produce the desired effect.
If the Obama administration did not intervene for four months, it was because it silently backed the aims of the coup regime, while publicly proclaiming its support for constitutional order and democracy. It pursued the same delaying tactics as the Micheletti regime, seeking to run out the clock on the Zelaya presidency.
It viewed the ouster of Zelaya as a means of countering the influence of Venezuela’s Chávez in the region and securing the interests of US corporations seeking cheap labor in Honduras. Given the close relation between the Honduran military and the Pentagon, which maintains its largest Latin American base in Honduras, it is difficult to believe that the coup itself was carried out without the foreknowledge and approval of Washington.
With barely two months remaining in Zelaya’s presidential term, the Obama administration sees an agreement that may bring Zelaya briefly back as a powerless figurehead as a small price to pay for legitimizing both the coup and the coming election.
Since the coup last June, military and police repression has led to at least 20 deaths. Hundreds have been wounded and thousands detained without charges. Broadcast outlets critical of the regime have been shut down by the military, while demonstrations are routinely broken up. Even as the US-mediated talks were ongoing Thursday, security forces dispersed over 1,000 demonstrators using tear gas and baton charges.
Conditions of life for the Honduran population, which is the poorest in the Americas after Haiti, have worsened dramatically. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Wednesday issued a report denouncing “grave violations” of the rights of Honduran children since last June’s coup, citing cases of children being killed, tortured, beaten and illegally detained.
UNICEF estimated that at least 1,600 infants and children under the age of five have died since the coup last June—13 a day—attributing the dramatic rise in the death rate to the near collapse of the public health system. The agency added that the 1.8 million children attending public schools have been effectively denied an education because of school closures.
The Obama administration has issued no protests against these attacks on the Honduran population and now hails their perpetrators as “heroes of democracy.” It accepted the use of repressive force as necessary to quell the movement of the country’s workers, students and peasants.
Given this record, the embrace of the reactionary US-brokered deal by Zelaya as well as Chávez represents the most damning exposure of the bankruptcy of bourgeois nationalism in Latin America, no matter what its “left” pretensions.
The Honduran events have demonstrated that working people in Honduras and across Latin America can defend their rights only by forging their political independence from all factions of the ruling elite and carrying out the struggle for workers’ governments and the socialist transformation of the entire hemisphere.
Cuba y Puerto Rico son
de un pájaro las dos alas:
reciben flores y balas
sobre un mismo corazón.
Qué mucho si en la ilusión
que mil tintes arrebola
sueña la musa de Lola
con ferviente fantasía
¡de esta tierra y la mía
hacer una patria sola
