Either consciously influenced by President Barack Obama, consciously kowtowing to him, unconsciously doing one, the other, or a bit of both, or else lazily taking the line that Central American military activity automatically equals "coup," U.S. media has largely continued to claim a coup took place in Honduras earlier this week.
Instead, President Manuel Zelaya illegally tried to go ahead with a referendum to change the constitution, then, after the military arrested him, acting on a court order, Congressional leader Roberto Micheletti was sworn in ONLY to complete the seven months left on Zelaya’s term. If this really were a military coup, we wouldn’t have his denouement.
It’s still not a good thing whenever the military gets involved in government, especially in Central America. But, in this case, the military was doing its duty, and did it the right way.
And, now, via getting someone's attention with this blog...
An American expatriate in Honduras, who started there with the Peace Corps several years ago, has this to say:
Most of the country is calm, Most of the people are in favor of the new government as can be seen in the difference in the size of rallies.
The Ex president had said several times that it did not matter to him what the Supreme Court and the Congress thought He was going to carry through his referendum, even went to the extreme of robbing funds from other ministries to pay for the referendum.
Most people are extremely confused by the Response of Obama, Obama was extremely popular down here, and for him to denounce this action without researching it seems like a betrayal to them.
Chavez and the OAS are seen as leftest enteties who are or were trying to illegally influence Honduras's internal politics.
And, yes, it is meddling by the Obama Administration when it insists on restoring Zelaya. And, when it tried, for a full week in advance, to prevent the military from arresting him.
I then asked my “foreign correspondent” if I could post some of what he e-mailed me.
He replied:
I would greatly appreciat(e) it if you do. I have been increasingly frustrated over the last couple of days as I watched the reporting on CNN which did not at all mirror what I was watching here.
There you have it.
Media sensationalizing. Obama either sensationalizing, with resultant mishandling, or just plain mishandling for other reasons.
Perhaps, per the often sensible conservative blogger Allahpundit, Obama is fearful of “optics,” knowing the Honduran military’s long connection to more thuggish elements in the U.S. military, CIA, etc.
Updates as I get them.
No matter. It’s not a coup.
Update, Sept. 6, 2017: Per Wiki, I now call it a coup, as I have for more than 18 months. It's convoluted, and neither side is that much in the right, but there you are.
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