Micheletti’s intransigence

[struggle4progress]

Honduras’ interim President Roberto Micheletti has repeatedly accused his predecessor, Mel Zelaya, of taking unilateral and arbitrary actions. It is ironic that the de facto leader’s stubbornness is now leading him to act in a similar fashion, extending the political crisis.

It should be clear that if the constitution was violated, Zelaya is not the only guilty party in terms of his ouster. Nowhere in the constitution does it say that the armed forces or another civilian authority can expel a Honduran president or a citizen as punishment for alleged crimes. The justice system could order his or her capture to be charged and tried, but not removed from the country. Thus, the alleged constitutional process followed was flawed and leaves Micheletti and his de facto government wide open to questions of legality and legitimacy. Under these conditions, a political agreement is the only logical way out.

But, as we’ve said before, Micheletti’s government believed it could make an authoritarian decision like the expulsion of an elected president and continue merrily on its way. This process itself reveals a false commitment to the constitution.

Even more serious is the declaration of a state of emergency, the closing of media, and the repression of opposition political expression —dictatorial measures issued in a presidential decree by a de facto president. This should be enough to eliminate the false impression of constitutionality some are attempting to portray ...

http://www.impre.com/laopinion/opinion/2009/9/30/michelettis-intransigence-151452-1.html