Honduras News by In-Honduras.com

The honduran elections held on the last sunday of November as specified in the electoral law, came and went in civic order. Hondurans visted their poll stations in droves and voted for their new public officials. Voter turnout is estimated at over 70%. When Manuel Zelaya was elected president, only 54% of registered voters participated.

The United States hailed the elections and congratulated the Honduran by the orderly and transparent way the elections were handled.

Pepe Lobo (National party) is currently leading with 55% of the vote against 36% of Elvin Santos (Liberal party).

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) will be giving updates on the other levels of governement for which elections were also held. (Mayors and Congressmen)

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Thomas A. Shannon Jr., Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, stated yesterday, that the agreement signed in Honduras by both parties representing Manuel Zelaya Rosales and Roberto Micheletti states that the decision made by Congress must be respected by both sides.

Shannon reiterated that the United States and the International community will also respect the decision made by the Honduran Congress, whether it be positive or negative regarding reinstating Manuel Zelaya Rosales as president of Honduras.

He made it clear that the they (US and international community) recognize the Honduran Congress will make a decision on when and if Zelaya should return to power. It is a political matter that has to be resolved politically and Congress is the appointed branch of government to make that decision. Both sides have committed themselves to respect the results of that decision and emphasized that there are two options, yes or no on Zelayas return, and not one as Zelaya followers have tried to force on the media.

The Honduran Congress is currently on recess and efforts are being made to meet and review the Guaymura accord.

Honduras’ 8 Point Accord, Zelaya in Hands of Congress

The accord ex president Zelaya’s and president Micheletti’s sides will sign tonight, contemplates Zelaya’s restitution will be considered by the Honduran Congress after consultation with the Honduran Supreme Court.

The agreement is comprised of 8 points which are:
1. Creation of a unity and reconciliation government.
2. No political amnesty for either side even though Micheletti offered it to Zelaya.
3. Recognition of the elections to be held on November 29, 2009.
4. Transfer of authority over the Honduran Armed Forces to the Electoral Supreme Tribunal.
5. Creation of a verification commission to uphold all points of this accord.
6. Creation of a Commission of Truth that will investigate the events before, during and after June 28th when Zelaya was removed from office.
7. Ask the international community to remove all sanctions against Honduras and send international observers to the November elections.
8. Regarding the possible restitution of Mr. Zelaya, let the Honduran National Congressn decide, after receiving the Supreme Court’s opinion, to return the executive branch to its status before June 28, 2009.

If both sides sign the agreement tonight, it will have to be followed thoroughly and the results accepted without hesitation by both parties.

A deal was reached between the sides representing President Roberto Micheletti and ex President Manuel Zelaya Rosales. After 4 months of the presidential succession in Honduras, which has been denounced around the world as a military coup in which Manuel Zelaya was removed from office and later expelled to Costa Rica, a deal has been reached.

Negotiations between both sides had come to a stale mate and were not moving forward after last week, the side representing Manuel Zelaya stepped off the negotiation table.

On Thursday, October 29, a high level commission send by the United States, integrated by assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, Thomas A. Shannon Jr., Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Craig Kelly and Dan Restrepo.

This commission met with both sides and coaxed them back to the negotiation table. By noon on Thursday Shannon announced a deal was ready and only needed to be signed by both sides and that time was running out if Honduras wanted to hold elections. By 10:30 pm an announcement was made that both sides had agreed to sign.

The agreement includes plans to conform a unity government with members from both sides of the issue, recognition of elections in Honduras, restoring aid that had been cut off since the presidential succession and sending to Congress a request by Zelaya to be re instated as President of Honduras.

Negotiators will meet again today to work out a time-frame in which all points of the accord have to be met.

Zelaya’s restitution lies now in the hands of the Honduran Congress. The agreement states that both sides will adhere to the result of that vote.

Iam Kelly, spokesman for the United States Department of State, said in the latest press briefing held on October23, that the United States is eager to find a solution to the ongoing conflict and try and reach a solution that restores the democratically elected president to power.

According to legal and political experts in Honduran law, such a move would violate the Constitution of this country and thus the return of Zelaya would be illegal.

The interventionism of the government of the United States led by Barack Obama in the Honduran matter is a clear sign of disparity in policy when it comes to foreign relations.

Probe launched after foes say president stole from government

By Sara A. Carter (Contact)

Please read the whole story at the Washington Times.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/22/zelaya-accused-of-cash-withdrawal/

These guys are beginning to do investigative work. This is just one of the many corruption acts commited by the previous honduran government led by Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

Another corruption act that was been documented in the United States by the USDOJ (US Department of Justice) is the Latin Node case in which several honduran official received bribe money from a US company. One of the officials is Manuel Zelayas’ nephew Marcello Chimirri who is currently in prison awaiting trial. The three other officials are fugitives and their search warrants are listed on the Interpol database. (Jorge Rosa, Oscar Danilo Santos and Jacobo Lagos)

After the lawful removal of Manuel Zelaya Rosales, Honduras is at the doors of a new and promising future. Manuel Zelaya Rosales was removed from office under a court order issued by the Honduran Supreme Court and executed by civil authorities with support from the military.

A new president has been elected, Roberto Michelleti Bain, who is looking to unite all sectors of the country which had been separated and provoked by Manuel Zelaya. The new president elect has promised elections in November as planned and has nominated new ministers and promises to begin taking care of the problems that Honduras has been having in the past few months and had been ignored by Manuel Zelaya who was focused on his illegal vote.

Hospitals will be resupplied with medicines, people who lost their homes due to the earthquake will receive much need aid and the security issue will be addressed.

Meantime Manuel Zelaya is pressuring the international community to condemn the action under pretense he has the support of the people, which he does not as several surveys (www.cuartaurna.com, http://www.proceso.hn/, TV surveys conducted by Abriendo Brecha News) and the general sentiment of the people prove.

There is lot of activity on Facebook and other social networking sites expressing their happiness over the turn of events in Honduras.

Democracy and freedom have prevailed in this Central American nation.

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A wave of job losses has swept the country. The Honduran Work Ministry has been swamped with people who’s companies have fired them because they cannot pay the new minimum wage one sidedly authorized by the Honduran president Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

Many of the people there are carrying official notifications from their companies, that due to the wage increase in times of economic crisis, they will not be able to pay them and so their services are no longer needed.

Most of the workers belong to small, medium and large companies.