Two Media Outlets Shuttered before the Honduran Congress Breaks with Micheletti

The government of Roberto Micheletti ordered raids and closures of two pro-Zelaya media outlets (Radio Globo and Canal 36) in Tegucigalpa Monday, just hours after suspending civil liberties in the country. The AP reported yesterday afternoon that, according to a spokesperson for the government, “the two outlets had been taken off the air in accordance with a government emergency decree announced late Sunday that limits civil liberties and allows authorities to close news media that ‘attack peace and public order.’” However, by late Monday, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and LA Times were all reporting that the de facto regime may now back down from its decision to suspend constitutional guarantees after the Honduran Congress said it would not support the measure. The NYT calls the words of congressional leaders (including the president of the Congress, José Alfredo Saavedra) “the first public fracture in the coalition that ousted President Manuel Zelaya,” adding that Mr. Micheletti himself appeared on television last night to ask for “forgiveness from the Honduran people.” He also indicated that he would ask the Supreme Court to lift the decree “as soon as possible.” The WSJ is even more optimistic that Micheletti’s words signal the end of the emergency decree, originally set to last 45 days. But the paper does add that Mr. Micheletti said that the decree would not be nullified immediately but rather “by the end of the week.” (RAJ at “Honduras Coup 2009 “ is much less optimistic, writing from El Heraldo’s coverage and concluding that the decree will remain in effect until the regime feels it “opportune” to lift it.) The LAT also emphasizes the notion of the decree being lifted at the most “opportune moment,” rather than immediately, and their coverage also emphasizes growing discontent within the Honduran business elite, “concerned that the country's isolation is damaging the economy and will imperil elections scheduled for November.” In an interview Monday, Adolfo Facusse, president of the National Industrial Association, said he now even supports the reinstatement of Mel Zelaya, albeit “with guarantees that Zelaya's power would be strictly limited.” [The AP also has an interesting report on how the Honduran business elite have become a central target of anti-coup protests].

Meanwhile, Mel Zelaya, still living and working in the Brazilian Embassy, spoke to the UN General Assembly yesterday by telephone while his foreign minister, Patricia Rodas, addressed the international body in-person. He declared, “Those who still harbored any doubt that a dictatorship has been installed here can lay those doubts to rest,” calling the Micheletti regime a “fascist dictatorship that has repressed that Honduran people.” Zelaya also gave an interview late last week to Time’s Tim Padgett, telling the magazine that contrary to Hugo Chavez's statements last week that he advised Zelaya to take refuge with the Brazilians, “No one knew” where he was headed. “I'm a great friend of [Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva], who has given me a lot of support, so going there was a sensible thing to do,” says Zelaya. For its part, the U.S., on the other hand, tried to distance itself from Mr. Zelaya’s words and actions Monday. The country’s representative to the OAS, Lewis Anselem, called Zelaya’s return to his home country, “irresponsible and foolish,” adding that, “he should cease and desist from making wild allegations and from acting as though he were starring in an old movie.” The U.S. ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, (the only ambassador from the hemisphere allegedly still in Honduras) was also busy meeting recently with four of the presidential candidates in scheduled November elections. La Tribuna has coverage of the meeting (as does RAJ) for which the “San José Accords” was the central item of discussion.

And finally, while international human rights groups like HRW and AI have issued statements in recent days, decrying a crackdown on press freedoms, as well as deaths (AI reported 5 dead last Friday, Zelaya backers say 10 have been killed), some advocacy groups are demanding the Obama administration finally condemn human rights abuses under the Micheletti regime. “After 90 days and not one word from the Obama administration on the abuses in Honduras, it looks an awful lot like a tacit endorsement of the repression by the U.S. government,” says CEPR’s Mark Weisbrot. But meanwhile, in the Miami Herald, Sergio Munoz argues that such words, particularly from Latin American leaders on the left, are a form of “doublespeak.” He writes: “Obama has said that he's ready to do whatever is necessary to improve the relationship with Latin America. In practical terms, that means he'll have to deal with these hypocrites. Most likely he'll try to avoid confrontation, aiming instead to improve cooperation. But the ball is not really in the United States' court.”

In other stories around the region this morning, AFP reports that in Ecuador, the government of Rafael Correa is facing perhaps the greatest social unrest of his presidency as indigenous groups protest against fears of water privatization in the country. According to AFP, the indigenous coalition, CONAIE, “charges that a water bill currently before the national assembly, where Correa's faction enjoys a majority, will allow transnational mining corporations to appropriate water reserves in areas close to their communities.” Police said they would launch a security operation to stop protests from becoming violent.

Also this week, EFE reports that Ecuador has joined the regional arms bazaar, negotiating the purchase of 12 new fighter jets from South Africa.

Following the African-South American summit in Venezuela, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Hugo Chavez hung around to talk more. Among the topics covered: how a new international definition of “terrorism” might be formulated. The details of the proposal were not revealed, reports Reuters, but sources say the plan rejects “attempts to link the legitimate struggle of the people for liberty and self-determination” with terrorism.

The Miami Herald reports on the growing food crisis in Guatemala where drought, a fall in remittances, and high food prices are raising concerns about malnutrition and hunger in the Central American country. In response to the crisis so far, the government and aid agencies have delivered emergency food supplies to more than 300,000 families throughout the country. And Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile and other countries have delivered beans, corn and other food staples.

And finally, the AP reports from Peru that ex-president Alberto Fujimori pled guilty Monday to authorizing wiretaps and bribes to journalists, politicians, and businessmen. The current corruption case against the president—already jailed for human rights abuses—includes having secretly wiretapped 28 politicians, journalists and businessmen and bribed 13 congressmen, a TV station and a newspaper editorial board.