Lobo Calls for Reconciliation, FNRP Says the Struggle Will Not End

After midday lunch with his mother, Manuel Zelaya, his wife, and children left the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa yesterday, in line with an agreement signed by the newly installed Honduran President Pepe Lobo and Dominican President, Leonel Fernandez. Lobo and Fernandez accompanied Zelaya and his entourage to the airport where a small twin engine plane awaited the group. Zelaya and Co. arrived in the capital of Santo Domingo hours later and the Dominican government provided the former president with a one-year visa. His closest supporters say the stopover in the DR will only be temporary, however, indicating that Zelaya has hopes of setting up a more permanent residence in Mexico—and perhaps then “one day” returning to his home in Honduras. “I am a true Honduran,” Zelaya told Radio Globo as he prepared to leave Wednesday.

As the New York Times writes this morning, “[Zelaya’s] departure on the day of Mr. Lobo’s inauguration pointed toward an end to the protracted political crisis…but the country remains sharply divided.” This even while Mr. Lobo called for “national reconciliation” during his inaugural address in Honduras’s national stadium yesterday. [Mr. Lobo stopped in the midst of his inaugural address to sign into law a “political amnesty” bill approved by the Honduran Congress the night before.] Indeed, thousands of Zelaya supporters marched to the airport to send the ousted president off rather than celebrating the inauguration of Pepe Lobo. According to one of the leaders of the Frente National de Resistancia Popular (FNRP)—the popular movement that has emerged out of the last seven months of conflict—the struggle for social reforms in the country “does not end here.” RAJ has more on what may become of the FNRP in the coming months (the movement thus far has said it will not recognize the Lobo government and the authority of the country’s traditional parties).

On the international front, the AFP confirms that a US delegation was present at Pepe Lobo’s swearing in but Ass’t. Sec. of State, Arturo Valenzuela, did not indicate that US aid to Honduras would restart immediately. Rather, Valenzuela simply stated that the country was “moving in the right direction,” adding that a unity government still must be formed as well as a truth commission. (More opinions from the LAWG and WOLA yesterday on what should happen in Honduras before the US normalizes relations). For its part, the European Union issued a statement Wednesday saying it hoped Lobo’s inauguration marked the beginning of a “new era” in the Central American country, hinting that a normalization of relations could be announced in the coming days. Others may soon follow, says the Miami Herald’s Andres Oppenheimer.

Finally, a last opinion by Daniel Altschuler at AQ who says the events of the last weeks and months indicate that “Honduras is as far behind as ever” when it comes to the rule of law. Comparing progress against impunity in neighboring Guatemala, Altschuler says rewarding coup regime leader, Roberto Micheletti, with a lifetime congressional salary and dismissing charges against the military high command, shows that “when it comes to justice, [Honduran leaders] are happy to flout internationally-accepted norms.”

In other stories this morning:

· From Just the Facts, news that 3 prominent US Senators (Russ Feingold, Chris Dodd, and Patrick Leahy) have written to Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, calling for a reevaluation of US assistance to Colombia. The senators note that there has been no decline in the amount of cocaine entering the US despite the allocation of $7 billion in aid from 2000 to 2009 and add that progress in the area of human rights protection continues to come up short. Therefore, in the 2011 budget they say priorities must include “greater emphasis on farmer-led programs with voluntary eradication coupled with effective alternative development programs;” a strengthening of judicial and law enforcement programs; a reduction of military aid and continuation of development and humanitarian assistance; and a more vigorous exploration of other alternatives for promoting peace in the country. The letter comes as 3 FARC rebels were killed on the Panamanian border by Panamanian security forces.

More from a new report co-written by the Wilson Center and the Colombia-based Fundación Ideas para la Paz which notes that President Alvaro Uribe’s “democratic security” plan has eroded the military capacity of rebel groups in the country (as well as partially dismantling paramilitary activity). But nevertheless, drug trafficking by various “irregular armed actors” has not declined, the proliferation of criminal gangs has accompanied the demobilization of armed groups, and a process of reparation, reconciliation, and reintegration has proceeded much slower than promised. “Although 2008 was indeed a critical year for the gue­rrillas, particularly the FARC, it is premature to claim that the ‘end of the end’ of the armed conflict is at hand,” the authors of the report argue.

Finally, Colombia was one of only a handful of Latin America mentions in President Obama’s State of Union address last night, with the president arguing trade relations should be tightened with the country in the coming year. Not likely, though, says U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, William Brownfield.

· On Haiti, a new poll shows that Haitians in the diaspora have little faith that the current Haitian government will be capable of rebuilding the country in the coming months. In fact, 63% of Haitians in South Florida and across the US said they disapprove of the way in which President Rene Preval has responded to the devastating quake of two weeks ago. Also this week, the IMF approved a $104 million loan (not a grant) to Haiti, which will have to begin repayment in five and a half years. Brazil pledged $205 million in aid (and 1300 more UN peacekeepers) to Haiti on Tuesday and Lula da Silva announced he’d even be traveling to the country next month. It was Lula’s foreign minister who recently called on nations outside the Western Hemisphere to pledge what they could for relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti, and, interestingly, a number of African nations have stepped up with small, but noteworthy, pledges as well this week.

Also, the State Dept. feuded with Al Jazeera early in the week, displeased with the broadcaster’s coverage of US actions in Haiti following the quake.

· The Dominican Republic unveiled its new constitution a few days ago, but the document continues to be criticized by some who call it “a step backward.”

· Two interesting environment-related pieces at IPS in the last week. In Chile, a constitutional reform proposed by the government seeks to enshrine the availability of freshwater as a “matter of national security.” The reform proposed by outgoing president Michelle Bachelet (but which must still be approved by Congress) states that “water is a national good for public use, regardless of the state where it is located or the course it follows, including glaciers.” The reform follows similar initiatives in Uruguay (2004) and Ecuador (2008) who have also sought to reframe the meaning of “security” and “human rights” across the region. And in Peru, the Citizens Movement Against Climate Change (MOCICC), a coalition that includes 15 rural civil society organizations, is petitioning the government there to include data collected by local organizations on changes in insect-presence, water supplies, etc. into the country’s national climate watch system.

· Finally, an editorial in the Washington Post is back with another piece critical of Hugo Chavez and the “silence” of the international community in the face of media restrictions. The paper goes after liberals in particular: “If Mr. Chávez were a right-wing leader or an ally of the United States, Latin American governments and many Democrats in Congress would be mobilizing to stop his latest abuse of power, and to encourage peaceful and democratic opposition. But he is not, and they are mostly silent.”