HONDURAS: Zelaya Puts the Screws to Obama in a Letter

A letter from President Zelaya has gone to President Obama which gives him the names of the biggest golpistas, lists the crimes they have committed and requests that certain measures be taken against them. Now, Obama cannot claim he didn’t know. Zelaya should continue to communicate directly with Obama stating the obvious and asking Obama to do the right thing. And each time,  a press release should be issued so the world knows what Obama has been told.

Presidents do like to communicate with presidents. While Patricia Rodas is a very competent foreign minister, Obama, were he in Zelaya’s shoes, would no more like dealing with the Honduran FM than Zelaya has been forced to deal with Hillary Clinton.

Zelaya is showing that relegating the safety and the future of the people of Honduras to a duplicitous Hillary Clinton ain’t gonna work no more. Obama, is officially on the spot. The job of solidarity groups here in the US is to make sure the spotlight stays on Obama and burns brightly.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Embassy of Honduras

President Zelaya Asks President Obama to Take Further Measures July 25, 2009

JULY 25, 2009, WASHINGTON, D.C – With the aim of restoring constitutional order and ending the repression and violation of human rights taking place in Honduras, president Manuel Zelaya has asked president Barack Obama to take a series of concrete measures directed at the main perpetrators of the military coup of June 28, 2009. In a letter sent to the U.S. head of state, via the State Department, the constitutional president of Honduras has requested that the U.S. administration prohibit the bank transactions and cancel the U.S. visas of those “directly responsible for my abduction and the interruption of constitutional order in my country.”

President Zelaya has sent to President Obama the list of the individuals who these specific measures should be directed towards. This list includes the following individuals:

· Division General Romeo Vásquez Velázquez, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of Honduras
· Brigadier General Miguel Angel Garcia Padget, commanding general of the Army
· Rear Admiral Juan Pablo Rodriguez, commanding general of the Navy
· Brigadier General Luis Javier Prince Suazo, commanding general of the Air Force
· Roberto Micheletti, President of the National Congress
· Luis Alberto Rubí, Attorney General of Honduras
· Rosa America Miranda, Public Prosecutor of Honduras

These individuals, who played a key role in planning and executing the June 28th coup, have thus far disregarded the international community’s calls for the immediate and unconditional return of President Zelaya to his constitutional post. Furthermore, while President Zelaya agreed to Costa Rican President Oscar Arias’ framework agreement that would have allowed for the rapid restitution of democracy in Honduras, the coup regime, headed by Roberto Micheletti, has systematically rejected to compromise in any way.

Given the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Honduras, with for instance a growing number of extrajudicial killings of leaders of the popular movements opposed to the coup, the constitutional government of Honduras considers it urgent for the U.S. and other countries to step up their efforts to pressure the coup regime.

“We believe that the measures that we are asking the U.S. administration to take will exercise direct pressure on the perpetrators of the coup without causing any sort of negative impact on the people of Honduras,” said Enrique Reina, the Communications Minister of Honduras’ constitutional government, and President Zelaya’s new ambassador designee to the U.S.

To schedule an interview with the ambassador please contact Alan Elvir at 202-730-6846 or through email at embassyofhonduraspress@gmail.com

http://hondurasemb.wordpress.com/

Tagged: Ambassador Enrique Reina, Clinton, Costa Rica, golpistas, Honduras, Obama, Rodas, Rubi, US, Vasques Velazquez, Zelaya

Posted in: Coups, Imperialism, Latin America, NED, US, USAID