a call for action on US policy toward the Honduras coup

a call for action on US policy toward the Honduras coup∫
August 10, 2009

This message is sent in behalf of Margaret Power and Marc Becker, Latin American historians who are members of the Steering Committee of Historians Against the War.

On June 28, 2009, the Honduran military overthrew and expelled the democratically elected government of President Manuel Zelaya. Although President Obama initially condemned the expulsion of President Zelaya, subsequent statements and actions from the U.S. government have been much more ambivalent to supportive of the illegal Michelletti government. When President Zelaya attempted to return to Honduras from Nicaragua, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton labeled his efforts "provocative."

In addition, there is strong evidence that a sordid cast of U.S. characters was involved in planning or at least supporting the coup, and continues to offer support for the illegal Michelletti government. One such individual is Otto Reich, who was involved with the Reagan government's illegal funding of the Contras against the Sandinista government in the 1980s and participated in the Iran-Contra scandal. Lanny Davis, who is close to the Clintons (he was Bill Clinton's attorney in the impeachment hearings), works with the Honduran chapter of the Business Council of Latin America, which supported the coup.

It is critical that we condemn the coup because it is illegal and we must let Obama know that the days when the U.S. government could support coups in Latin America with impunity are over.

A number of Honduran and international organizations are calling on people around the world to participate in the International Day of Action Against the Coup in Honduras on August 11th. On that day they have asked people to write, call (202) 456-1111, or email (whitehouse.gov/contact) the White House and ask President Obama to condemn the coup, to restore the constitutional system and President Zelaya, and to protest escalating human rights violations.

For more information see: http://viacampesina.org/main_en/.