Really haven’t heard much about the coup in Honduras recently, there were a few threats by the deposed, democratically elected president to return to Honduras to serve out his term of office
In case you’re curious, we’re about to see how that’s working out.
Just in case you’ve forgotten what happened and who was involved here’s a little refresher of ‘what’s gone before’…
Launch a Military Coup, Hire a High-Power PR Firm and Represent Democracy!
Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet at 12:39 PM on September 28, 2009.
I notice the major papers are now referring to the perpetrators of the military coup in Honduras as the "de facto" government. Quite a benign frame.
Contrary to the prevailing narrative, right-wing elements in Honduras and the United States -- including, according to reports swirling around Latin America, bloody veteran hands from Reagan's dirty wars, like Otto Reich -- had been laying the groundwork for deposing President Manuel Zelaya for several years.
Roberto Micheletti's coup government has done a fine job spinning away the fact that this was the kind of military coup that has been anything but par-for-the-course in recent years in an overwhelmingly democratic Latin America. They've done it with savvy lobbying and PR. Historian Greg Grandin wrote about debating former Clinton confidant Lanny Davis, now a lobbyist representing the coup government, among others:
The Honduras coup occurred on June 28, when soldiers working on behalf of a the small group of business and political elites who now control the country, kidnapped democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya and sent him into exile.
Since then, the military-backed regime of Roberto Micheletti has argued to the world that it was acting constitutionally, even though nearly every country in Latin America, along with the European Union, isn't buying it.
Only in the U.S. is there a debate as to whether the Micheletti government is legal -- largely thanks to the lobbying efforts of Davis.
Not only is there debate in the U.S., it is surreal; consider right-wing lunatic Dana Rohrbacher's recent post on The Hill's blog arguing that through a right-wing military coup a "crisis was averted and the constitutional democracy in Honduras was preserved." [CG picked up on this and used it in one of his radio shows after Limbaugh jumped on that bandwagon!]
Expect much more of the same kind of nonsense in the immediate future:
The de facto government of Honduras that ousted President Manuel Zelaya has hired a well-known public relations firm to bolster its image in Washington.
According to Justice Department documents, the Honduran government signed Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates to a four-month contract worth more than $290,000. Filed on Sept. 18 with Justice by the public relations firm, the documents say the company will “advance the level of communication, awareness and media/policy maker attention about the political situation in Honduras.” [I guess one never knows when diplomacy alone won’t do…naturally, it’s pretty damn difficult to field diplomats when nobody recognizes the legitimacy of your government…]
The contract comes as the crisis in the Central American country has flared up again. Zelaya, who was exiled to Costa Rica by the Honduran military, has slipped back into the country to try to reclaim his position as president. He has taken shelter with family members in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, threatened with arrest if he leaves its grounds.
And how's that "democracy" working out? Well ...
The de facto government shut down two broadcasters on Monday and prevented a demonstration in support of the deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, as sweeping restrictions on civil liberties took effect.
Masked police agents were perched from the windows of a television station, and soldiers formed a barricade around the headquarters of a radio station here after the government shut them down indefinitely.
The police closed off both sides of the street where several hundred demonstrators gathered Monday morning, effectively preventing them from starting their march. The protesters drifted away as it became clear that the march would not take place.
The other government measures, announced late Sunday, prohibit unauthorized public meetings and allow the police to arrest anyone deemed to be a threat.
Geez good citizen, what gives? Did Alternet suddenly turn into a subsidiary of Red State? Why do you suppose Alternet felt compelled to reveal that a Clinton crony is up to his neck in the ‘conservative coup’ in Honduras?
Could it be because the cost of remaining mum would only make things worse? You can bet your bottom dollar the RWNM would have a real party pointing out the ‘Clinton connection’ as well as any attempts to ‘cover it up’.
But what does this ‘prove’? It doesn’t prove anything but it sure as hell is mighty damning evidence that the Democratic Party has been, er, ‘compromised’ by the conservatives. Why the hell do you suppose Rush was calling for a Hillary vs. McCain ‘face off’ almost two years before the 2008 election and roughly a year before Hillary announced her intention to run…
Why did Rush make such a pairing using a (then) ‘freshman’ senator from a district she only recently adopted?
Is there a 2 + 2 here connecting the Obama administration (which is loaded with Clinton administration ‘throwbacks’, many who are personally responsible for the current financial meltdown) resulting in the abysmal performance to date?
‘Coincidence’ perhaps?
I don’t think so…
Thanks for letting me inside your head,
Gegner
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