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A way out of the mess in Honduras
The United States is currently in the embarrassing position of refusing to recognize the government of Honduras which is supported by virtually all elements of civil society there and whose legal basis is supported by a report from the Law Library of Congress. Two excellent opinion articles in the Wall Street Journal describe the situation and point to a good exit strategy for the United States. One is by longtime Democratic strategist Lanny Davis and the other is by South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint. The solution is for the United States to recognize the elections scheduled for November 29. As both Davis and DeMint point out, there is no reason to doubt that these will be fair elections, in accordance with the constitution and laws of Honduras and will produce a new president who can be inaugurated on schedule next January. Yet the U.S. has been indicating that it will not recognize the elections. This is folly. Not many foreign policy problems come with a convenient exit date. This one does. The snap judgment of the White House and/or State Department that the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya was a "coup" was clearly a mistake. The military was not defying the orders of civilian authorities, but carrying them out (although there's a strong argument it should not have expelled Zelaya from the country). The Law Library of Congress report supports this position. The U.S. ambassador in Honduras told Senator DeMint that there is a report from State Department Legal Adviser taking the contrary position, but the administration will not make that public. But whatever the legalities, the November 29 elections are a way out. They will make moot the issue of whether Zelaya was legally ousted and whether the interim president Roberto Micheletti was legally installed. I fail to understand why it is in the interest of the U.S. government or in the interest of democracy in Honduras not to recognize the November 29 election. Posted by: Fred 2009-10-12 |
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