Micheletti Blocks Zelaya Commission Members from Attending
A mediation led by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias begins today between Honduras' democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya and coup president Roberto Micheletti.
Arias has a tough job ahead of him, as neither Zelaya nor Micheletti seem optimistic that an agreement can be reached. Zelaya has stated that he will accept nothing less than his return to power, while Micheletti has stated that he would like the mediation to "start from the understanding that Zelaya's return is not open to negotiation."
Micheletti's government raised the tension level prior to the mediation when it refused to allow several of Zelaya's cabinet members--who were supposed to form part of his commission in the mediation--to travel to Costa Rica. Zelaya told the press that Micheletti's government argued that the cabinet members--many of whom are in hiding--have arrest warrants. Zelaya argued that the move was hypocritical, because the Costa Rican government, which does not recognize Micheletti as president, "made an exception" in order to allow Micheletti to enter Costa Rica. He argues that Micheletti, as a coup leader, could have been arrested the moment he set foot on foreign soil.
However, TeleSUR reports that what Zelaya lacks in a formal commission is being made up by Honduran civil society. Honduran civil society representatives from various sectors reportedly traveled to Costa Rica in order to deliver a letter to Zelaya. The letter reportedly contains five key points that they hope Zelaya will keep in mind during the mediation. The five points reportedly center around the controversial opinion poll that Zelaya intended to carry out in order to gauge support for re-writing the Honduran Constitution. The opinion poll was foiled by the coup, which the military carried out on the day Hondurans were scheduled to cast their ballots.
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The Honduran Constitution
Submitted July 9, 2009 - 2:38 pm by brainfood (not verified)Interestingly, the Honduran Constitution of 1982 does provide for loss of citizenship for those who “incite, promote or aid in the continuation or re-election of the President” http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Honduras/hond05.html (article 42):
ARTICULO 42.- La calidad de ciudadano se pierde: 5. Por incitar, promover o apoyar el continuismo o la reelección del Presidente de la República.
Further, Article 239 indicates that anyone who has held the office of chief executive cannot be president or vice president and anyone who proposes reform to that prohibition can be barred from holding public office for ten years: ARTICULO 239.- El ciudadano que haya desempeñado la titularidad del Poder Ejecutivo no podrá ser Presidente o Vicepresidente de la República. El que quebrante esta disposición o proponga su reforma, así como aquellos que lo apoyen directa o indirectamente, cesarán de inmediato en el desempeño de sus respectivos cargos y quedarán inhabilitados por diez años para el ejercicio de toda función pública.
My educated guess on that provision is that it is aimed move at banning past military dictators from pursuing the office than it is a stricture contra re-election, per se.
Additionally, Article 374 bars any amendments regarding the length of the presidential term (amongst other things:
ARTICULO 374.- No podrán reformarse, en ningún caso, el artículo anterior, el presente artículo, los artículos constitucionales que se refieren a la forma de gobierno, al territorio nacional, al período presidencial, a la prohibición para ser nuevamente Presidente de la República, el ciudadano que lo haya desempeñado bajo cualquier título y el referente a quienes no pueden ser Presidentes de la República por el período subsiguiente.
As such, it is pretty clear why the Supreme Court of Justice ruled against Zelaya’s plebiscite proposal in the first place. It also means that if the vote had been allowed to happen it would have had no legal standing.