Dutch vice-consul in Honduras reprimanded for coup support
Dutch publication Elsevier reported that the Dutch vice-consul in Tegucigalpa and family of the Honorary Consul, Ms. C.M. Klück-Baas, has been reprimanded by the Dutch Foreign Ministry for signing a letter by Dutch citizens to the Foreign Minister in support of the military coup.
The Dutch group claimed that elected president Manuel Zelaya had been deposed legally and justifiably for violating the constitution and being corrupt as well as being late in filing an annual budget. The rejection of the coup by the Netherlands government and the European Union is, the Dutch group wrote, a "scandalous injustice".
An Honorary Consul typically manages consular affairs in the host country without receiving a salary. In Central America, they are usually from the banking community. Neither a consul nor his staff are supposed to meddle in political affairs in the host country. Even so, the letter was signed by a number of family members of the Honorary Consul as well.
A spokesman of the Dutch Foreign Ministry is quoted in the Elsevier story saying that although the Dutch expats are free to voice their opinion, the vice-consul has been reprimanded for signing the missive. The Dutch government rejects the military coup and doesn't recognize the Micheletti government.
The Dutch expat support for military juntas comes on top of that of a group of American expats, notably one "la gringa" who writes anonymously on her blogcito and this week published a comment calling for assassination of the US ambassador to Honduras (a day later, only after others called for the US Secret Service to investigate, she removed the threat). This is typically the expat environment that tells journalists like yours truly that they are "too negative" and should stay out of political affairs in the countries they report on, claiming that "we're only guests here".
Email this pageAbout Okke Ornstein
Okke Ornstein is from the Netherlands where he worked for about 15 years in the wonderful world of television and radio before accidentally moving to Panama. Since then, he has been chased by gangsters and many unsuccessful attempts have been made to shut him up, have him thrown out of the country, or in jail for crimes against the honor. He published The Noriegaville News for some years (a combination of investigative journalism, satire, analysis and opinion) until threats were getting out of hand and he closed it down. His written work in English can be found in publications ranging from The Narco News Bulletin to NewsMax - for the latter he dodged sniper fire and car bombs in Kabul, among other things. None of this has stopped him from briefly becoming a consultant for the election campaign of Miguel Antonio Bernal, a well known human rights activist who ran for mayor of Panama City. Ornstein continues to work as a journalist for publications in and outside of Panama, is writing a book and runs the blog Bananama Republic and his own site at ornstein.org.
statement of Dutch Foreign Ministry
Submitted on October 1st, 2009 by Flaco (not verified)This is what I received from the Dutch Foreign Ministry, AFTER ASKING THEM 3 TIMES!! Recently I asked them to look for a more serious person for the function as Dutch consul...
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Hartelijk dank voor uw e-mailbericht van 26 augustus jl. Het spijt mij dat u tot nu toe geen antwoord hebt ontvangen op uw eerdere e-mails. Blijkbaar is er iets misgegaan met de doorzending, waardoor deze mails niet beantwoord zijn. Onze excuses hiervoor. Wat betreft Honduras kan ik u het volgende meedelen: Net als veel andere landen heeft Nederland de staatsgreep van 28 juni 2009, waarbij president Manuel Zelaya werd afgezet, scherp veroordeeld. Het afzetten van de democratisch gekozen president is een onaanvaardbare schending van de constitutionele democratie in Honduras. In de positionering ten opzichte van de situatie in Honduras volgt Nederland de EU-lijn. Nederland hecht groot belang aan het herstel van de democratie en de rechtsorde in Honduras. Hiertoe voert Nederland in Brussel overleg met de EU-landen. Nederland en de Europese Unie zullen blijven aandringen op het voortzetten van vreedzame onderhandelingen tussen de verschillende Hondurese partijen. Ik hoop u met bovenstaande voldoende te hebben ingelicht. Met vriendelijke groet, Marianne Sinke Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Afdeling Latijns Amerika en Caribisch gebie.
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Thank you for your email of August 26. I am sorry you have so far received no reply to your earlier e-mails. Apparently there is something wrong with the transmission, leaving the mails unanswered. Our apologies. As for Honduras, I can say the following: Like many other countries, the Netherlands strongly condemns the coup of June 28 2009, where President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown. The overthrow of the democratically elected president is unacceptable violation of the constitutional democracy in Honduras. In the positioning relative to the situation in Honduras the Netherlands follows the EU line. Netherlands attaches great importance to the restoration of democracy and law in Honduras. The Netherlands consults with EU countries in Brussels. Netherlands and the European Union will continue to press for continued peaceful negotiations between the various Honduran parties. I hope you have informed enough above. Best regards, Marianne Sinke Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department Latin America and Caribbean -------------