What the Cowardly Honduras Coup Lost Today
By Al Giordano
Sometimes the drama is of such high volume that the ways it changes the narrative go unnoticed in the exact moments that it happens.
But here are some of the very significant realities that shifted today:
President Manuel Zelaya Showed True Courage: One of the open questions prior to today was whether, threatened with 18 felony charges, including treason, and 20 years in prison (not to mention likely torture and seizure of his considerable properties and business interests), the legitimate president of Honduras would fail to show up for today’s showdown at 2,000 feet over Tegucigalpa.
It would have been easy enough to turn the recommendations by Canada and Costa Rica at last night’s Organization of American States (OAS) meeting in Washington into a diplomatic pretext to delay his attempted return. He could have followed in the extra-light footsteps of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Al Gore, or Andrés Manuel López Obrador, when the moment of truth arrived against an illegitimate regime. The consequence of such cowardice would have been causing his own people in Honduras to lose faith in him. Having guts (or huevos, male or female) in Latin America, as in most parts of the world, is a Sina Qua Non for a political leader. Zelaya showed them today. He emerges from today stronger, with more popular support than before, and bigger than life before the international public and media. He passed an important test today, and thus passed into the history books.
Illegitimate “President” of Honduras Roberto Micheletti Became a National and International Laughing Stock: One cannot overstate the extent to which Micheletti lost grip and traction today in his quest to remain in power. After a week of threatening the criminal charges against Zelaya (in effect, gambling that Zelaya would chicken out), he won the most Pyrrhic of battles today when he ordered soldiers and vehicles out on the runway of Toncontin International Airport to keep his “most wanted criminal” from landing. If his coup regime’s charges were so iron-clad, why not just let Zelaya land and drag him off to jail? He proved all of his schtick a lie, today.
As part of today’s show, he threatened all the passengers on the airplane with arrest upon landing, including the President of the United Nations General Assembly. That act alone guarantees his further isolation and virtually assures that Washington will, likely tomorrow or the next day, declare his regime a “military coup, “ triggering the cut-off of all foreign aid.
Another part of his show today was to go on national TV through a “cadena nacional” and declare that Nicaraguan troops were amassing across the border. And he threatened Nicaragua with war. When an enterprising reporter questioned him, he vacillated: well, it wasn’t that many Nicaraguan troops and they may be acting without instructions from President Daniel Ortega. He called it – you can’t make this stuff up – a “psychological invasion.” Give that man a straightjacket. He now has an insanity defense for his upcoming war crimes trial.
The Honduran Oligarchy Further Split Today: Globo Radio (a word in a moment of its valiant work today breaking the information blockade, together with other authentic media) reports:
“Businessmen Ricardo Maduro, Rafael Ferrari and Carlos Flores Facussé had a meeting this Sunday at dawn with the de facto government and withdrew their support. Ex-president Carlos Flores left Honduras with his family, headed toward Washington.”
Hold on. Flores, Honduran president from 1998 to 2002, was a key architect of this coup. Until last night, he was more hands-on directing the steps of the Honduran military than Micheletti himself. If true that he’s deserted the sinking ship – and gone to Washington nonetheless – he must have something in the form of "actionable information" to offer to the US Witness Protection Program (yes, some of my friends on the left are nipping at my heels over this kind of analysis about the US role in all this; I will surely dispatch with them on a later day, when we’re not reporting real-time on a crisis – but they should beware because I’m going to hit back real hard at those whiners of academia, with the facts that they don't have enough respect for, and events are going to demonstrate this analysis here as more accurate and even more prescient. But time will sort out all of that...)
Meanwhile, the oligarch dailies in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, after today’s events, began to backpedal. For the first time since the coup, tonight, the pro-coup daily La Prensa referred to Micheletti not as “president,” but as “president designate.”
And the daily El Tiempo, from the same pro-coup camp, described President Zelaya as “recognized still by the international community as the Constitutional President of Honduras.”
These are subtle shifts from a simulating national media, but like the first cracks in a wall, they reveal a structural weakness in the strength of the information blockade. They’re blinking.
There was also an interesting report on TeleSur, which I’ve yet to confirm, but, if true, would be devastating to the coup: that the national police commander, after the Armed Forces shot at members of the protest, evacuated the airport battlefield on the logic that they didn’t want to be blamed for the Army’s disgrace. If true, that would have great consequences for the unity of the coup.
TeleSur Wrapped Itself in Glory (and Took Down the Corporate Media Today): I derived considerable joy today watching CNN, throughout the afternoon, completely dependent upon live feeds from TeleSur to cover the story. TeleSur had not only “embedded” with Honduras’ version of Air Force One – on the airplane with Zelaya and D’Escoto – but more importantly it gained the trust of the 500,000 reported Hondurans who took to the streets. At various points during the march to the airport, the citizenry, upon seeing film crews from the station, chanted, “TeleSur! TeleSur!”
The coverage today from TeleSur was irreplaceable and unparalleled. No other media came close. When TeleSur’s website became overwhelmed with traffic, I turned to a Managua, Nicaragua station, Channel 15, which simulcast TeleSur for most of its coverage. TeleSur’s success today at the basics – the nuts and bolts – of journalism smashed the myth of “objectivity” and demonstrated that authentic journalists declare where we stand and therefore get the front row seat to tell the story more accurately.
It’s been five years this month since I penned this essay: Welcome TeleSur to the Struggle to Light Up the Skies.
Compare TeleSur’s full indispensable coverage of event in Honduras today with that of, say, Patrick Markey and Mica Rosenberg of the Washington Post: They added no new facts to the datasphere (which means they did no direct reporting, but, rather, cribbed their report from other media) and basically dedicated their “story” to using the word “leftist” three times in the first paragraphs.
The Post claims to be “objective.” TeleSur is supposed to be “propaganda,” according to its capitalist critics. But, lo’ and behold, it was TeleSur today that conveyed more facts per minute than any other international media. It will be fun to see capitalist media try to replicate that success story, especially here in Latin America, where the public is quite inoculated against its tendency toward simulation.
Honorable Mention: To Globo Radio, Radio Progreso and Channel 36 in Honduras, who rose from the ashes of repression today to report the story.
Presente: Isis Obeth Murillo, 19, from Olancho, Honduras, who died today in the Hospital Escuela of Tegucigalpa, assassinated from a bullet to the head shot by a Honduran soldier from inside the airport.
Hello Washington: Today’s events leave the Obama administration no other option but to follow through on what it was going to do anyway, and declare the Honduras regime as a “military coup,” triggering the cut-off of US aid, and crippling its illegtimate “government.”
I know there are colleagues who remain skeptical that this will actually happen. Well, if it doesn’t, nobody will be more savagely on the attack to correct that than I.
And if it does happen – I’ll take a bet from any sucker that wants to part with his money (especially you, you academics! $100? More? Put up or shut up) who wants to wager otherwise – well, it will be an hour to savor and to re-synchronize your geopolitical watches. More to come!
And the Biggest Winner of Today Is: The Honduran social movements.
For a week, now, they have endured more than most people from most lands would be able to handle. Today they organized 500,000 people – one of every 18 Hondurans – to get up on their feet and risk life and limb in Tegucigalpa (and that doesn’t include attendance of the mass rallies held in other cities throughout the country).
Just as the coup regime tried to scare President Zelaya from entering national territory, it did the same 7.5 million times over against its own people.
Suspension of the Constitution, martial law, curfew, 300 political prisoners, military invasion of Channel 36, Globo Radio and Progreso Radio, shutdowns of the Internet, banishment of Telesur (and for a brief while CNN) from national cable networks, military and police blockades in the highways to impede passage to the capital city, soldiers shooting out the tires of buses, threats of a “bloodbath” today (including from the Bishops of the Catholic and Evangelical churches, on government –imposed national TV and radio broadcasts)…
And yet they came to greet their legitimate president at the national airport.
Unity. Planning. Discipline.
The Honduran movements that oppose the coup showed all three of those pillars of successful social movements today. And it’s our best indication that they are going to win.
Using tactics of nonviolence that would make Gandhi proud, they pushed aside dozens of military blockades on their march toward the airport today, unarmed though they were, to be able to surround the runway.
And when, in one southern corner of the airfield, a brawl broke out between various hundreds of demonstrators and the soldiers inside, it was over within 15 minutes. That tells us that organizers of the march were able to rush in and convince legitimately angry protesters that there was a better path to victory than merely creating “riot porn” for the cameras.
Unity. Planning. Discipline.
What we saw today was impressive for any land, including those that enjoy more freedom than those living under military coup and suspension of their Constitution.
After today, nobody should have any doubt. The coup, sooner or later, probably sooner, is going down, face first, into the dirt.
And - since three days prior to the coup - you heard it here first.
Stay tuned to hear more. All based on that simple principle called documented fact.
What we call authentic journalism.
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Comments
Great Analysis
Submitted July 5, 2009 - 10:48 pm by 3O3 (not verified)Thanks Al!
Submitted July 5, 2009 - 11:22 pm by MaryB (not verified)I have been refreshing your page all day! Looked for other information in-between but couldn't find much worthwhile so thanks for being there for us.
Thank You!
Submitted July 5, 2009 - 11:39 pm by Barbs (not verified)Thank you Al for all your hard work. Thank you for the explanations of what's really going on. Please don't stop!
Bravo Al and Especially to the People of Honduras
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 12:32 am by Jeff WegersonGreat work.
Great coverage!
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 12:44 am by Bill R. (not verified)Corporate media has done a crummy job covering this story. Thanks for the good journalism and analysis. How does the story develop from here, Al?
Thanks for the coverage!
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 2:00 am by SyneRyder (not verified)Thanks for this coverage and for your commentary! Are you able to confirm the name of the protester who was shot? Many sources appear to cite the correct name as Isis Obed Murillo, and I'm not sure which is correct. Thanks!
" Honduras’ version of Air Force One"
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 2:34 am by David Sketchley (not verified)Good coverage Al. Well done. However, 2 comments:
1. You say: "Honduras’ version of Air Force One – on the airplane with Zelaya and D’Escoto", yet if you had heard Chavez' live intervention on Telesur after the landing had been aborted, you would have heard him say that the plane belonged to ALBA and was piloted by 2 Venezuelan Air Force pilots.
2. The figure you use is 500,000. Where did you get that figure?
SinE qua non
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 3:51 am by Alain Lê (not verified)Just a little thank you from a french reader here, Al. Also to let you know about a small typo. It's sinE qua non.
Psychological war
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 4:13 am by Laura M. PoyneerComparing this w/ coups past...
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 7:41 am by Slaney Black (not verified)How long did it take for Frei and the Christian Democrats to sour on Pinochet? Years? A decade? If some of the Liberal party Right are caving now, that's significant.
Also, it's a measure of how broke-ass this coup is they could only find a greasy slob like Micheletti to be figurehead. I mean, not every dictator can be a jackbooted matinee-idol like Pinochet - but hell, even Carmona at least looked like a reliable banker to stash your drug money with. But this Micheletti guy? It's like Denny Hastert with a tan. Clearly, their hearts were not in this.
Iconic photo by Eduardo Verdugo of AP
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 7:43 am by Nell (not verified)From the Times Online:
Stephen Ferry, a photographer working for The Times, who was at the airport in the capital where the Army fired on protesters said the protests had been peaceful before soldiers started firing.
“I saw a kid being shot in the head, I think he is dead,” Mr Ferry said. “There are lots of injured — I don’t know how many. They just opened fire — it was completely unprovoked.”
Jorge Alberto Vasquez, a 27-year-old farmer, described how he had carried the boy's body from the scene. “He was about fifteen or sixteen. He had been shot in the head. I carried him the length of two blocks . . . We were all calm, then the army started shooting into the crowd.”
Excellent Coverage
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 8:01 am by Iraj OmidvarI want to add my voice to others complimenting the coverage on this site (The Field, The Narcosphere . . . ). Thank you for your hard work.
Thanks to the The Field and the Narcosphere
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 8:55 am by Nalani McClendonfor their persistence and commitment to reporting the events and the human stories of a great social movement of historic proportion. Thanks to the Field and Fieldhands pointing out Telesur. I watched for most of the afternoon and it was history-in-the-making.
I am in awe of the people of Honduras. So much to learn. But as Martin Luther King spoke, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.''
I, like so many others stand with the Honduran people, to be part of that bending.
Neda & Isis
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 9:10 am by James HaygoodSad that Neda was able to get so much public sympathy while Isis has not. But maybethe Hondurans will see greater success. Thanks for the important work, Al.
absolutely a great job, but....
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 9:35 am by Tug (not verified)Mr. Giardono
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate being able to go to your page, and quickly and efficiently get the story on Honduras, plus your tips on what other media to consult for follow-up. I did just that and hey, nice friggin' job.
That said, one small critique: cut the hostility towards your critics. It detracts from what you can accomplish. I am not telling you to be a chump or leave charges unanswered - just stay cool.
Thanks and congratulations.
Tug in Texas
john kerry and more
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 9:45 am by helena (not verified)Kerry has an astonishing statement on his website condemning President Zelaya. He needs to be sent your outstanding reporting, as does everyone on the Senate Relations Committee.
Al, you deserve the thanks of all in this heartbreaking world who care about human rights and justice.
coup
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 10:05 am by david b (not verified)My voice chimes in with everyone else - great, passionate, responsible coverage. I got goosebumps reading the description of Telesur which gives all of Latin America a voice. You should be rightfully proud that you pegged that one five years ago. I'll wait and see with Obama, hope you're right.
@ Tug
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 10:33 am by Al GiordanoTug - Thanks for the constructive criticism. Still, I'm more of the Thomas Jefferson school. He said:
"I have sworn eternal hostility over all forms of tyranny over the minds of men."
passion and consistency
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 11:03 am by Tien Le (not verified)Al,
I'm in absolute awe of your passion and dedication and focus. Your hard-core reporting style and resourcefulness in getting information is what I have long associated with what used to be the honorable profession of journalism. I love that you teach your craft.
Your handling of this moment in history has been miraculous. Thanks to you I'm now completely weaned from all forms of commercial media.
I have also come to fully appreciate your willingness to express your fact/history based hostility toward the armchair quarterbacks both of academia and the 'media'.
For those who want Al to tone it down a little, I say this: let's not expect a seasoned journalist who actually walks his beat to also be a diplomat. Al has more than earned the right to speak his mind as freely as he does, and we're the better for it.
I, for one, don't care if your critics respond to your abrasive style. You're a genius at critical thought and analysis. We don't have to agree with your politics to learn from you. And anyone who doesn't avail themselves of the great opportunities you give so generously, then they are the poorer for not having done so.
Thank you for sharing your historical and 'been there, done that' perspective with us. You are an American treasure, sir.
more importantly, nice job
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 11:05 am by TUG (not verified)(no need to publish this, but I wanted to follow-up to emphasize the appreciation and respect for the tremendous job you and whatever team you have with you are doing. You know it is important work, especially in this strange era of uncertainty for journalism. So, the criticism was offered with great humility. Your professional competence and cleverness are the best "f**k you" against your detractors. Please keep up the good work).
K VIVA TELESUR NO JODA!
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 11:26 am by stephen hill (not verified)Last sunday, I told my lovely venz. wife and venz. panas that Telesur became something else, a new standard. This sunday, they dominated the airwaves, being played on globovision, televisa, and all the cnns. your web reporting and a few others(kaos, rebelion, el publico, apporea) helped provide this texan some valued info. Although we need so much more, thank you. Your final thougths last night were spot on. hope ya got and will get a ton of hits. you desereve them.
HELICOPTERS
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 11:55 am by R Her (not verified)At Inca Kola, it has been made the suggestion that in Round Two helicopters will be used instead of planes. It seems a smart idea to me. I will add, for the ones that agree, two points: high profile international partners with M Z, and, if possible, institutional transportation (a little fleet of United Nations choppers will be nice. Better with some blue helmets included)
If you agree, I suggest to spread the word, specially among the organizers of M's return. Maybe they already have figured this one out, but if not, It could help
Keep the good cause
The pilot
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 12:04 pm by Antony SchofieldWatching the live coverage on Telesur, my heart was in my mouth when the plane carrying Zelaya appeared on the screen after what seemed like an eternity. Then when I heard the voice of the pilot, so calm and assured under such incredible circumstances, I was filled with admiration for the man's competence and sheer bravery. He surely deserves the highest praise for his service to the people of América.
Art that has to be in a gallery to be art isn't art.
@ helena -- John Kerry
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 12:45 pm by Amanda (not verified)Helena -- Thank you for the heads up re: Senator Kerry's statement on Honduras. It is indeed concerning. I've just sent him an email expressing my concern, as I am a constituent and have voted for him in the past. I had hoped he was improving as a Senator, but sadly he is no Ted Kennedy and believe me we here in Massachusetts feel it. Kerry's constituent service is notoriously bad whereas Ted Kennedy's is insanely good. This statement if his -- link below -- is ridiculous. My email attached below for your reading pleasure. Thanks again for the alert!
http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=315139
I was very troubled to read Senator Kerry's recent statement regarding the coup in Honduras. President Obama has rightly called what has happened in Honduras a coup. Whether one agrees with the politics of a specific country's democratically elected leader or not, should we not oppose coups in all cases? And what right do we have here in the US to judge the electoral preference of another nation's people? Do they not have the right to elect who they deem fit?
Furthermore, contrary to Senator Kerry's statement, President Zelaya was backing a non-binding amendment to the Honduran Constitution, a constitution that has been amended quite frequently over the years. Just because the oligarchy in Honduras was upset about the referendum does not justify a violent overthrow of a democratically elected leader.
Does Senator Kerry believe that the coup leaders' actions over the past few days -- imprisoning hundreds of activists, militarily shutting down or expelliong all media that did not back the coup (including CNN), and shooting its own people at the airport over the weekend -- are warranted? I sincerely hope not.
I would expect such an attitude from a Republican but not from a Democrat. I would appreciate a public clarification from Senator Kerry on this issue.
Sincerely
Amanda
500K?
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 1:29 pm by John Walkey (not verified)Al,
Second all the kudos above and ditto Tug's criticism. One question: Where is that 500,000 protesters number coming from? It doesn't seem to me possible that the protest around the airport had that many people. That would be like 5-6% of the population of the country was there. La Ceiba (3rd largest city in HN) is only about half that amount. What source are you using for that figure?
More importantly is TeleSur or anyone else for that matter getting out into the country-side where the military are more likely to be behaving in a lot more of an uninhibited manner given the lack of attention? The SOA press release has me very concerned and in need of something more than rumors and assumptions.
Thanks for your important work,
~John
@ John
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 1:44 pm by Al GiordanoJohn - The estimate of 500,000 comes from Globo Radio, one of the better news organizations in Honduras.
Inspiring Video from Arte Accion Tegucigalpa
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 1:51 pm by Wendy Russell (not verified)Hi Al!
first, heartfelt thanks for the coverage and analysis these past few days; second, you might be inspired by some of the images (and practices) of protest that Arte Accion Tegus captured from Toncantin yesterday. Thanks, again.
http://douglasalonzo.blogspot.com/
re: 500K?
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 2:23 pm by John Walkey (not verified)Al,
http://www.radiomundial.com.ve/yvke/noticia.php?27932 is quoting Luis Galdámez of Radio Globo as saying 200,000 protesters (with 2,000 police -- I'm assuming that includes military as well?). Crowd counts can be pretty notoriously bad under the best of circumstances (ask Louis Farrakhan about the Million Man March).
Regardless, for some no matter how many people were actually there fighting to save the deomcratic process, they were all paid off by Mel, they were all Nicaraguans, there were more at the pro-Golpistas rally or the whole thing is actually a highly sophisticated ploy of the CIA to install a Uyghur puppet regime in the country as the first step to invade Canada (if you can't understand that, it's because you're not as well informed as I am).
Cuídense,
~John
Who will act
Submitted July 6, 2009 - 3:40 pm by Listener (not verified)it will be the OAS, which has already done much more than expected, and the solidarity shown by all governments that trade with Honduras. The military are being abandoned by their backers who can add two plus two fairly easily.
Obama can let the OAS handle this, as it will strengthen the region.
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