What is REALLY going on in Honduras?

If you've read this or this or this, or seen this or this, you know I've been to Honduras and what a life-changing event it was for me. And how much I love Honduras and the people there now.

Recently, Honduras has been getting a lot of media coverage lately with the craziness that is going on with the president. If you don't know, read here. The article will tell you that it was a military coup. As you will read below, this is not so. President Obama even came out saying that the "coup" was illegal and that President Manuel Zelaya should remain the president. He had no clue what he was talking about.

Please read the below emails that I receive from a friend, Emily, who is currently teaching in Honduras. Obviously, there is a lot of confusion going on down there but clearly the Honduran people know more than we will ever know.

Please pray for Honduras and do anything you can to help in this situation.

Please:
If you are receiving this email it is because we need your help.

There has NOT been a coupe in Honduras , The country is NOT in crisis. This all started over a year ago when our president Mel Zelaya with the help of Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega began shredding the Honduran Constitution and setting the stage for him to become dictator of Honduras . As we neared the November elections that would seat a new president Mel Zelaya became more ruthless. Zelaya was informed more than once that his actions were outside the bounds of the Honduran Constitution. Zelaya earlier this year denounced democracy and announced he would seed an Venezuelan style of government, he then began receiving large sums of cash from Hugo Chavez.

This last week tensions mounted as the National Congress after a ruling from the Honduran SUPREME COURT that Mel Zelaya has committed crimes against the Constitution. As Chavez and Ortega offered Military assistance the National Congress of Honduras, The people of Honduras and the Courts of Honduras did not flinch, They stood beside their Constitution and detained by order of the National Congress Mel Zelaya for crimes against the Constitution.

President Zelaya and a small portion of the population tried to highjack the country and destroy democracy in favor of a Chavez-style government. Zelaya was shredding the constitution he swore to protect in order to stay in power past constitutional limits and firmly align Honduras with Venezuela .

President Zelaya was clearly, and more than once, informed officially that his actions were outside of the constitution and law. Given his obedience to Hugo Chavez and Chavez’s money, Zelaya was a traitor to this country in the truest sense of the word. I am writing to you as an American investor living in Honduras to express my admiration and respect for this country and how its government handled this crisis. They were faced with a difficult situation that was only growing worse. This was NOT a coup, but a criminal arrest. Hondurans should be applauded for how they handled this! They used their Constitution and stood firmly in the face of Chavez, Ortega, Morales, and Castro and said no to this form of Government. You would think the US would be applauding the situation. The US will if not careful give Chavez and Ortega the fuel they need to invade Honduras and remove our democratic form of Government. We can not believe the news reports and the statements by our representatives. We need your help. All Americans and Hondurans are franticly emailing and sending information to the US . We need you to forward this email to your local news station, CNN, contacts that you may have at any level of government. Email your senator, congressman, etc. Please pass this along. If the US ushers Zelaya back into power they are condemning this country to a communist regime.

Has a deal been struck between the US and Chavez for Honduras ??????
Written by Kent Burns

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No big surprise, but the media is getting it ALL WRONG on what is going on in Honduras. This is NOT a coup. A coup is when the military or others take over the government without regard for law and constitution. This is not what has happened in Honduras at all.

In fact, the military did not initiate any of what happened yesterday. The Supreme Court--constitutional civilian authority--ordered that the military arrest the president because of his illegal orders and activities. The military followed the civilian orders but took no control of the government nor took any unconstitutional authority. The Congress voted unanimously--and that includes the majority of the Congress which is from the Liberal Party (Zelaya's own party)--to remove him from office and to swear in Roberto Micheletti, the next in the constitutional line of succession for the presidency. Micheletti has been the president of the senateand is a member of the Liberal Party. It is clear that this was not a coup but was a clear commitment to the constitution and to the checks and balances that are there for just such a time as this. Gen. Vásquez, the chief of staff who was fired by Zelaya for refusing to carry out an illegal order, showed great courage and commitment to his country, as did all the members of the military, in standing for law and justice rather than doing the "politically correct" thing according to Zelaya.

We are really encouraged about what has happened in Honduras in these days--signs of political maturity, not a return to the days of the banana republic. They are actually showing the rest of Latin America how to stand up to would-be dictators and power brokers. Good for Honduras!

Most sincerely,

Karin Thomas