Thursday, November 26, 2009

Honduran President Zelaya's Letter to the Presidents of the Hemisphere

(Ed. Note: With Honduras' "elections" coming up this Sunday President Mel Zelaya, still cornered in the Tegucigalpa's Brazilian Embassy by the troops of the de facto regime, wrote an open letter to the Presidents of the Hemisphere and CCed it to the heads of the UN, Organization of American States (OAS) and the EU. Although somewhat verbose Zelaya spells out the illegality of the coup regimes actions as well as what he hopes for from leaders in the region. Here is the translation courtesy of NarcoNews, one of the last bastions of true  authentic journalism left in the hemisphere.)

PRESIDENT ZELAYA's Letter to the Presidents of the Hemisphere
http://www.narconews.com/Issue62/article3950.html

The Narco News Bulletin
Reporting on the War on Drugs and Democracy from Latin America
November 24, 2009 | Issue #62

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“Legalizing Coups d’Etat by Means of Spurious Electoral Processes Divides the Unity of the Nations of América”
A Letter to the Presidents of the Hemisphere

By Manuel Zelaya Rosales
President of Honduras
November 22, 2009

Honorable Presidents
Nations of América

Dear Presidents,

I write you in my role as President of Honduras, valuing the excellent relations between our countries and in defense of the democracy violated in Honduras as consequence of the Military Coup d’Etat perpetrated June 28 of this year, when soldiers invaded my home and at gunpoint kidnapped and took me to Costa Rica.

The National Congress forged my resignation letter and, abusing its power, emitted an illegal decree which “separated me from the charge of Constitutional President” without Constitutional backing to do so. The same was the case for the arrest order that the Court had emitted without having received any legal complain and without my having been cited to appear before any tribunal or trial. It has been condemned and described by all the countries of the world as a violent and surprising rupture of democratic order, a Military Coup d’Etat.

At this moment in Honduras we are in a de facto State. There is no Constitution. Nor are there Constitutional powers because they have been destroyed by force by the military Coup d’Etat on that ominous day of June 28, 2009.

The Constitution of the Republic establishes in Article 3: “No one owes obedience to an usurper government, nor to those who occupy public positions or jobs by the force of weapons or using means or procedures that bankrupt or fail to recognize what the Constitution and the law establishes. Those actions by so-called authorities are null and void. The people have the right to insurrection to defend the Constitutional order.”

In reading that article, you can understand that the Honduran people are legally empowered to act using all means, styles and forms that they consider necessary to restore democracy. We have consciously taken the path of peaceful resistance, with the goal of establishing noncooperation and nonviolence like methods of civil disobedience and twenty-first century popular struggle against the rise of military force.

We thank the entire international community for your support for our labor to reconstruct the State of Law, that being the last effort of the poorly reached Tegucigalpa-San José Accord, backed by the OAS and the US Department of State. Its letter and spirit has as its proposal the “return of the title the executive branch to what it was prior to June 28.” And it was openly violated by the de facto regime which in which Mr. Micheletti pretends to head a government of reconciliation, refusing to convene the National Congress, in definitive noncompliance of the timeline and text.

Now, unilaterally, he seeks to utilize the aborted accord by convening the National Congress on December 2, a date upon which the political actors of the accord will have been substantially modified, in the sense that by then they will have already been submitted to the opinion ofthe voters without having restored Constitutional order.

The elections of November 29 and their use of public funds under a de facto regime, without having previously restored democracy and the State of Law as OAS and UN resolutions demand, without even having installed the government of unity and reconciliation, are illegal, illegitimate, and constitute a criminal act.

At the moment that the de facto regime with its soldiers convenes a spurious electoral process under repression, without legal guarantees, and without a political agreement, in which the military dictatorship is the guarantor of the law, it only strengthens its actions of force and impunity.

Precisely today, Channel 36, property of journalist Esdras Amado López, the only television chain that has opposed the regime, has had its signal blocked and taken off the air by the dictatorship.

The de facto regime has frontally disregarded the resolutions of the OAS, the UN and the European Union. It has also violated the Democratic Charter of the OAS and its resolutions while some of Honduras’ friends among countries demonstrate ambiguity and support for the electoral process without having restored democratic order and without political dialogue. That permits the de facto regime to impose its will by force.

As President of Honduras, I communicate with you to say that below these conditions I will not back the electoral process and will proceed to challenge it legally in the name of the men and women of my country and of hundreds of community leaders that suffer the loss of democracy, the repression, the unfair circumstances and the suppression of freedom.

These elections have to be annulled and rescheduled to when the sovereign will of the people is respected.

In these difficult moments for our brother countries of América, we ask for your solidarity with Honduras.

* That you accompany us based on the facts that you know, reiterating the position of not supporting a unilateral intent to give validity to an accord that was quickly rescinded by the violations consummated by the dictatorship.
* Reaffirming the condemnation of the coup d’etat of the military State and not supporting a de facto regime whose existence today shames all the peoples of Latin América Latina, that after all the attempts by the international community to reverse the coup d’etat have ended in a total failure for everyone.
* Appealing to maintain your firmness in the execution of the resolutions passed by the OAS and the UN and not adopting ambiguous and imprecise positions like those displayed today by the government of the United States of America, with whose final posture has weakened the process of reversing the coup d’etat, demonstrating division in the international community. By feeding this coup d’etat the democratic security in the hemisphere and the stability of the Presidents of América is put at risk, with the resurgence of military castes over civil authority. Legitimizing coups d’etat by means of spurious electoral processes divides and does not contribute to the unity of the nations of América.
* I ask for your cooperation so that this Military Coup d’Etat its bloody violations of human rights do not go unpunished. Already, the International Criminal Court has received complaints and allowed them to proceed to trial to obtain justice for our people and apply the corresponding sanctions to those who committed treason to the Nation and crimes against humanity in Honduras.
* We voice our energetic rejection of those who support the maneuvers to launder the coup d’etat, covering up for the golpistas to leave their crimes protected.
* With our full attention, we invite all the nations to recognize our government and that they abstain from supporting the actions of the illegal regime that usurped power by force of weapons.
* We cordially demand and exhort your representatives to the OAS and the UN to continue defending and supporting the rights of the people and of the legitimately elected governments, since when one of our nations suffers an assault it is an affront to all América; and, each time a government elected by the peoples of América is toppled, violence and terrorism win and Democracy suffers a defeat.

In wait of your response, I appreciate the invaluable support demonstrated until now for these principles and I send you greetings reiterating my esteem and my highest consideration.

JOSE MANUEL ZELAYA ROSALES
President of the Republic of Honduras

cc: Sr. José Miguel Insulza, Secretario General de la OEA
Sr. Ban Ki Moon, Secretario General de la ONU
Sr. José Barroso, Comisión Unión Europea
Archive

Lea Ud. el Artículo en Español - http://www.narconews.com/Issue62/articulo3950.html
Discussion of this article from The Narcosphere

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The Narco News Bulletin: Reporting on the Drug War and Democracy from Latin America

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Great Blight North #3

I recently asked well-known blogger The Korean from askakorean.net fame for his thoughts on North Korea. At 16 he left Korea with his family to live in California, and he now lives in New York City. Although off the peninsula for quite some time, his views on the DPRK are similar to many of the South Koreans I have interviewed.

WAP: What was your earliest memory of North Korea or its people?
TK: When I was in the first grade, we learned about the story about this brave boy about our age. (Don't remember if it was in the textbook or if the teacher was free-styling.) The boy lived in a northern part of Gangwon-do near the Armistice Line with his parents, and some armed communist spies broke into his house, demanding food. The boy exclaimed, "I hate communists!" and one of the spies killed the boy by ripping his mouth open with a bayonet.
Apparently this is a true story, but what a thing to teach to 6 year old kids!

WAP: Do you want reunification?
TK: Yes.


                                                    Seoul's War Memorial of Korea

WAP: Do you want comprehensive and immediate reunification, similar to East and West Germany -though the DPRK's economy is much worse shape than the GDR's ever was- or do you want a more gradual process of reintegration? 
TK: Gradual process, by a small margin. But I think realistically, the only possible way in which reunification would happen is the comprehensive and immediate version.


WAP: Is the reunification of the two Koreas paramount, or does the continued success of the South Korean economy trump sweeping change? 
TK: I don't think it's an either-or proposition, because I don't think reunification will doom South Korean economy (although it will likely depress South Korean economy for a little while.)  Eventually, reunification will be a boost toward Korean economy, for example, by providing cheap labor and cheaper access to China.

WAP:How do you feel about the presence of American troops on the peninsula?
TK: I think American troops are indispensable for maintaining peace in the Korean peninsula.


Here is a paper that brings up some interesting points regarding reunification vis-a-vis the German example.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Honduran Supreme Court Drags Its Feet, Lawyers Fight Back

Mere weeks before the highly controversial national elections slated for November 29, the Supreme Court of Justice is in no rush to rule on the restoration of overthrown President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya.


With a muzzled press towing the Micheletti regime's party line and little connection to the outside world - less than 10% of Hondurans are internet users- many Hondurans are looking towards the Supreme Court for an impartial solution to the crisis that has plagued the country fore more than four months. Yet many Zelaya supporters think they are seeing their worst fears confirmed that the court which backed the coup will prolong any decision on Zelaya's return to power until after elections.

After the recent attempt at a unity government failed - Zelaya refused to join the team made up entirely of Micheletti nominees- the reinstatement of Zelaya is the coup regime's only chance of the elections gaining a shred of legitimacy.

Amidst the backdrop of the cooperation between supposedly separate organs of the state, partiality lawyers in the industrial center of San Pedro Sula have set their sights on the Supreme Court with a pronouncement made public yesterday. Here is the full text of from The Resistance Lawyers Front's (RLF) :


WE URGE THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE TO BE INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL

The Resistance Lawyers Front in the North Zone, due to the actions of the Supreme Court of Justice since the 28th of June, appeal to the Honduran people and the international community:

FIRST,  during recent years we bore witness to the deterioration and politicization of the institutions of  Justice. We thought the new appointments in Supreme Court of Justice this past January would make important changes possible in the areas of strengthening the independence and impartiality of that branch of the State. Sadly, this did not happen in the following six months, as the 15 Supreme Court Judges made it clear that justice would continue to serve the powerful political and economic groups of our country. In doing so they deeply defrauded the aspirations of the Honduran people who genuinely thought that by electing these judges they could make a difference.

SECOND: With the awful coup d'état of June 28th, the Supreme Court of Justice -forgetting its role as an impartial organ- has publicly put forward supposed legal arguments in an attempt to legitimize the illegal and unconstitutional actions taken by this de facto regime. Likewise, it has fully neglected their duty to protect the people. It is complicit in all the violations suffered by the Honduran people and has postponed or blocked the processing of constitutional claims presented by the citizenry.

THIRD: In addition to all its actions mentioned above, the Supreme Court of Justice has unleashed a campaign of persecution against those judges and their employees that -valiantly and lawfully- stood against the coup d'état and for the reestablishment of the constitutional order.


IN VIEW OF THE AFOREMENTIONED, WE URGE:

  1. That the Supreme Court of Justice rectify its partiality, which only searches to legally justify the completion of the coup and the continuation of a de facto regime, and honor their obligation to protect fundamental rights.
  2. That the Supreme Court of Justice immediately cease its persecution of judges and employees that,  exercising their civil rights, have demonstrated against the coup d'état.
  3.  That the Honduran Bar Association affirm their support for the Constitution and its legality, preventing legal judgments that only look to legitimize the coup, and that they request the Supreme Court of Justice to correct all its biased claims.
WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE JUDGES WHO ARE VICTIMS OF PERSECUTION AND WE SUPPORT THE NECESSARY ACTIONS TO GUARANTEE THE STABILITY AND INDEPENDENCE OF THEIR ACTIONS.

San Pedro Sula, Cortes, November 9th of 2009




(Photo courtesy of the RLF)


Sunday, November 8, 2009

November 11th

http://jkim703.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/3.jpg

This Wednesday, while many people back home in Canada will observe a moment of silence to honour the many people who sacrificed their lives in the wars of the past century,  the consumers of South Korea will be munching down on little chocolate sticks. As a result of marketing genius - and the fact that South Koreans commemorate their fallen in June- every November 11th  on the peninsula is  a frenzy of candy consumption known as Pepero Day. 


Why is it Pepero day?  Numerically, November the 11th looks just like 4 Peperos in a row. Korea's answer to Japan's Pocky candy, these thin cookie sticks dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with assorted accompaniments are given to loved ones, friends and classmates. 



On a side note, Pocky is definitely better than Pepero and also has many more flavours. Below are a couple more ridiculous ones:

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