U.S. Conservatives Support Ouster Of Honduran President

Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya speaks during a news conference after a meeting of the OAS in Washington, 01 Jul 2009The Organization of American States and most governments in the worldhave condemned the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by themilitary last Sunday as a coup d'etat. But the people who currentlyhold power in Honduras say they followed legal procedures outlined intheir nation's constitution and their position is backed by manyconservatives in the United States.

The crisis in Honduras has becomea hot topic for conservative pundits in the past several days.President Obama, along with other world leaders, the Organization ofAmerican States and some human rights groups, have condemned themilitary's removal of President Zelaya in Honduras last Sunday.

Butmany conservatives say the officials who carried out the ouster of thepresident did the right thing. They argue that Zelaya violated theHonduran constitution by planning to hold an illegal referendum thatwas aimed at continuing his time in office indefinitely. Commentatorslike the Wall Street Journal's Mary Anastasia O'Grady say Honduranswere defending their democracy by throwing out a president who wasaligned with Cuba's communist regime and Venezuela's leftist leaderHugo Chavez.

Even critics of President Zelaya, however, saylegal means should have been used against him rather than a nighttimeraid on his home by heavily armed soldiers. But Hans Bader, a legalexpert with the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, says theHonduran Supreme Court and Congress believed Zelaya had put theircountry in immediate peril.

"I don't think they needed to waituntil he actually made himself into a dictator," he said. "I think theywere entitled to take action against a budding dictator. But even ifthey weren't, it seems to me that it is not so clear that he is in theright that the United States should be meddling in Honduras' affairs."

Thatview is challenged by Georgia State University professor JenniferMcCoy, who also serves as director of the Americas Program at theCarter Center in Atlanta. She says Honduran concerns about possibleillegal actions by their president may be valid, but they do notjustify the way Zelaya's removal was carried out.

"Even if themilitary was acting to carry out a police action, I think the questionscoming from the international community are why would the military actinstead of the police? And why would they take him out of the countryinstead of following a procedure inside the country?," she said.

McCoysays she believes it may be possible to broker a solution to what sheregards as a constitutional crisis in Honduras, but she says both pro-and anti-Zelaya factions will need to recognize what brought it about.

"Thatis the conflict between the powers in Honduras and the defiance of thepresident of rulings by the Supreme Court and rulings by the Congressand those do need to be dealt with," said McCoy. "But, the point of theinternational community is that those are not to be dealt with at theend of the barrel of a gun, but, instead, through legal proceedings."

HansBader and other conservative commentators accuse President Obama ofsiding with the anti-democratic forces in the region against people inHonduras who were trying to protect their republic and itsconstitution. He is concerned that President Obama might join theEuropean Union and many Latin American nations in suspending aid andtrade with Honduras.

"It is a very poor country," said Bader."If we were to essentially close our markets to their products we couldcause a great deal of hardship in the country and cause thousands ofHondurans to lose their jobs. That would only compound the suffering ofthe Honduran people."

But the Obama administration has not takenany action so far against Honduras other than suspending some jointmilitary programs. Many other nations have pulled their ambassadorsfrom Tegucigalpa, but the U.S. ambassador remains in place.

Tradebetween the United States and Honduras amounts to over $7 billion a year. In addition, Hondurans living in the United States sendhome around $2.5 billion in remittances, which represent around onefifth of the Central American nation's total Gross National Product.Most observers think it is unlikely that the United States will imposeharsh penalties on Honduras, but much will depend on what happens inthe days ahead.

Even some conservatives are concerned aboutwhat the people currently in power in Honduras are doing in the face ofprotests by Zelaya supporters. The CATO Institute's Juan CarlosHidalgo, who supported the removal of Zelaya, has called on authoritiesin Tegucigalpa to respect human rights and avoid repression oflegitimate, peaceful dissent.