zelaya report to oas in english anexo 3 agsc00258e-3

8/8/2019 Zelaya Report to OAS in English Anexo 3 AGSC00258E-3

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Appendix 3 Former President Zelayas Report on the Situation of Honduras

ORIGINAL TEXT IN SPANISH

REPORT ON THE SITUATION IN HONDURASSanto Domingo, July 9, 2010

Regarding the resolution adopted at the fortieth regular session of the General Assembly

of the Organization of American States [t]o form a High-Level Commission composed

of persons appointed by the Secretary General to analyze the evolution of the situationreferred to in Resolution AG/RES.1 (XXXVII-E/09).

FACTORS AND BACKGROUND WORTH NOTING

The report of the OAS Secretary General on the status and situation of the resolutionon the coup dtat in Honduras (AG/RES.1-XXXII-E/09), which he submitted to theOAS General Assembly at its fortieth regular session in Lima, Peru states and concludes

that all the efforts and initiatives undertaken by the Organization to comply with themandate assigned therein were in vain.

Tegucigalpa/San Jos Agreement. The Agreements and suggestions promoted bydiplomatic efforts and initiatives, backed by governments, were never implementedbecause of the de facto regimes radical refusal to comply with them, which effectivelydoomed them to failure.

That was what happened with the so-called Tegucigalpa/San Jos Agreement or

Guaymuras Dialogue, the main purpose of which was to restore President Zelaya tooffice, along with other related obligations, such as the establishment of a Commissionto verify compliance with the Agreements, the organization of a Government of

Reconciliation and Unity, the holding of elections under the reconstituted rule of law,

and the installation of a Truth Commission.

Since the principal obligation related to the OAS mandate of restitution of theConstitutional President was not met, the legitimate Government denounced the

Agreement to the OAS because of noncompliance with the Agreement on the part ofthose who had perpetrated the coup dtat. Consequently, all the obligations derived fromthe Agreement were then null and void.

ASSESSMENT OF THE SITUATION REFERRED TO IN OASRESOLUTION AG/RES.1 (XXXII-E/09), COUP DTAT INHONDURAS

1. The restoration of democracy and the rule of law (AG/RES.1 /XXXII-E/09)

According continuity to the coup dtat, and in violation of all the resolutions adoptedand the mandates contained therein, the de facto regime of Roberto Micheletti Ban

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managed to achieve its goal of holding elections under duress and handing over

government to his successor, Porfirio Lobo Sosa. Having assumed office, and despite

acknowledging that there had been a coup dtat in Honduras, Lobo Sosa has neithermade an effort nor complied with even elementary requirements to restore democracy

and the rule of law and thereby achieve international recognition.

During Mr. Lobo Sosas government, the immunities, privileges, and impunity of theperpetrators and instigators of the violent disruption of the constitutional order havebeen systematically reinforced. The institutional integrity of the Honduran State is still

being usurped by the perpetrators and accomplices of the coup dtat, who continue to

hold public office and take steps impeding the restoration of democracy and the rule oflaw in Honduras.

The most glaring evidence of that is the following:

No punishment has yet been meted out to those who violated State

institutions by forging, executing, legitimizing, and justifying the coup dtat ofJune 28, 2009 and all the offenses and breaches of the law that went with it.

The National Congress appointed Roberto Micheletti Ban a Congressman forlife, as a reward for having violated the constitutional order; suspended constitutional

rights and guarantees; permitted and abetted falsification of the Constitutional President's

signature in order to publish his fictitious resignation; allowed and attempted toplegitimize the kidnapping, expulsion, and persecution of President Zelaya and seniorofficials in his government, and installed a regime for massive and selective repression ofpeacefully demonstrating citizens: a flagrant violation of human rights and crimes against

humanity, in this case against the Honduran people, as well as other related crimes and

offenses.

The National Congress adopted an amnesty decree applicable only to theperpetrators of the coup dtat, granting impunity to the most abominable crimes andviolations of human rights to the detriment of the defenseless population of Honduras.

The Supreme Court dismissed all proceedings against the militarycommand responsible for executing the coup dtat and for crimes against humanity.

The Supreme Court dismissed judges opposed to the coup dtat. Perpetrators and accomplices of the coup dtat remain in office andunpunished, as do the Attorney General and the Magistrates of the Supreme Court ofJustice, who are engaged in politically motivated judicial prosecution of President Zelaya

and senior officials in his government. Proceedings fabricated after the coup dtat are

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still running their course.

The Government of Porfirio Lobo Sosa has incorporated into his governmentperpetrators and accomplices of the coup dtat, who are currently performing themost important functions directly for the Executive Branch.

The wave of repression, persecution, and political crime which began on June28, 2009 has systematically increased and become consolidated and institutionalized.

No initiatives have been taken that suggest a political will to restoredemocracy and reconciliation by re-establishing the freedoms, rights, and civil andpolitical guarantees of President Zelaya, senior officials in his Government andopponents of the coup dtat and current regime who are members of the National

Popular Resistance Front and victims of repression and politically motivated judicial

persecution, of defamation in the media, and of threats to their physical safety and honor,as a means of intimidating and sidelining them proper to the reign of terror created in

Honduras.

2. Restitution to office of the Constitutional President, Jos Manuel Zelaya.AG/RES.1/XXXII-E/09):

President Zelaya was not restored to the office to which he was elected, in free,transparent, and legitimate elections, by the Honduran people, in the presence of OAS,United Nations, and European Union observers. Valiant efforts by the internationalcommunity and governments in the Americas, mediation initiatives, and agreements

to that end were all totally in vain and were never implemented.

Before and after his government was installed, Porfirio Lobo Sosa publiclyacknowledged that a coup dtat had been carried out in his country and, in theAgreement signed with the President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernndez, onJanuary 20, 2010, he recognized the ongoing validity of the investiture of Jos ManuelZelaya Rosales as Constitutional President.

Nevertheless, nothing has yet been done to restore the rights and guarantees that, in hisown right and because of that investiture under the Constitution, pertain to formerPresident Zelaya after the conclusion of the period for which he was elected legitimaterepresentative of the sovereignty of the people.

On the contrary, like other senior officials in his Government, President Zelaya remainsin exile, still deprived of his constitutional rights and guarantees. He and his officials arebeing persecuted politically with judicial proceedings invented after his kidnapping and

expulsion from his country, in an attempt to justify the coup dtat. Meanwhile therepressive regime remains implacable in its flagrant violation of the human rights of thepopulation in general and of the regimes opponents in particular.

3. Refusal to recognize the regime that arose from a rupture of the constitutionalorder (AG/RES.1 (XXXII-E/09)

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Although the international community resolutely refused to recognize the de facto regime

led by Roberto Micheletti Ban, the elections of November 30, 2009 created a transition

to impunity and contempt of international opinion that is still in effect today.

The elections were challenged as illegal and not recognized by the majority of

Hondurans, and as having taken place without the participation of a considerable number

of candidates for elected office, who decided not to run. The elections were held withoutthe presence of international observers to validate the results and in violation of

international treaties and conventions to which Honduras is party (Vienna Convention,

human rights, and democratic rights). The elections of November 30 were held in the

midst of a bloody repression, with civil rights suspended and harassment of theopposition media, in a militarized country subjected to systematic violation of human

rights. The opposition in resistance had no part in the elections, after hundreds of

candidates elected in primaries the year before resigned, and the Constitutional Presidentwas exposed, along with his family, fellow citizens, journalists and embassy officials, to

constant harassment and torture in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.

IN CONCLUSION

1. The initial coup d tat, assessed as such by the OAS and condemned by all, couldnot be reverted, due to the failure of all the diplomatic moves undertaken by theOrganization of American States, despite all its efforts to achieve the restoration ofdemocracy and the rule of law in Honduras and the reinstatement in his office of the

Constitutional President, Jos Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

The coup dtat led to the suspension of the State of Honduras and, to cite the

Declaration, the refusal to recognize the regime that arose from a rupture of the

constitutional order. Neither that suspension nor that refusal has so far been revokedbecause the circumstances that gave rise to them have not been overcome in any way, as

the above points demonstrate.

2. There is no political will to restore the democratic order. The government ofPresident Porfirio Lobo Sosa, which took office in the aftermath of the coup, isobligated by Articles 2, 3 and 375 of the Constitution of Honduras, which it swore to

respect, to guarantee the democratic order. However, as we can see, it shows completeindifference to, and publicly ignores, violations of the Inter-American DemocraticCharter and of all the agreements and resolutions issued by the Organization ofAmerican States.

Likewise, that same government refuses to admit that the State and the de facto regimefailed to comply with the Tegucigalpa/San Jos Agreements.

Moreover, human rights violations have increased, along with politically motivated crime

and persecution, as can be inferred from the reports of the Inter-American Commission

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on Human Rights (IACHR) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human

Rights. Special mention is made of the execution in the first 60 days of this government

of nine journalists, one in reach region of the country. The number of persons killed byorganized crime has tripled, with the perpetrators enjoying complete impunity.

There has been no sign of any serious intention of permitting the return and repatriation,

with adequate guarantees and the restitution of their rights, of former President Zelaya,

several of his ministers, senior officials and the more than 170 Honduras living abroadbecause of persecution.

This is no democracy, when it tramples upon and persecutes the opposition we represent,excluded from the Truth Commission and from the amnesty that only covers those who

perpetrated the coup, with no attempt at a process of reconciliation.

3. The OAS cannot endorse elections conducted by a regime engendered by a coupdtat. Those elections have been challenged because they were conducted withoutinternational observers, during repression against the Constitutional President and those

who opposed the coup dtat, with unprecedented levels of abstention, without a mandate

or representation of the sovereign people of Honduras, and the OAS should verify thosechallenges. Under those circumstances, what happened was a transition from the de facto

government to that of now President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, which has arisen without legal,political, social or international legitimacy.

4. The OAS must say what it thinks about the public pressures of certain of itsmember states, intentionally designed to ignore the impunity prevailing since thecoup dtat for its perpetrators and instigators.

Only if the international community acts in unison will international mechanisms andinstruments be able to prevent, reverse, and avoid the collusion of de facto interests in

favor of using violence to disrupt democratic institutions, human rights and hemispheric

security.

5. The Organization of American States must be governed by respect for

international law and the mandate conferred upon it by its resolutions. Therefore, ithas the inalienable obligation to declare null and void the actions of the de facto regimeof Roberto Micheletti Ban and the actions attempting illegally to give continuity to that

regime by consolidating the coup dtat and guaranteeing impunity for those responsible

for the violent disruption of the constitutional order in our country.

These crimes against the Constitution and the laws it upholds, human rights violations,

persecution, and crimes against humanity are by definition and their very nature

permanent and imprescriptible.

6. We consider that the only way to OVERCOME THE CRISIS is a politicalagreement with all the opposition forces and the government of Porfirio Lobos Sosathat guarantees governance, reconciliation, and the restoration of the constitutional

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order and democracy. Such an agreement must involve the genuine opposition andpolitical groups, the Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular, and President Jos Manuel

Zelaya Rosales himself. That dialogue must take place under circumstances allowingcomplete freedom for the exercise of constitutional rights, with a complete cessation of

political and judicial persecution, repression, and human rights violations. All that is aprerequisite for beginning the quest for solid and lasting solutions aimed at restoring the

democratic process in Honduras, which was violently disrupted by the coup dtat of June

28, 2009.

THE PROPOSED POLITICAL AGREEMENT FOR THE RESTORATION OF

DEMOCRACY AND RECONCILIATION PRESENTED BY FORMERPRESIDENT ZELAYA

The 8-point proposal we are forwarding to the Organization of American States and the

international community attempts to forge Agreements for Democracy andReconciliation in our country, along with the restoration of the full freedoms and

constitutional guarantees still being forcibly denied to our citizens and the nation as a

whole.

In keeping with and out of respect for the legitimate right of the Honduras people to

achieve restoration of the constitutional and democratic order; the internationalconventions and treaties signed and ratified by the State of Honduras; and democratic

practices and human rights,

WE PROPOSE:

A. That the OAS verify that at no point in the agreements was an amnesty includedand that the one unilaterally passed by the National Congress reaffirms all the criteriainvoked by the military coup, setting a disastrous precedent for impunity and

destabilizing the democratic states in the Americas.

B. That the OAS verify that the GOVERNMENT of President Lobo puts an end to,and declares null and void, all acts of judicial persecution against the opponents of

the regime who are suffering, in the case of President Zelaya and senior officials inhis Government, even exile. We attach documentation of the illegal acts committed byrepresentatives of the de facto regime who, together with the dictator Micheletti, took

part in the coup dtat and today are operating with impunity the institutions supposed to

administer justice. Under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of our Republic, all theiractions are NULL AND VOID.

In order to guarantee the oppositions rights, as an initial prerequisite for the

establishment of democracy, persecuted individuals and their families who are living inexile must be allowed to return to the country with full enjoyment of their civil and

political rights: a petition backed by the Honduran people, governments in the region, andthe international community.

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C. That a High-Level OAS Commission monitor and verify the States guarantee toput an end to repression and human rights violations, by deploying the security

agencies, as required by the Democratic Charter, thereby putting an end to the crimes,politically motivated assassinations, judicial prosecution, repression, and persecution bythe para-military forces that need to be disbanded by the police and the armed forces.

D. The OAS must by consensus request the dismissal from their posts of the principalprotagonists of the coup dtat who are still running justice system institutions, theattorney generals office, and the supreme court and who have explicitly admitted their

participation in the coup dtat, as well as the dismissal of those who have been appointed

to senior positions and secretariats of state in the government of Porfirio Lobo Sosa. Nextweek we will attach a list of military officers and senior officials in the de facto regime

who have been ratified and placed in senior positions in the current government of

Porfirio Lobo.

E. That citizen Jos Manuel Zelaya Rosales take up the position he is entitled to inthe Central American Parliament, in his own right and by virtue of his investiture as aformer Constitutional President, with all his rights restored.

F. That an end be put to the impunity of the coup dtat and human rightsviolations. Under the auspices of the OAS, specialized jurists should be appointed toadvise plaintiffs and ensure that those responsible for crimes against humanity are

subjected to due process of law and tried by the appropriate international courts, the

International Criminal Count and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, acting on

complaints that have already been filed and are in their possession.

G. That the OAS verify that guarantees are established in the country for theexercise of DEMOCRATIC FREEDOM, that nobody is persecuted for his or her ideas,that citizens are allowed to debate and decide on the need for the establishment of

participatory democracy and that society in opposition to the coup can exercise its right to

freedom of opinion, to be recognized as a belligerent force, and to demand a newConstitution.

H. That the OAS reconsider its support for the flawed Truth Commission process,because that process is being conducted unilaterally by the governments officials andpersons associated with the coup dtat, without the participation of the victims. All of us

want to know the truth and for that we must recognize the existence and guarantee the

right of all those involved to express their opinion. Next week we will present annexes onthe Truth Commission, in which we victims want to play a part, as well as a brief analysis

of the coup.

Finally, the time has come to acknowledge and recall that throughout the year that haselapsed since the coup dtat of June 28, 2009 the convictions of our people and of theinternational community have been put to the test. The Honduran people havedemonstrated their yearning for peace and democracy and their ability to put up heroic

resistance to barbarity and violence.

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Therefore, faced with the tragic reappearance of the coup dtat, a crime we had wrongly

imagined was dead and buried, let this be the opportunity for the OAS to secure for us atool to prevent a recurrence, to act as a brake and warning to those forces that strike

blows against our democracies and our right to live in freedom, by saying a LOUD ANDCLEAR NO TO IMPUNITY.

Jos Manuel Zelaya Rosales, President of Honduras 2006-2010Dominican Republic, July 9, 2010.

[Signature]Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle, representative of former President Zelaya

This document, written by former President Zelaya himself and setting forth the historical

truth of the coup dtat in Honduras and its repercussions, will be officially presented inWashington, D.C., at 9:30 a.m. on July 9, 2010, to the Secretary General and High-Level

Commission of the OAS, signed by former secretary of state Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle. I

thank him for his contribution and impeccable work in Washington and for his conviction

and commitment to the cause of democracy in Honduras and Latin America.

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zelaya report to oas in english anexo 3 agsc00258e-3

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