HONDURAS: ZELAYA BUSTED....AGAIN

Talk of reinstatement of Manuel Zelaya as president of Honduras last month appears to have been premature. He is still holed up in the Brazilian embassy and Roberto MIcheletti is still in power. If you remember, the reason for Zelaya's ouster on June 28th was that all branches of government determined he was attempting to use a referendum to stay in power beyond his one term in office, a move strictly prohibited by the Honduran constitution.

All along, Zelaya has denied that he was attempting to do such a thing. Now we learn courtesy of the Canadian Press that Zelaya will not accept any deal calling for his reinstatement if he must endorse the elections.

The RECORD reports:

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya insisted late Saturday that he will not accept any deal to restore him to office if it means he must recognize elections later this month.

In a letter addressed to President Barack Obama, Zelaya also repeated his accusation that Washington reversed its stance on whether the Nov. 29 vote should be considered legitimate if he was not in office.

There is another fascinating dimension in all of this. In particular, assuming the November 29th elections proceed as scheduled and there is a peaceful transition of power, it will have meant that the interim Honduran government, led by Micheletti will have not only defended its own constitution but it will have defeated nearly unanimous international opposition with the United States, under Barack Obama arguably being the most aggressive in its support of Zelaya (behind only Hugo Chavez).

Here's the part of the article that highlights both the U.S. backing off this battle and Zelaya's childish immaturity:

Washington has said it supports Zelaya's reinstatement, but the pact set no deadline for his return to office. And after brokering the deal, U.S. diplomats indicated Washington would support the elections, which had been scheduled before the coup, as long the deal was implemented.

"The future that you show us today by changing your position in the case of Honduras, and thus favouring the abusive intervention of the military castes ... is nothing more than the downfall of freedom and contempt for human dignity," Zelaya said in the letter to Obama. "It is a new war against the processes of social and democratic reforms so necessary in Honduras."

Throughout this entire ordeal, Zelaya has put his personal quest for power above what is best for his country, which points to Micheletti being justified in replacing him. This latest bit of yammering is just further evidence of that. If Zelaya were truly interested in peacefully ending all of this, he would work out a deal that would allow him to return to Honduras while ceding power.

Lastly, don't you know that Micheletti is counting the minutes until he can step down? He's like a quarterback in the 4th Quarter, trying to protect a lead. Just run out the clock and get the W.

Speaking of W's, the first president of the United States, George Washington, could have been king but didn't want it. He could have stayed in office as president but he didn't want to. His legacy is great indeed. Something tells me that Micheletti's legacy will be grand as well (once all of these passions cool). Maybe it's just one of those paradoxes in life. Those who lead out of a sense of duty and service and not necessarily a desire to lead, make better leaders than those whose quest for leadership outweighs all other considerations.

h/t to FR