Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Public Prosecutor Threatens Congress
Luis Rubi, public prosecutor for the de facto government of Honduras, warned Congress today that they might face legal responsibilities if they vote to restore Manuel Zelaya to his Presidency. "Our legal opinion will go beyond pronouncing, if its necessary, to see if taking determined actions puts the Congress people in legal jeopardy," Rubi said.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Speaking of Rubi, there have been a number of assassinations and assassination attempts against members of the oligarchy, the most recent being the murder of Jose Eduardo Callejas Romero, brother of the ex-president.
Any idea what's behind this wave of violence? Adrienne believed that if the repression of the peaceful resistance succeeded, things would move on to settling things ala Olancho. Are we entering that stage, or could these be infighting among the oligarchy, narcotraffickers asserting their power against a weakened state, or honor killings?
--Charles
I think they're not connected with the polarization that resulted from the coup.
There's at least a couple of things going on. One is the kidnaping and holding for ransom of the middle and upper class that's been going on for several years in Honduras. Hondurans claim its Salvadoran and Nicaraguan gangs that are responsible, but Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans and Hondurans have been killed in shootouts between the police and kidnappers so its not a single nations gangs that are responsible for the kidnappings. This is what happened to the Defense Minister's father. This has been going on for at least 10 years in Honduras.
Second are what appear to be organized crime style contract assassinations, such as what happened today to Jose Eduardo Callejas, where only the targeted person is killed, and others in the vehicle are unharmed. I would include the killing of Micheletti's nephew, Enzo Micheletti, where the victims are found with the hands bound behind them and are shot execution style, in this group.
Rubi himself was shot at while leaving one of his country homes in the department of Comayagua. The police know that at least 3 different weapons were used, presumably based on physical evidence of some sort; but either those carrying out the ambush were terrible shots or it was a deliberate warning of some sort.
None of this is the work of the Frente; and I doubt that anyone associated with it is responsible either.
With the exceptions of the kidnappings for ransom, I think the killings are a side effect of the corruption that is endemic in Honduras. Since I don't have a baseline for how often these occur, I don't know if there's been an uptick in their frequency.
Zelaya should immediately file a petition for mandamus to compel the Honduran Congress to comply with the Accord, to move it to the floor for a vote on restitution.
It may be possible to get a judicial order prior to it being quashed by the court. In any event, such a filing forces the main issue - immediately getting the matter to the floor for a vote.
Post a Comment