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El Hogar Ministries eNewsletter
Special Edition - Update on Political Situation
July 9, 2009 |
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Introduction
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This Special Edition of our eNewsletter is for delivering updates on the current political situation in Honduras, in the hopes of keeping you informed about Honduras and how the current crisis unfolds and impacts El Hogar.
To save on length of these emails, we are now sending only the most recent two articles written by Rev. Rich Kunz. These and and all the previous articles can be found on www.elhogar.org. | |
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| July 9, 2009 |
Can This Marriage Be Saved?
The Ex-President's Turn:
" I was working hard for the poor of the country, and there were people who did not like that. They came for me in the middle of the night while I was in my pajama's and flew me out of the country without ever presenting charges against me or going through any legal channels. All I was trying to do was to hold a survey to see what the people of Honduras wanted. Now, I am going to Costa Rica not to negotiate, but to hear how they will arrange to bring me back to office. Michelleti is a gorilla, and to negotiate with him would be like having discussions with someone who has violated members of your family. My goal is to make sure that Michelleti pays for his miserable treason! I am only participating in these talks because Hilary Clinton asked me to."
The Present-President's Turn:
"I want a peaceful resolution to all of this, but that will not include Zelaya's return to power. We may be willing to drop some charges against him, though. How can he possibly think he can return when the Congress, the Supreme Court, the army, the Attorney General and his own political party have all declared that he is subverting the constitution? Plus, we are finding out that he literally carried suitcases full of money out of the bank in order to finance his unconstitutional referendum, mostly to buy votes with. My goal is to have him be legally accountable for the many crimes he committed in his abuse of office. I did not grab power from him. I was legally appointed by the Congress, and it is my concern to protect our constitution."
Today it is the Counselor's turn! Oscar Arias has agreed to meet with both parties in his home to try to come to some resolution. Hilary seems to be the one who has made it possible for the talks to happen. She conspicuously avoided insisting that the resolution must include Zelaya's return to office at her press conference. Meanwhile, as of last night, Nicaragua was refusing air space to the plane that would carry Michelleti and his delegation to the talks.
Despite the deep differences between the two sides, most of the people I have talked to here are very hopeful that there will be a peaceful resolution soon, and are eager to go back to normal life. There are pro-Zelaya demonstrators who claim they will continue their resistance, but their numbers are greatly reduced right now. What I hear from quite a few folks is, "This fighting and turmoil is not the real Honduras! Hondurans are peace-loving and friendly people. We respect the laws, and want a just government."
I would not want Arias' job, but I believe he is a very smart and accomplished man, and I am hopeful he will lead them to an agreement.
Meanwhile, El Hogar still moves ahead! I am planning to visit the Agricultural School today. Yesterday Claudia was able to buy some new tables and chairs for the classrooms with money she got by selling furniture donated by a local store. Cristian's last surgery is
scheduled for tomorrow. Some of the boys at the Institute are "under the weather", but other than that, classes are proceeding as normal.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers!
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| July 8, 2009 |
Yesterday new hope entered the picture. Attention here was turned to Washington (Well, also to Jackson's funeral!) as Zelaya met with Hilary, and a contingent from the congress also tried to get a hearing. In the meantime, here in Honduras, demonstrations continued. The supporters of Mel marched to the US Embassy. Supporters of the present government rallied in the central squares of many of the towns. Here in Tegucigalpa the rally took the form of a festival to celebrate democracy. There were some speeches, but also lots of music and dancing. Both demonstrations were peaceful.
Zelaya went into his meeting with Hilary boasting that he would be back in Honduras in a few hours. He left announcing that he was willing to accept the intervention of Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, and meet with the acting President Micheletti. I would love to know what was said to him during that meeting! The talks are scheduled to begin on Thursday. People here are more hopeful now that the two sides are talking, although both sides, naturally, are saying that their demands are non-negotiable, and that the purpose of the talks is simply to get the other side to comply. I think there are enough outside pressures on both to lead them to some sort of compromise.) I also suspect that the fact talks are taking place will take some of the "oomph" out of the demonstrations, although Zelaya's supporters are saying they will not desist.
Officially the mood was lifted somewhat. The airport, which had been closed until this weekend, has been reopened. The curfew, which had been from 6:30pm until 5:00am, is now 10:30 pm until 4:30am.
The only one who seems extremely unhappy about these developments is Chavez, who continues to call for the people of Honduras to rise up, violently if necessary, against the current government. The Cardinal here called on Chavez to keep his hands out of Honduras.
Yesterday I was free to drive to portions of town which had really been off limits because of the violent gatherings there. It is upsetting to see the extent of the vandalism by supporters of Zelaya. Somehow, the combination of demonstrations purportedly to restore constitutional order, and the looting, burning, window-breaking, defacing and general destruction left behind, do not seem to fit together. The city is now blanketed with graffiti, much of it quite crude.
This is a chance for those of us in El Hogar to take a deep breath! It is true that the talks may fail, but folks here are hopeful. I think we are all worn down emotionally by what has taken place, and wanting to turn our full attention back to caring for the children and young people in our charge, a hard job to begin with.
Please don't stop praying yet! We very much appreciate being remembered during this time. The staff here believe that El Hogar is God's ministry, and are very much aware that we cannot do it without God's help, and the help of those who keep us in their hearts, and support us in so many ways.
Thank you!
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| Past Articles |
| To read past articles, please visit our website at: www.elhogar.org. | |
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Sincerely,
Rev. Rich Kunz
Executive Director, Honduras | |
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