Will Zelaya Return? Will the Supreme Court cooperate with Lobo Sosa?

(we are both traveling so short posts only)

Its hard, in the best of times, to know what's going on in Honduras. We've seen that the newspapers cannot be trusted to present the facts, that broadcast reporters make things up. The whisper campaigns can drown out the real stories.

So it's really hard to know what exactly is going on in the struggle between Porfirio Lobo Sosa and the Supreme Court. The one thing Lobo Sosa must know is that he's got the worst job in Honduras, trying to regain international recognition while the clowns in the Supreme Court continue to thumb their noses at him.

So amid whisper campaigns and rumor mills comes word that the Supreme Court will meet as a whole on Monday to consider again its decision to dismiss four judges and a magistrate, solely for anti-coup activity. There was much bravado from the court earlier in the week saying they would not take up the topic again, so Friday's report that they would, at the request of a group of justices, came as a surprise. Still, I don't expect them to reverse themselves.

Also on Friday, El Heraldo reported that the Supreme Court had vacated its order to capture Manuel Zelaya Rosales. This is the arrest order for Zelaya that chief prosecutor Luis Rubí requested so that if Zelaya returns to Honduras he will be thrown in jail to await a trial. Ramon Custodio, the golpista Human Rights commissioner, today contradicted El Heraldo and said the arrest order had not been vacated. Custodio added that it was Lobo Sosa's intention to bring Zelaya back and assassinate him.

Today court spokesperson Daniel Izaguirre said the court was "willing to suspend the arrest warrant against Zelaya, if a judge orders it [emphasis mine]." He added that Zelaya's attorney would have to request the suspension and a judge would have to hold hearings and find the request had merit. Zelaya would have to present himself before the court and agree to be judged. More nose thumbing.

Meanwhile, Luis Rubí said he won't resign. Clearly someone is pressuring him or this topic wouldn't be coming up. Perhaps he should consider it. He's batting 0-3 against former Zelaya cabinet ministers in court. All have been declared not guilty of the crimes he charged them with, and in one case the court chastised Rubí for not investigating the case before charging one of them.Rubí alleged that this person's signature was on an order to rent an ENEE (national electrical company) building when it wasn't. Latest to be acquitted was Rebeca Santos.

Finally on Friday, Porfirio Lobo Sosa telephoned Dominican President Leonel Fernandez and proposed that if Fernandez had some free time to come and visit Honduras, that he, Lobo Sosa, would fly to the Dominican Republic, and the two of them could then escort Manuel Zelaya Rosales to Honduras as guarantees of his safety and freedom from arrest.

Will Manuel Zelaya Rosales accept the word of Porfirio Lobo Sosa that he will not be arrested, and return to Honduras? Zelaya says he is studying the proposal.

"I take the word of Porfirio Lobo Sosa, whom I thank for his good intentions; we will have to analyze what the proposal consists of."