Honduran Supreme Court Re-affirms dismissal of anti-coup justices

It was, after all, completely predictable. The Honduran Supreme Court has been rigid in defending itself from any hint of poor judgment, and insists that it is making entirely apolitical decisions when the politicized nature of its decisions are laughably evident.

The latest development provides clear evidence of the weakness of Porfirio Lobo Sosa and the strength of the far right in Honduras in opposing the president-- one product of the success of the right wing coup of 2009. As the AFP coverage of the latest decision put it,

a coalition of organizations of the ultra-right pressured the Supreme Court not to reinstate the judges and to reject the intentions of Lobo to aid Zelaya returning from his exile in the Dominican Republic.

Lobo Sosa is quoted as saying

"All decisions should be congruent with the interests of the nation... they should not generate more conflict. We are tired of this conflict by now".

But what the Supreme Court, and its right wing supporters, are demonstrating is that the claim that the Honduran people have put this conflict behind them is premature. And a large part of the responsibility for that goes to the international community, especially the US, which is so intent on fulfilling a pro-forma version of the San Jose/Tegucigalpa/Guaymas accords, that they are pushing forward with steps that Honduras is clearly not ready to undertake.

And that puts Lobo Sosa between the proverbial rock and hard place. Again quoting AFP,

According to the authority, on the international level they do not differentiate between the decisions of the powers of State, in this case the judicial branch. "They always say 'Honduras' so it is important that we all get in the same key".

But the Supreme Court is not interested in singing a duet with Lobo Sosa.

Meanwhile, the dismissed judges, whose only offense was to accept cases protesting the coup and to personally protest the coup, vowed to take their case to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. Guillermo López, one of those who was on a hunger strike following the original Supreme Court ruling, is quoted as saying

"The hunger strike is suspended but we are going to initiate other actions at an international level, in the International Court, the OAS, and other instances to make known that it is impossible to reverse the coup d'Etat in Honduras...They are going to initiate actions in the International Court to judge the public prosecutor, Luis Rubí, the president of the Supreme Court, Jorge Avilés, and the other 14 magistrates [of the Supreme Court], because if not the coup d'Etat cannot be reversed."

A communique from the justices refused reinstatement said

That the Supreme Court of Justice has resolved to confirm the sanctions imposed the past May 5 does nothing more than make clear that this organ has decided to distance itself from legality and that it has surrendered to the pressures of the ultra-right sectors engaged in the rupture of constitutional order... this confirms the direct participation of the Judicial Power in the coup d'Etat of the 28th of June.