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.

Bitter Pill for Lobo Sosa

In a rare moment of candor, Porfirio Lobo Sosa admitted a setback in his program to get Honduras back to its pre-coup place in the international community. That would include reincorporation back into SICA, the Central American Integration System, and the OAS.

For weeks we've heard from the Lobo administration that that the process was proceeding ahead smoothly, and that they were confident that Honduras would be reincorporated back into SICA and the OAS early this summer, if not earlier.

The first evidence that this might all be bravado came when OAS Secretary General Miguel Insulza gave an interview to El Tiempo earlier this month, and revealed that the reincorporation of Honduras was not even on the program to be discussed at the June OAS meeting in Lima, Peru, as we reported at the time. In that interview Insulza revealed that many members of the OAS still had concerns, particularly about human rights in Honduras, and the continued pursuit of the political charges against Manuel Zelaya Rosales that prevent him from returning to Honduras, despite the Congressional amnesty bill. Insulza also mentioned that the verification commission appointed under the ill-fated Guaymuras Accords, made up of Ricardo Lagos and Hilda Solis, would have to return to Honduras and submit a report to the OAS before reincorporation could be discussed.

Now Porfirio Lobo Sosa tells us there's another problem.

Despite the best wishes of Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom and Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, it looks like the reincorporation of Honduras back into SICA has hit a roadblock. In comments made to the press yesterday as he left an education event, Lobo Sosa said, "Look, it depends on what Nicaragua decides, but Honduras, with SICA or without SICA will move ahead, you don't have to lose hope about it." Lobo admitted that reincorporation into SICA depends on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who ducked the Saturday lunch where Honduras's reincorporation was supposed to be discussed. Nicaragua does not recognize Lobo's government as legitimate and has not re-established normal diplomatic relations with Honduras since Lobo's inauguration.

Ortega also, Tiempo reports, changed the agenda for the Wednesday meeting of the Central American Presidents in Guatemala; they will discuss the proposed economic treaty between Central America and the European Union. "Possibly Wednesday we will go to Guatemala to revise the free trade agreement with Europe," Lobo said, "although there was no opportunity to consult; its not certain if he [Ortega] will attend or that the meeting is confirmed."

Add to the uncertainty about whether this meeting will happen that Honduras's reincorporation into SICA is no longer on the agenda, and this is really bad news for Porfirio Lobo Sosa.

He and his Foreign Minister, Mario Canahuati, have been emphasizing that all of this was on track to happen soon, and that there were no obstacles to returning Honduras's international relations to normal. Looks like reality caught up with them.

Miguel Insulza told Tiempo on May 5 that Honduras would need to be reincorporated into SICA before the OAS could take up reincorporation into the OAS. As long as reintegration in SICA is deferred, so is consideration of returning to the OAS. And while that is a bitter pill for Lobo Sosa to swallow, it may be the medicine Honduras needs to stop ignoring the continued legacy of the coup.