UPDATE: Please see my new article, “No ‘Coup’ in Honduras,” for a more complete look at the issues raised in this article. My initial thoughts regarding the actions by Honduran leaders were greatly revised upon learning that there is no mechanism for impeachment in the Honduran constitution.
Everything else has been moved past the jump.
“ABOVE THE FOLD” UPDATE:
According to commenter Viva Honduras Libre, the Honduran constitution provides that anyone who even proposes changing the one-term limit for executives immediately “ceases in their functions.” The original and translation, as provided by Viva Honduras Libre:
ARTICULO 239.- El ciudadano que haya desempeñado la titularidad del Poder Ejecutivo no podrá ser Presidente o Designado.
El que quebrante esta disposición o proponga su reforma, así como aquellos que lo apoyen directa o indirectamente, cesarán de inmediato en el desempeño de sus respectivos cargos, y quedarán inhabilitados por diez años para el ejercicio de toda función pública.TRANSLATION Article 239 The citizen that has been the head of the Execute Branch cannot be President or Vice-President (again).
Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform, as well as those that support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years.
If this article means that a president who attempts to amend the constitution to change the term limit provision is automatically, by operation of law, removed from office, then there was no ‘coup’ in any sense. The actions of the Honduran supreme court certainly indicate that this is the accepted interpretation of Article 239, but without knowing Honduran law better, I hesitate to say this is correct. Based on what I know of the law (and not just as an “Ugly American;” I have some experience with international law and the laws of various members of the EU as well) it seems likely that there is a specific method for removing an executive beyond Article 239, which may only operate to ‘suspend’ an officeholder in some sense. At the least, a formal impeachment proceeding provides continuity and due process that is not available where removal from office is automatic and immediate. Until Viva Honduras Libre provides more information on Honduran law, I cannot know whether the removal of Zelaya was handled properly or not. I will update again at that time, but for now (and solely for the sake of making my life easier), I will assume that my points remain valid, albeit with an even bigger caveat than previously.
ORIGINAL POST:
Earlier this week, the democratically elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, was taken into custody by the military and removed from the country. The international community — most especially Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, but joined by Obama, the EU, and others — yelled, “Coup! Coup!”
However, many blogs and editorial pages (most conservative, but not all) noted that what looked like a standard-issue Central American coup was a bit more complex than it seemed on the surface. Most main-stream news sources neglected the background, which showed that Zelaya was a Chavez protege hellbent on turning Honduras into an oil-poor version of Venezuela’s leftist dictatorship. His actions were declared illegal by the country’s supreme court, which issued the order for the military arrest, and most politicians across the political spectrum supported the Zelaya ouster. For further background see this excellent editorial by Glenn Garvin in the Miami Herald, and this article by Toby Westerman in the Canada Free Press.
Many, if not most, of the larger conservative blogs have criticized Obama’s reaction to the events in Honduras, comparing that reaction to his hesitancy in Iran and calling for support of the ‘coup’ on the grounds that it was to prevent a leftist dictatorship, not to impose a military one. (See, for example, Hot Air here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here; Ace of Spades; Jawa Report; TownHall; Gateway Pundit; etc.) RedState is even pushing a telephone campaign to pressure Congress into supporting the new government.
I think the complaint vis a vis Obama’s reaction to Iran is valid, but with regard to the proper response to the ‘coup’ itself I disagree with both the administration and its critics. I would like to start by pointing out that I have not read the constitution of Honduras, nor have I studied Honduran law, so I will be making various assumptions that may turn out to be incorrect. In my defense, I do not believe that anyone else who is commenting on this, from Obama on down, has done so either. My primary assumptions are that (1) Zelaya’s actions were impeachable offenses in addition to unconstitutional (as held by the Honduran supreme court), (2) the Honduran constitution stipulates a process for impeachment of a sitting president, and (3) military arrest of the president prior to any impeachment proceedings is counter to the Honduran constitution. I believe that these are all pretty reasonable assumptions, but they are based only on my familiarity with U.S. law, so may be flawed.
What the Hondurans should have done was attempt to remove Zelaya through the constitutional impeachment proceedings. If necessary, the military could have stepped in to prevent the illegal referendum, but Zelaya himself should have at least nominally been left in office until properly removed. I understand that the courts, legislature, and military all felt that there was a crisis that needed to be resolved immediately, but based on the public information there does not seem to have been such an emergency that the proper forms could not be followed. At least in the American system, the courts have the authority to order law enforcement to carry out their orders, but they do not have the authority to summarily remove members of the legislature or executive. Even though the Honduran legislature subsequently ratified the actions of the supreme court, the court and military exceeded their authority. Therefore, the transfer of power truly was a coup, and the failure to stay within the law should be condemned. For self-interest though, if for no other reason, it is not surprising that existing governments have opposed the extralegal removal of an executive.
On the other hand, everyone involved in deposing Zelaya appears to have acted to save democracy in Honduras from the imposition of a Chavez-style dictatorship. It is this motive that leads commentators to support the transfer of power and rebuke the harsh response of the U.S. and others. They argue that the coup should be looked at as a fait accompli, and the results are more important than the methods.
I believe that both approaches are wrong, and that they are both right. The coup should in fact be condemned, but that condemnation needs to be tempered by an acknowledgment of the purpose and effect of the actions taken by an apparently unanimous Honduran establishment. Leaving aside the hypocrisy of speaking quickly on the Honduran situation after trying to ignore the Iranian protests for as long as possible, I believe President Obama should have said something to the effect of: “The Honduran constitution must be respected by both sides, and the U.S. does not condone extralegal activity. It appears the Honduran courts and military acted illegally, but so too did Zelaya. We are withholding judgment on whether to recognize the new government or continue to recognize Zelaya until we have had an opportunity to review the facts in more detail.”
Obama’s reactions to the recent international crises — tempered response to Iran and quick condemnation of Honduras — should have been reversed.
But I believe those calling for unequivocal support of Honduras are wrong as well. The illegality of moving against the president with force rather than through the constitutional procedures should not be ignored. Sometimes it is necessary to take the law in one’s own hands, but those times are rare indeed, and one must be prepared to suffer the consequences. This does not appear to have been one of those times. Further, while noble intentions are all well and good, there is a reason they are considered the paving stones on the road to hell: specfically, most people believe they are acting for the right reasons, whether they are or not. Few if any people believe that they are evil, and even a psychotic madman like Hitler acted like he did because, in his warped worldview, it was right.
The law exists in order to provide objective criteria for right and wrong. If everyone is free to act based solely on their own conscience, that is anarchy. The ends justify the means in only the most extraordinary circumstances.
I believe that Honduras is better off with out Zelaya in power, but I also believe that the rule of law — necessary for a functioning democracy — was severely damaged by the coup.
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