Honduras Leader Refuses To Restore Military Chief

Dear Family and Friends,
We have already had the opportunity to share our faith in a loving,
redeeming God through the current political situation here with neighbors and workers!
We do not put our faith in people, places, or institutions but in the God of the universe!!We are resting in Him and praying for the peace of God to fall upon this country.
God bless you,
Charlene



Honduras leader refuses to restore military chief
By FREDDY CUEVAS – 2 hours ago

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The Honduran president vowed Thursday to ignore a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to reinstate the military chief he fired, escalating a showdown that has threatened the leftist leader's hold on power.

President Manuel Zelaya's attempt to hold a referendum Sunday on reforming the constitution has pitted him against the country's top courts, the attorney general, military leaders and even his own party, all of whom argue the vote is illegal. But Zelaya has the support of labor leaders, farmers and leftist groups who view the president as facing down an entrenched elite in a country where 70 percent of the population is poor.

The crisis quickly ballooned when Zelaya fired Gen. Romeo Vasquez as head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff late Wednesday for refusing to support the referendum, which is intended to measure popular support for possible constitutional reforms.

The Supreme court ordered Vasquez reinstated Thursday and warned Zelaya would face penal consequences if he does not respect the ruling.

"We will not obey the Supreme Court," Zelaya told more than 2,000 cheering supporters gathered in front of the presidential offices. "The court, which only imparts justice for the powerful, the rich and the bankers, only causes problems for democracy."

The top court, Congress and the attorney general say the vote is illegal because it would violate constitutional clauses barring some reforms.

The president's dismissal of Vasquez prompted the chiefs of the army, navy and air force to resign. The president himself announced Wednesday night that Defense Minister Edmundo Orellana had resigned.

Vasquez said he could not support a referendum that the courts had declared illegal, but he ruled out the possibility of a coup.

"We are prudent and we accept the decision of the president, whom we respect and who has the right to dismiss whom he wants," Vasquez said.

The president's nonbinding referendum asks voters if they want a further, formal election on whether to call an assembly to write a new constitution.

Zelaya, a leftist who sympathizes with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has argued that Honduras' social problems are rooted in the 27-year-old constitution.

He has not specified what changes he would seek, but critics accuse him of wanting to emulate Chavez and other Latin American leaders by expanding presidential powers and allowing himself to seek re-election.

Zelaya, a wealthy ranch owner grappling with rising food prices and a sharp spike in drug violence, is currently barred from seeking re-election when his four-year term ends in January.
"What you see is the growing delegitimizing of a president by a larger and growing group of leading elites, including the military," said Manuel Orozco, a political analyst with the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. "Zelaya is basically a small fish seeking to aspire to large political issues that he can't control."

Earlier Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered police to remove all electoral material stored an air force base at the international airport in the capital, Tegucigalpa. After his speech, Zelaya and his supporters headed to the airport, presumably to safeguard the material.

"I'm taking the people on a mission to guarantee the democracy and rule of law," the president said. "Nobody is going to take away my legal authority because the people, who are the voice of God, are with me."

Zelaya said he was seeking a meeting of the Organization of American States to address the crisis in Honduras because "the rule of law is in danger."

Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi, who was appointed by Congress, is urging the legislator to remove Zelaya from office. It is unclear if there is support in Congress for Zelaya's ouster, but the legislature clearly opposes the referendum.

On Wednesday, the 128-seat unicameral chamber voted unanimously to ask a group of international election observers to leave, arguing their presence legitimized an illegal vote.
Congressional President Robert Micheletti, who belongs to Zelaya's Liberal Party, called Vasque a hero during an emergency session to show support for the fired general.

"Vasquez will be reinstated with honors," Micheletti said. "Congress will support the armed forces unconditionally for respecting the constitution and saving democracy."

Only one legislator, Tomas Andino of the leftist Democratic Unification Party, supported the president, shouting "the armed forces betrayed the people by not supporting Sunday's referendum!"

The rest of the lawmakers pounded on their desks, booed Andino and shouted "out, out!"

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.