Vote Against That Coup D’etat In Honduras

At a time, when, peoples of the world are daily emphasizing the indispensability of human freedom, which democracies naturally guarantee, it is indeed sad that the Central American country of Honduras seems bent on embracing global isolation, by ousting a duly elected president.

In pursuit of that perilous path, that country’s armed forces, with the connivance of some disgruntled political gamblers, last Sunday, unseated President Manuel Zelaya, while on an official diplomatic mission outside his country home.

Apart from deliberately heating up an otherwise thriving polity, the soldiers whose constitutional duty it is to protect the country and its fragile democracy have vowed to incarcerate the people’s choice for leadership, should he venture any return back to the country as Zelaya has vowed to do tomorrow.

Curiously, until the unwarranted subvertion of the constitution and the forceful removal from office, the now ousted president was not known to be facing any charges of gross misdemeanour to occasion such humiliation. His only offence appears to be the mooting of a non-binding referendum on the political future of Honduras which enemies misread to be an attempt to succeed himself. Were that to be the case, there are laid out constitutional procedures to impose sanctions in event of culpability in any crime.

Instead, Coup d’etat which all of the civilised world are daily battling to do away with became a choice appealing to the armed forces and over-ambitious politicians pretentiously grandstanding as both patriots and reformers.

Without doubt, military coups ought not be a means of unseating a duly elected president, no matter the real and apparent fears such office holder’s continued stay in power poses to both the country and the people.

This is why The Tide finds the coup in Honduras most condemnable because it undermines the people’s natural right to choose who govern them. The armed forces could not have been the people’s choice and thus have no right to subvert both the country’s constitution and the people’s will for a national leader.

We say so because in all democracies, the only path to the corridors of political power is not through the bullet but the ballot, which, alone should also unseat a non-performing leader.

But if the offences are so grave that the president’s hold on to power could jeopardize the country’s interest locally and globally, then, the most germaine option would be to invoke the impeachment clause duly spelt out in the constitution. This, no doubt is why the United Nation’s General Assembly and indeed all lovers of democracy have been vocal in condemnation of the willful removal from power, of a duly elected president.

Infact, United States of America (USA), President Barack Obama has, in clear language called for the re-instatement of the unseated president with a call that the military should return to its constitutional duties, which do not include civil rulership.

The Tide agrees with President Obama that the days are far gone when, the world will sit idly by and watch one or two over ambitious army generals plunge a country into avoidable political unrest, no matter where such an act is committed.

We say so because, knowing the consuming contagion of unpunished crime, should the world accommodate the re-launch of Honduras back into the dark years of political uncertainty and unrest, in the mould of an ill-timed and reckless military Coup d’etat, there is no telling which country’s army would venture the same next.

This is indeed why the global community must rise in open condemnation of the military incursion into politics and demand the immediate re-instatement of a duly elected president. That indeed is the right thing to do because evil thrives where good men do nothing, as the sages say.