HONDURAS: One Hundred Days Lobbying for Int'l Recognition

• by Thelma Mejía (tegucigalpa)
• Friday, May 07, 2010
• Inter Press Service

Since Lobo was sworn in on Jan. 27, Honduras has restored diplomatic ties with 51 countries, according to the Foreign Ministry.

But the country's reinsertion in subregional and regional bodies remains uncertain, as in the case of the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the Organisation of American States (OAS).

Relations have been normalised with the United Nations, where the new ambassador is Lizzie Flores, the daughter of former president Carlos Flores (1998-2001), of the opposition Liberal Party.

Lobo represents the right-wing National Party, while Zelaya belonged to Honduras's other traditional party, the centre-right Liberal Party.

But after he became president, Zelaya alienated his own party and the rest of the country's conservative elites when he veered to the left, and his attempt to organise a non-binding Jun. 28 referendum on electing a constituent assembly to reform the constitution triggered the coup, which ushered in a political crisis that has left the country heavily polarised.

Good news was not awaiting Lobo when he reached his 100th day in office Thursday. OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza told the Honduran daily Tiempo that the regional body would not discuss the question of the Central American country's reinsertion until December.

The president and his advisers had hoped to achieve that goal in June.

Insulza, who took part Tuesday in the ceremony held to launch a truth commission that over the next eight months will investigate the events leading up to, during and after the coup, said Honduras must also meet other conditions, besides the creation of the commission.

He cited, for example, the need for an investigation into reported human rights violations and for guarantees that would allow Zelaya, who faces lawsuits in Honduran courts, to return to the country.

Political analyst Ernesto Paz said the OAS wants to wait until December, to have the conclusions of the truth commission in hand. 'The truth commission will presumably release its results then, so they are waiting for the report before deciding on Honduras's reincorporation, which makes sense,' he said.

Paz told IPS that in his first few months in office, 'the president has shown himself to be a centrist leader who has forged agreements to achieve a certain minimum level of governance, in order to slowly build an atmosphere of calm and negotiation.'

He also said Zelaya's return from exile in the Dominican Republic would be one of the keys to the normalisation of the country's international relations.

Zelaya, who had slipped back into the country in September and was holed up in the Brazilian embassy for four months, was allowed to fly to the Dominican Republic the day Lobo was sworn in.

In the analyst's view, the ousted president's return 'is extremely important for reconciliation, and if he comes back before December, the country's reinsertion in the regional bodies might be just around the corner.'

International pressure was ratcheted up Tuesday, when a majority of the presidents of the 12-member Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) threatened to boycott the May 18 EU-Latin America/Caribbean summit in Madrid if Lobo attended.

The next day, Lobo said he would probably not take part in the summit. 'I do not wish to cause problems, and if I have to make the sacrifice in order to avoid triggering another unnecessary conflict, I will think it over and reach the best decision,' he said.

On Thursday, Honduran foreign minister Mario Canahuati announced that Lobo would not attend the main summit, but would take part in a meeting between Central American and EU leaders the day after in Madrid.

Eugenio Sosa, a sociologist, told IPS that 'these rearrangements and schedule changes make the recognition of Honduras -- Lobo's main focus in his first 100 days -- an uphill task.'

Sosa said that in terms of international legitimacy, UNASUR is the bloc that is most staunchly opposed to recognising Lobo, who won a landslide victory in the Nov. 29 elections.

Support for the elections was conditioned by UNASUR and most of the international community on Zelaya's reinstatement to finish out his term, which ended in January.

Of the 12 members of the South American bloc, only Colombia and Peru have recognised the Lobo administration.

Sosa said that at any rate, Zelaya's return would not be as easy as it might seem. 'Honduran society is highly polarised over this issue; the Zelaya question is more divisive than the existing radical left-wing and orthodox right-wing ideological positions.'

In the view of the analysts consulted by IPS, Lobo's challenge is to strike a balance between his foreign policy priorities and domestic concerns, which have taken a back seat to the urgent need for recognition by the international community.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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