Another Fine Mess - Coup Rocks Honduras

I hate to be cynical, but I'll bet Washington was well aware the coup was imminent ...

...even though the UN General Assembly voted to condemn the overthrow, not much will come from this incident.

Seeking to stem internal unrest, Congress approved a bill Wednesday that toughens a nighttime curfew in place since the coup. The law gives authorities the power to conduct warrantless arrests and removes constitutional rights to assembly and movement during the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.

The US has also refrained from recalling its ambassador to Honduras.

The Organization of American States has given him (Michelettie) until Saturday to step aside before Honduras is suspended from the group. The Obama administration halted joint military operations, and France, Spain, Italy, Chile and Colombia all recalled their ambassadors Wednesday.

Britain was rebuffed last night in its attempt to secure an EU deadline for the withdrawal of the bloc's 27 ambassadors from Tehran if a local embassy employee in Iranian custody was not released.

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The US has also refrained from recalling its ambassador to Honduras.

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The Organization of American States has given him (Michelettie) until Saturday to step aside before Honduras is suspended from the group. The Obama administration halted joint military operations, and France, Spain, Italy, Chile and Colombia all recalled their ambassadors Wednesday.

AP-7/2/09

Meanwhile...

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Britain was rebuffed last night in its attempt to secure an EU deadline for the withdrawal of the bloc's 27 ambassadors from Tehran if a local embassy employee in Iranian custody was not released.

[urlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5724210/Britain-fails-on-deadline-for-withdrawal-of-ambassadors-from-Tehran.html

So France, Italy and Spain have withdrawn their ambassadors from Honduras, but not from a country that has staged a fraudulent election, murdered its citizens in the the streets of its capital, and seized a member of the diplomatic staff of a fellow EU nation.

Why exactly do you call this an "Interesting contrast in realpolitik"?

The conduct of one generates immediate outrage and the withdrawal of ambassadors, while the other, even when so requested by a fellow EU member, does not.

Asked if the UK was suggesting to other EU partners that there should be sanctions against Iran, the Prime Minister s Spokesman (PMS) referred journalists back to the statement that was made by EU Foreign Ministers at the weekend; there needed to be a strong collective response to Iran s actions, particularly in relation to British Embassy staff.

Asked if anything further had happened since the weekend, the PMS said that it was best to check with the Foreign Office, however there had been very high-level discussion of Foreign Ministers that took place on Sunday.

In an interview with The Miami Herald and El Salvador's elfaro digital news site, army attorney Col. Herberth Bayardo Inestroza acknowledged that top military brass made the call to forcibly remove Zelaya -- and they broke laws when they did it.

It was the first time any participant in Sunday's overthrow admitted committing an offense and the first time a Honduran authority revealed who made the decision that has been denounced worldwide.

Inestroza acknowledged that after 34 years in the military, he and many other longtime soldiers found Zelaya's allegiance to Chávez difficult to stomach. Although he calls Zelaya a ''fake leftist'' for his bourgeoisie upbringing, he admits he'd have a hard time taking orders from a leftist.