The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
2 Jun 2011
Shortly after Manuel Zelaya returned to his home this weekend for the first time since the 2009 military coup d’état, he sat down with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now for an exclusive interview.
Zelaya talks about why he believes the United States was behind the coup, and what exactly happened on June 28, 2009, when hooded Honduran soldiers kidnapped him at gunpoint and put him on a plane to Costa Rica, stopping to refuel at Palmerola, the US military base in Honduras.
"This coup d’état was made by the right wing of the United States," Zelaya says. "The U.S. State Department has always denied, and they continue to deny, any ties with the coup d’état. Nevertheless, all of the proof incriminates the US government. And all of the actions that were taken by the de facto regime, or the golpista regime, which are those who carried out the coup, favor the industrial policies and the military policies and the financial policies of the United States in Honduras."
Zelaya returns to Honduras after spending nearly two years in exile. His return was made possible by a deal brokered by the presidents of Columbia and Venezuela. It fulfills a promise by Zelaya's elected successor, Porfirio Lobo, to reconcile the country's divided political factions, but is largely seen as a decision aimed at assisting the current Honduran government to gain readmission into the Organisation of American States, after Honduras was expelled from the regional group in response to the coup.
For a transcript of the interview with Zelaya, please click here.
Editor's Note: For more background information on Zelaya's return and the abysmal state of human rights in Honduras since the coup, you might also be interested in the following report from Al Jazeera: Manuel Zelaya to Return to Honduras.
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