[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19657-19658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR FREEDOM IN HONDURAS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CONNIE MACK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 28, 2009

  Mr. MACK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support freedom and 
democracy in Honduras.
  On June 28th, the Honduran people spoke clearly and broke the chains 
of tyranny. In following both the letter and the spirit of their 
constitution, the Honduran government and their supreme court issued an 
arrest order, removed Mr. Manuel Zelaya as president, and then exiled 
him and the threat he posed from the country.
  We have heard several conflicting stories on what happened, how it 
happened, and who did what.
  This past weekend I led a congressional delegation to Honduras to get 
a first hand account of what had happened. I met with the United States 
Ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens. I also met with President Roberto 
Micheletti, the members of the Supreme Court of Honduras, members of 
the Honduran Congress, civil society groups, Honduran and American 
businessmen, human rights groups, and the United States military.
  After meeting with these men and women, I stand here today and affirm 
to you that what happened in Honduras was not a coup. But more 
importantly Madam Speaker, the people of Honduras have said this was 
not a coup. The Supreme Court of Honduras has said this was not a coup. 
The Honduran Congress has said this was not a coup. The Attorney 
General of Honduras has said this is not a coup.
  However, let's look at who actually has called this a coup. It is the 
thugocrats of Latin America: the caudillos who answer to the Venezuelan 
regime.
  Regrettably, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 
also joined this rush to judgment in calling it a coup.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to share with you what I heard while in 
Honduras. From the President of the Supreme Court we heard the 
following: ``The military in Honduras does not give us orders. We, the 
Supreme Court of Honduras, give the military orders.''
  From members of the Honduran Congress: ``We voted, Congressman Mack. 
We voted so that Mr. Zelaya was no longer the President of Honduras. 
Why is America not recognizing our vote?''
  When I met with President Micheletti, we read the Honduran 
Constitution. If my colleagues have not read Article 239 of the 
Honduran Constitution, I urge them to do so. Article 239 could not be 
clearer. It is as if the

[[Page 19658]]

people in Honduras in 1982, the year they passed their Constitution, 
saw the threat that Mr. Zelaya posed coming over the horizon and made 
sure that the people of Honduras were protected.
  President Micheletti also urged that the United States treat the 
people of Honduras and their decisions with respect. Honduras has been 
a great ally of ours, and there is growing indignation toward the Obama 
Administration's recklessness in siding with thugs and dictators like 
Fidel Castro, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, and Mr. Zelaya.
  Madam Speaker, make no mistake: former President Zelaya violated the 
Constitution. He broke the law. And when I asked Ambassador's Lloren's 
team what should be done about Mr. Zelaya and the fact that he violated 
not only the Constitution of Honduras, but countless laws, their answer 
was something similar to this: ``. . . everyone breaks the law. Because 
everyone broke the law, Mr. Zelaya's violations should be forgotten and 
forgiven. And in order to get a political solution, we should support 
reinstating him.''
  I cannot tell you how discomforting it was to hear this.
  The Administration recently pulled the visa of a Supreme Court 
Justice and the visas of other high-ranking Honduran officials solely 
because it did not agree with what they did. Then, to add insult to 
injury, Ambassador Lloren's team tells me that Mr. Zelaya should be 
returned because everyone breaks laws? That is not responsible. More 
importantly, that is not how you promote freedom in Latin America.
  Madam Speaker, the Honduran people, in their fight for freedom from 
the tyranny of Manuel Zelaya, have earned our support and deserve to 
have the United States stand with them as they seek freedom and 
democracy for their country. I look forward to returning to Tegucigalpa 
on January 27, 2010, the date that the new president of Honduras will 
be sworn in and see the streets of Tegucigalpa filled with joy as they 
celebrate their renewed freedom and prosperity.

                          ____________________