[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24329-24330]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONDURAS' UPCOMING ELECTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.

[[Page 24330]]


  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to express my strong 
support for the upcoming November elections in Honduras and to 
underscore my ongoing concern with the current U.S. policy toward this 
Central American nation and its people.
  I have just returned from Honduras, where I had the opportunity to 
see with my own eyes what is happening on the ground there. Let me tell 
you, Madam Speaker, it's very quiet on the streets of Tegucigalpa. 
Despite the efforts of the pro-Zelaya camp to create the impression 
that chaos is reigning in Honduras, there are no tires burning in the 
streets, there are no massive protests urging Manuel Zelaya's return, 
no collapse of democratic order or institutions.
  I met with officials of the constitutional, democratic Government of 
Honduras. I met with Honduran civil society. I met with their religious 
leaders. I met with the Honduran press. I even had the opportunity to 
meet with some of our fellow Americans who are living in Honduras now. 
And through it all, there was a very consistent and a very clear 
message. That is: The Honduran people are committed to the defense and 
the protection of their democracy, of their constitution, of the rule 
of law.
  The people of Honduras do not want Manuel Zelaya back in office. The 
Honduran people do not want outside actors infringing upon and 
determining their democracy and their rule of law. For the Honduran 
people, the November 29 elections are the solution, they are the way 
forward, and I couldn't agree with them more.
  I introduced House Resolution 749. What does it do? It calls on 
Secretary Clinton to support the efforts of the appropriate authorities 
in Honduras to ensure that the November elections are free, are fair, 
are now transparent.
  It calls on President Obama to recognize these elections as an 
important step in the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law in 
Honduras. No matter how one views the events of June 28, it is critical 
that the implementation and the recognition of the validity of the 
November 29 Honduran elections remains separate and independent from 
the current political fray.
  The date of the elections, the presidential candidates, and the 
presidential term were determined long before Zelaya's removal, and 
nothing has changed since then. Again, the Honduran electoral process 
is continuing in accordance with the Honduran Constitution.
  The U.S. has historically recognized free, fair, and transparent 
elections as a fundamental component of a democracy. So why now is the 
U.S. so quick to admonish what appears to be the only viable way 
forward for a peaceful resolution in Honduras? How could the U.S. help 
to open the door to the Cuban tyranny to rejoin the Organization of 
American States but yet push for Honduras' expulsion because the 
Honduran people defended their constitution and their democracy? How 
could the U.S. directly engage with Ahmadinejad, let him into the 
United States to address the General Assembly at the United Nations yet 
revoke the visas of the constitutionally democratic constituted 
representatives of the Honduran Government? These are all questions 
that I have been asking officials in this administration and have been 
asked time and time again.
  Madam Speaker, I'm concerned that if we in the U.S. continue along 
this misguided path and continue to impose this misguided Zelaya-
centric policy, that the goodwill and the respect and the admiration 
that the U.S. currently enjoys in Honduras will now start to dissipate. 
We can't afford for that to happen. The United States has always been 
the beacon of democracy. How can we take this undemocratic way forward 
for Honduras?
  I'm deeply concerned about the impact that this action will have on 
our U.S. security interests as well, Madam Speaker. After all of my 
meetings and briefings and during my visit in Honduras, I'm more 
concerned and more convinced than ever that the current U.S. approach 
is severely undermining our immediate security interests in Honduras--
in fact, in Central America as a whole--and it will significantly 
impact and have detrimental long-term ramifications for the stability 
and the security of our hemisphere.
  But there is still time to reconsider. There is still time to correct 
our wrongs and find a way forward, and that can begin with the U.S. 
Government publicly announcing that it will respect the sovereignty of 
the free Honduran people and respect what it says in the Honduran 
Constitution, that the U.S. will support the will of the Honduran 
people and recognize free, fair, transparent elections in Honduras this 
November. The future and the will of the Honduran people are far too 
important to let Manuel Zelaya or his puppeteers run the show any 
longer.

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