Posted on 06/29/2009 7:09:05 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
Joint Honduras-United States Communique May 21, 1985 The Presidents of the United States of America and the Republic of Honduras, meeting in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 1985, with full commitment of their Governments to the ideals of justice, liberty and democracy that the people of the Western Hemisphere seek, and recognizing the critical situation in which these values are being tested in Central America today as well as the urgent obligation to safeguard them, issue this communique:
The two Presidents noted with satisfaction the warm, cooperative ties between the two nations, including the very close security relationship which contributes to peace and stability in the Central American region and strengthens the independence and sovereignty of their respective nations. Both Presidents expressed great satisfaction with the work of the Joint Commission on U.S.-Honduran relations that was formed in Washington in November 1984 to promote, on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect, sustained economic and social development and enhanced security.
The Presidents reviewed the results of recent discussions on economic matters within the Joint Commission, in particular the program for economic revitalization being developed by the Government of Honduras and the support of that program by the United States through economic assistance funds. They reaffirmed the agreements reached by the Joint Commission for the disbursement during 1985 of $147.5 million in Economic Support Funds. The two Presidents expressed approval of the objectives of the Honduran economic program to achieve sustained, non-inflationary economic growth through measures to control fiscal and balance of payments deficits.
They endorsed the mutual efforts to encourage expansion of the productive and exporting sectors of the Honduran economy. They agreed that their governments will cooperate closely and will seek increasing levels of bilateral and multilateral economic assistance to support economic stability, growth, and development to improve the living standard of the people of Honduras.
The Presidents reviewed the work on security issues of the Joint Commission, including the ongoing review of the Military Assistance Agreement between the United States and Honduras of 1954. They expressed approval for modification of that Agreement and associated documents with respect to the following:
-- the exercise of criminal jurisdiction over United States Department of Defense personnel present in Honduras;
-- the sharing of maintenance and repair costs at specified Honduran airfields;
-- the establishment of standard procedures for settling claims associated with United States military activity in Honduras; and
-- the establishment of a joint political-military administrative group to review and facilitate appropriate administrative issues.
They further expressed satisfaction with the substantive progress made in the Joint Commission's review of the following areas of mutual interest: operating procedures related to the scheduling and planning of combined military exercises; counter-terrorism training; U.S. use of Honduran military facilities and airspace; and continued joint consultations and security threat analysis to facilitate Honduran planning of minimum force and force modernization requirements.
In the context of their review of the security relationship, the two Presidents reaffirmed their governments' intention to continue to work closely together to confront the serious threats to the peace and security of both countries through mutual assistance and the development of defensive capabilities. To this end, the Government of the United States will continue to cooperate, as necessary and appropriate, in the strengthening of Honduras' defenses and the modernization of its armed forces.
The Government of the United States further reiterated its firm and unwavering commitment to cooperate in the defense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Honduras in accordance with the reciprocal rights and obligations relating to individual and collective self defense and the use of armed force, as expressed in the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organization of American States.
In view of the very close and cooperative nature of the two countries' political and security relationships and the very serious security threats that exist in Central America, the Governments of the United States and Honduras reaffirm the rights and obligations in these three agreements, including Article 3 of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations and Article 21 of the Charter of the Organization of American States. In case of an armed attack against Honduras, the United States will take appropriate measures, consistent with the rights and obligations cited above, to consult with and support in a timely and effective manner the Government of Honduras in its efforts to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against communist aggression.
To ensure the success of these cooperative efforts, the two Presidents agreed that the Governments will maintain close working relations through the continued work of the Joint Commission, and periodic consultations of their foreign ministers and other governmental officials on matters of mutual interest or concern.
Lastly, the two Presidents reiterated their conviction that the development of the Central American people can be fulfilled only in a climate of peace and liberty. In this sense, they expressed their firm support for a verifiable and comprehensive implementation of the Contadora Document of Objectives including, in particular, dialogue to achieve national reconciliation in the democratic framework.
Nevertheless, there are US troops (advisors) in Honduras and if Hugo Chavez makes good on his threat to attack Honduras, some US personnel could become involved in hostilities.
If Barack Obama is truly the closet Communist I suspect he is, he is going to have to abrograte these quickly and come to the aid of socialist-in-exile, would-be dictator Zelaya, withdraw any of our troops or advisors, and stand by/watch or even join with Hugo Chavez in toppling constitutional rule of law in Honduras.
Something Zero mentioned yesterday got my attention. He said something about the inter American democracy charter and I’m wondering if anyone knows anything about it.
Republican Senators (and their professional staffs) on the Hill relating to Foreign Policy should know about it. And if something is afoot, they better not RINO-out on us, but show some balls and stand up to this guy.
Just curious why Zelaya got removed. I know so little about it. Was there some constitutional issue involved, ie. term limits of something similar? I realize that the he was removed by the military. In Turkey the military is viewed as the protector of the Constitution. That’s why I’m wondering if there was some legal/constitutional issue as to allowing Zelaya to remain in office.
Just curious, as I’m wondering what the nexus of this action was.
With a little digging I find that it comes from the OAS Organization of American States. Just a quick scan of the page I’m reading shows that Obama has it wrong again. The charter clearly states a respect for representative democracy and the representatives of Honduran people have made their decision and Obama wants that overridden.
http://www.oas.org/charter/docs/resolution1_en_p4.htm
“CONSIDERING that solidarity among and cooperation between American states require the political organization of those states based on the effective exercise of representative democracy, and that economic growth and social development based on justice and equity, and democracy are interdependent and mutually reinforcing;
BEARING IN MIND that the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights contain the values and principles of liberty, equality, and social justice that are intrinsic to democracy;”
Honduran presidents can only serve one 4 year term. Zelaya wanted to change the constitution to allow himself another term. Virtually the entire Honduran congress voted against the measure so Zelaya wanted to do it by a referendum vote which is illegal under the existing constitution.
Zelaya decided to do it anyway and called Venezuela to conduct the election for him against all Honduran laws. The Honduran supreme court ruled it an illegal action and the military arrested him with all constitutional authority.
In my opinion, calling Venezuela in was an act of treason. This was no coup.
But our state-run media continue to call it a military coup which is another all too typical treason against the truth.
But our state-run media continue to call it a military coup which is another all too typical treason against the truth.
I did a bit of research as well and, as you have said, Zelaya needed to be taken out of office. The military did the right thing and removed him.
The “noise” that’s coming out of the White House is clearly the sympathetic voice of a “fellow traveler” that is another failure of the worldwide socialist agenda.
Too bad the same project hasn’t been stopped here in the US, but Congress is a gutless beast of late. Hopefully, they’ll grow some. Just work like the devil for the next election.
I did a bit of research as well and, as you have said, Zelaya needed to be taken out of office. The military did the right thing and removed him.
The “noise” that’s coming out of the White House is clearly the sympathetic voice of a “fellow traveler” that is another failure of the worldwide socialist agenda.
Too bad the same project hasn’t been stopped here in the US, but Congress is a gutless beast of late. Hopefully, they’ll grow some. Just work like the devil for the next election.
I wouldn’t worry. Most every Republican I’ve known is very strong on defense and defending American interests overseas. Even John McCain, the most notorious RINO Demo-lover in the Senate, was very hard-nosed when it came to freedom and democracy overseas.
Thank you. It is as I suspected. The “noise” from the White House is merely the anguished cry of a fellow traveler lamenting the failure of the socialist agenda.
The military did the right thing. Good for them.
I wish our military would overthrow Obama for violating the Constitution.
bump .... guy’s lucky he’s not swinging from a lamppost.
From Neo, “A year ago I might have considered the statement I’m about to make to be a slide into tinfoil hat territory. But now I believe that Mr. Aguilera may be giving Obama way too much credit. I suspect that Obama understands exactly what dangers Chavez and Castro pose, and that he either doesn’t care or that he actually approves.” Honduras and democracy
http://neoneocon.com/2009/06/29/honduras-and-democracy/#comments
Retired Honduran Gen. Daniel López Carballo justified the move against the president, telling CNN that if the military hadn’t acted, Mr. Chávez would eventually be running Honduras by proxy.
Neo - “A year ago I might have considered the statement I’m about to make to be a slide into tinfoil hat territory. But now I believe that Mr. Aguilera may be giving Obama way too much credit. I suspect that Obama understands exactly what dangers Chavez and Castro pose, and that he either doesn’t care or that he actually approves.”
Honduras and democracy
http://neoneocon.com/2009/06/29/honduras-and-democracy/#comments
As the old sying goes, in Hussein’s case, “the wind blew and the merda flew”.
Aye. A job worth doing is worth doing right.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.