From IBDeditorials
In a welcome about-face, the State Department told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Richard Lugar, R-Ind., in a letter Tuesday that the U.S. would no longer threaten sanctions on Honduras for ousting its president, Mel Zelaya, last June 28.
Nor will it insist on Zelaya’s return to power. As it turns out, the U.S. Senate can’t find any legal reason why the Honduran Supreme Court’s refusal to let Zelaya stay in office beyond the time allowed by Honduran law constitutes a “military coup.”
This marks a shift. The U.S. at first supported Zelaya, a man who had been elected democratically but didn’t govern that way. Now they’re reaching out to average Hondurans, the real democrats.
Sure, the U.S. continues to condemn Zelaya’s ouster and still seeks mediation of the dispute through Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. But no U.S. sanctions means Hondurans have won.
…
By ending the threats, talks can begin. Constructive solutions, like early elections or persuading Honduras’ congress to add an impeachment law to its constitution, can now be put on the table.
The reality is, the Hondurans shouldn’t be on the spot at all. What happened wasn’t a coup; it was a good-faith effort by decent people to fix a difficult situation that threatened their democracy.
This, by the way, also opens the door to a return of democracy in troubled nations like Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela. People in those nations can take courage from Honduras.
The U.S. was smart to take the side of freedom [ed: finally]. The Hondurans, however, were right all along. After all, it’s their democracy. And now they’ve won it back.
Read the rest here.
(thanks to no2liberals!)
Previously at The Blogmocracy:
Obama, Zelaya, and the Rule of Law -tqcincinnatus
Events In Honduras:Their Constitution Is Alive And Well! -no2liberals
Moment Of Truth(Or Lies) For Honduras! -no2liberals
A Thank You Note To Honduras! -no2liberals
Obama sides with Hugo Chavez and Castro against Honduras -Rodan
Chavez ally ousted in Honduran coup -Rodan
