I took what’s coming next from El Heraldo.
The Public Ministry declares alert. Mel is not entitled to call for a consultation. They warn of the creation of an illegitimate situation.
Tegucigalpa. The president of the Republic, Manuel Zelaya, or any of his subordinates, are not entitled to promote or approve a consultation in order to reform the Constitution; if he dares to do that, he will fall in penal responsibility.
At least that is the position held by the Public Ministry (PM) after the last events in the country in relation to the fourth ballot box proposed by president Zelaya in Counsel of Ministers.
The consultation has the purpose of reforming the Republic’s Constitution through a National Constituent Assembly, situation that has been described by political sectors and society as a way for the president to stay in power, and to propose the alternate re-election, among other actions.
The Counsel of Ministers emitted the decree PCM-05-2009, where it instructs the National Institute of Statistics (INE, by its Spanish acronym) to consult the Honduran people with the next question: Do you agree with the installation of a fourth ballot box in order to decide for the call of a National Constituent Assembly in order to approve a new political Constitution?
In said agreement it is enunciated that the consultation should be done the last Sunday of June, at the latest. This is interpreted by many as an effort of Zelaya to stay indefinitely in office, and as an action forbidden by law, as it seeks to abolish the stone articles.
In defense of the Constitution
In this regard, the staff officers of the Public Ministry defined their position, for which purpose a working team was created to lead the investigations and to proceed with the pertinent legal actions.
In press conference, Principal Prosecutor, Luis Alberto Rubí, read a pronouncement, accompanied by Deputy Prosecutor, Roy Urtecho, the Director of Public Prosecutors’ Offices, Daniela Ferrera, the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutors’ Offices, Juan Rafael Soto, the Special Prosecutor of the Defense of Constitution, Mauricio Aceituno, the Special Prosecutor against Corruption, Henry Salgado, and the Prosecutors Germer Cruz and Gina Sierra.
These integrate the team that worked in defining the position of the PM, and will be commissioned with the investigative procedures and pertinent judicial actions.
Illegitimate Situation
The PM acts in basis of his legal mandate of defending the general interests of society. Given the current circumstances, the PM emitted its pronouncement, which was read by Rubí in a conference in which journalists were not allowed to make questions.
According to the MP, they establish their position “in stated of alert, because in March 23th, 2009, at night hours, the President of the Republic, in Counsel of Ministers, emitted an executive decree in order to perform a popular consultation the last Sunday of June of the current year, in order to determine if there is interest or popular will for installing a fourth ballot box in the general elections of November of 2009, in order to decide the call for a National Constituent Assembly, which will approve a new Political Constitution, creating this way an illegitimate situation which is contemplated in the article 3 of the Constitution of the Republic since the first moment means or procedures are used which infringe or disregard what this Constitution and the laws establish.”
Said article 3 says no one owns obedience to an usurper government nor to those who assume functions or public employments by the rule of the gun.
They affirm to be fully convinced that neither the Republic’s Constitution , nor the Electoral Law of the Political Organizations give to the president of the Republic the attribution of performing any action of electoral consultation…”
“Warning of the danger that the Administrative acts performed by the Executive Power can lead a nation to a social confrontation that conduces to not only political, social and economic instability, but to produce a popular reaction in defense of the constitutional order, in which purpose some citizens invoke their duty to obey and enforce the Constitution and the laws…”, quotes.
“A warning is given to all the public officers and public employees, that the participation in acts or actions oriented to execute the consultation which implies to reform or abolish the Constitution in open revolt against the exposed in the articles 5 to 374 contained in the text of the Fundamental Law of the Republic, put each and every one of them to the risk of being of object of the respective penal investigation, and in its case, to the presentation of the prosecutor’s summon with the purpose that the competent judicial authority may impose the punishment previously established in the Penal Law”, concludes the pronouncement.
Consultation has the intention of perpetuation of power
“The ex-president Ricardo Maduro declared yesterday that the purpose of reforming the Constitution and the call to a National Constituent Assembly has the intention of perpetuation of power. “I think that no one should be afraid of the consultation, but in this moment we are called to general elections, and I think that to do something before those elections has the intention of perpetuation of power, and I don’t agree with that”, he pointed.
“We can’t be in favor of perpetuation of power when we fought so long against de facto governments”, he added. Maduro said that promoting the reform of the Constitution is a crime, therefore he made a call to the PM for his intervention in defense of the Constitution.
There won’t be quorum for a fourth ballot box
“President Zelaya is very funny, he always tells this kind of jokes. I thank him for prescribing me with what he mentioned (valium), but it’s not necessary to take any pill, any drink that would make me addict, in order to perform projects in the benefit of our country, said the president of the National Congress against the most recent attack of president Zelaya against Micheletti’s position of reducing the ENEE’s tariffs. I would have liked him to prescribe me some valerian, some linden, which are natural. That commentary, as his ideas, are in need of modernization; the president is trapped in the 70’s.
In the issue of the fourth ballot box Micheletti is of the opinion that “when one has the power to call for a national chain of radio and tv broadcasting it’s easy to perform illegal things. What I can tell you is that there won’t be quorum enough for this to happen.
Let PM proceed in the tribunals: Zelaya
President Manuel Zelaya challenged the Public Ministry to proceed against him and everyone that supports him in the installation of a fourth ballot box. “If that’s their official opinion, then they should proceed in the courts of justice”.
“Popular Consultation is coming, and nobody will stop it” emphasized Zelaya. According to Zelaya, the PM is not a political entity for it to give political opinions.” Said Zelaya in an interview in Nicaragua. And in a display of disrespect against those who don’t share his line of thought, Zelaya said that anyone who opposes the popular consultation “is a caveman who does not respect the people”.