Last Honduran post for tonight

Apparently, it’s not being reported within Honduras that Roberto Micheletti’s claims that his “government” has the support of  Taiwan was seen as kind of pathetic.  And the news that Taiwan was supporting the Honduran putchists was news to Ma Ying-jeou too.

President Ma Ying-jeou has criticized the coup in Honduras which has seen the Honduran President Manuel Zelaya forced out of the country. Ma made his remarks in a speech in the National Assembly of Panama on Thursday.

Ma said that Taiwan, as a democratic country, condemns the removal from power of a democratically-elected leader.

“The Republic of China has always supported freedom and democratic and legal institutions. We express our condemnation of any action that violates democracy and the rule of law,” said Ma.

Ma called on Honduras to resolve its presidential crisis in line with the country’s constitution.

On Wednesday Ma met briefly with the exiled President Zelaya at the inauguration of Panama’s President Ricardo Martinelli. Other governments in Central America have also urged Honduras to restore Mr. Zelaya. Furthermore the United Nations has also passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognize any government in Honduras other than that of Mr. Zelaya.

President Ma Ying-jeou was originally scheduled to visit Honduras as part of his trip to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the region. This was cancelled however after news of the coup emerged. Ma will travel to Nicaragua next before returning to Taiwan.

Milenio (a middle-of-the-road/conservative Mexican paper) is reporting that the Honduran authorities have extended the “state of emergency” and Hermano Juancito writes of the demonstrations throughout the country:

The anti-coup forces are claiming that 50 thousand people were demonstrating in various cities in the country: 30,000 in Tegucigalpa, thousands more in San Pedo Sula, Comayagua, and Progreso. Some of their demonstrations have turned violent, especially in San Pedro Sula, but some have been violently broken up by police or military forces.

The pro-coup forces are claiming 70,000 or more in their demonstration in Tegucigalpa and tens of thousands in San Pedro Sula, Choluteca, and other cities. Often the speakers are local businessmen and politicians. They typically are protected by police and are peaceful.

An e-mail from “Ing. Wilson Rubio” posted on Honduras Frente al Golpe de Estado claims that the Chamber of Commerce is levying a “donation” on its members to support the so-called “Peace Marches” (which sound suspicously like the pro-Calderon “anti-crime marches” here in Mexico pushed by Televisa).  I can’t imagine why “spontaneous” demonstrations would require corporate donations, can you?

Also, check GlobalPost’s article by Ione Grillo (via Inca Kola News) on press censorship… something even reported (on the news pages) by the Wall Street Journal.