Political Update

Below is a long, but very good report about the current political situation.

Dear Cornerstone Friends--
You likely have heard that Honduras has come to an agreement; what you may not have heard (and probably won't hear from CNN and similar sources) is that the news is good news and constitutes a victory for what is right and for the legitimate Honduran government.

Since early October, a dialogue has been underway--a dialogue which the United States and the OAS pushed for. Honduras has been under pressure the whole time--not just from the OAS and the (bizarre and troubling) United States position, but also from ALBA/Chavez/Oretega (whose techniques included--in one 24 hour period--the killing of a key police Colonel in his front yard, the kidnapping & killing of Micheletti’s nephew, and the kidnapping of the 81 year-old father of the Vice Minister of Defense). Through all this--even the kidnappings and murders--Honduras has held its ground; through all this, the pressure brought to bear did not succeed.

Friday (Oct. 30), however, an agreement was signed, but because Honduras waited until Oct. 30 to sign it (as well as to the items in the agreement which Honduras persisted in requiring) this signing was a win for Honduras. Here's why:

In Honduras, the presidential elections are run by a sort of committee--the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. And for a prescribed number of days before the election, the military command is taken away from the President (normally the commander in chief) and put under this election commission. This helps ensure that an outgoing president will not be able to use the military to try to keep himself in office or to--through force--make his favored candidate or buddy become the winner of the election. Friday was the day on which, for this election, the military was to be transferred to the election commission. And that's the day Honduras signed the agreement. The agreement says that the Honduran Congress (under and advising from their Supreme Court) will decide whether to reinstate Zelaya. It is very unlikely he will be reinstated, but even if he is, because of the timing of the agreement, he will not have control of the military and police. From now until the elections, the military and police have as their boss the election tribunal (a tribunal which ruled against Zelaya on June 28th). Thus--even if Zelaya should be reinstated--he would have no power, and his term would almost immediately come to its end anyway.

The other provisions of the agreement also constitute a win for what's right. Here are some of these: 1. Zelaya will receive no pardon or amnesty for his crimes. He would still be tried and, if convicted, punished (and the usual sentence for such crimes is execution or life in prison, so he may decide to stay in the Brazilian embassy for the rest of his life). 2. There will be international recognition & support of the upcoming elections regardless of what is decided in the Congress about Zelaya 3. A truth commission is convened to investigate crimes (by Zelaya) both before & on the 28th of June 4. a government of reconciliation is formed along specific guidelines (that Zelaya can’t control even if Congress does vote to re-instate him in some kind of token, lame-duck presidency). 5. The military & police are under the control of the electoral commission (not Zelaya if he is re-instated) 6. There will be no referendum or question of change of the unchangeable articles of the constitution at this time (the parts that stipulate only one term for the president, etc.).

Because something was signed (and most of the world won't pay much attention to the details of what the accord said), Shannon and Hillary and President Obama can act like they won (which is indeed what they are doing and which is the spin most of the news media are propogating) and thus will have found an elegant way to exit from the corner they backed themselves into. Honduras is humble enough to not mind the USA getting the glory for this so long as they (Honduras) succeeded in getting the right thing done. This is antipathy to what their enemies' values and priorities are. Ronald Reagan once showed his wisdom by saying something like "you can get a lot done if you don't care who gets the credit for it." Honduras, with God's help, has demonstrated that sort of wisdom and humility.

Praise to our God. He was Honduras's only defender and help (well, outside Israel and Taiwan, but their support was a result of the fact that both stand firm in matters of right and wrong and freedom and tyranny more so than does most of the rest of the world, and that they do so is evidence that they allow, whether they know it or not, God to do good through them--without Him, they would not and could not persevere as they do). So God was at work in Honduras, is still at work in Honduras, and deserves bounteous praise and thanks.

So...please keep praying for Honduras. Pray that the right decisions are made concerning Zelaya. Pray that a godly man will win the upcoming elections. Pray that the world does recognize and accept the elections. Pray for those whom the crisis has hurt (the withdrawal of financial support and credit from the world had already pushed many into greater poverty, brought about the loss of many jobs, etc.). Pray that the work of God and the growth of his kingdom in Honduras grows yet more and more.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying. Please now bring before the Father prayers of praise and thanks. And keep praying for Honduras--one battle lost by the Enemy and his earthly allies means other attacks will be launched. But it is also right and fitting to offer songs of thanksgiving for this particular skirmish won.

I'm including below a url to a nice news piece from WSJ.com. It provides a succint and good presentation of the events in Honduras, and it makes a good news article to send to friends who aren't acquanited with Cornerstone Foundation or Hospital Loma de Luz but who would be glad to hear the truth about the victory in Honduras (and who the victors are).

Here are some specific prayer items:
1. Pray that the vote in the Honduran Congress (regarding Zelaya) will be in accordance with the law, the constitution, and the truth. 2. Pray that the votes would be cast in the best conscience of each legislator (they are called "diputados") and not influenced by threats or intimidation or anything of that sort. 3. Pray that votes will not be bought. (Zelaya via Chavez has access to a great deal of money, and Zelaya is no stranger to buying votes. (e.g. In June he offered somewhere around $15,000,000 to the mayor of Tegucigalpa to try to get his support for the illegal referendum.... The mayor refused it and instead went public with the attempted bribe.) 4. Pray that the United States, the OAS, the EU, etc. will still honor the elections even if they don’t get the results they want. 5. Pray that the elections go off peacefully, without more violence and sabotage by Zelayistas.6. Pray that justice be done in the case of anyone who has broken the law.7. Pray for God's grace upon all of His people there.

Lord bless you all, and thank you again!

--Sally Mahoney for Cornerstone