Say Adios to Zelaya

After getting most world leaders reluctantly to demand his reinstatement as president of Honduras — even though they know he doesn't deserve it — Jose Manuel Zelaya now says he will not accept it.

The ousted leftist president, booted out of his country June 28, has backed out of a U.S.-brokered deal that could have reinstated him to the presidency, at least for a short while, and brought some stability to his politically torn nation.

"In my position as president elected by the Honduran people, I reaffirm my decision that from this date forward, no matter what, I will not accept any agreement to return to the presidency," Zelaya wrote from his Brazilian Embassy refuge in a letter sent Saturday to President Barack Obama.

What? Is this some kind of riddle? Obama initially must have thought that something was lost in the Spanish-to-English translation.

Some background: Although Zelaya could have been constitutionally removed from office back in June — for numerous lawbreaking efforts to prolong his stay in power beyond January 2010 — the Honduran military stupidly took Zelaya from his home in his pajamas, deported him to Costa Rica and turned him into the "victim" of what appeared to be a coup d'etat and the subject of sympathy instead of the rejection he deserved.

Because Zelaya had been elected democratically and it appeared that he had been ousted by a coup, leaders of the Free World — including Obama — had no choice but to stand up for democracy and to call for Zelaya's reinstatement. They pressured the interim government, led by Roberto Micheletti, to allow Zelaya to return to the presidency, in spite of clear indications that most Hondurans, as well as their Supreme Court and their Congress, were against it. Polls say most Hondurans clearly hoped that the interim government could remain in power until they chose a new president in national elections, which had been scheduled for Nov. 29 all along.

Yet now Zelaya says he won't accept further negotiations that could return him to power, which is exactly what he was asking for! Knowing that any agreement would force him to accept the Nov. 29 election — in which neither he nor Micheletti is a candidate — he now claims that returning to the presidency under a negotiated settlement would somehow legitimize the coup.

"I will accept no accord to return to the presidency as a cover for the coup," Zelaya wrote to Obama.

Of course, that was a cheap excuse for also telling Obama that he will not support the upcoming presidential elections and that he will ask his supporters to abstain from voting.

Obviously realizing that his return to power would be brief and mostly symbolic and that he would become history once a new president was elected in a couple of weeks, Zelaya decided to back out of any possible agreement.

In other words, from now on, all Zelaya intends to do is keep whining and trying to make trouble. He is only interested in keeping himself in play, even if in the process he has to keep his country in a state of crisis.

Granted, the Honduran Congress was slow to ratify the Oct. 30 agreement that would have returned Zelaya to power, together with Micheletti, as part of a "national unity" government until the new president took office in January. But with further international pressure, it was the only chance Zelaya had to save face and return to a position he doesn't really deserve.

After all, Zelaya had the U.S. government and the international community on the verge of reinstating him as president of Honduras, against the will of the majority of Honduran people, the courts and the legislature.

Nevertheless, in his five-page letter to Obama, Zelaya blamed U.S. officials because the Honduran people have not found a way to swallow the bitter pill he represents. He says the Obama administration is at fault because U.S. officials backed out of demanding his restitution as a condition for U.S. recognition of the outcome of the election. Once the agreement was reached and U.S. officials said they would recognize the vote regardless of Zelaya's return, the deposed president found a new excuse to keep whining and stay under spotlights he doesn't deserve.

In his letter to Obama, while pledging to reject a settlement "no matter what," Zelaya asked the American president "for a quick reply."

Obama should abide. After going out of our way to impose a potential leftist dictator over a country that rejects him, we should let Zelaya drown in his crocodile tears. Obama's response should be quick and brief. The word "adios" would suffice.

To find out more about Miguel Perez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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