FOURTH URN UPDATE: CONGRESS CENSURES THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000424

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SOCI HO
SUBJECT: FOURTH URN UPDATE: CONGRESS CENSURES THE
PRESIDENT, WHILE THE COURT WARNS POSSIBLE OFFENDERS

REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 409

B. TEGUCIGALPA 395 AND PREVIOUS

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Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens, reason 1.4 (b & d)

1.(C) Summary: The Honduran Congress voted to censure
President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya for his refusal to submit a
budget in defiance of Congress, for disobeying a court,s
ruling to cease promoting a government-sponsored poll on a
referendum to hold a constituent assembly, and for issuing
illegal orders (to support the poll) to the Armed Forces.
The Administrative Court of First Instance followed up on its
initial ruling with an official notification that anyone
going against its ruling would be prosecuted. Civil Society,
led by the Human Rights Ombudsman, then filed a denunciation
of the President with the Attorney General. End Summary.


2. (SBU) By a wide majority, the Honduran Congress took the
unprecedented step of officially censuring the Executive's
conduct. The motion, presented by Congressman Rodolfo Irias
Navas of the opposition National Party, cited the President's
refusal to present a budget, his "public disobedience" of a
court ruling to cease promoting a poll on a referendum to
hold a constituent assembly, and the issuance of an
"arbitrary order" to the Armed Forces to follow an illegal
order. The motion was non-binding, but urged the President
to reverse himself.


3. (SBU) The Administrative Court of First Instance that
ruled against the poll and referendum on May 27 (ref B),
published its final ruling on June 3. The court then took the
unusual step of notifying possible offenders of its ruling by
sending copies of the document to the Presidential Palace,
the National Statistical Institute (which is being tasked
with carrying out the poll),the Armed Forces (which has been
ordered to support it),and all government ministries (most
of whom have been ordering their employees to vote in favor
of it). The decision was posted at each of the buildings and
delivered to the heads of the various organizations. The
court declared that it took this step so that no one could
later claim ignorance of the sentence. Now that the ruling
has been published, offenders can be punished. Disobeying
the ruling would normally lead to a fine, but legal experts
advise that continued disregard for the decision could lead
to charges of abuse of authority or other more serious
offenses.


4. (SBU) Simultaneously, respected Human Rights Ombudsman Dr.
Ramon Custodio, visited the Attorney General to file a
denunciation against Zelaya for abuse of authority. Custodio
alleged that by not submitting a budget to Congress, and by
managing the finances of the country in an "illegal and
arbitrary" fashion, the President had not fulfilled his
responsibilities as the Executive. He urged the Attorney
General to take action against the Executive based on his
denunciation.


5. (C) Comment: Two branches of government and a powerful
representative of civil society continue to stake out their
positions against Zelaya. Although the Congressional censure
is non-binding and carries no penalty, it is a clear signal
of Congressional displeasure with the President, particularly
since Zelaya has instructed the Minister of Finance to stop
disbursing funds for Congressional operations, including
salaries and wages. Many in Congress are privately
discussing the possibility of impeachment procedures.
Unfortunately, communication has broken down between Zelaya
and his opponents and unless they begin to discuss possible
compromises, we are on the path towards a constitutional
crisis. We will work to reestablish communication and
continue to encourage all parties to employ legal,
constitutional and peaceful methods to reach their goals.
End Comment.

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LLORENS