Sullivan Officials’ Opinions About Honduran Coup Mixed

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – County officials have mixed opinions when it comes to the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, a man many of them met when they visited the Central American republic two years ago as part of a sister community program.

“It’s just embarrassing that this happened,” said Sullivan County Commissioner Joe Herron, who has known Zelaya for two years and called him a “very, very nice person.”

In the first coup that’s hit Central America since 1993, Honduran soldiers arrested Zelaya after storming his home Sunday, then put him on a plane bound for Costa Rica.

Coup leaders appointed congressional leader Roberto Michelletti to serve as the country’s interim president. Michelletti will hold office until January, when he finishes Zelaya’s term and is replaced by the winner of the country’s November election.

Coup leaders also have threatened to throw Zelaya in jail for 20 years if the embattled former president should return to his country. Though the coup has sparked protests across Honduras, so far it has been peaceful and without bloodshed.

The move drew criticism from world leaders, ranging from President Barack Obama to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. International groups including the United Nations and the Organization of American States also condemned the incident.

While admitting there’s not much a county commissioner can do to influence foreign policy, Herron said the coup was “extremely negative” and would set the country back several years in the eyes of the international community.

Herron met Zelaya in July 2007 when he and 16 other Sullivan County officials traveled to the Central American country to christen a sister community exchange with the Honduran city of Siguatepeque, which is in the country’s central mountain region.

Herron crossed paths with Zelaya a second time when he and county Highway Commissioner Allen Pope traveled to Siguatepeque in September 2007. During that trip, Herron said, the three men shared a stage at a parade that marked the dedication of a park in Sullivan County’s honor.

Pope said he, too, was shocked by the coup. He called the military’s actions “a little harsh.” While his top concern is with the Honduran people, Pope said, if the country’s political leaders did not like their president, they should have impeached him.

“Let the system they’ve got down there do what it’s supposed to do,” Pope said. The coup only puts the country at risk of interference by one of its neighbors, he said.

Michelletti and other coup leaders said they ousted Zelaya because they wanted to protect the very democratic system Pope mentioned.

On Sunday, Hondurans were slated to vote on a referendum asking if they wanted to move forward with the November election or postpone it and re-write their constitution.

Coup leaders said Zelaya favored the referendum, which the country’s Supreme Court declared unconstitutional, because it would let him serve more than one four-year term in office, which is the limit included in the Honduran constitution.

Sullivan County Mayor Steve Godsey said the referendum, if it was successful, would have been Zelaya’s first step in becoming “President for Life” and ruling Honduras as a dictator.

That is why Godsey has thrown his support behind the coup leaders. He said removing Zelaya from office before the president could yield that power was the “right thing to do.”

Godsey also said Zelaya was working closely with anti-American leaders such as Chavez and Cuban President Raul Castro. If Zelaya became a dictator, Godsey said, he would have become a thorn in the side of U.S. foreign policy just like the two other leaders.

On the other hand, Godsey said, former Honduran Vice President Elvin Ernesto Santos would be an ideal leader to work with and a boon for the U.S. government. Santos left office in January after he won his party’s nomination to be president.

Santos is American-educated, speaks fluent English and is considered a frontrunner in the upcoming election, said Godsey, who met the candidate on the July 2007 trip.

“This coup is a good thing and the country will be better off,” Godsey said. He also said Zelaya’s ouster will prevent him from becoming a dictator and ensure that Santos has a fair shot at becoming the country’s next president. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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