Canada “seriously concerned” about Honduran coup – but you’d never know it

As we all emerge from the Jackson-induced media haze of the past few days, a real news story managed to surface Sunday:

Honduran military sends president into exile
Congress names successor; Obama says he is "deeply concerned"

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Soldiers ousted the democratically elected president of Honduras on Sunday and Congress named a successor, but the leftist ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced what he called an illegal coup and vowed to stay in power.

The first military takeover of a Central American government in 16 years drew widespread condemnation from governments in Latin America and the world – including the U.S. – and Chavez vowed to overthrow the country's apparent new leader.

Oddly, the only mention of Canada's response was in a CTV article which quotes Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Peter Kent stating that "Democratic governance is a central pillar of Canada's enhanced engagement in the Americas, and we are seriously concerned by what has transpired in Honduras."

I find it telling that not one of Canada's three national newspapers has made any mention of Kent's statement, relying instead on U.S. wire service reports. In fact, I had to really dig through the Foreign Affairs website just to find the full text.

There is a lot being left unsaid in the media coverage of this incident in general. Even the excellent Al Jazeera is treading carefully, not wanting to fall to hard on one side or the other. But at least one U.S. right-wing organization that spams my inbox on occasion is painting this as "Freedom Restored", a triumph of democracy over a leftist dictator who wanted to stay permanently in power like Hugo Chavez. Or Castro. Or Hitler.

Perhaps a better explanation can be found in this comment on the CBC's article:

Just count the number of native faces in the supreme court and senate of Honduras and you will have your answers.

Latin American states are in process of power redistribution where native majorities are taking back larger share of what was stolen from them for generations.

Honduras is a hard one, it was always controlled by Yanks by its American trained military and clean blood European puppet governments. Gave a good look at Micheletti, not exactly a Mayan. No wonder he was part of the coup.

For a more in-depth look at the events leading up to Sunday's events, check this article in Al Jazeera. You certainly won't find it in the Canadian media.



(cross-posted from Canada's World)