[UPDATED with translation]
I have no time to translate the editorial of Teodor Petkoff in today Tal Cual as I am about to start my several hours ride back home. But I am leaving it for you below (it is by subscription) and you can use the google translation tool if you need. IT is a perfect editorial where Teodoro explains clearly that Chavez is "defending" democracy in Managua while in Venezuela he s trampling it, refusing the recognize the opposition votes jut as he defends the Zelaya votes. Not to be missed and to be sent to any OAS ambassador before they say further stupid things in the name of democracy. Just for a pre-taste I will translate the first paragraph.
The rejection of the Honduras coup being universal, including the one from this writer, it is worthy to have a look on some of the "umpires" of democracy in Latin America. In the ALBA [Chavez client states organization], in Managua, the democratically elected president of Cuba, Raul Castro, allowed himself to instruct us on democracy 101. The no less democratic Daniel Ortega, who has just led a scandalous fraud in recent municipal elections of Nicaragua, also spoke as if he were possessed by the spirit of Thomas Jefferson. The icing on the cake in this tourney of hypocrisy was put, of course, by Hugo Chavez, whose government has declared through this eminent legal scholar Doña Luisa Estella Morales [High Court President], that the decisions of the Inter American Court for Human Rights do not apply in Venezuela. That is, the OAS is good for somethings but not good for others.
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Tal Cual, Wednesday July 1, 2009, Teodoro Petkoff
Estando ya claro el repudio universal al golpe militar en Honduras, incluyendo el de este editorialista, vale la pena ahora echar un vistazo sobre algunos de los "árbitros" de la democracia en América Latina. En la reunión de la ALBA, en Managua, el democráticamente elegido presidente de Cuba, Raúl Castro, se permitió pedagogizarnos en la asignatura democrática. El no menos democrático Daniel Ortega, quien viene de protagonizar un escandaloso fraude en las elecciones municipales de su país, también habló como si estuviera poseído por el espíritu de Thomas Jefferson. La guinda de este torneo de hipocresía la puso, por supuesto, Hugo Chávez, cuyo gobierno, ha declarado, a través de esa jurista eminente, Doña Luisa Estella Morales, que las decisiones de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos no valen en Venezuela. O sea, la OEA sirve para unas cosas y para otras no.
En algún momento Chávez calificó públicamente a Insulza de "pendejo".
Ese "pendejo" ahora es el gran garante de la democracia.
Chávez declara que está dispuesto a hacer valer, hasta con la guerra, los 999 mil votos que sacó Zelaya, hace tres años y pico, pero los 700 mil votos de Ledezma se los puede pasar por el forro con toda tranquilidad. Cualquier demócrata concuerda con que los votos de Zelaya no pueden ser pateados por la bota militar, pero ese mismo demócrata afirma que los de Ledezma, Pérez Vivas, Rosales, Pablo Pérez, Capriles Radonski (quien anteayer, mientras el Gran Demócrata se rasgaba las vestiduras en Managua en defensa de la democracia, fue atacado a palos y pedradas por los dulces y tolerantes muchachones del PSUV en la misa de San Pedro, en Guatire) tampoco pueden ser pateados por la misma bota que calza el comandante en jefe, militar reactivado por gracia de la reforma a la medida de la Ley Orgánica de la FAN.
Es el colmo del fariseísmo que este golpista que nos gobierna, quien protagonizó dos sangrientas tentativas sediciosas en 1992, por las cuales jamás se disculpó ante el país, pueda hablar, ante el mundo, como si jamás hubiera quebrado un plato. Dio a su intentona del 4F el carácter de fecha patria, celebrada con desfile militar y demás yerbas.
¿Con qué cara podría cuestionar que los golpistas de Honduras dieran ese mismo carácter a la fecha de su alzamiento? Verdaderamente , saca la piedra este torneo de fariseísmo protagonizado en Managua, por algunos de los asistentes a esa "misa negra", entre ellos el Golpista Mayor. La única voz respetable y lúcida que se oyó en esa reunión fue la de Leonel Fernández, presidente de República Dominicana, quien repudió el golpe, citó a Rómulo Betancourt como uno de los padres de la democracia continental (cuya "Doctrina Betancourt", de no aceptar dictaduras militares, está implícita en la Carta Democrática de la OEA y en el rechazo al golpe hondureño) y reivindicó los gobiernos civiles.
Entre los no tan tácitamente aludidos estaba uno que llegó de uniforme militar, el cubano (a quien no se le puede negar, en todo caso, que se lo ganó en combate contra una dictadura) y otro que no se lo quita ni para ir al baño, el venezolano, quien lo deshonró alzándose contra un gobierno tan democráticamente elegido como el de Zelaya.
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Full translation, courtesy of two readers! I randomly picked one but my thanks to both of them, hoping that the one who was not picked up does not take offense for the future.
Continues from my first paragraph above.
At one point, Chavez publicly characterized Insulza as an idiot.
This “idiot” is now the great guarantor of democracy.
Chavez declares that he is willing to defend, even with war, the 999 thousand votes
that Zelaya obtained over three years ago, but he could care less about the 700
thousand votes Ledezma won. Any democrat would agree that the votes Zelaya
obtained should not be kicked around by a military boot, but this same democrat
states that those of Ledezma, Perez Vivas, Rosales, Pablo Perez, Capriles Radonski
(who the day before yesterday, while the Great Democrat tore his vestments in
Managua in defense of Democracy, was attacked with sticks and stones by the sweet
and tolerant boyos of the PSUV at the mass for Saint Peter, in Guatire) cannot also be kicked by the same boot worn by the Commander in Chief, now reactivated as a
member of the armed forces by dint of the (ley organica) of the Armed Forces.
It is the height of hypocrisy that this coupster that governs us, who starred in two
seditious and bloody attempts in 1992, for which he never asked the country for
forgiveness, can speak to the world as if he’d never so much as broken a plate.. He
gave his attempted coup of February 4th a patriotic character, a day to be celebrated
as a national holiday complete with military parades and other accoutrements.
How can he call into question that the Honduran coupsters gave the same character
to the date of their uprising? Truly, it is maddening to watch this Hypocrisy
tournament that took place in Managua, by some attending this “Black mass” among
them the Putschist In Chief. The only respectable and lucid voice that was heard at
that meeting was that of Leonel Fernandez, President of the Dominican Republic,
who condemned the coup, cited Romulo Betancourt as one of the fathers of
continental Democracy (whose “Betancourt Doctrine”, that of not accepting military
dictatorships is implicit in the Democratic Charter of the OAS and in the rejection of the Honduran coup) and reaffirmed civilian government.
Among those not so tacitly alluded was one who arrived in military uniform, the
Cuban (against whom it cannot be argued, in any case, that he won it fighting against
a dictatorsip) and another who doesn’t take it off even to go to the bathroom, the
Venezuelan who dishonored it by rising up against a government as democratically
elected as Zelaya’s.
-The end-
Honduras: from objectivity to ridicule
Paraphrasing someone, the Honduras coup is so revealing of hypocrisy that if it had not existed it would have to be invented as a literary exercise. Another quick press review this morning while I am having my coffee guarantees to start my day with a smile.
Let start with a newspaper that knows where it stands, the WSJ. The editorial title "The Wages of Chavismo" is full of promise and the reader will not be disappointed. We might deplore that the WSJ is not willing to acknowledge the downright reality of the coup, no matter how justifiable they think the coup was, however some of the stuff shoudl give a few blabber mouths of the hemisphere pause. If you find this, followed by the catalogue to reind folks that Chaevz lives in a glass house:
And speaking of Chavez, as it is often the case lately, we get the ridicule of the day, his offering NOT to accompany the group to bring back Zelaya to Honduras. That is right, he said that he could be shot in Honduras and thus he regrets that he will not be accompanying Argentina's Cristina and Ecuador's Rafael as they try to restore Zelaya. But he will send his "canciller" Maduro. I suppose that neither Cristina nor Rafael are in any danger, no? Poor Chavez, he does not realize that at the same time he demonstrates two things, that he is a coward and that he is an arrogant creep by putting himself above any other LatAm president... Truth sometimes is stranger than fiction.....
But Chavez also brings us the obscene: he, the champion of lifting the "criminal" embargo to Cuba, is proposing to set an embargo to Honduras and he will start himself by stopping any oil export to Honduras. You have got to love the chutzpah of the guy, and be impressed by the jerks applauding such grandstanding. Unbelievable! That is what happens to you when you spend years surrounded by sycophants.
-The end-
Let start with a newspaper that knows where it stands, the WSJ. The editorial title "The Wages of Chavismo" is full of promise and the reader will not be disappointed. We might deplore that the WSJ is not willing to acknowledge the downright reality of the coup, no matter how justifiable they think the coup was, however some of the stuff shoudl give a few blabber mouths of the hemisphere pause. If you find this, followed by the catalogue to reind folks that Chaevz lives in a glass house:
Yet the events in Honduras also need to be understood in the context of Latin America's decade of chavismo. Venezuela's Hugo Chávez was democratically elected in 1998, but he has since used every lever of power, legal and extralegal, to subvert democracy.You also find this:
We mention these not so small details because they are being overlooked as the world, including the U.S. President, denounces tiny Honduras in a way that it never has, say, Iran. President Obama is joining the U.N., Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez and other model democrats in demanding that Mr. Zelaya be allowed to return from exile and restored to power. Maybe it's time to sort the real from the phony Latin American democrats.The New York Times gives us a more circumspect analysis in the hand of Simon Romero, probably one of the best summation to be found around, with the Editorial of the WaPo yesterday. I suppose that this is as much objectivity as we can expect right now. In addition Mr. Romero is proving to become a fine connoisseur of Latin American irony and sarcasm, at least as much as what we can expect a gringo to become:
Meanwhile, Mr. Chavez threats of belligerence in Central America led one opposition party here, Accion Democratica, to issue a statement on Monday that was full of irony: “Hugo Chavez has become the George Bush of Latin America.”At any rate Mr. Romero is keen on observing that Obama might not be outflanking Chavez yet but he is not allowing himself to be cornered by Chavez, yet I will add.
And speaking of Chavez, as it is often the case lately, we get the ridicule of the day, his offering NOT to accompany the group to bring back Zelaya to Honduras. That is right, he said that he could be shot in Honduras and thus he regrets that he will not be accompanying Argentina's Cristina and Ecuador's Rafael as they try to restore Zelaya. But he will send his "canciller" Maduro. I suppose that neither Cristina nor Rafael are in any danger, no? Poor Chavez, he does not realize that at the same time he demonstrates two things, that he is a coward and that he is an arrogant creep by putting himself above any other LatAm president... Truth sometimes is stranger than fiction.....
But Chavez also brings us the obscene: he, the champion of lifting the "criminal" embargo to Cuba, is proposing to set an embargo to Honduras and he will start himself by stopping any oil export to Honduras. You have got to love the chutzpah of the guy, and be impressed by the jerks applauding such grandstanding. Unbelievable! That is what happens to you when you spend years surrounded by sycophants.
-The end-
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