Nathan Lents, reporting from La Ceiba, on the north coast of Honduras.

Today there was a march of those that support the removal of deposed president Mel Zelaya, and the swearing in of the new government here.

It was a peaceful demonstration, less about the new government, then about the desire for peace and tranquility.

There was some anti-Zelaya sentiment to be sure, but the overarching theme was exasperation.  Exasperation that the international community has decided, almost instantaneously, that was has transpired was an illegal military coup. 

The big question on everyone’s mind is, “Why can’t the world let us govern ourselves.”  I saw many posters declaring the rights to autodeterminacion, and “Honduras for Hondurans,” echoing the famous words of the Monroe doctrine, “America for Americans.”

The Honduran constitution is very clear and declares itself unchangeable on several issues, one of them being the limit of one term by any president.  Former president Zelaya made no secret of his wish to change this aspect of the constitution and proceeded to schedule a referendum to that effect.  This action was ruled illegal and unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the National Congress, and the Board of Elections and it was legally forbidden, yet Mel refused to back down and vowed to hold the referendum anyway.

He was removed from power by the military, yes, but the Supreme Court declared that the military was following their order when they did so.  In Honduras, much like the US, the Supreme Court is the highest court in the land, and the ultimate authority on what is legal and what is constitutional.  Thus, it seems to this foreign observer that, if the supreme court says it was legal, it WAS legal, and thus, not a coup d’etat at all, but rather a forced removal and a constitutional transition of power. 

Accusations from the other side are that the congress and the supreme court are corrupt institutions, controlled by the oligarchy, the wealthy elite.  That may be.  But if so, this would be an internal issue to be resolved by the Hondurans.  The congress answers to the voters every election and democracy is very much at the heart of the Honduran government and Honduran values.

There were a limited number of pro-Zelaya counter demonstrators, as well, but their numbers were limited, and they were closely watched by the police and the military, as their demonstration the previous day included some signs of violence.

From my experiences here in Honduras, the people feel completely abandoned by the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the United   States, and all the international community.  By so immediately siding with the deposed president, what the UN and the US has said is that they know better what’s best for Honduras than the Honduran people, who overwhelmingly support the removal of Zelaya. 

Even worse, there is no way that any foreign government can claim that the action was illegal or a coup d’etat without also holding that they understand the Honduran constitution better than the Honduran Supreme Court does. 

Most people that I meet here are pro-democracy, pro-freedom of the press, and anti-communism.  In fact, most people see Mel Zelaya as antithetical to those very things.  More importantly, they have placed their faith in the constitutional processes that defend those freedoms, much as we do in the United States.

The world community needs to keep in mind that Honduras is among the most stable and peaceful countries in Latin America – they’ve never had a civil war.

So now I think you can imagine their confusion.  The constitutional process was followed, with unanimous support of the supreme court, the national congress, and the military, and suddenly, the world community condemns it.  No one from the UN, the OAS, or the USA has come down here and taken the time to read the constitution and understand the complexities of the situation. 

Yes, the Hondurans feel very insulted by what has happened.  It’s as if…  no one is listening, or no one cares enough to get all the facts. 

The theme of today was Honduras for Hondurans.  I think the world community needs to keep that in mind – that self-rule means that each country gets to write its own constitution and make its own rules.  If the constitutionally prescribed bodies exercise their constitutional duties, the world community must accept that.  All other questions that may remain are for the Hondurans to decide. 

Honduras for Hondurans.