By Stephen Randall
CALGARY, AB — It has been five months since Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was removed from office and sent into exile by the Honduran military. Since then, Canada, along with the rest of the international community, has watched with concern – at times bewilderment, at other times frustration and anger – that the political crisis has evaded resolution.
On the face of it, the plight of Honduras seems of little concern to Canadians. It is a nation of fewer than eight million people, and the second poorest country in the Americas after Haiti. Yet, what has happened there should be more fully addressed by our people and government — for reasons that are political, strategic, economic and human.
Crisis triggers
On June 28, acting on what was claimed to be the authority of the Honduran Supreme Court and following an all-night debate in the Honduran Congress, the Honduran military arrested Zelaya on the grounds that he was attempting to subvert the constitution by holding an unconstitutional referendum.
Zelaya was sent into exile, only to return secretly to the country in September and seek asylum in the Brazilian embassy where, at the time of writing, he continues to reside while working with his key negotiators.
The Honduran Congress appointed an interim government headed by Roberto Micheletti, who was the President of Congress at the time. Canada, in concert with the international community, condemned the coup. Then it broke diplomatic relations, curtailed aid and, during the fall of 2009, indicated that it would not recognize the results of national elections to be held at the end of this month were Zelaya not returned to office by that time. Several mediation efforts have failed.
Why we should care
Canada has long staked a claim to being a leading nation in the promotion of democratic governance and human security. The Inter-American Democratic Charter — adopted at the 2001 Quebec Summit of the Americas — stated that “representative democracy is indispensable for the stability, peace, and development of the region, and that one of the purposes of the OAS is to promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of non-intervention.”
In 2005, Canada's International Policy Statement stated that one of the key objectives of our nation's role in the world is “strengthening and promoting freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.”
Much of Canadian foreign aid, whether it be humanitarian assistance or military, has been premised on those basic values. If the democratic order is threatened in Honduras, then Canada on several levels has a clear interest in and responsibility for the peaceful resolution of the impasse.
On a security level, the increase in violence in Central America — much of it related to the illegal traffic in narcotics, small arms and people — has had a direct impact on Canadian society. The recent, and unfortunate, decision of the Canadian government to impose visa requirements on Mexico, our NAFTA partner, is a reflection of the impact of regional violence on refugee claims. There is evidence of Central American gangs having a direct impact in our country, and Canadian police officials have long recognized Central America as a major transition point for narcotics bound for North American markets.
On a human level, Canada has made significant contributions to improving the quality of life of Hondurans. Honduras is the second largest recipient of Canadian aid in the Americas, after Haiti, and most of that aid is humanitarian.
Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency, has made an important contribution through the Poverty Reduction Strategy process. Curtailment of that aid impacts needy Hondurans – not those in political power.
On an economic level, Honduras is of much less concern to Canada (bilateral trade was only $238 million in 2008) than Canadian trade and investments are to Hondurans, although Canadian firms are major investors in the mining sector.
For all these reasons – political, economic, security, humanitarian – Canada has a vested interest in seeing a democratic resolution to the Honduran political crisis, not because we have mining companies or a small amount of bilateral trade with Honduras, but as a nation that projects its own values in the promotion of democracy and human security.
