From Adam Bitely:
Over the last couple of weeks, an interesting phenomenon has developed across the globe. People have been using social networking on the internet to rise up against oppressive governments and steer the direction of debate. Sites like Twitter and Facebook have become powerful tools in this fight.
In Iran, massive protests have been coordinated to fight back against an unfair election. Iranians used Twitter to send protest locations, maps to hospitals, and to alert people where the government goons were launching there counter attacks. Twitter proved to be the most powerful tool in there uprising. While the final result of all this in Iran is yet to be seen, the level of the uprising was none the less remarkable.
Honduras is a perfect case study of how social networking can lead to a people becoming united and informed of what is happening in their government. When Manuel Zelaya was thrown out of the country after attempting to violate the term limits law in the constitution, Facebook became a top source to stay informed of what happened. As a result of all the news and information that was posted on different social networking sites, the country remained united and informed and maintains its democracy without a dictator.
Iran and Honduras are just the beginning in this internet age where a “webolution” can lead to a people rising up against the injustices of government and keeping government in check. To a degree, this has happened in America.
Take the Tea Party movement for example. On April 15, 2009, hundreds of thousands of Tea Party protesters gathered in cities from coast to coast. Most of these people had never protested before. How did all these Tea Party goers get there information? Twitter, Facebook, email, etc.
This is truly the age where a “webolution” is possible. People are getting there news online. Naturally, if one wants to start a political movement, the best place to get the message out is on the internet. Most of the social networking sites are free and thus, cost is low to spread the message far and wide. It is also extremely easy to identify potential fellow supporters and get them plugged into your ideas.
It is extremely possible in the United States to launch a very coordinated “peaceful” opposition movement against the current policies of our government using the same methods already tested and proven successful in Honduras and Iran. Politicians do pay attention when people get disgruntled and protest. But they will only pay attention if the protest is big enough and wide enough.
We already know that calling your congressman does not work. That can be proven by the passage of such legislation as the Stimulus bill, Cap & Trade in the House and the Bailouts last fall. We have called and called and called. The results were dismal. Now is the time for people to rise up and protest what this government is doing.
If people in Honduras and Iran can do it, we can too. The success of the Tea Parties shows us that a lot of us are already online and taking part in making our voices heard. Now, we must go the next step in continuing to apply the pressure to assure the political class that we are fed up and will throw them out.
Now is not the time for the summer soldier and sunshine patriot. We need to be in for the long haul. The line has been drawn and we must be ready to do what it takes to enforce our constitution on those in Washington D.C. that would rather toss it aside. So get Tweeting and get your message out. Be willing to work with others. And if we can get as organized as they did in Honduras and Iran, we can make a difference here.
This statement is as false as it is ridiculous:
“When Manuel Zelaya was thrown out of the country after attempting to violate the term limits law in the constitution, Facebook became a top source to stay informed of what happened. As a result of all the news and information that was posted on different social networking sites, the country remained united and informed and maintains its democracy without a dictator.”
The country has a dictatorship now under the coup, far more than it could have been said prior to it. Suspension of the most basic rights under the Constitution. Military forced shut down of two TV stations and two important radio chains. And to call it a “united” country is no less bogus: when 200,000+ marched against the coup (dwarfing all pro-coup marches) not even counting the buses stopped (or that had their tires shut out) by the military coming into the capital, that’s a sign of great division, not to mention the violent repression of it leading to the assassination of 19 year old Isis Obed Murillo and the arrest that very evening of 700+ demonstrators heading home from the protest for “violating the military curfew.”
If anything, the social networking sites (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook) have been more filled with protest against the coup than defense of it.
The author either isn’t paying close attention or is just making it up to fit his preconceptions.
It’s important to notice than Iran and Honduras is quite different. En Honduras only 5% (400,000 people) of the population are internet user, while in Iran it’s the 35% (26,000,000). In Honduras, fb and twitter was barely controlled by the filthy rich elite. In Iran the progressive people use internet, not in Honduras. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_Internet_users just a little information.
B.S. Detector,
You are incorrect. There was not a coup in Honduras. So you begin on the wrong foot.
Zelaya was removed from power by the courts and the legislature. The military enforced the ruling. How is that a coup? If 2/3 of the government and an OVERWHELMING majority of the people supported his removal, then how could that have been a coup?
The military is not running the country now. Obama and H. Clinton backed off of there overwhelming support for Zelaya once all the facts came out.
If you were right, Obama would have adopted Bush policies and marches Zelaya right in to power.
Thank god that didn’t happen. And thank god the U.S. managed to stay out of this for the most part. The people rose up and fixed there own problems.
Why is “peaceful” in quotes?
qwarto,
I think it is also important to note that the people in Iran that protested are incredibly pro-western society.
Adam - I’m convinced after your response that you don’t understand what happened at all.
There is no provision in Honduran law that allows any citizen, much less the president, to be expelled from the country. To the contrary, the Honduran Constitution (perhaps you don’t read Spanish so you don’t understand) expressly forbids expelling any Honduran citizen from the country. Even the military counsel told the Miami Herald “we broke the law.” He also said in that same interview that he and other military leaders would not accept a government “of the left” even if it was elected. That IS military rule, and fundamentally anti-democratic.
Furthermore, nor is there any provision under the Honduran Constitution or law for the Supreme Court to order the military to forcibly remove the president. None of the conspiring institutions followed any law at all. They simply claim that because they endorsed something illegal that therefore makes it legal.
Finally, I note that you were totally unresponsive to my rebuke of your fantasy claim that there is “unity” in the country behind the coup. The Gallup poll demonstrates the opposite, that more Hondurans oppose the coup than favor it:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAkMGKIUDg_ngUiZboxQbYj5_DPwD99BRHI00
“A new CID-Gallup poll indicated that Hondurans were split on the coup, with a slight majority appearing to oppose it.
“Forty-six percent said they disagreed with Zelaya’s ouster and 41 percent said they approved of it, according to the face-to-face survey of 1,204 Hondurans in the days following the ouster. Another 13 percent declined to answer.
“They were about evenly divided on Zelaya himself, with 31 percent saying they had a positive image of him and 32 percent negative. That was close to findings of a similar poll four months ago in which positive views outpaced negative by 4 percentage points.
“The pollsters said the survey, conducted in 16 of Honduras’ 18 provinces from June 30 to July 4, had a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.”
That is a population divided down the middle, even after being subjected only to pro-coup media for two weeks after the coup (I notice you are also silent about your endorsement of a coup that has shut down all dissenting media, making you a proponent of censorship and an opponent of press freedom, too).
Now that the coup opponents have caught up some (via those same YouTube videos and other means to break the censorship wall) you will likely see those numbers turn even more sharply against the coup government.
Covering your eyes and ears and yelling petulantly “there was no coup! there was no coup!” only makes you sound like the spoiled brats that created and enforce the coup.
Heh. I note you refer to “the OVERWHELMING majority of the people” somehow supporting the President’s removal.
The hard data from Gallup not only proves you wrong, but makes your shouting with ALL CAPS seem simply insane and irrational.
BS Detector,
I do not need to defend what I wrote. You already believe you have proven me wrong.
So, your position is that it’s ok to violate term limits laws? And also, that once caught, no one can do anything?
You really are in the dark on this one. The proposed referendum was originally to be a binding referendum. It said nothing about term limits. Do you even know what it said?
Here’ let me help you:
“Do you think that the November 2009 general elections should include a fourth ballot box in order to make a decision about the creation of a National Constitutional Assembly that would approve a new Constitution?”
Show me where in that proposed ballot question it says anything about term limits. No? You can’t? Well then admit that you bought somebody else’s lie hook line and sinker, and issue a correction like any honest blogger would.
When the Supreme Court struck down that binding referendum, President Zelaya then went forward with a *nonbinding* vote that had no court order against it. That’s when the military coup began - when General Vasquez kidnapped the ballots and refused to release them. Only later did he go to the extreme of kidnapping the president.
Furthermore, there is a process by which Congress can impeach a president if he breaks the law. But it did not go that route (it only endorsed the coup *after* it had already taken place). That makes the military, the Supreme Court, and the Congress already far more serious lawbreakers than anything they have accused the president of doing. And that’s how it always goes with coups.
There. I’ve already provided your readers with more documented and factual information in three comments than you were able to provide in your longer story. You’re just making it up. I don’t see how you think that gains you respect.
BS Detector,
Basically what you are arguing is one of the fundamental flaws in a democracy. Simply put, what you are saying is that you have poll data that shows that a majority of people support Zelaya violating the constitution. So because of that, the rule of law should be suspended.
The fact of the matter is, Zelaya could not serve another term. That is explicitly outlined in the constitution. You admit that.
I agree, two wrongs don’t make a right. However, how was Zelaya supposed to be put down and held in check?
I also believe your claims about the media being controlled are unfair. Simply, CNN was broadcasting heavily in favor of Zelaya. I know that because I got thousands of emails from people in Honduras showing me the biased coverage of his removal. So your charges that there was only one side of the story being broadcast are simply false.
So, CNN being (partially) on the air (the coup took it off for the second 24 hours, just as that poll was being taken) means that there was another side to the story being broadcast?
Do some research before inserting foot in mouth!
Population of Honduras: 7.5 million
Number of households with cable television: 49,280
Source: http://www.pressreference.com/Gu-Ku/Honduras.html
That’s 0.7 percent of the population. You’re getting your info from a very elite crowd and then believing that they are representative of the other 99.2 percent.
And now, disproving your original point, that “web can control government,” you’re behaving as like the coup government, so afraid of the facts suddenly coming at you that all “comment is awaiting moderation.”
Way to go!
BS Detector,
I haven’t disproved the original point. They got there story out via the web. Not from your sources which were biased against Zelaya’s removal.
However, please answer this question which I asked.
So, your position is that it’s ok to violate term limits laws? And also, that once caught, no one can do anything?
As well, please address what happens if one is caught violating the constitution but then a gallup poll says that he should.
The Honduran Constitution provides in certain circumstances for Congress to impeach a president, but it has to prove its case in order to do so. Unable to do that - because its claims that Zelaya violated the Constitution were false to begin with - it went the extra-legal route.
It would be as if George Bush or Barack Obama violated the constitution, and even before Congress acted, the Supreme Court told the Pentagon to remove him by force and expel him from the country. And then, after the fact, the Congress voted to endorse it. That wouldn’t make it legal. The Honduras coup is illegal in that way, far more illegal and violent and harmful than its claims against Zelaya even if they were true.
You’ve just crossed the line proving that you’re no libertarian, but, rather, an authoritarian. Congratulations.
Yes, I guess I am no libertarian on your very narrow minded ruler. My argument was only that the internet can be used as a tool to rise up against the force of government.
It was done in Honduras. If you think Manuel Zelaya was a great guy and hsi government was great, then you are no libertarian either. Which I don’t think you are to begin with.
I would rather that a more free society developed in Honduras, which I believe is coming. You however, don’t think so.
I am not endorsing military force to be used.
I am simply advocating that people use the internet to spread the message of how to target government force. Which is what happened in Iran and Honduras.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maMA3PTYoZE
This was not a coup.You cannot make an opinion if you dont know the Honduran Constitution and its laws! The constitution says that any president trying to or indicating for reelection immediately ceases from power. When Zelaya was expelled from the country he was not president anymore! PLus all the three powers remain and the executive power is held by civilians not by military. Zelaya wanted to rewrite the constitution so that he can remain in power indefenitely, and 80% of Hondurans are against this. Honduras has proof of Zelaya breaking the law and even possibly being linked to drugs and narco! I am a Honduran and I know my laws and constitution, if you dont know this please dont even bother in opening your mouth to say BS!!!!!
We, the people of Honduras feel abandoned by the international community! We have just acted to defend our laws, our freedom, our democracy. No coup has taken place here, but a lawful destitution of a corrupt megalomaniac who used socialism as a crutch to support his ultimate goal of staying in power indefinitely under strict compliance of Chavez’s so-called socialist franchise!
Long Live Democracy, Long Live our Freedom, long Live the Rule of Law…. Long Live The Republic of Honduras!
Adam: In the name of the Honduran people who really cares for our country… THANKYOU!… THANK´S FOR LETTING THE WORLD KNOW IN YOUR ARTICLE THAT THERE ARE WAYS TO GET ORGANIZED!.. YOUR ARTICLE IS RIGHT!, FACEBOOK WAS A GREAT INSTRUMENT TO GET IN TOUCH AND WELL ORGANIZED IN THE TRANSITION OF POWER OUR COUNTRY JUST HAD…
AND LET THIS BS DETECTOR TALK AS MUCH BS AS HE CAN… AFTER ALL… THAT´S WHY HE GET´S PAID!!
None of the people supporting Zelaya on this site are my friends on facebook. If they were, they would know the truth about the situation here.
These people probably support Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, and think their populations love the liberty and freedom they provide their people. jajaja. Hilarious.
So many videos out there showing the lies, manipulation, by this new breed of tyrants.
The fact is:
1. The truth is out.
2. The OAS has been exposed as a partizan organization with no purpose except to promote the totalitarians’ agenda. Inviting the Cuban dictatorship back in, and shunning democratic Honduras.
3. CNN en Espanol = Chavez News Network, has been a pawn for Chavez, by linking to the Venezuelan networks during the whole “Mel landing” charade.
4. Manuel Zelaya can return as a citizen to face justice.
5. Through this whole ordeal blood has not been shed. Unlike the 120,000 who died in El Salvador during their civil war. Don’t know how many in Nicaragua, during their marxist revolution which now celebrates 30 years.
Long live democracy!!!
Thank you Adam for your article. It is great to see how the world begins to understand the truth about Honduras. We are still standing united defending our democracy and our Freedom from dictators. And to BSdetector, jajaja. Honduras will never become a communist, socialist Chavez-Castro country!!!! Keep on dreaming.
BS you are so ignorant of our constitution! On article 239 it clearly states that whoever even tries to change our form of government or the term limits immeediately ceases of his charge, and is no longer considered a citizen.Moreover on Article 4 he is considered a traitor to our country. Any person that has been living here during the last few monthes is a witness that Zelaya has been violating our constitution.
You wrote:”The Honduran Constitution provides in certain circumstances for Congress to impeach a president, but it has to prove its case in order to do so.” Where did you get that? You are so wrong, because the president no longer has immunity, so we don´t need an impeachment.
“Do you think that the November 2009 general elections should include a fourth ballot box in order to make a decision about the creation of a National Constitutional Assembly that would approve a new Constitution?” This was supposed to be the question published on the votes, but instead, just the day before the referndum Zelaya published a decree on which the question was changed to: “Would you agree to create a National Constitutional Assembly ?”, which was already oublished on the votes in Venezuela. Not to mention that there is proof that there would never be such referendum,(it was a fraud) because the results were already registered in a room the Presidential House.
You are absolutely right Michelle (I think I know U)BS is wrong! What happened in our contry was not a coup!!! Why people express an opinion when they dont have any idea? Only honduran people know about our laws, so only WE know why Zelaya is ousted. I can say than more than 80 percent of the people in Honduras are agree with the acts performed by the Court, the Congress and the Army of our Country. I live here in Tegucigalpa I can see everything everyday, and trust me it is really hard and sad when you see your own people telling lies. I can accept the fact that not all the hondurans have access to internet, not everybody speak english, but there is something all we can do very well!!! We can go out to the streets and we can shout very loud!!! WE DONT WANT MEL ZELAYA IN HONDURAS! PLEASE UNDERSTAD!!! WE DONT WANT CHAVEZ!!! WE DONT WANT COMMUNISM!!! WE (7 millions of hondurans!) Fight for our CONSTITUTION. and we want people know that very well, I invite U to come and see what is really going here. WE TRUST IN GOD!
Sorry Adam! THANK YOU! I love your article, that’s what we need right now, people like U, who understand! Thanks again God Bless You! and thanks God for FACEBOOK!
Thanks for all the nice comments! It is good to see that you all are standing strong against those that seek to dominate over others.