Honduras
EU Association Agreement talks would legitimise coup
Today the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and Central American Delegation held a joint meeting on the subject of Panama and Honduras. Green MEP Raül Romeva, a member of the EP Delegation to Central America, commented:
"Today's meeting in the European Parliament represents a clear manoeuvre by the EPP and certain Liberals to forget about the coup in Honduras and get the negotiations for an EU-Central American Association Agreement back on track.
If the EU invites the new government of Honduras to the negotiation table, it rewards the perpetrators of a coup against a democratically elected government. The EU must not turn a blind eye to the grossly inflated participation rates that were designed to legitimise Porfirio Lobo's election and the move to grant amnesty to all who committed human rights violations in the wake of last year's coup. This would send a message around the world that the EU will eventually embrace those who illegitimately seize power.
As EU foreign affairs High-Representative, Ashton should know better than to naively express hope in the new Agreement on National Reconciliation and Strengthening of Democracy in Honduras. The leadership has already flagrantly ignored other agreements mediated by the OEA, the UN and Costa Rican president Oscar Arias - why would it change now?
Narrow economic interests are the real motive for those who advocate association agreement negotiations with Honduras. They want a weak negotiating partner in order to facilitate access to cheap mining concessions, agrofuels and textiles at the expense of the Honduran population as a whole. The EU must stand by its democratic values if it wants to be seen as a credible power in the world."
