CASPER
New member
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – A Truth Commission with strong international support started investigating the Honduran coup Tuesday, helping the country regain the recognition it lost when soldiers ousted President Manuel Zelaya last year.
Zelaya backers call the commission a farce that cements Central America's first successful coup in nearly two decades, and vow not to provide information to its investigators. But the U.S. supports it and the chief of the Organization of American States attended the inauguration.
"We will seek the truth in a disciplined, relentless way," said commission coordinator Eduardo Stein, former vice president of Guatemala, at a ceremony launching the initiative.
Soldiers ousted Zelaya on June 28 at gunpoint after he ignored court orders to stop trying to modify the constitution. The United States and most other countries suspended diplomatic ties with the impoverished Central American country.
But the universal repudiation started wavering after November's presidential elections, which had been scheduled before the coup. Porfirio Lobo, a conservative rancher, took office in January, replacing an interim government.
This commission "exemplifies our resolve to heal wounds, learn from our mistakes and build together the future of this country," Lobo said.
Zelaya backers call the commission a farce that cements Central America's first successful coup in nearly two decades, and vow not to provide information to its investigators. But the U.S. supports it and the chief of the Organization of American States attended the inauguration.
"We will seek the truth in a disciplined, relentless way," said commission coordinator Eduardo Stein, former vice president of Guatemala, at a ceremony launching the initiative.
Soldiers ousted Zelaya on June 28 at gunpoint after he ignored court orders to stop trying to modify the constitution. The United States and most other countries suspended diplomatic ties with the impoverished Central American country.
But the universal repudiation started wavering after November's presidential elections, which had been scheduled before the coup. Porfirio Lobo, a conservative rancher, took office in January, replacing an interim government.
This commission "exemplifies our resolve to heal wounds, learn from our mistakes and build together the future of this country," Lobo said.
