Arcadia Foundation

Deposed Honduran President Mel Zelaya stated in a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama that he no longer accepted “any agreement” for his reinstatement in power.

“From this date forward, whatever had been the case, I do not accept any agreement for returning to the presidency,” Zelaya, who was ousted in a June 28 coup, said in the letter to Obama.

Copies of the letter were distributed to the press by his supporters.

“The Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord is without value or effect through the unilateral noncompliance of the de facto government” headed by Roberto Micheletti, who was appointed to lead the country by the Honduran Congress on June 28, Zelaya said.

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Asylum-seekers caught by Indonesian forces and detained for at this point one full month, having still not been classified as refugees by the Australian government, are now on hunger strike. Austrailia continues to state that many are economic refugees and as such are not available for asylum, however those protesting from the images below certainly believe differently. Whilst exceptions to the rule are often met with controversy, one (if not Ian Smith) must feel the slightest tinges of policy reconsideration when witnessing their pleas for support from Canberra.

A Chinese human rights activist has been camping out at Tokyo’s international airport since 4 November because Beijing has barred him from re-entering China.

Feng Zhenghu, a Shanghai-based activist, said in a phone conversation that he had been sleeping on a couch near the immigration checkpoint and surviving on food and water given to him by passing travellers.

His sister, Natsuki Suzuki, who lives in Japan and is married to a Japanese national, said today Feng arrived in Japan in April. Since then, he has tried unsuccessfully to return to China eight times.

Four times airlines prevented him from boarding, and four times – including his most recent attempt earlier this month – he got as far as Shanghai’s Pudong airport, but Chinese authorities refused him entry and sent him back to Tokyo, according to Suzuki. Read Full Paper

Please click on the link below for an exclusive interview from one of the most prestigious Latin-American networks, Televicentro Honduras, with Robert Carmona-Borjas, regarding Honduras and the role and current initiatives of the OAS:

Robert Carmona-Borjas on the OAS and Honduras

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Please click on the link provided below for Arcadia Foundation founder Robert Carmona-Borjas’ interview with HRN Radio Honduras, regarding the Foundation’s stance on the role of Mr. Insulza in Honduras:

“Hugo Chávez’s Sunday TV and radio program Aló Presidente is not exactly known for its brevity or reassuring tone“, began Michael Shifter’s article, recently published in Foreign Policy magazine. The Venezuelan president’s chief communications vehicle often signals his preferred next steps in the 11th year of his grandiose “Bolivarian” reformation of the nation. So it was cause for concern when Chávez used last Sunday’s program to declare in his usual erratic and combative style, “Let’s not waste a day in our main aim to prepare for war and help the people prepare for war.” The question Mr. Shifter asks, one I dread the answer to, resonates deeply with those concerned about political development in Latin America:

“In a politically unsettled South America, where arms purchases have nearly doubled over the past five years, reaching almost $50 billion last year, could his words be the spark needed to light a conflict?”

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Military operations against Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have reduced the rebels to at most 100 in Congo but most remaining fighters are in Central African Republic, the region’s weakest link, the United Nations said.

Having terrorised civilians in northern Uganda for nearly two decades, the rebels crossed into Congo’s remote northeast in late-2005, where a group of 800-1,000 fighters were untouched until Uganda led a multi-national strike on them last December.

Joseph Kony, the group’s elusive leader who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, escaped the raid and the rebels launched reprisal attacks, killing hundreds of civilians. But UN-backed anti-LRA operations have continued. Read Full Paper

Iran, the Obama administration now claims, will not be in a position to reach further than the Southeast of Europe with missiles for the foreseeable future. Iran’s missiles are not thought to have a range greater than 2000 km. But that is far from the reality.

Author Dr. Hans Ruehle, former Director of the Planning Staff in the German Ministry of Defense has written a thought-provoking piece entitled, “Russia is playing a double game on Iran“, which both the United Against Nuclear Iran organization and the Arcadia Foundation have published, as seen below:

Immediately after Barack Obama’s announcement on the new threat assessment, retired Russian Major General Dworkin declared that Iran will soon have missiles with a range of about 5500 km. Read Full Paper

Defense lawyers for a top prime minister’s aide can raise torture allegations at his trial, a judge ruled today in a case that has shaken Zimbabwe’s troubled coalition government.

Judge Chinembiri Bhunu also ruled that a weapons dealer can testify at Roy Bennett’s trial, setting the stage for lawyers to spar over his testimony and how it was obtained once the proceedings begin in earnest Thursday.

The weapons case against Bennett, a top aide to Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, stems from allegations of a plot to topple President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai says the charges are baseless and part of efforts by Mugabe loyalists to undermine the coalition formed in February between the longtime rivals.

Bennett’s lawyers say weapons dealer Peter Michael Hitschmann, who is the main prosecution witness, was not only tortured but also did not implicate Bennett during his own trial. Read Full Paper

By Robert Carmona-Borjas, Founder of the Arcadia Foundation

After difficult negotiations, President Roberto Micheletti’’s representatives had reached an agreement with the deposed President Zelaya’’s representatives. This agreement will transfer the debate on whether or not  to reinstate Zelaya through Honduran institutions, specifically the National Congress of Honduras and the Supreme Court of Justice, which has been the strongest point of friction amongst negotiators.

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