Evidence of meeting #25 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was honduras.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
No, with the deposed president. You were saying he was up to mischief—I'm paraphrasing.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
There's a lot of mischief to go around, and some would say we have mischief in our own political culture at times. But for others to come in.... This is retrograde.
I've been there. I've worked in the region. You have as well. When I was in Honduras in the 1980s, it was a staging ground for the Contras. It's very important that we understand that this is about sovereignty. I would hope that in the future we don't do that. As I said, initially it was great that you condemned the coup, but it was afterwards, and I point to the September 22 comment.
I think we need to establish that not everyone.... I didn't see any formal certification of the elections. I think that remains an issue. When you have members of the opposition, such as Carlos Reyes, who was one of the candidates, beaten up and hospitalized, I think we should be very careful of how we observe this government and consider it “legitimate”.
I want to go back to the truth and reconciliation process.
Conservative
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
To your point about our comments on President Zelaya being somewhat unhelpful, I originally suggested—and I was condemned from some quarters of the diaspora community in Canada for this—that he not attempt to go back to Honduras until it was safe and secure for him to do so.
Conservative
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
As you know, they attempted at one point to fly back in the early days of July last year, and the airport runway was blocked. There were confrontations. People died. When he did go back in September—and you saw the same TV pictures at the Nicaragua border and back and forth—
Conservative
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
—he had.... And I phoned him regularly through that period, and I met him a couple of times. I visited him when he was stuck inside the Brazilian diplomatic mission. He had good days and he had bad days. He would have days when he would agree to say nothing and to do nothing to provoke, and then two or three days later he would call for action in the streets and so forth. So he was being unhelpful. I think that was—
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Well, no, I was just suggesting that there had been mixed messages coming out. And in this instance, when there was a military coup, I think it was to stop at that point to say we condemn it.
Conservative
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
Absolutely. Our greatest problem, to be honest, as I've said, was with Roberto Micheletti, who became a little bit of a tyrant.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
I understand that, and on that I agree.
Just on the truth and reconciliation process, I'm a little concerned. Essentially, when I count up the months when it will get up and going, we're effectively talking four months and a bit. I'm getting human rights reports that I've read of a lot of violence going on--women, minorities.... You know, and I certainly know, because I've spent some time with the Honduran military.... Four months.... I mean, how long does it take? We're just getting our truth and reconciliation commission going with first nations, and we're going to take our time. Four months.... You said you wanted it to quicken? I'm surprised.
Conservative
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
We would have liked to have seen the commission struck in December or January. We would have liked to have seen it start work immediately after the inauguration. The Lobo government is installed, but it's installed in a somewhat...
Conservative
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
Precarious state, yes.
I am convinced that President Lobo is doing his best to lead his government and his country, and he has brought opposition politicians into the government of national unity.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
But it's a bit hard to accept four months as being able to ramp up that process—
Conservative
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
Well, to be honest, he has criticism from within his own governing party that he is being far too enlightened.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Well, yes, but if you look at what's happening on the ground and what has happened in the past on the amnesty provisions—
Conservative