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The next president of Honduras is preparing to take office later this month, an important step in returning the nation to democratic and constitutional order upset by the June 28 coup that deposed President Manuel Zelaya. More still needs to be done to complete the process, however, and the United States is continuing its efforts to help Hondurans move forward in implementing the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord, which the de facto regime and President Zelaya had negotiated and signed to end Honduras’ political crisis.
Even though the hour is late, Honduran political leaders must commit themselves to reconciliation now and take the good faith effort to form a national unity government to rule the nation until President-Elect Porfirio Lobo takes office on January 27. The important mending of fences must not be put off or public services and the nation's economy will continue to suffer.
Finally, once President-elect Lobo is inaugurated, an independent commission should be convened to look into what happened before, during, and after the coup, address grievances where they are found and consider reforms that will prevent similar incidents from ever happening again. What happened in June represents a breach in the heart of Honduran society and to some extent those tensions continue to fester.
The United States looks forward to continuing to work with all Hondurans and encourages others in the Americas to follow the Honduran people's lead in helping advance national reconciliation there, in their interests and those of all in the hemisphere.
