Finding a Truth Hondurans Recognize

The job that is being given to the Truth Commission is an unenviable one, because it is an impossible one. It assumes that you can put together a neat summary of the facts that led to June 28, 2009 and all the events afterward. It assumes that facts are absolute, and thus that so is truth.

By Marco Cáceres
Perhaps the most difficult challenge facing the Honduras Truth Commission, led by former Guatemalan Vice-President Eduardo Stein, will be distinguishing between facts and interpretations that have been deemed to be facts. It is precisely this chasm between the "reality" of what led to and happened during the overthrow of Manuel Zelaya and the "perception of reality" of what transpired that divides Honduran society.

For example, it is a fact that President Zelaya was planning to hold a poll to gauge public support for setting up a fourth ballot box (cuarta urna) during the elections on November 29 to vote on whether or not to review and re-write the Constitution. It is a also a fact that the Supreme Court ruled the poll to be unconstitutional. But is it a fact that the poll was illegal? It will depend on the commission's interpretation of the Constitution and also whether it wishes to accept the authority of the Judicial branch of government in this case or that of the Executive.

It is a fact that President Zelaya consistently stated that he had no intention of remaining in power one day longer than his term of office provided. But is it a fact that some of the language he used in his speeches and interviews about establishing a National Constituent Assembly to re-write the Constitution strongly suggested that he wanted to alter the Constitution to allow for presidential re-election, thus allowing him to run for another term and try to manipulate the system to remain in office indefinitely? It will depend on the commission's interpretation of Mr. Zelaya words and actions.

Is it a fact that President Zelaya was increasingly acting like an out of control dictator by violating laws such as the one requiring for annual submission of a national budget to the Congress, flagrantly ignoring rulings by the Supreme Court, arbitrarily dismissing military officers, and provoking public confrontations by personally inciting mobs to take to the streets? It will depend on the commission's interpretation of Mr. Zelaya's words and actions, as well as its interpretation of the extent of presidential powers.

It is a fact that the Supreme Court ordered Honduras' Armed Forces to arrest President Zelaya. It is a fact that the Congress, the Attorney General, the Public Ministry, and the Human Rights Commissioner supported this decision. But is it a fact then that the removal of Mr. Zelaya constituted a military coup d'état? It will depend on the commission's interpretation of what constitutes a military coup d'état. Would the ousting have been less of a coup had the police arrested Mr. Zelaya? Does it matter more who performed the arrest or who ordered it?

The job that is being given to the Truth Commission is an unenviable one, because it is an impossible one. It assumes that you can put together a neat summary of the facts that led to June 28, 2009 and all the events afterward. It assumes that facts are absolute, and thus that so is truth. This assumption may lead commissioners to conclude that most Hondurans will be able to recognize the truth that they will present, so long as it is backed up by enough solid evidence, and that this will facilitate the process of reconciliation in Honduras.

Commissioners should be prepared for the possibility, though, that their version of the facts and the truth may have the unintended effect of re-igniting old anger and grievances that have died down a little with the passing of time. Indeed, the idea of a select group of people putting an official stamp of approval on a set of interpretations and calling them facts for history to judge may be so insulting to peoples' understanding of their own truth of what happened that it may further aggravate divisions in Honduras rather than help heal them.