2009 Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi season
The 2009 season was Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi's 79th competitive season, 29th consecutive season in the Veikkausliiga, and 102nd year in existence as a football club.


2009 Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi season
The 2009 season would see Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi claim a 22nd Veikkausliiga title.


2009 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen
The 2009 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event held on August 10, 2009 at Watkins Glen International.


2009 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen
The race was rained out on the original scheduled day of August 9. The race was won by points leader Tony Stewart, his third win of the year. Stewart scored his fifth win at Watkins Glen. With that win, he passed Jeff Gordon as the all time NASCAR winner at the Glen. As of 2019, that record still stands. Also with his win in that race, Tony Stewart would score his seventh career road course win, breaking him out a four-way tie for second in all time road course wins with Bobby Allison, Rusty Wallace, and Ricky Rudd. Stewart would win an additional road course race at Sonoma in 2016, the year he retired. As of 2019, Tony Stewart is currently in second place with eight road course wins, as Jeff Gordon currently holds the all-time record with nine wins.


2009 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen
During the race, a hard crash involving Sam Hornish Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Jeff Burton, left the drivers shaken but alright. Kasey Kahne got loose under Hornish and Hornish slid hard into the tire barrier. Then Hornish spun back onto the track and Gordon had no way to avoid him and they made hard contact sending Gordon head on into the Armco barrier and Hornish into Jeff Burton, which nearly sent Hornish on his side.


2009 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen
In the late stages of the race, fuel mileage was an issue but no one had any problems. Stewart held off a strong Marcos Ambrose for the win. Drivers from five different countries were in the race including the United States of America, Australia, Colombia, Italy and Canada. An incredible crowd of 85,000 live spectators were enthralled by this 146-minute racing event where the average green flag run was almost 13 laps long. Owing to the high number of accidents and resulting amount of debris, more than 14% of the event was raced under a caution flag.


2009 Henan mine disaster
The 2009 Henan mine disaster took place on 8 September 2009 in Pingdingshan city, in Henan province in China.


2009 Henan mine disaster
The gas explosion took place around 1 a.m. Tuesday in the Xinhua No.4 pit in Xinhua District of Pingdingshan City. 93 men were working underground, of which 14 managed to escape to safety. Initial report said 35 were confirmed dead and 44 were missing. On 9 September, the death toll rose to 44, while 35 were still missing. On 27 September, the total death toll was confirmed 67, while 9 people remained missing. Each family of the dead or missing workers was compensated 400,000 yuan.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire
The ABC Day Care Center Fire in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, took place on Friday, June 5, 2009. Forty four children died that day and the death toll subsequently rose as additional children succumbed to their injuries. As of June 7, 44 toddlers and infants were reported killed as a result of the blaze. Five additional children died in the coming weeks, raising the final death toll to 49. Over 40 infants and toddlers and six adults were hospitalized with burns.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Fire
The blaze started at 3pm (2200 GMT) on Friday, June 5, 2009. It was initially reported that the fire began in a tire warehouse next door and then spread to the child care center. Further investigation revealed that the actual source was a different warehouse, one operated by the state government. Within just a few minutes the fire caused the collapse of a roof section which fell on the children, infants and employees below. One of the first responders on the scene reported that all children were unconscious or dead and there were no sounds of children crying.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Fire
Firefighters took two hours to contain the blaze. "They told me that this happened in a matter of five minutes," said Hermosillo Mayor Ernesto Gándara. "According to what our people saw, there was an explosion followed immediately by flames," reported Daniel Karam, the director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). "We began to smell smoke and the alarm went off. But it was explosive and there was no chance to get more children out," stated María Adriana Gasca Sandoval, a daycare aide.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Fire
Over 142 children were attending the day care center at the time of the blaze, according to Sonora Governor Eduardo Bours, "There were 142 children in the nursery, 35 have died, and another 41 are hospitalized."


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Fire
The daycare center had passed an inspection on May 26, the week prior to the blaze. The number of enrolled children, 142 as well as the 6 staff members providing care for them were also within the approved ratio of caregiver to children for day care centers. Reports two days after the blaze revealed, however, that although the warehouse had windows, they were mounted too high and did not provide access to the daycare center for rescue operations.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Fire
A fire department officer unofficially reported that the converted warehouse building had only one operational exit. One mother claimed a second exit was locked and the key could not be found. A desperate passerby, Francisco Manuel Lopez Villaescusa, drove his Silverado truck through the walls to gain entrance and knocked three holes into the building.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Fire
By Sunday, Sonora state Health Minister Raymundo López Vucovich announced, "In the past few hours three more have died. Twelve of the 22 hospitalized children are in a dangerous condition."


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Subsequent hospital care
Many of the injured were cared for in hospitals in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Although 15 medical specialists were flown in to treat the victims, some children were moved to hospitals in other cities in the state of Jalisco which had doctors with specialties in children's burns. One boy could not be moved for further treatment as he has been declared brain dead. Two children were taken to a Shriner's burn hospital in Sacramento, California, USA, for treatment.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Subsequent hospital care
"A lot of it is how deep the burn is and where it's located and how bad is the smoke inhalation," said Dr. Tina Palmieri, assistant chief of burns for the hospital. She reported that there was only a 50 per cent chance of survival for one of the three-year-old girls who sustained burns to over 80 per cent of her body. This girl was accompanied by her father and arrived in California by Mexican military transport.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Subsequent hospital care
Her mother, who had herself been working in the day care center, was taken to a Ciudad Obregón hospital after pulling her daughter and several other children out of the fire. The second patient, a young boy, began a series of skin graft surgeries on Sunday June 7, reported Dr. David Greenhalgh, chief of burn treatment at the Sacramento hospital. Both of these patients were listed in critical condition, monitored for infection, and unable to talk because breathing tubes had been inserted.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Subsequent hospital care
In the aftermath Sonora state Health Minister Raymundo López Vucovich issued updates. He reported that some of the hospitalized children had been suffering from kidney failure due to severe loss of body fluids caused by the burns. Others in the hospital had respiratory symptoms from smoke inhalation. The burns on some of the victims were so bad authorities had problems identifying them. Javier Alexis Pacheco, aged two, was rushed to the hospital for treatment for burn injuries. There were communication mishaps, however. Four-year-old Hermán Vásquez, with burns on 75 per cent of his body, was rushed to Chávez Hospital but his family did not find out where he was until 6 p.m. that evening.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Remembrances of victims
Deaths occurred from smoke inhalation, burns, and trauma from the roof collapse. Stories of the victims appeared in news stories. Camila, a three-year-old girl perished in the fire from asphyxiation. María, Julio, Fátima, Carlos, Sofía and Dafne were among the 41 pre-schoolers who were mourned at several funeral ceremonies that took place on the Saturday following the blaze. The parents of two-year-old María Magdalena Millán, among those buried Saturday, attached a Dora the Explorer balloon to the cross marking her grave, while her mother cried out, "I love you and I don't want to leave you here!" Germán León battled his injuries, but died Saturday morning, just days after his fourth birthday. The family of 2-year-old Daniel Alberto Goyzueta Cabanillas, who died of smoke inhalation, held a funeral late Saturday afternoon for the boy. The family of 2-year-old Camila Fuentes Cervera also held her funeral Saturday.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Grief and bereavement
Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram to Archbishop of Hermosillo José Ulises Macías Salcedo offering his condolences, "Together with spiritual closeness, concern, and wishes for a speedy and total recovery of those injured in the lamentable incident.... With these sentiments, the Supreme Pontiff, in these moments of sadness, imparts from the heart the comfort of an apostolic blessing, as a sign of comfort and hope in the Risen Lord."


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Grief and bereavement
Mexican President Calderón stated, “I want to express in the name of the federal government, of all Mexicans and of me personally, our condolences to the mothers and fathers for this tragic accident.”


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Grief and bereavement
Neighbors conducted a candlelight vigil the morning of June 7 at the University of Sonora in Hermosillo.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Day care center ownership
Governor Bours quickly admitted that the daycare's owners had familial ties to state government officials, state PRI party officials and First Lady Margarita Zavala.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Day care center ownership
The daycare was federally funded but privately operated. The government's Social Security Institute provided a contact for operation. Two state officials resigned in the aftermath of the incident but were not arrested. Their two wives co-owned the daycare center.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Investigation
President Felipe Calderón placed federal attorney general Eduardo Medina-Mora in charge of the investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire. The President visited the scene and was said to be "enormously saddened." "This has been a painful tragedy for all Mexicans. I have ordered the federal prosecutor to as soon as possible carry out investigations to help us know exactly what and how it happened, and to work out corresponding responsibility," said Calderón.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Investigation
The investigation determined that the cause of the fire was a malfunctioning of the air conditioning unit in the neighboring warehouse. Additionally, the warehouse was not equipped with fire extinguishers or smoke alarms. "The fire was caused by the overheating of an air conditioner due to continuous and prolonged use," said Attorney-General Eduardo Medina Mora. The air conditioner melted its aluminum housing and spread to license plates and paper work in the state government warehouse, which was closed and empty when the fire started.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Investigation
The investigation revealed that the child care center's fire alarms did not alert staff to the fire because they were installed below a brightly colored ceiling tarpaulin. It is believed that smoke filled the area between the warehouse's high roof and the false ceiling created by the tarp. When the tarp caught fire, smoke and flames collapsed onto the slumbering daycare infants and instantly filled the daycare with thick smoke.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Investigation
Investigations further revealed that in 2005 the day care center owners had been advised by the IMSS to remove the tarp, widen the main entrance, and increase auxiliary fire exits to bring them up to fire regulation size. Subsequent safety inspections passed without the work being carried out and contracts were re-awarded for the continued operation of the center. Sonora attorney general Abel Murrieta Gutiérrez went on a media campaign accusing the IMSS of criminal negligence, stating that they had been aware of safety violations in the building ever since they had sent the warning letter in 2005.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Investigation
The center was not equipped with water sprinklers which would have automatically engaged in the event of a fire. A marked emergency exit was bolted shut and one mother at the child care reported that no one was able to obtain the key. Hermosillo Fire Department Chief Martín Lugo reported that, although the facility had recently passed a safety inspection, the fire alarms for the building were not installed correctly. Parents stated that although the daycare had 20 on staff, only six were on duty on the Friday of the blaze.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Investigation
In addition, the center was set up for pre-school children aged two to four, but Governor Bours had reported that younger infants were being cared for in the center. "We always have to be open to improvements, especially when we have a tragedy that has so moved us," said IMSS director Kara, who admitted that their security requirements may need to be overhauled in light of the fact that the daycare passed safety inspection on May 26.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Investigation
There were later suspicions that the warehouse fire was started intentionally.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Aftermath
Fourteen northern Sonora state finance department officials came under investigation and seven were arrested in connection with the fire for negligent homicide. "They are employees and officials with the Finance Department who have a direct responsibility for the warehouse where the fire started." Two IMSS workers were also among those arrested. All seven state employees would be released on bail, along with all three co-owners. The only person to serve any time was Delia Irene Botello Amante, an IMSS local coordinator who was the last government employee to visit to the daycare before the fire. She was arrested in 2011 and released on January 1, 2014 due to technical issues.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Aftermath
The state Finance Department filed a negligence civil lawsuit against the day care owners and the Social Security Institute. The highest official in the Social Security Institute resigned and others were suspended.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Aftermath
In September 2016 it came to light that the alleged letter sent to the daycare center in 2005 had been falsified by state officials in an attempt to divert attention from the government, since the fire had actually began in an adjacent warehouse used by the state ministry of finance to store documents. A theory that was investigated was that the fire was intentionally started in the warehouse with the purpose of destroying potential evidence of excessive debts incurred by Eduardo Bours during his term as governor. A federal judge ordered the Sonora Attorney General's office to launch an investigation into both Bours and his former Attorney General Murrieta Gutiérrez for document falsification as well as altering the scene of the crime.


2009 Hermosillo daycare center fire, Aftermath
The IMSS sued Bours on May 22, 2019 for negligence in the investigation of the fire.


2009 Hertfordshire County Council election
An election to Hertfordshire County Council took place on 4 June 2009 the date of the 2009 United Kingdom local elections. The whole elected council was up for election. The councillors were elected from the 77 wards, which return one each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. The wards were the same as those used at the previous election in 2005.


2009 Hertfordshire County Council election
All locally registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) who were aged 18 or over on Thursday 4 June 2009 were entitled to vote in the local elections. Those who were temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the local elections, although those who had moved abroad and registered as overseas electors cannot vote in the local elections.


2009 Hertfordshire County Council election
It is possible to register to vote at more than one address (such as a university student who had a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) at the discretion of the local Electoral Register Office, but it remains an offence to vote more than once in the same local government election.


2009 Hertfordshire County Council election, Summary
The Conservative Party retained and reinforced its control of the council with a net gain of 9 seats, and maintained an electoral stranglehold on the east of the county winning all seats in Broxbourne District, East Herts District, Hertsmere District & North Herts District. The Conservative party made significant gains in Stevenage District (3 seats), Dacorum District (3 seats), Welwyn Hatfield District (2 seats), Hertsmere District (2 seats) and North Herts District (2 seats). The Labour Party lost 13 seats, notably 3 in Stevenage District. This result left them with only 3 seats at County Hall.


2009 Hertfordshire County Council election, Summary
The Liberal Democrats gained 3 seats overall with a particularly strong performance in St Albans District at the expense of the Conservatives. The British National Party gained a seat in South Oxhey at the expense of Labour. It is also notable that the BNP came 2nd in the popular vote in Broxbourne District. The Green Party retained the seat gained in 2005 at Callowland Leggatts.


2009 Hessian state election
The 2009 Hessian state election was held on 18 January 2009 to elect the members of the Landtag of Hesse. The election was called after the failure of all government formation attempts conducted after the 2008 state election held a year earlier. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) suffered major losses, falling from an effective tie with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to a 13.5-point deficit. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) and The Greens were the primary beneficiaries of the SPD's decline. After the election, the CDU formed a coalition government with the FDP, and Roland Koch was elected Minister-President.


2009 Hessian state election, Background
The result of the 2008 Hessian state election was inconclusive, as neither the CDU–FDP or SPD–Green blocs had won a majority. This was due to the entry of The Left into the Landtag, with which the SPD was unwilling to cooperate, though both The Left and Greens supported a red-red-green coalition between the three parties. While a grand coalition between the CDU and SPD would command a comfortable majority, this option was very unpopular and was rejected by the SPD.


2009 Hessian state election, Background
In October 2008, SPD leader Andrea Ypsilanti attempted to negotiate a red-red-green coalition, reneging on a pledge made earlier in the year not to do so. This caused an revolt within the Hessian SPD, resulting in Ypsilanti being deposed and the new leadership under Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel seeking fresh elections.


2009 Hessian state election, Background
CDU leader Roland Koch had served as Minister-President prior to the 2008 election, and continued in office in a caretaker capacity between the 2008 and 2009 elections. He could not be unseated due to the inability of the SPD to form a new government; in Hesse, the motion to remove a serving government simultaneously invests confidence in a proposed new government, and requires an absolute majority to pass.


2009 Hessian state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Hesse.


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt
The 2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt involved the arrest of 49 men by Egyptian authorities in the five months preceding April 2009. Egypt accused them of being Hezbollah agents planning attacks against Israeli and Egyptian targets in the Sinai Peninsula. The arrests led to tensions between the Egyptian government and Hezbollah, as well as between Egypt and Iran.


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt
Tension had been high since Israel's Gaza War. Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah had accused Egypt of being a partner to the killing of Palestinians there, saying if it did not open the Rafah crossing it would be considered a "partner in the killing of Palestinians by the IDF."


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt
The plot prompted the Egyptian government to officially designate Hezbollah a "terrorist group".


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, Activities
In Port Said, a cell was set up to monitor ship activity in the Suez Canal. The cell was to buy a boat as well as set up a fish shop in order to do this.


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, Activities
Reports said the men had planned three major bomb attacks in Taba, popular with Israeli tourists, using explosive belts and car bombs.


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, Reaction, Egyptian
Egypt's reaction was hostile. President Hosni Mubarak issued a strong statement denouncing the Lebanese group and its supporters. "They [Hezbollah and Iran] aspire to impose their influence on our Arab world by introducing hostile elements into the region, in efforts to threaten Egypt's national security," Mubarak said. He added, "[W]e will uncover their plot; beware of Egypt's wrath." In addition, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram claimed that Iran, Syria, and Qatar were working to overthrow the Egyptian government.


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, Reaction, Hezbollah
Hezbollah said one of the men was indeed one of their operatives, but that he had been trying to smuggle weapons into Gaza for Hamas. The group said the terror plot claims were "fabricated" to "sully Hezbollah’s image" and that the allegations were retaliation for Hezbollah's comments during Operation Cast Lead.


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, Reaction, Sudan
A Sudanese official claimed rebel groups had collaborated with Hezbollah in smuggling weapons to Egypt. He condemned “any sabotage to a country’s sovereignty under any circumstances”.


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, Convictions
On April 28, 2010, 26 men were convicted of planning the attacks and given sentences from six months to life imprisonment. Four men were convicted in absentia.


2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt, Escape
In the midst of the 2011 Egyptian protests, the cell's ringleader and 21 other Hezbollah suspects escaped from the Wadi El Natrun prison north of Cairo. Some later appeared back in Beirut.


2009 Higgins by-election
The 2009 Higgins by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives Division of Higgins on 5 December 2009. This was triggered by the resignation of former Treasurer and former Liberal Party deputy leader Peter Costello. The by-election was held on the same day as the Bradfield by-election.


2009 Higgins by-election
It was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Higgins at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the Liberal Party won the seat over the Labor Party with 57.04 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis, the closest result in the seat's 60-year history. The Liberal candidate has never had to go to preferences to win the seat.


2009 Higgins by-election
The writ for the by-election was issued on 30 October, with the rolls closing on 9 November. Candidate nominations closed 12 November, and were announced the following day. The Labor Party did not nominate a candidate.


2009 Higgins by-election
Both the Higgins and Bradfield by-elections were the last by-elections for the House of Representatives until the 2014 Griffith by-election.


2009 Higgins by-election, Background
Costello first won the seat of Higgins at the 1990 federal election, and retained the seat in the six subsequent elections. At the 2007 federal election, the opposition Kevin Rudd-led Labor Party defeated the incumbent John Howard-led Liberal-National coalition government. This marked the first change of government in over 11 years. Costello was deputy Liberal leader since 1994, firstly under Alexander Downer and then under John Howard, and was Treasurer in the Howard government from its formation in 1996.


2009 Higgins by-election, Background
On the defeat of the Howard government in 2007, Costello declined to become Liberal leader and a position in the shadow ministry and returned to the backbenches. Costello had initially indicated (15 June 2009) he would stay as the member until the next election, at which time he would retire from parliament. However, on 7 October 2009, Costello announced he would be resigning from Parliament when it resumed later in the month. He resigned on 19 October 2009.


2009 Higgins by-election, Campaign
The Labor Party did not nominate a candidate for the by-election.


2009 Higgins by-election, Campaign
The Higgins and Bradfield by-election campaigns were overshadowed by Liberal infighting over Labor Party government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, culminating in the replacement of Malcolm Turnbull with Tony Abbott as Liberal leader. Although fairly safe on paper, some commentators including Malcolm Mackerras tipped the Greens to defeat the Liberals in Higgins, and force the Liberals to preferences in Bradfield.


2009 Higgins by-election, Campaign
Liberal Party candidate Kelly O'Dwyer focussed her campaigning on local issues and attempted to distance herself from federal affairs, whereas the Greens Clive Hamilton campaigned primarily for stronger action on climate change.


2009 Higgins by-election, Candidates
The following table is the order and party affiliation of each candidate that has nominated to contest the seat of Higgins. Candidates are placed in the order of the ballot paper.


2009 Hiroshima Toyo Carp season
The 2009 Hiroshima Toyo Carp season features the Carp quest to win their first Central League title since 1991.


2009 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2009 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 13 and March 21, 2009 at campus locations and at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston University won their seventh Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament and the Lamoriello Trophy and received Hockey East's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2009 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. The teams that finish below eighth in the conference are not eligible for tournament play. In the first round, the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third seed and sixth seeds, and the fourth seed and fifth seeds played a best-of-three with the winner advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the highest and lowest seeds and second-highest and second-lowest seeds play a single-elimination game, with the winner advancing to the championship game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2009 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2009 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters season
The 2009 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters season was the 64th season for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters franchise.


2009 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters season, Awards
Various Fighters players won awards for their regular season performances. Five players were selected for the Best Nine Award: Yu Darvish, Shinji Takahashi, Kensuke Tanaka, Atsunori Inaba and Yoshio Itoi. Shinya Tsuruoka and Eiichi Koyano joined Best Nine winners Takahashi, Tanaka, Inaba and Itoi to take seven of the nine available PL Golden Glove Awards. Darvish was voted the PL Most Valuable Player as well as the PL Most Valuable Pitcher.


2009 Holiday Bowl
The 2009 Holiday Bowl was the thirty-second edition of the college football bowl game and was played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game started at 5:00 PM US PST on Wednesday, December 30, 2009. The game was telecast on ESPN. The Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the Arizona Wildcats 33–0 for the first shutout in the history of the bowl. This was a rematch of the two teams, who faced each other in the 1998 Holiday Bowl, where Arizona defeated Nebraska 23–20.


2009 Holiday Bowl, Background
The game featured the 2nd pick from the Pac-10 and the 3rd pick from the Big 12. The game had recently become a type of "upset" bowl. In previous years, teams rejected by the BCS had lost to heavy underdogs. In 2005, a 10–1 Oregon team (favored by 3 points while ranked 6th in the nation) playing without its star quarterback Kellen Clemens lost 17–14 to a surging Oklahoma squad that had won six out of its last seven. In 2004, one-loss California was defeated by Big 12 Texas Tech, 45–31. In 2003, Big 12 representative Texas was knocked off by Pac-10 representative Washington State, led by Matt Kegel.


2009 Holiday Bowl, Background
The Wildcats drew the bid the day they wrapped up an 8-4 season with a 21–17 victory at USC, a win that gave Arizona a share of second place (along with Oregon State and Stanford) in the Pac-10 with a 6–3 conference record. Nebraska lost a 13–12 heartbreaker to Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Cornhuskers won the conference's North Division with a 6–2 record. The 1998 meeting between the two teams was the only time that either school had appeared in the Holiday Bowl. The only other meeting between the two schools was a 14–14 tie in 1961.


2009 Holiday Bowl, Background
On December 8, 2009, the Holiday Bowl committee announced a marketing campaign with fast food franchise Jack in the Box where Jack Box, the fictional Chairman and CEO of the company and star of its marketing campaigns, would be the Honorary Chairman of the game and the Grand Marshal of the Port of San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade.


2009 Holiday Bowl, Game summary
Nebraska wore their home red jerseys, and Arizona wore their white away jerseys with their newly introduced white helmets.


2009 Holiday Bowl, Game summary
Nebraska's 33–0 defeat of Arizona was the first and, to date, only shutout victory in the Holiday Bowl. Prior to the 2009 Holiday Bowl no team had scored fewer than 10 points in a game. The Wildcats were held to just 109 total yards of offense and just 6 first downs. The Cornhuskers were led on offense by wide receiver Niles Paul who hauled in 4 catches for 123 yards, including a touchdown, which accounted for 74 of his receiving yards. Quarterback Zac Lee threw for 173 yards and the TD to Paul.


2009 Holiday Bowl, Game summary
Rex Burkhead of Nebraska led all rushers with 89 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. This also marked the first time in Nebraska's 46 bowl game history that it has shut out a team in postseason. However, this was the third time in Arizona's bowl history that they have been shut out, the second time in a game in San Diego. The Wildcats lost the 1921 San Diego East-West Christmas Classic to Centre College 38–0 and the 1990 Aloha Bowl to Syracuse 28–0. The game also marked Nebraska's first 10-win season since 2003.


2009 Holland Ladies Tour
The 12th edition of the annual Holland Ladies Tour was held from September 1 to September 6, 2009. The women's stage race with an UCI rating of 2.2 started in Nuenen, and ended on the Cauberg in Valkenburg.


2009 Holland Series
In the 2009 Holland Series DOOR Neptunus defeated the Konica Minolta Pioniers, 3 games to 1, to win the club's 12th Dutch Championship.


2009 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
The 2009 Holy Cross Crusaders football team represented the College of the Holy Cross in the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Tom Gilmore and played their home games at Fitton Field. They were a member of the Patriot League. They finished the season 9–3, 5–1 in Patriot League play to finish in first place and won the conference title. They went to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Villanova, 38–28.


2009 Home Depot Center USTA Challenger
The 2009 Home Depot Center USTA Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Carson, United States between January 26 – February 2, 2009.


2009 Home Depot Center USTA Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Home Depot Center USTA Challenger, Champions, Men's doubles
Scott Lipsky /  David Martin def. Lester Cook /  Donald Young, 7–6(3), 4–6, [10–6]


2009 Home Depot Center USTA Challenger – Doubles
Carsten Ball and Travis Rettenmaier were the defending champions, but Ball chose to not participate this year. Rettenmaier partnered up with Brett Ross. They lost to Luka Gregorc and Andrea Stoppini in the first round. Scott Lipsky and David Martin won in the final 7–6(3), 4–6, 10–6, against Lester Cook and Donald Young.


2009 Home Depot Center USTA Challenger – Singles
Amer Delic was the defending champion, but he chose not to compete this year. Wayne Odesnik won in the final 6–4, 6–4, against Scoville Jenkins.


2009 Honda 200
The 2009 Honda Indy 200 presented by Westfield Insurance was the thirteenth round of the 17-race 2009 IndyCar Series season, and was held on August 9, 2009 at the 2.258-mile (3.634 km) Mid -Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.


2009 Honda 200
The race saw the return of Oriol Servià, who replaced Robert Doornbos in the #06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing machine. Doornbos moved to the #33 car run by HVM Racing, with whom he had success with in the 2007 Champ Car season. Paul Tracy replaced Mario Moraes in the #5 car for KV Racing Technology, as Moraes was in Brazil following the death of his father.


2009 Honda 200
Scott Dixon won his 20th IRL-sanctioned race, after dominating the race for the last 49 laps, winning by nearly half a minute from championship rivals Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti. Dixon's win gave him the championship lead by three points from Briscoe, and also saw him surpass Sam Hornish, Jr.'s tally of 19 career IRL victories.


2009 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the opening round of the 2009 IndyCar Series on April 5, 2009. It was the first time in IndyCar Series history that the season begins on a road course and not an oval. The race saw 4 drivers make their debuts in the championship: Stanton Barrett, Mike Conway, Robert Doornbos and Raphael Matos. The race was contested over 100 laps of the 1.80 mile street course.


2009 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Graham Rahal started from the pole but a poor start meant that he dropped back and out of contention for the victory. Defending champion Scott Dixon crashed out on lap 80, a poor start to his defence of the title, which left Penske's Ryan Briscoe to take the chequered flag from Ryan Hunter-Reay who finished 2nd and Justin Wilson who came home 3rd.


2009 Honda Indy Toronto
The 2009 Honda Indy Toronto was the tenth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season and took place on July 12, 2009 at the 1.755-mile (2.824 km) Exhibition Place temporary street circuit in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dario Franchitti won the race, to join Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon as the only three-time winners in the 2009 season. Franchitti also regained the points lead from Dixon, leading the championship by two points as the championship heads to Edmonton. Ryan Briscoe finished second for the fifth time in the last six races, with Penske Racing teammate Will Power third on his return to the series.


2009 Honda Indy Toronto
The 2009 race was a resumption of the Toronto Grand Prix after a one-year hiatus due to the unification of the Champ Car World Series into IndyCar during the 2008 season, during which a Toronto Grand Prix was not held due to scheduling conflicts.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis was a political dispute over plans to either rewrite the Constitution of Honduras or write a new one.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
Honduran President Manuel Zelaya planned to hold a poll on a referendum on a constituent assembly to change the constitution. A majority of the government, including the Supreme Court and prominent members of Zelaya's own party, saw these plans as unconstitutional as they could lead to presidential reelection, which is permanently outlawed by the Honduran constitution. The Honduran Supreme Court upheld a lower court injunction against a 28 June poll. However, the constitutional process for dealing with this situation was unclear; there were no clear procedures for removing or prosecuting a sitting president. The crisis culminated in the removal and exile of Honduran president Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military in a coup d’état.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
On the morning of 28 June 2009, approximately 100 soldiers stormed the president's residence in Tegucigalpa and put him on a plane to San José, Costa Rica. Zelaya immediately called this a  "coup" upon his arrival. Later that day, the National Congress voted to remove Zelaya from office, having read without objection a purported letter of resignation. Zelaya said the letter was forged. Roberto Micheletti, the President of Congress and next in the presidential line of succession, was sworn in as interim president and declared a "state of exception" suspending civil liberties on 1 July and various curfews were imposed, some nationwide.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, State of emergency
On 21 September 2009, Zelaya returned in secret to Honduras, after several attempts to return had been rebuffed. It was announced that he was in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. The next day, the Micheletti government declared a state of emergency and suspended five constitutional rights for 45 days, specifically:


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, State of emergency
The decree suspending human rights was officially revoked on 19 October 2009 in La Gaceta.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Reaction
These events garnered widespread condemnation as a coup d’état. The United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the European Union condemned the removal of Zelaya as a military coup, and some of these condemnations may still remain unretracted. The OAS rejected an attempt by Honduras to withdraw from the organisation and then suspended the membership of Honduras the following day. Domestic opinion remained very much divided, with demonstrations both for and against Zelaya.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Reaction
Efforts by Costa Rican President Óscar Arias and the United States to effect a diplomatic solution between Micheletti and Zelaya initially resulted in a proposal by President Arias calling for Zelaya's return to the presidency, albeit with curtailed powers. Arias's proposal also stipulated political amnesty and moved the Honduran general elections up by a month, pushing them to take place in October. The US supported the San José Accord, but negotiations ultimately broke down. The two parties were unwilling to come to any lasting agreement.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Election
Zelaya (elected in January 2006) insisted that the elections of 29 November should not be a precondition to his return to power.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Election
Honduran leaders refused to reinstate Zelaya, pending the elections, but international support for the elections remained scant leading up to the polls. Many Hondurans sought to move past the crisis with the elections, which had been scheduled previous to Zelaya's ouster. Zelaya urged a boycott of the vote.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Election
Initial returns indicated a larger than usual turnout, around 60%, a figure subsequently revised downward to 49%. Zelaya also disputed those figures at the time. Some Honduran activists ended their daily protests demanding the reinstatement of Zelaya because he was ousted in a coup, since Congress voted to keep Manuel Zelaya out of office.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Election
The crisis drew to a close with the inauguration of the newly elected president, Porfirio Lobo, on 27 January 2010. A deal allowed Zelaya to leave the Brazilian embassy and go into exile in the Dominican Republic.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Political and socioeconomic divide in Honduras
Two-thirds of Honduras citizens live below the poverty line, and unemployment is estimated at 28%. It has one of Latin America's most unequal distribution of wealth: the poorest 10% of the population receives just 1.2% of the country's wealth, while the richest 10% collect 42%. Approximately twenty per cent of the nation's GDP comes from remittances of workers from abroad. The BBC called the huge wealth gap in a poor country as one of the reasons why the relations between the president and the other institutions were so strained and that his leftward movement alarmed certain sectors.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Political and socioeconomic divide in Honduras
Zelaya pushed for a referendum, insisting that Honduras' grinding poverty stemmed from a constitution written in 1982 at the height of that country's brutal repression of leftists – that rigs the game for the most powerful families and interests.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Political and socioeconomic divide in Honduras
Zelaya supporters, largely from labour unions and the poor, claim conservative business leaders are actually concerned because Zelaya had sharply increased the minimum wage. Víctor Meza, formerly Zelaya's interior minister, stated that:  "The impression that stuck with the traditional political class and with the most conservative business leaders of the country was that Zelaya had taken a dangerous turn to the left, and therefore that their interests were in jeopardy." "We underestimated the conservatism of the Honduran political class and the military leadership."


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Political and socioeconomic divide in Honduras
John Donaghy of Caritas has said that the real conflict in Honduras is between the poor and wealthy: "It's a system that has kept the poor down for years." To some members of Honduras's small upper class, Zelaya was ousted because of his blossoming leftist alliance with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela which they recognised as a threat to their interests.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Political and socioeconomic divide in Honduras
To the working-class, it appeared Zelaya was ousted because the elite felt threatened by his efforts to improve their lives – most notably with a 60% increase in the minimum wage to about US$9.60 a day from about $6 a day. Some who protested in support of Zelaya had never voted for him.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Zelaya presidency
Manuel Zelaya, a businessman born into a wealthy Honduran family, was elected in 2005 as the candidate of the country's historically powerful Liberal Party. Zelaya's economic and social policies earned him praise from labour unions and civil society groups, but alienated him from parts of his own party. which were particularly upset by Zelaya's forging a regional alliance with the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), established by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and other leaders in Latin America as a counter to the trade and security policies sponsored by the United States.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Zelaya presidency
Zelaya also planned to convert the Soto Cano Air Base ("Palmerola"), where one of the three United States Southern Command Task Forces is located, into a civilian airport (it was already in use for many civilian flights because of safety concerns about Toncontín International Airport), partly using financing from ALBA and Petrocaribe. The New York Times reported that much of Zelaya's support was derived from labour unions and the nation's poor, while the middle and upper class feared Zelaya was seeking to establish Hugo Chávez's type of socialist populism with a powerful leader in the country.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Zelaya presidency
Zelaya's government was accused of harassing journalists and also accused by The Organization of American States (OAS) of imposing "subtle censorship" in Honduras.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Zelaya presidency
According to The Economist, "Mr. Zelaya's presidency has been marked by a rise in crime, corruption scandals and economic populism." By April 2009, a Mitofsky opinion poll showed that, of those consulted, only one in four respondents approved of Zelaya – the lowest approval rating of 18 regional leaders.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Alliance with ALBA
On 22 July 2008, Zelaya announced plans to incorporate the country into the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our America (ALBA), an organisation founded by Hugo Chávez, and that the country had been an "observer member" for "four or more months". The Associated Press, citing Manuel Orozco of the Inter-American Dialogue, said his "campaign for changing the constitution has energized his support base of labour groups, farmers and civil organisations who have long felt marginalized in a country where a wealthy elite controls the media and much of politics".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Alliance with ALBA
The Honduran right opposed the ALBA alliance, and feared that Zelaya would move to eliminate the presidential term limit as other ALBA leaders had, whom they considered would-be dictators. According to National Party analyst Raúl Pineda Alvarado, Zelaya's attempt to modify the constitution was a "carbon copy" of what had happened in Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua. US Republican Newt Gingrich wrote in the Washington Examiner that Chávez had used ALBA to create "a tide of incipient dictatorship" flowing out of Venezuela into other countries in Latin America.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Background, Alliance with ALBA
He noted that Chávez had subverted democracy in Venezuela to ensure his rule would be uncontested for decades, and "one-by-one, each of the members of ALBA have followed Chavez's lead and changed their constitutions to remove limits on the number of terms their presidents can serve." However, the notion of extending term limits in Latin America is not unique to ALBA countries, as efforts in Colombia have been made towards allowing President Álvaro Uribe seek re-election.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans
As early as August 2006, Central America Report stated that "liberal sectors" were proposing to reform "obsolete articles" in the constitution, including one against presidential re-election. The Report said that this was causing controversy. Debate regarding the convening of a constituent assembly took place in Honduras, with support from many groups. "The constitution has since 1980 been tweaked in other areas around thirty times, to the point where politicians of all camps are convinced that the document is no longer adequate.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans
This is where the formal change proposed by Manuel Zelaya comes in: that in the November 2009 election-round, the voters will be presented with four ballot-boxes – the fourth one being used for a referendum on the question: "Do you agree with convening a constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution?"


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans
On 11 November 2008, President Zelaya announced a non-binding referendum to see if the people wanted to have a fourth ballot box (or "Cuarta Urna") during the November 2009 election. The fourth ballot would ask voters whether they wanted to hold a National Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. Zelaya, whose presidential term was to expire on 27 January 2010, would be ineligible, under the term-limitations of the present constitution, to run in the 2009 election.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans
On 22 December 2008 Zelaya issued two emergency executive agreements ("acuerdos"), both numbered 46-A-2008, which each authorised transfer of L 30,000,000 of public money to advertising of his fourth ballot box. Only one was published in the official Gazette. The supposed advertisers paid no sales tax. The Supreme Audit Court's investigation of the advertising money raised concerns of irregularities.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans
On 17 February 2009, at a public showcasing of tractor equipment received from Venezuela, Manuel Zelaya stated that he would propose a fourth ballot box. On 24 March 2009, Zelaya called for a preliminary poll to be held on 28 June 2009 to gauge popular support for including the Constituent Assembly question in the November 2009 election.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Constitutionality of referendum
The President of the Congress, Micheletti, observed that Article 374 of the constitution states that no referendum can be used to alter the entrenched articles in the constitution that are specified in article 384. He went on to insist that even to announce such a referendum privately is a crime (" . . . porque eso, incluso, anunciarlo privadamente es un delito.")


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Constitutionality of referendum
Article 373 of the Constitution of Honduras states that the constitution can be modified by a two-thirds majority of the National Congress. However, Article 374 specifies that several articles are permanently entrenched; that is, they cannot be modified under any circumstances (Spanish: "en ningún caso"). The entrenched clauses include those on the system of government that is permitted, and the presidential succession. Article 239 specifically prohibits the president from attempting to amend restrictions on succession, and states that whoever does so will cease "immediately" in his or her functions. Zelaya's statement – "[t]he only one who can't be re-elected is the President, but re-election is a topic of the next National Constitutional Assembly" – is a declaration that some have argued violates Article 239. Article 239, however, is not mentioned at all in the judicial case file.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Court ruling
On 25 March, the Attorney General's office formally notified President Zelaya that he would face criminal charges of abusing power if he proceeded with the referendum.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Court ruling
In late May, the court of contentious administration ruled the poll illegal. Honduras' Supreme Electoral Tribunal also ruled that such a poll would be illegal. The lower court's injunction, against the poll, was upheld by the Supreme Court. In late June, the intended consultative poll was also rejected by Congress.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Court ruling
On 3 June, Congress passed a resolution warning Zelaya to correct his administrative conduct.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Court ruling
On 11 June, the Bar Association of Honduras unanimously agreed that Zelaya was violating the law. It asked Zelaya to stop the illegalities and recommended officials not follow his illegal orders.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Court ruling
On 23 June 2009, Congress passed a law forbidding holding official polls or referenda less than 180 days before the next general election, which would have made 28 June poll illegal. Since this bill was passed after the poll was scheduled, Zelaya rejected its applicability to this case.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Court ruling
The military is in charge of security and logistics in elections in Honduras. Zelaya asked them to perform their election role for the poll, but the head of the military command, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, refused the order to pass out the poll materials because the Supreme Court had ruled the poll to be illegal. On 24 June, Zelaya fired him. Later that day, the defence minister and heads of the army, navy and air force resigned. On 25 June, the Supreme Court ruled 5–0 that General Velásquez be reinstated. Tribunal member David Matamoros affirmed the Electoral Tribunal's support for the military's actions.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Court ruling
On 24 June, surveillance cameras captured how about US$2,000,000 in cash was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Honduras and allegedly driven to the office of Enrique Flores Lanza, Zelaya's chief of staff. The suspicious money was possibly used to finance the referendum.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Court ruling
Just days before the referendum, Zelaya published executive decree PCM-019-2009, which revoked the earlier decree PCM-05-2009. Zelaya issued a new executive decree PCM-020-2009, another attempt to legalise the referendum. According to a legal analysis by former Supreme Court President Vilma Morales, Zelaya stopped being President of Honduras.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Seizure of ballots
Ballots arrived from Venezuela on a plane and the ballot boxes were kept at the Tegucigalpa airport. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal ordered the illegal ballots to be confiscated. Investigators from the Ministerio Público and the Honduran attorney general's office arrived at the airport.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Seizure of ballots
Zelaya led several hundred people to an air force base and took possession of the disputed poll ballots, which were then kept in the presidential palace to avoid their destruction.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Seizure of ballots
In late June, there were large marches both for and against the proposed fourth ballot box.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Constitutional assembly plans, Seizure of ballots
The Supreme Court, Congress, and the military and the National Human Rights Commissioner recommended that voters stay home because the poll would be neither fair nor safe for voters.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Supreme court detention order
On 27 May 2009, the Administrative Law Tribunal issued an injunction against holding the poll at the request of Honduran Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi. On 16 June the Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the 27 May injunction. On 18 June, the Administrative Law Tribunal ordered Zelaya to comply with the ruling in writing within five days. On 26 June the Supreme Court unanimously found that the president had not complied with 18 June order.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Supreme court detention order
It also found he was answerable to charges, brought by the Attorney General, for the crimes against the form of government, treason to the motherland, abuse of office and usurpation of functions that damaged the administration. To initiate the case, the Supreme Court appointed member Tomás Arita Valle, who, on 26 June, issued a sealed (secret) order to detain Zelaya for the purposes of taking a statement. Some pro-Zelaya supporters have sought to cast doubt on the Supreme Court's documentation.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Zelaya's detention and first exile
Soldiers stormed the president's residence in Tegucigalpa early in the morning of 28 June, disarming the presidential guard, waking Zelaya and putting him on a plane to Costa Rica. In San José, Costa Rica, Zelaya told TeleSUR that he had been awakened by gunshots. Masked soldiers took his cell phone, shoved him into a van and took him to an air force base, where he was put on a plane. He said he did not know that he was being taken to Costa Rica until he landed at the airport in San José. To the media, he described the events as "a coup" and "a kidnapping".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Zelaya's detention and first exile
Tanks patrolled the streets and military planes flew overhead. Soldiers guarded the main government buildings. The government television station and a television station that supported the president were taken off the air. Television and radio stations broadcast no news. The electrical power, phone lines, and international cable TV were cut or blocked throughout Honduras. Public transportation was suspended.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Zelaya's detention and first exile
Later that day, the Supreme Court issued a statement that it had ordered the army to arrest Zelaya. On 30 June, the military's chief lawyer, Colonel Herberth Inestroza, showed Judge Arita's arrest order. Colonel Inestroza later stated that deporting Zelaya did not comply with the court order, but that military leadership had decided to do so to avoid violence in Honduras, asking "What was more beneficial, remove this gentleman from Honduras or present him to prosecutors and have a mob assault and burn and destroy and for us to have to shoot?".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Zelaya's detention and first exile
Inestroza also stated that Zelaya's allegiance to Chávez was hard to stomach and "It would be difficult for us, with our training, to have a relationship with a leftist government. That's impossible. I personally would have retired, because my thinking, my principles, would not have allowed me to participate in that."


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Zelaya's detention and first exile
Ramón Custodio, the head of the country's human rights commission, said that Zelaya's exile was a mistake and that the military made an "error" sending Zelaya into exile rather than holding him for trial. Honduras's Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case brought by a group of lawyers and judges arguing that the military broke the law taking Zelaya out of the country. In August 2009, Micheletti himself said that a mistake was made when Zelaya was exiled.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Alleged impeachment and presidential succession
A document purporting to be a resignation letter written by President Zelaya, dated 25 June, was read to congress. Zelaya has said he did not write the letter. Later that day, in an extraordinary session Congress voted to remove Zelaya for manifest irregular conduct and putting in present danger the state of law.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Alleged impeachment and presidential succession
The President of the National Congress was the next on the presidential line of succession because theVice-President had earlier quit to run in the 2009 elections. The President of the National Congress was Roberto Micheletti, a member of Zelaya's party. By a show of hands, the National Congress – the majority of whom belonged to Zelaya's own Liberal party – named Micheletti to complete the remaining months of the presidential term.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Alleged impeachment and presidential succession
At around 12:37 the Honduran National Congress unanimously agreed to:


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Alleged impeachment and presidential succession
Honduran institutions, including the National Congress, the Supreme Court, and the interim government, maintain Zelaya was replaced constitutionally. Arguments that Zelaya's ouster was illegal because the proper legal procedures were not used has been advanced by several lawyers. Acting Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said forcing deposed President Manuel Zelaya to leave the country, instead of arresting him, was a mistake.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Emergency measures by the interim government
Acting President Roberto Micheletti ordered a curfew which initially lasted for the 48 hours from Sunday night (28 June) and to Tuesday (30 June). The curfew law was not published in the official journal La Gaceta and was not approved by Congress. Originally the curfew ran from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. That curfew was extended, changed, or renewed several times, in ways Amnesty International and the International Observation Mission called "arbitrary". On 1 July, Congress issued an order (decreto ejecutivo N° 011-2009) which extended restrictions between 22:00 and 05:00 local time and also suspended four constitutional guarantees, including freedom of transit, due process, and freedom from unwarranted search and seizure.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Emergency measures by the interim government
The ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua stated that on 29 June that they were detained and beaten by Honduran troops before being released. Also, several allies of Zelaya were taken into custody by the military. Among them were: Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas; the mayor of the city San Pedro Sula, Rodolfo Padilla Sunseri; several congressmen of the Democratic Unification Party (PUD); and several other government officials. A dozen former ministers from the Zelaya government, as well as PUD presidential candidate Cesar Ham, went into hiding. A Venezuelan state-owned media outlet claimed that Tomás Andino Mencías, a member of the party, said that PUD lawmakers were led away by the military when they tried to enter the parliament building for 28 June vote on Zelaya's deposal.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Emergency measures by the interim government
Several TV stations, radio stations, and newspaper's websites were temporarily shut down. The Miami Herald reported that the "crackdown on the media" began before dawn on the 28th. It said that only pro-Micheletti stations were allowed to broadcast and that they carried only news friendly to the new government. Associated Press personnel were detained and removed from their hotel, but later released. A number of local reporters and media sources reported on harassment and restrictions. Alejandro Villatoro, director of Radio Globo, said that he was arrested and "kidnapped" for some hours by the military.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Coup d’état, Emergency measures by the interim government
Honduran newspaper La Prensa reported on 30 June that an armed group of Zelaya supporters, attacked its main headquarters by throwing stones and other objects at their windows, until police intervened.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June
Protests against the coup began almost immediately, as several thousand Zelaya supporters gathered near the Presidential Palace, confronting the guarding soldiers and lit tires on fire. In response to daily pro-Zelaya protests, Congress approved a decree on 1 July that applied an overnight curfew and allowed security forces to arrest people at home and hold them for more than 24 hours.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June
On 30 June, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution which called for the reinstatement of Zelaya as the President of Honduras. Zelaya spoke in front of the General Assembly where he was applauded several times. In his speech, Zelaya promised not to seek another term as President and said that he would not accept a second term if he were asked to serve again.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June
30 June also saw the first rally in support of Zelaya's removal take place in the capital, as thousands of Zelaya opponents took to the main square. Roberto Micheletti made an appearance and said that the November general elections will be held as scheduled and that a new president will be sworn in on 27 January 2010. General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez also attended and spoke at the rally.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June
Honduras was formally suspended from the Organization of American States on 4 July, after the Micheletti government ignored an ultimatum by the OAS to re-instate Zelaya as president. OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza had arrived in Honduras the previous day to negotiate Zelaya's return.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June
Zelaya met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on 7 July. At this meeting, Zelaya agreed to a US-backed proposal for negotiation talks with Micheletti government representatives in Costa Rica set for 9 July. The talks, with Costa Rican President Óscar Arias serving as mediator, proved unsuccessful, as both sides remained far apart according to regional leaders. The participants only agreed to meet again sometime in the future, as Zelaya left Costa Rica to gather more international support.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June
Meanwhile, Micheletti announced that he accepted the resignation of his Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez, who, in a TV interview, had called US President Barack Obama "[un] negrito que no sabe nada de nada" ("a little black man who knows nothing about nothing"). The US Embassy in Honduras strongly condemned the comments, which Micheletti described as "a scandalous epithet". However, Micheletti immediately reinstated Ortez as Minister of Government and Justice.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June
In mid-July Honduran Roman Catholic Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga said that he supported Zelaya's removal from office, saying that Zelaya now "doesn't have any authority, moral or legal", while opposing his expulsion from the country. On 15 July 2009, interim president Roberto Micheletti stated he would be prepared to step down "if at some point that decision is needed to bring peace and tranquility to the country, but without the return, and I stress this, of former President Zelaya".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June
In a 16 July interview President Óscar Arias said that he had a mandate from 34 world governments to restore constitutional order in Honduras, by which he meant restore President Zelaya. He rejected Micheletti's proposal to step down if Zelaya did not return to power. He said, "we will see if we can talk of an amnesty, and for whom, over political crimes (veremos si se puede hablar de una amnistía, y para quiénes, sobre delitos políticos)". "Zelaya must abandon his goal of installing a fourth ballot box", he continued. Arias indicated he intended to propose a reconciliation government headed by Zelaya combined with political amnesty.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June
Meanwhile, both pro- and anti-Zelaya demonstrations continued on an almost daily basis throughout the deeply polarised country.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba
After Zelaya's exile, Chavez alleged that the Venezuelan ambassador was assaulted by Honduran soldiers; Chavez said that if the ambassador were killed or the Venezuelan Embassy were violated, this would constitute an act of war requiring a military response. On 2 July, Honduran police arrested several Cubans and Nicaraguans present at demonstrations, and police sources claimed Venezuelans were active in the anti-coup movement. On 5 July, Venezuelan media showed Hugo Chávez watching Zelaya's attempt to land.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba
Accidentally visible in Chávez's office was the text "051345JUL09 Swarm of africanized bees, Presidential Podium, wounded by stings and desperation of the people", the military-style code for 5, 13 July:45 coincided with a violent confrontation in Honduras. On 8 July, Colombia arrested 80 Venezuelans who attempted to travel to Honduras. On 27 July, police confiscated a booklet in a car owned by Carlos Eduardo Reina, a leader of pro-Zelaya operations. It allegedly contained a list of 15 receipts, dated 24 July, and references to a meeting near Nicaraguan border. The receipts totalled 160,000 US dollars. Hugo Chávez allegedly made payments to ambassadors of Honduras.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba
In October 2009, Daniel Ortega hinted that the "Resistance" is searching for weapons and training centres. Hugo Chávez said "I'm just warning... no one to be surprised if there is an armed movement in the mountains of Honduras".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Opposition to the interim government
Much of the opposition to the de facto Micheletti government and its actions were coördinated through a wide coalition of grassroots organisations and political parties and movements formerly known as Frente Nacional contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras (FNGE), now Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular. The FNGE aimed to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya in replacement of the de facto Roberto Micheletti government, which is perceived by the participating organisations as a dictatorship, considering the documented human rights violations since the coup d’état and the reappearance of figures involved in disappearances and torture in former coups d’état. The FNGE supports a process of participatory democracy that should lead to a national constituent assembly.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Opposition to the interim government
FNGE held marches every day since 28 June, except the days when a curfew was imposed, where demonstrations took place in grassroot neighbourhoods. Notable marches on 5 July 15 September, and 27 January involved over 200,000 people per day.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Human rights complaints
A number of groups have published reports, including COFADEH, International Federation of Human Rights, "La Misión Internacional de Solidaridad, Observación y Acompañamiento a Honduras", "Quixote Center Emergency Delegation of Solidarity, Accompaniment and Witness", Amnesty International, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and Human Rights Watch that documented instances of sexual violence, excessive use of military force, arbitrary detentions, threats at gunpoint against judges responsible for habeas corpus detention and beating members of the media and several confirmed deaths and disappearances allegedly attributable to the de facto government.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Human rights complaints
19-year-old Isis Obed Murillo Mencías was shot in the head on 5 July when Zelaya's plane was trying to land at Toncontin Airport; Roger Iván Bados, former union leader, member of the Democratic Unification Party and Bloque Popular, shot dead on 11 July while entering his home in San Pedro Sula; 40-year-old campesino leader and Democratic Unification Party member Ramón García on 12 July, after he was forced by unknown people to get off a bus; 23-year-old Pedro Magdiel Muñoz Salvador, allegedly detained by police during anti-coup protests and taken to an El Paraíso police station on 24 July, was allegedly found at 6:30 am the following morning with 42 stab wounds; 38-year-old high school teacher Roger Abraham Vallejo Soriano, shot in the head allegedly by security forces during protests on 31 July, died on 1 AugustOn 3 July, Radio América journalist Gabriel Fino Noriega was murdered near La Ceiba.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Human rights complaints
On or just before 4 August 2009, the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) terminated Radio Globo's transmission frequency rights. The Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders released a statement on 29 June stating that, "The suspension or closure of local and international broadcast media indicates that the coup leaders want to hide what is happening." Carlos Lauría of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said: "The de facto government clearly used the security forces to restrict the news... Hondurans did not know what was going on.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Human rights complaints
They clearly acted to create an information vacuum to keep people unaware of what was actually happening." However, in an interview published on 9 July 2009 in The Washington Post, Ramón Custodio López, Honduras's human rights ombudsman, said he had received no official complaints from journalists: "This is the first I have heard about an occupation or military raid of a station," he said. "I try to do the best job I can, but there are things that escape my knowledge."


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Human rights complaints
On 21 August 2009, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) dispatched a six-member delegation which reported accusations it received. The delegation was told of alleged violent confrontations and arbitrary arrests. Someone even accused police of rape. Some alleged that judges were threatened "at gunpoint". According to the received allegations, 3,500 and 4,000 people had been arrested. The IACHR also received accusations that the government has threatened, detained and beaten members of the media. Based on the statements it received, the delegation concluded that there was "an atmosphere of intimidation that inhibits the free exercise of freedom of expression".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Human rights complaints
On the same day, 93 academics and authors, mostly from United States universities, criticised Human Rights Watch's lack of statements and reports on Honduras between 8 July and 21 August. Four days later, Human Rights Watch published a summary of the IACHR report and stated that it had published reports up to 8 July and that human rights supporters had encouraged the IACHR to "directly [intervene]". ABC News (United States) claimed that HRW had "commissioned" the IACHR report.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Human rights complaints
Violent confrontations with media continued from both Zelaya supporters and opponents during the week of 12 August 2009.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Human rights complaints
On 10 October, Honduras' interim leaders put in place new rules that threaten broadcasters with closure for airing reports that "attack national security", further restricting media freedom following the closure of two opposition stations.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
Zelaya made two initial, open attempts to return to his country, which were rebuffed. On 5 July he attempted to return by air, and the Micheletti government responded by closing Toncontín International Airport and sending the military to guard the runways. As thousands of Zelaya supporters gathered at the airport to meet him, one was confirmed dead and scores injured, when "several soldiers walked through [the crowd] and began firing indiscriminately".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
On 26 July, Zelaya briefly entered into Honduran territory, at a border crossing between Honduras and Nicaragua near Las Manos in El Paraíso Department.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
On 21 September 2009, Zelaya and his wife arrived at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya stated that to reach the embassy he travelled through mountains for fifteen hours, and took back roads to avoid checkpoints, but he did not state from which country he entered Honduras. He stated to Canal 36 that "I am here in Tegucigalpa. I am here for the restoration of democracy, to call for dialogue".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
Michelletti initially denied that Zelaya had returned. After admitting the return, he issued a curfew and asked the Brazilian government to put Zelaya in Honduran custody to be put on trial. Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim stated that Brazil did not aid Zelaya's return.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
Thousands of Zelaya supporters soon congregated around the embassy. Security Vice-Minister Mario Perdomo ordered checkpoints to be placed on highways leading to Tegucigalpa, to "stop those people coming to start trouble". Defense Minister Lionel Sevilla suspended all air flights to Tegucigalpa. Late that day, Honduran security forces used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowds outside the Brazilian embassy. The interim government also surrounded the area with military and several agencies reported that 'hooded men' had stormed the building next to the embassy. About 50 pro-Zelaya supporters have been reported wounded by police.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
Electricity was cut off to the embassy area and Canal 36 TV; however, Radio Globo sent out a broadcast that included a call for generators and a pledge by the head of the electrical workers union to send technicians which shortly led to power being restored to the immediate area. The curfew was then extended until 6:00 pm the following day, a drastic measure because it means that all workplaces will be closed during daylight hours.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
Installed inside the embassy, Zelaya complained of harassment from the Micheletti government aided by Israeli mercenaries. He claimed they had installed a mobile phone jammer, which he showed to the press, and assaulted the occupants of the embassy with toxic gases and radiation, which allegedly caused nose or stomach bleeding or related symptoms in over 25 people inside the embassy.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
On 24 September, Brazil called an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. The Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim told the Security Council that "since the day it has sheltered President Zelaya at its premises, the Brazilian Embassy has been virtually under siege" and that "it has been submitted to acts of harassment and intimidation by the de facto authorities". The UN Security Council defended the inviolability of Brazilian embassy and "called upon the de facto government of Honduras to cease harassing the Brazilian embassy and to provide all necessary utilities and services, including water, electricity, food and continuity of communications".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
Amnesty International representative Susan Lee described human rights violations by Micheletti's security forces following Zelaya's return as "alarming". These included a "sharp rise in police beatings" and hundreds of arrests of political demonstrators throughout Honduras, and intimidation of human rights defenders by police firing tear gas canisters into the building of the human rights NGO Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH), at a moment when about 100 people were in the COFADEH office, many who were in COFADEH to report human rights violations earlier that day.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
Dozens of the protestors detained were held in unauthorised detention sites in Tegucigalpa on 22 September. Amnesty International also reported limits imposed by the de facto authorities on free speech, in which Radio Globo and the TV channel 36 "suffered power stoppages or constant interruptions to their transmissions which prevented them from broadcasting". Susan Lee stated "The only way forward is for the de facto authorities to stop the policy of repression and violence and instead respect the rights of freedom of expression and association."


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
On 28 September 2009, after pressure from home and abroad, Micheletti said that he would lift his decree suspending civil liberties. As of 2 October 2009, Mr. Micheletti had not done so, but told a visiting delegation of Republican members of the US Congress that he would lift the decree and restore civil liberties by Monday, 5 October 2009 at the latest, according to a spokesman for a member of the delegation.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's secret return to Honduras
On 5 October 2009, Micheletti said that he was lifting the decree but also said that the pro-Zelaya media that had been closed down by the de facto government, Radio Globo and Canal 36 TV, would have to appear before the courts to regain their broadcast permits. On 19 October 2009, the decree was reversed in the official gazette.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Negotiations and accord
On 29 October 2009, the de facto Micheletti government signed an agreement with Zelaya's negotiators that would allow the Honduran Congress to vote on whether the ousted president would be restored and allowed to serve out the few remaining months of his term. Zelaya chose not to give a list of candidates for the unity government to Micheletti, arguing that the Congress was unacceptably delaying the agreed-upon vote on his restoration.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Negotiations and accord
When Micheletti announced he had, unilaterally, formed the unity government without input from Zelaya, Zelaya declared the agreement "dead" early on 6 November. The United States sent diplomats to help to resurrect the pact, but Zelaya insisted that he would not accept any deal to restore him to office if it meant he must recognise the elections of 29 November.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Elections
With Micheletti indicating that he would temporarily step down to allow voters to concentrate on the upcoming presidential elections, and congressional and judicial leadership refusing to reinstate Zelaya before the elections, Panamá, Costa Rica, and the United States indicated that they would support the outcome, but international support for the elections remained scant leading up to the polls.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Elections
In the days preceding the elections, United States, Israel, Italy, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Germany, Costa Rica and Japan also announced their intentions to recognise the results of the elections.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Elections
Organisations and individuals in Honduras, including the National Resistance Front against the coup d’État in Honduras, Marvin Ponce of the Democratic Unification Party, and Bertha Oliva of Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras, and internationally, including Mercosur, President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina andthe Union of South American Nations, said that elections held on 29 November under Micheletti would not be legitimate.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Elections
On 29 November 2009, a presidential election was held, according to the Honduran constitution. Five candidates ran for president. Early returns indicate that conservative Porfirio Lobo was elected with around 55% of the votes. Official numbers for the turnout of the election placed it at around 60%, which was subsequently officially revised down to 49% – a considerable decline on the 55% 2005 election turnout.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Elections
The European Parliament did not send observers. However, observers were sent by the centre-right European People's Party, who reported a "high degree of civic maturity and exemplar democratic behaviour" during the elections.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya-reinstatement proposal rejected by Congress
On 2 December, the National Congress debated regarding the possible reinstatement of Zelaya to the presidency. A vast majority of the lawmakers voted against Zelaya's reinstatement. The 128 member Congress voted 111 to 14 against reinstating Zelaya, affirming its 28 June decision. This decision was made as part of the Tegucigalpa/San Jose Accord, and called on the International Community to respect the decision. Almost all congressmen from Zelaya's own political party as well as the opposition National Party voted against the reinstatement, and supported the victory of Porfirio Lobo Sosa as the new president of Honduras in the November 2009 elections.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya-reinstatement proposal rejected by Congress
Zelaya criticised the vote and urged governments not to restore ties with the incoming administration of Porfirio Lobo. "Today, the lawmakers at the service of the dominant classes ratified the coup d’état in Honduras," Zelaya said in a statement released shortly after the vote. "They have condemned Honduran to exist outside the rule of law. ".


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya-reinstatement proposal rejected by Congress
On 4 December, Juan Barahona-led activists ended five months of daily protests demanding the reinstatement of Zelaya, saying they are moving on now that Congress has voted to keep Manuel Zelaya out of office. Juan Barahona, who had been leading protests since late June when Zelaya was forced out of the country, said that his supporters are "closing that chapter" of their struggle. Barahona said it's time for Hondurans who support policies in favour of the poor and other themes that Zelaya espoused to shift their focus to the 2013 elections.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Second exile
On 20 January 2010, the Dominican Republic and President-elect Porfirio Lobo agreed to a deal that would allow Zelaya to be transported safely from the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa where he had been, to the Dominican Republic upon Lobo taking office on 27 January. Lobo stated that he would ensure Zelaya would leave safely and "with dignity". Lobo negotiated with Dominican President Leonel Fernández. Lobo also discussed the situation with former presidential candidates who signed a statement on the agreement, as well as requesting that sanctions placed against Honduras as a result of the incident be lifted. The next day, Zelaya agreed to the deal, while a close advisor said he would remain politically active and hope to later return to political activity.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, Events after 28 June, Zelaya's return after charges dropped
In May 2011 a court in Honduras dropped all corruption charges against Zelaya, allowing him to return to Honduras. He did so on 28 May 2011 to a massive reception at Toncontin International Airport. On 1 June the OAS voted to re-admit Honduras into the OAS.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, International reaction
No foreign government recognised Micheletti as president. US President Barack Obama, along with leaders and officials of governments throughout the hemisphere and the rest of the world, condemned the removal of President Zelaya as undemocratic and called the action taken against him a coup d’état.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, International reaction
However, in the United States, the Congressional Research Service (a nonpartisan entity within the Library of Congress working on behalf of the United States Congress), after studying the relevant texts of Honduran law, determined that "The Supreme Court of Honduras has constitutional and statutory authority to ... request of the assistance of the public forces to enforce its rulings," and did not misapply its authority in this case: "Available sources indicate that the judicial and legislative branches applied constitutional and statutory law in the case against President Zelaya in a manner that was judged by the Honduran authorities from both branches of the government to be in accordance with the Honduran legal system."


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, International reaction
Americas-based international organisations such as the Organization of American States, Mercosur, and the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas also condemned the events. Over ten Latin American countries, as well as all European Union countries, agreed to withdraw their ambassadors from Honduras until Zelaya is returned to power.


2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, International reaction
Reactions of individual countries are dealt with in the International reaction to the 2009 Honduran coup d’état.


2009 Honduran coup d'état
The 2009 Honduran coup d'état, part of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred when the Honduran Army on 28 June 2009 followed orders from the Honduran Supreme Court to oust President Manuel Zelaya and send him into exile. Zelaya had attempted to schedule a non-binding poll on holding a referendum on convening a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. Zelaya refused to comply with court orders to cease, and the Honduran Supreme Court issued a secret warrant for his arrest dated 26 June.


2009 Honduran coup d'état
Two days later, Honduran soldiers stormed the president's house in the middle of the night and detained him, forestalling the poll. Instead of bringing him to trial, the army put him on a military aeroplane and flew him to Costa Rica. Later that day, after the reading of a resignation letter of disputed authenticity, the Honduran Congress voted to remove Zelaya from office, and appointed Speaker of Congress Roberto Micheletti, his constitutional successor, to replace him. It was the first coup to occur in the country since 1978.


2009 Honduran coup d'état
International reaction to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état was widespread; the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the European Union condemned the removal of Zelaya as a military coup. On 5 July 2009, all member states of the OAS voted by acclamation to suspend Honduras from the organisation.


2009 Honduran coup d'état
In July 2011, Honduras's Truth Commission concluded that Zelaya broke the law when he disregarded a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to cancel the referendum, but that his removal from office was also illegal and a coup. The Commission found Congress' designation of Roberto Micheletti as interim president had been unconstitutional, and the resulting administration a "de facto regime." Former Guatemalan Vice-President Eduardo Stein chaired the commission and presented its report to the then Honduran President Porfirio Lobo, the head of the Supreme Court, Jorge Rivera Avilez and the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Background
President Zelaya was promoting a controversial nonbinding poll on whether to include a fourth ballot box in the November elections on convening a constitutional convention to rewrite the constitution to give the President more terms in office. He had ignored a restraining order in this regard. Some claim his goal in doing so was to extend his term. But as the scheduled balloting would have been simultaneous with the election of his successor, his term would have ended long before any possible constitutional changes.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Background, Executive decrees and their legal consequences
Just days before the date for the scheduled illegal survey, decree PCM-019-2009, revoking decree PCM-05-2009 and was issued (but not published) in May, was published in the official paper of record for the government policy, La Gaceta.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Background, Executive decrees and their legal consequences
Zelaya then issued a new executive decree PCM-020-2009 (La Gaceta article number 31945) which annulled decrees PCM-05-2009 and PCM-019-2009. The new decree called for a "Public Opinion Survey Convening a Constitutional Assembly" and referred to it as "an official activity of the Government of the Republic of Honduras".


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Background, Executive decrees and their legal consequences
According to a legal analysis by former Supreme Court President Vilma Morales, Zelaya automatically ceased being President of Honduras with the publication of decree PCM-020-2009 and thus no coup d'état existed. However, PCM-027-2009 was never processed by the Honduran courts. This new decree published in La Gaceta 26 June 2009 explained further the purpose, form and objectives of the opinion poll, to be carried out by the National Institute of Statistics. But the courts had already made up their minds about every attempt that had to do with this issue.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Background, Executive decrees and their legal consequences
Zelaya's lawyers were also denied the possibility to participate in the process. PCM-027-2009 was sheltered in article 5 of the "Law of Citizen Participation" and articles 2 and 5 of the Honduran Constitution. Zelaya defined his actions as a non-binding opinion poll, but his political opponents presented his actions as a binding referendum oriented at reforming articles in the Honduran Constitution concerning forms of government and re-election.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Background, Attorney General's office acts
On 27 May 2009, the Administrative Law Tribunal issued an injunction against holding the referendum at the request of the Honduran Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi. On 16 June the Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the 27 May injunction. On 18 June, the Administrative Law Tribunal ordered Zelaya to comply with the ruling in writing within five days. The Attorney General's office filed a request for arrest and search warrants.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Background, Supreme Court issues arrest and search warrants
On 26 June, the Honduran Supreme Court unanimously found that the Presidency had not complied with 16 June court order. It also found he was answerable to charges for crimes against the form of government, treason to the motherland, abuse of office and usurpation of functions that damaged the administration. It appointed Supreme Court Justice Tomás Arita Valle to try the case.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Background, Supreme Court issues arrest and search warrants
On 26 June, the Supreme Court issued a sealed (secret) arrest warrant for President Zelaya, signed by Justice Tomás Arita Valle. The interim government confirmed that the Supreme Court of Justice unanimously voted to appoint Tomás Arita Valle to hear the process in its preparatory and intermediate phases; and that he lawfully issued an arrest and raid warrant. The government also states that an investigation was conducted under the auspices of the Honduran Supreme Court that lasted for weeks.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Background, Supreme Court issues arrest and search warrants
Some Zelaya supporters have sought to cast doubt on the Supreme Court's documentation. Jari Dixon Herrera Hernández, a lawyer with the Attorney General's office, said the order to arrest Zelaya came a day after the coup.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Zelaya's detention and exile
Soldiers stormed the president's residence in Tegucigalpa early in the morning of 28 June, disarming the presidential guard, waking Zelaya and putting him on a plane to Costa Rica. Colonel Bayardo said, "It was a fast operation. It was over in minutes, and there were no injuries, no deaths. We said, 'Sir, we have a judicial order to detain you.' " In Costa Rica, Zelaya told the Latin American channel TeleSUR that he had been awakened by gunshots. Masked soldiers took his cell phone, shoved him into a van and took him to an air force base, where he was put on a plane. He said he did not know that he was being taken to Costa Rica until he landed at the airport in San José.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Zelaya's detention and exile
Within hours, Zelaya spoke to media in San José, calling the events "a coup" and "a kidnapping". He said that soldiers pulled him from his bed and assaulted his guards. Zelaya stated that he would not recognise anyone named as his successor, that he would be meeting with diplomats and that he wanted to finish his term in office.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Zelaya's detention and exile
Tanks patrolled the streets and military planes flew overhead. Soldiers guarded the main government buildings. The government television station and a television station that supports the president were taken off the air. Television and radio stations broadcast no news. The electrical power, phone lines, and international cable TV were cut or blocked throughout Honduras. Public transportation was suspended.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Zelaya's detention and exile
Later that day, the Supreme Court issued a statement that it had ordered the army to remove Zelaya from office. The Supreme Court stated "The armed forces, in charge of supporting the constitution, acted to defend the state of law and have been forced to apply legal dispositions against those who have expressed themselves publicly and acted against the dispositions of the basic law".


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Zelaya's detention and exile
On 30 June, the military's chief lawyer, Colonel Herberth Bayardo Inestroza Membreño, showed a detention order, signed 26 June by a Supreme Court judge, which ordered the armed forces to detain the president, identified by his full name of José Manuel Zelaya Rosales, at his home in the Tres Caminos area of the capital. It cited him for treason and abuse of authority, among other charges.


2009 Honduran coup d'état, Zelaya's detention and exile
Colonel Inestroza later stated that deporting Zelaya did not comply with the court order: "In the moment that we took him out of the country, in the way that he was taken out, there is a crime. Because of the circumstances of the moment this crime occurred, there is going to be a justification and cause for acquittal that will protect us." He said the decision was taken by the military leadership "in order to avoid bloodshed".