I am a fan of Mayan ruins, and have been for almost forty years. The vast majority of Mayan artifacts reside in Central America. One of the premiere sites that can now be easily reached is Copan, Honduras. It is one of the largest and also well excavated, including tunnels for a viewing of the oldest temple masks. Copan has some subtle lessons for the US in dealing with the recent coup, if we only listen. Jump with me. . . .
I have visited the ruins at Copan twice. My first visit was in 1979 when the roads were unpaved, the rivers to be forded in my rental van were not too deep, and the nearest border entry at Florida, Guatemala closed at 5:00 p.m. The site included an open air "junk yard" of parts of larger artifacts that had not yet been assembled. There were sorted stacks of feet/claws, heads, hands, beeks, etc. There was only a small building that kept some of the most important pieces out of the damaging rain.
Copan has the longest known Mayan sentence left in existence. The Spanish destroyed all they found since it was the "work of the devil", don’t you know. It is known as the Staircase of the Inscriptions and it has three ornately carved stelae and a hole mid-way up where another statue had been located before. Even though I knew from my studies, I asked several of the locals about the missing stelae. All knew that the best one had been carried off by the early American explorer and was located in the US at an East Coast Museum. Each expressed an interest in its return. By the way, that early explorer is said to have purchased the entire Copan site for around $45 from the locals during his visit. Ah, the splendor of American imperialism. Obama should try to get the statue sent back in order to have any "new beginning" with Honduras.
When I returned in 2008, I began by steeling myself for another "white-knuckle" ride to the site. But I was in for a much different experience. New bridges spanned every river on the completely paved way south from Chiquimula, and the border doesn’t close. The ruins at Copan now have a wonderful museum that is entered through a winding, cobbled tunnel that immediately puts the visitor in a place that feels markedly different than any tempered glass door could. A complete temple has been found and copied for visitors. Perhaps 40-50 walls and benches of previous Mayan "puzzle pieces" have been assembled and are kept out of the rain. The Staircase of the Inscriptions, way too large to move, was carefully covered with a giant canvas sail to preserve it from weathering. Copies of all the significant museum pieces have been made and placed in their original outdoor positions so that visitors can continue to enjoy the site.
I wish that I could say that the US sponsored this amazing cultural preservation, but it has been years of Japanese funding. The Japanese Archeological team has arrived at the end of the rainy season for many years and has invested an estimated $50 Million just at Copan. All the locals I spoke with knew about and appreciated the Japanese efforts to preserve their culture. Japanese direct investment had increased tourism in the area which allowed many of the locals to have a stake in the preservation of the site, rather than looting. We built a large military base. Ah, the subtle eastern ways of life.
The current coup presents the US with an opportunity to take baby steps to "get it right". We should not repeat the arrogant, controlling imperialism that the US has too often displayed in the past. It is soooo notorious, it is admitted in the MSM. Obama shouldn’t be distracted by the right wing-nuts pointing out that Zelaya is a friend of Venezuelan socialist Hugo Chaves. Sure all of the election materials were flown into the country on a Venezuelan plane. That doesn’t make the voting materials a threat to our national security
Sure, Zelaya seems to be a stranger to the truth. The day before the coup, Zelaya says in El Pais that his constitutional amendment to allow additional terms for presidents would only be for future presidents. He does not mention the current explanation that it is only a poll, not an actual amendment. This reflects poorly on the credibility that the vote would be seen as non-binding by him. Before they were seized by the elites, Zelaya had been dropping off ballots at all the colleges. This appears to be likely to selectively allow more favorable access to the most liberal voters. But if lying politicians and fixed elections were sufficient to justify a military coup, no country would survive. Think Florida 2000.
It is difficult to prefer the "democracy" exhibited by the new government. The oligarchical roots of "President" Roberto Michelitti cannot be denied. On his second day in office, Bob named his nephew as Mayor of Honduras' second largest city. The Honduran congress has suspended the :right to associate, the search warrant requirements for homes, the right to travel, and the right to an arrest warrant before arrest. The new government also ordered a gravely injured opposition politician out of his hospital bed.
Are we going to stop the "diplomat speak" and stop US aid payments to the Honduran military upon a finding of a "military" coup?