Honduras: Disputed truth commission to investigate coup

With a warning by its members that it will not be a "decorative" body dedicated to merely "collecting stories about what happened," the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up in Honduras to investigate events surrounding the June 2009 coup that overthrew the government of Manuel Zelaya began to operate Tuesday. "Our work consists of getting to the bottom of the events that triggered the political crisis," said the head of the commission, former Guatemalan vice president Eduardo Stein (2004-2008). "We want to make it clear that we have not come to form part of this commission in order to be mere chroniclers of history, because for that it would have been better to hire a historian," he added. The commission is to present its report in eight months, although some "sensitive" information will remain classified and will not be made available to the public for 10 years. Stein said the commission's mandate is to investigate "all kinds" of alleged crimes, including "corruption and human rights violations prior to, during and after the crisis." The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created to comply with one of the agreements signed on Oct. 30, 2009 between delegations representing de facto president Roberto Micheletti and ousted president Zelaya.