TEGUCIGALPA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- After a week of being
in exile as a result of the military coup, ousted President Manuel Zelaya is
planning to return to Honduras Sunday.
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Soldiers stand guard as supporters of Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya arrive after a march at Toncontin international airport in Tegucigalpa July 4, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> |
He told a local radio station that he plans to arrive
with some figures of the international community and many Latin American
leaders.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Cristina
Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina are expected to be among those who will
accompany the deposed president.
Thousands of Hondurans held a peaceful protest
Saturday in the capital city of Tegucigalpa and marched as far as the
international airport to welcome back their "democratically elected leader".
There were buses coming from other parts of the
country such as Las Crusitas with Zelaya's supporters on them but they couldn't
make it into the city because the Armed Forces obstructed their way.
But not everyone is enthusiastic about President
Zelaya's return home. The Catholic Church has pronounced itself against it.
Bishop Oscar Rodriguez, in a televised speech Saturday, asked the deposed
president not to return to the country to avoid "bloodshed."
Honduras' Congress, which elected its leader Roberto
Micheletti as the new president, warned that if Zelaya sets foot into Honduras
he will be immediately arrested on 18 charges, including treason and abuse of
authority.
The Honduran Armed Forces, the Congress and the
judicial system are accusing Zelaya of trying to hold a referendum that would
have allowed him to change the constitution with the final goal of seeking
another term in office.
The secretary general of the Organization of American
States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, Friday failed to persuade Hondurans' Congress
and its interim government to immediately reinstate Zeleya.
As a result, the OAS held a meeting in Washington
Saturday and expelled Honduras from the regional bloc.
Canada's minister of state of foreign Affairs for the
Americas, Peter Kent, who was present at the meeting, also urged Zelaya not to
return to Honduras, saying it is "dangerous" to do so.
But despite all warnings, the ousted president seems
to be firm on his decision. His wife, Xiomara Castro, who remains in Honduras
hiding in a secret place, has confirmed his determination. "Yes, I have spoken
with my husband," she told local media. "He is coming."