TEGUCIGALPA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya said Saturday that he would return to his country on
Sunday as scheduled, but, it remains a question whether Zelaya can succeed in
making his way home and realize an immediate reinstatement.
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The ousted President of Honduras Manuel
Zelaya speaks during a press conference at the UN headquarters in New
York, the United States, June 30, 2009. (Xinhua, File
Photo)
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Zelaya told Caracas-based TV station Telesur that he
would show up at Honduras International Airport in Tegucigalpa with several
presidents and representatives from some international groups.
Media reports said those who planned to accompany
Zelaya's trip would include Secretary-General of the Organization of American
States (OAS) Jose Miguel Insulza, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de
Kirchner, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa Delgado and Paraguayan President
Fernando Lugo.
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR ZELAYA
Zelaya was removed from office
in a military coup on June 28, just hours after some 200 soldiers surrounded his
official residence and forced him to board a plane to Costa Rica.
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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)
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A referendum scheduled for the same day on changing
the country's constitution put Zelaya at odds with the military, the courts and
the legislature.
In the vote, Hondurans were asked whether they would
back an official referendum in November, to be held alongside the scheduled
presidential election, on changing the constitution to allow a president to seek
re-election.
The opposition accused Zelaya, whose current term
expires next January, of seeking reelection through the referendum, while the
Supreme Court and the attorney general said that the vote was illegal.
The Congress announced after the coup that Roberto
Micheletti would replace Zelaya as the country's acting president.
The coup, however, has failed to win international
recognition. The UN General Assembly
on Tuesday adopted a resolution condemning the coup
and calling on all UN member states not to recognize the military regime that
took power by force or any government other than Zelaya's.
The OAS, at an urgent meeting at its headquarters in
Washington Saturday, decided to suspend Honduras's membership after the
post-coup authorities missed a deadline on Zelaya's reinstatement.
The suspension means Honduras will lose all the
financial and economic aid from the OAS and face the
isolation by 33 American countries.
Meanwhile, some international financial institutions
such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank have frozen their
aid to Honduras. Venezuela has cut off its supply of oil, and some of Honduras'
neighboring countries have sealed off their borders with it and suspended
bilateral trade, all of which have dealt a blow to Honduras' economic lifeline.
DOMESTIC CHAOS
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A pro-Zelaya protestor rallies in front
of the UN Bureau to Honduras in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras, July 2,
2009. (Xinhua/David De La Paz)
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The Honduran interim government, vowing to arrest
Zelaya if he returns, has charged him with 18 criminal acts and failing to
implement more than 80 laws approved by the Congress since he took office in
2006.
Though a curfew has been imposed in an effort to calm
down the chaos since the coup, Zelaya's supporters have staged street protests
and clashed with police from time to time.
As all of the country's legislature, courts and
military have voiced their opposition to Zelaya, his reinstatement will mean a
denial to all their decrees and rules since June 28, which seems quite
impossible for the time being.
At the same time, it is also unlikely that Zelaya is
willing to be just an ordinary citizen if he was allowed to be back.
Analysts said the international community's backing
for Zelaya actually meant support for Honduras' constitutional order and rule of
law rather than the ousted leader himself or the referendum he proposes. What
the international community condemns is the extreme way Zelaya was ousted
instead of the political opinions the Honduran interim government is holding.
Thus negotiations between the ousted president and
the interim authorities will most likely serve as the way out to solve the
country's political problem and find a solution which can be accepted by both
sides.
Zelaya says to return to Honduras
Sunday
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.
He told a local radio station that he plans to arrive
with some figures of the international community and many Latin American
leaders. Full story
Honduras Cardinal asks ousted
president not to come back
TEGUCIGALPA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The Honduran cardinal
and main leader of the Honduran Catholic church, Oscar Andres Rodriguez,
Saturday urged ousted President Manuel Zelaya not to come back to Honduras.
In a televised speech, Rodriguez warned that the
return of Zelaya could lead to a blood bath. Full story
Honduran crisis in deadlock as
post-coup gov't unwilling to reinstate ousted president
TEGUCIGALPA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing political
crisis in Honduras has reached an impasse as the post-coup government is
unwilling to accept the mediation of the Organization of American States (OAS)
to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza, who
arrived here on Friday to mediate for the reinstatement of Zelaya, was quoted by
local media on Friday evening as saying that Honduras' interim government did
not want to restore the ousted president. Full story
Honduran interim gov't announces to
quit OAS
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Organization of American States (OAS)
chief Jose Miguel Insulza (M) leaves after a news conference at a
hotel in downtown Tegucigalpa July 3, 2009. (Xinhua/AFP
Photo)
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TEGUCIGALPA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' interim
government announced Friday that the country decided to quit from the
Organization of American States (OAS).
In a letter to the OAS read by Honduras' Vice
Minister of International Relations Martha Lorena de Casco, it said "This
government believes that inside the organization (of the OAS), there is no room
for Honduras, for the states that love its freedom and defend its sovereignty."
Full story
OAS chief: Honduras' membership to be
suspended
TEGUCIGALPA, July
3 (Xinhua) -- The secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS)
said here Friday he would immediately recommend the suspension of Honduras from
the regional group due to its post-coup rulers' refusal to reinstate ousted
President Manuel Zelaya.
OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza was speaking to
reporters after he failed to persuade the interim government of Honduras to
reinstate Zelaya, who was deposed after Sunday's military coup. Full story
Honduran post-coup gov't claims no
negotiations with OAS
TEGUCIGALPA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Enrique Ortez Colindres,
the foreign minister of Honduras' post-coup government, told media on Friday
that the government will not negotiate with the Organization of American States
(OAS).
"We have a very firm position that we do not negotiate
Honduras' sovereignty," Ortez said. Full story
Ecuadoran president ready to accompany
Zelaya back to Honduras
QUITO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said Friday that he
is ready to accompany Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to
Tegucigalpa this weekend.
"It was an invitation from Honduras' President Manuel
Zelaya," Correa said in a radio interview, adding that "the Honduras
dictatorship has its hours numbered." Full story
Honduras' Zelaya leaves El Salvador
after brief visit
MEXICO CITY,
July 3 (Xinhua) -- Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted on Sunday from Honduras'
presidency, left El Salvador Friday night after a whistle-stop visit, according
to news reaching here.
Zelaya, who arrived from Panama, met briefly with El
Salvador's President Mauricio Funes and left on a private plane, Salvadorian
presidency communication minister David Rivas said, without specifying where
Zelaya went.Full story
Supporters of Zelaya, interim
government continue protests in Honduras
TEGUCIGALPA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of
supporters of Manuel Zelaya on Thursday continued to protest the military coup
that ousted the president and drew worldwide condemnation.
Meanwhile, an explosion was heard late Thursday near
the Tegucigalpa airport. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Full Story
L American congress leaders to
accompany Zelaya back to
Honduras
QUITO, July 2
(Xinhua) -- The heads of nine Latin American legislatures promised to accompany
ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya back to his country, Ecuadorian congress
leader said Thursday.
Fernando Cordero said he would seek to "accompany
President Zelaya" on his return, together with eight other legislature leaders
from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, the Andean Parliament
and the Latin American Parliament. Full Story
Neighbors trade embargo on Honduras
ends
TEGUCIGALPA, July 2
(Xinhua) -- The 48-hour trade embargo imposed by Honduras' three neighbors in
response to a military coup came to an end on Thursday, with a cost to the
nation worth 16 million U.S. dollars.
El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua had all halted trade
with Honduras after Sunday's military coup against President Manuel Zelaya. Full story
Honduras' UN ambassador does not
recognize new gov't
TEGUCIGALPA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' ambassador to the United Nations,
Jorge Arturo Reina, on Thursday told a radio station here that he does not
recognize Roberto Micheletti's government, which came to power via a Sunday
coup.
"I do not abide by it, by whatever name it may be called,
because I do not recognize the legal legitimacy of those who have sent it," he
said of a letter firing him sent by the Micheletti government, which took office
on Sunday just hours after soldiers seized President Manuel Zelaya and forced
him to board a plane to Costa Rica. Full story
Honduras interim gov't declines to
negotiate with OAS
TEGUCIGALPA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' post-coup
government will not negotiate with the OAS and allow ousted President Manuel
Zelaya to return to office, the interim government said Wednesday.
"Anyone who has violated the law cannot be reinstated,"
the newly-appointed foreign minister Enrique Ortez Colindrez told the media. Full story
Interim Honduran president accuses
Venezuela of intervening affairs
TEGUCIGALPA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Interim Honduran President
Roberto Micheletti Wednesday accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of
intervening Honduras' affairs.
"The intervention of the government of Hugo Chavez is
clear and definite in the situation that Honduras is experiencing," Micheletti
said. Full story
Honduras president postpones return
home after OAS ultimatum
WASHINGTON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya said here on Wednesday that he would postpone his plan
to return home after the Organization of American States (OAS) gave the country
an ultimatum to restore him to power. Full story
Coup-deposed Honduran president vows
to return despite arrest warrant
TEGUCIGALPA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The deposed Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya on Tuesday vowed to return to the country despite an
arrest threat that could put him in jail for 20 years.
Zelaya has won wide international supports, and he
will make a high-profile comeback flanked by the president of the UN General
Assembly, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS) and
presidents of Argentina and Ecuador on a flight to Honduras on
Thursday. Full story
General Assembly condemns military
coup in Honduras
UNITED NATIONS, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The UN General
Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution to condemn the military coup in
Honduras and demand the immediate restoration of the government of ousted
President Manuel Zelaya.
The resolution also asked all the countries not to
recognize the military regime that took power by force. Full story
Backgrounder: key facts about Republic
of Honduras
