MANAGUA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The ousted Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya on Monday gave a one-week ultimatum to the coup
government of Roberto Micheletti to restore his presidential power as demanded
by the governments and organizations from the world.
Ousted Honduras President Manuel
Zelaya speaks to the media during a news conference at the Honduras
embassy in Managua beside his Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas July 13,
2009. Manuel Zelaya on Monday gave a one-week ultimatum to the coup
government of Roberto Micheletti to restore his presidential power as
demanded by the governments and organizations from the world.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
"We give an ultimatum for no later than the next
meeting to be held this week in San Jose, Costa Rica, to fulfill the demands
expressed by international organizations, otherwise the negotiation will be
considered failed and we will take other measures," Zelaya read a communique in
Managua.
Zelaya, who was forced into exile after a military
coup, also demanded Micheletti to restore constitutional order in Honduras.
Zelaya demanded Micheletti to guarantee his immediate
and safe return to Honduras and denounced "the increased systematic repression
Micheletti has launched against the brave and heroic Honduran people, who have
suffered illegal suspension of the constitutional guarantee, persecutions and
violence."
Ousted Honduras President Manuel
Zelaya speaks to the media during a news conference at the Honduras
embassy in Managua beside his Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas July 13,
2009. Manuel Zelaya on Monday gave a one-week ultimatum to the coup
government of Roberto Micheletti to restore his presidential power as
demanded by the governments and organizations from the
world.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
The talks between Zelaya and Micheletti over the
post-coup political crisis ended last week without reaching an agreement, but
promised more meetings. Zelaya has won support from most American countries.
"We consider it offensive ... for the coup regime to
extend the mediation process, which must be finished with the immediate
fulfillment of the recommendations given by the Organization of American states
and the United Nations," he said.
Zelaya also said that during the mediation process in
Costa Rica, his representatives suffered repression, telephone blocking, capture
orders, death threats, persecution to their families, interventions and
cancellation of their bank accounts.
Due to this reality, the constitutional government of
the Republic of Honduras "makes a strong and formal denounce that the only aim
of the coup dictatorship is to use the good will mediation of President Oscar
Arias as a distracter mechanism to extend the agony of this dictatorship," the
communique read.
TEGUCIGALPA,
July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Honduran interim government under post-coup leader
Roberto Micheletti on Monday swore in Carlos Lopez Contreras as its new foreign
minister, to replace Enrique Ortez Colindres.
Lopez Contreras was foreign minister in the government of
President Jose Simon Azcona from 1986 to 1990. He is an expert on international
law and had represented Honduras in The Hague of Holland for many years. Full story
SAN JOSE, July
12 (Xinhua) -- Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias has called for a second round
of talks within a week between Manuel Zelaya, Honduras' president ousted in a
June 28 military coup, and Roberto Micheletti, the nation's post-coup leader,
according to Sunday's edition of the La Nacion newspaper.
Arias hosted the two leaders on Thursday at separate
meetings, after which each side designated a committee of four to speak for
them. Micheletti and Zelaya did not meet face-to-face, and Micheletti went
directly from Arias' residence to the airport. Full story
CARACAS, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's President Hugo
Chavez on Sunday made an open call on the United States to push for the downfall
of coup leaders in Honduras.
In his regular Sunday broadcast "Alo Presidente," Chavez
said he had spoken to Thomas Shannon, the deputy U.S. secretary of state for
Latin America, on the phone and told Shannon that U.S. President Barack Obama
should see the reality of what is happening in Honduras. Full story
TEGUCIGALPA, July 12
(Xinhua) -- Honduras' post-coup government on Sunday suspended the curfew, part
of a martial law that has been in place since July 28, when soldiers seized
President Manuel Zelaya and forced him to board an aircraft to Costa Rica.
A statement read by government officials on domestic
broadcast media said that the measure had "achieved its goals" and had "returned
calm to the population." Full story
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya
speaks to the media upon his arrival at the international airport in San
Jose, Costa Rica, July 8, 2009. (Xinhua/Esteban Datos) Photo Gallery>>>
BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A second round of talks
between representatives of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and interim
leader Roberto Micheletti ended Friday without any breakthroughs.
Both parties promise more meetings in the near future but
an expert on Honduras thinks it will be a while before there is a resolution to
the political drama. Full story
SAN JOSE, July 10
(Xinhua) -- The representatives of Honduran ousted President Manuel Zelaya and
post-coup leader Roberto Micheletti on Friday finished their talks on Honduras'
political crisis without reaching an agreement, but promising more meetings.
The gathering between the two rivals was scheduled for two
days beginning Thursday, with the mediation of Costa Rican President Oscar
Arias. But the two failed to have a face-to-face meeting, instead, they left
four commissioners on each side to continue the talks. Full story
MEXICO CITY, July 9
(Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and post-coup leader Roberto
Micheletti met Thursday with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias respectively in
San Jose, but Micheletti swiftly left the country, squashing all hopes of a
face-to-face meeting.
Arias, a 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was accepted by
both parties to serve as a mediator in the talks. Full story
SAN JOSE, July 9 (Xinhua) --
Honduras' post-coup leader Roberto Micheletti was afraid of being arrested or
getting killed in Costa Rica, and refused to leave the airport before getting
security guarantees when he arrived here on Thursday for mediation talks hosted
by President Oscar Arias, Costa Rican government sources said.
A source with the Costa Rican government told Xinhua that
the security staff of Micheletti had warned him that he might be in danger of
being arrested or suffering a life-threatening attack while leaving the
airport. Full story
