MEXICO CITY, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya said Tuesday that he had never thought of running for
re-election.
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Visiting Honduras' ousted President
Manuel Zelaya speaks during a press conference upon his arrival in Mexico
City, capital of Mexico, Aug. 4, 2009. (Xinhua/Bao Feifei)
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"That is a campaign by my opponents. There is not one
single declaration of mine that supports it," he said at a press conference held
at the Mexican Foreign Ministry.
Zelaya was roused from his bed and sent into exile in
a military coup on June 28, just hours before a planned controversial vote
asking Hondurans to sanction a future referendum on a constitutional change,
which the army said might allow him to run again in November elections.
The Honduran army said it was forced to remove Zelaya
from office to defend the country because he was seeking a backdoor route to
unconstitutional re-election.
Zelaya said the result of the vote would call a
binding referendum on rewriting the country's constitution along with the
general election. Yet as a new president would be chosen in November, he would
no longer have a chance to be re-elected.
The ousted president added he hoped that the coup
would not last another month.
"I think international solidarity can survive long
enough to make the reforms my nation needs, but I hope I don't have to wait more
than a couple of weeks," he said.
However, Zelaya voiced his intention to wait as long
as necessary.
"I have all the time in the world. My goal is not
just to return to the post but to reinstate the will of Honduras' people. I have
been in power for three and a half years, and I have done a lot," he said.
Honduras' post-coup government, led by former
parliamentary leader Roberto Micheletti, has refused Zelaya to resume the
presidency. This is a key point in a seven-point peace deal proposed by Costa
Rican President Oscar Arias, who has been acting as a mediator, last month.
Micheletti called Zelaya a criminal and said the
ousted president could only return to Honduras to face trial.
Zelaya also warned that, despite the fear of
returning to 1970s and 1980s military juntas, there were new dangers for Latin
America.
"If the ruling class believes that the best way to
avoid dialogue is to use arms, that sets a dangerous precedent for our society.
Clandestine movements can now also be financed by drug traffickers," he said.
That comment may hit a raw nerve in Mexico, where
unofficial data show that drug-related murders are on the rise due to a war
against traffickers who use the country as a transit point from Latin America to
the United States.
Zelaya said the United States should take more action
to bring down the post-coup regime, as it imports so many Honduran products.
"The United States has not done enough, but it has
been taking action," he said. "It is not the only nation that should be taking
action, but 70 percent of Honduras' trade is with the United States."
Zelaya joked that he might have to finance his
diplomatic efforts by selling his cowboy hat.
Traveling to defend a noble cause with very little
resources "helps you experience spiritual growth," the ousted president claimed,
adding that he was ready to accept financial aid from all who were willing to
contribute.
However, he did not say how much Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez had offered him, while Micheletti has accused Zelaya of being
manipulated by Chavez.
Zelaya said his next stop after Mexico would be
Brazil, as he had been invited by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva.
Zelaya: reverting Honduran coup a
challenge for int'l community
MEXICO CITY, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya said on Tuesday that reverting the coup in Honduras is a
challenge for the international community.
Zelaya said the international community has many
things to do for the democratic principles put forth by the Organization of
American States and the United Nations. Full story
Zelaya says he never thought of
reelection
MEXICO CITY, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran President Manuel
Zelaya said at a press conference here on Tuesday afternoon that he had never
thought of running for reelection.
Zelaya made the remarks at the press conference held in the
building of the Mexican Foreign Ministry. He said that the reelection issue was
something fabricated by his political opponents as an excuse to launch the June
28 coup against him.
Full story
Honduras' Zelaya meets Mexican
president
MEXICO CITY, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya on Tuesday praised the ongoing peaceful resistance in
his country to the government that forced him from office.
At a joint press conference with Mexican President
Felipe Calderon, Zelaya called the resistance "unheard-of" and thanked the
Mexican leader for his support. Full story
Zelaya's followers begin hunger strike
in Honduras
TEGUCIGALPA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Followers of the ousted
Honduran President Manuel Zelaya began Monday a hunger strike in front of the
building of the Professors College of Middle Education from Honduras to demand
his immediate return to power.
A group of people called Isis Obed Murillo group of
the People's Front of National Resistance also demanded the halt of the military
and police repression in the border with Nicaragua and cities where there are
protests.Full story
Zelaya's followers begin hunger strike
in Honduras
TEGUCIGALPA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Followers of the
ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya began Monday a hunger strike in front of
the building of the Professors College of Middle Education from Honduras to
demand his immediate return to power.
A group of people called Isis Obed Murillo group of
the People's Front of National Resistance also demanded the halt of the military
and police repression in the border with Nicaragua and cities where there are
protests. Full story
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