MEXICO CITY, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya on Wednesday called for new international laws
specifically applying to coups and slammed what he called "lukewarm" U.S.
pressure against the interim Honduran government during a two-day visit to
Mexico.
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) Photo
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"There is no specific measure in international laws
that recognizes a coup as a crime nor that designates the punishment that
follows a coup," Zelaya said in a speech to Mexico's upper legislative house,
the Senate. "The coup in Honduras has exposed all of this."
He said that coups should be treated as a crime
against humanity because they violate citizens' right to vote.
Zelaya also told Mexico's Senate that the United
States had not done enough to bring down the post-coup regime.
Zelaya's remarks came after media published a letter
from the U.S. State Department that said the U.S. policy on Honduras' political
crisis was not based on supporting any particular individual, indicating
softening support for Zelaya.
"We have rejected calls for crippling economic
sanctions and made clear that all states should seek to facilitate a solution
without calls for violence and with respect for the principle of
nonintervention," Richard Verma, U.S. assistant secretary for legislative
affairs, said in the letter that was dated Tuesday.
In his speech, Zelaya said the United States had been
"lukewarm in acting," and urged Mexico's President Felipe Calderon to raise the
topic this weekend with U.S. President Barack Obama who will attend the Security
and Prosperity Partnership Summit in northern Mexican city Guadalajara.
"The U.S. is also at risk if violence increases in
the region," Zelaya added. The United States is Honduras' biggest trading
partner and the largest single aid donor.
Zelaya also appeared to be more confident of
returning to serve out his term in Honduras, which ends next January, and said
Honduras' business people had visited him in Nicaragua to offer him support.
Zelaya has a base in Nicaragua close to the Honduras
border, where he had tried in vain to enter his own country.
In Honduras, Romeo Vasquez, head of Honduras' armed
forces, told media on Wednesday that the military would respect whatever
solution reached under the mediation of Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias.
Arias has hosted mediation between Zelaya and interim
government leader Roberto Micheletti. He has proposed a seven-point solution
which includes Zelaya's return as president and an amnesty for coup leaders.
However, Micheletti has repeatedly said Zelaya could
not return to his country as president, but only to stand trial for treason.
Domestic pressure increased as Honduran media
reported on Wednesday that pro-Zelaya students protested and clashed with police
near a university in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.
It was also reported that staff at 28 hospitals,
including 15,000 nurses, declared an indefinite strike, joining public school
teachers who have been off their jobs for weeks.
Zelaya said the coup plotters had underestimated
opposition both at home and abroad and from all sides of the political spectrum.
Mexico's President Calderon made clear his opposition
to the de facto government at a welcoming ceremony for Zelaya on Tuesday.
"From the day of the despicable coup, we have shown
solidarity with Honduras and supported the reinstatement of Zelaya as the
country's president," Calderon said.
Zelaya, who arrived in Mexico City on Monday night,
will travel to Brazil on Wednesday at the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva, continuing his "diplomatic crusade" in Latin America to
seek support.
MEXICO CITY, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' deposed
President Manuel Zelaya told a public event in Mexico City that he believes
far-right U.S. politicians had helped bring about the June 28 coup that ousted
him.
"There is a financial industry group in the coup that
is supported by hawks in Washington, although not by the government of (U.S.
President Barack) Obama, but by deep conservatives," he said at a ceremony held
Wednesday morning at Mexico City's former palace of government, where he
received the key of the city from Mayor Marcelo Ebrard. Full story¡¡
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
