OAS suspends Honduras, divided on president's return (Roundup)

Jul 5, 2009, 8:20 GMT

Washington(dpa) - The Organization of American States (OAS) voted unanimously to suspend Honduras' membership over last week's coup, but disagreed early Sunday on the ousted president's plan to return to the country immediately.

The vote by 33 member nations made Honduras the second country to be suspended from the hemispheric bloc, after Cuba in 1962, which may subject it to cuts in economic aid as well as political isolation.

   After the special session in the OAS Washington headquarters, Manuel Zelaya announced his intention to return to Honduras on Sunday, a week after he was sent into exile by soldiers.

   'I will go to the country because it needs for peace to return,' Zelaya said at the OAS headquarters in Washington.

Venezuela fully supported Zelaya, calling any argument against his immediate return 'unacceptable.'

   'We believe the foremost duty of this organization is to accompany president Zelaya, who has decided, and to look for every avenue to make his return unconditional and immediate,' Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said. 'Otherwise, we would be legitimizing the violence of the coup plotters.'

   But the US, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Caribbean nations expressed reservations over the lack of sufficient security guarantees, and said it could worsen the unrest in the Central American country.

   'Canada believes for the moment the time is not right for the return of Mr Zelaya to Honduras, that it is far from clear that current conditions could guarantee his safety upon return,' said Peter Kent, Canada's minister for the Americas.

   Panama also urged Zelaya to reconsider his plan to return home immediately, saying the time was not yet appropriate.

   'We consider that isolating the de facto government of Honduras as we have done today will produce the necessary elements to achieve the goal that we all pursue, to restore president Zelaya in his post,' Panama Foreign Minister Guillermo Cochez said.

   OAS secretary general Jose Miguel Insulza, recently returned from a visit to Tegucigalpa, said Zelaya would face serious risks and should try to obtain 'guarantees' for his safety before travelling.

   'There are risks, it is risky, the risk of being arrested and the risk of clashes,' Insulza said. 'It is not a safe return.'

It was yet unclear early Sunday whether Zelaya would make the trip, and which - if any - OAS officials, heads of state or Latin diplomats would accompany him. Insulza said Zelaya's return would be purely his own decision, as the OAS took no official position.

   The de facto government said last week that Zelaya would be arrested if he arrived back in the country.

   Zelaya was ousted in a coup by soldiers acting on orders from the country's Supreme Court, ostensibly to prevent him from attempting to change the constitution and seek a second presidential term.