Zelaya fails to land in Honduras as two die in clashes (3rd Roundup)

Jul 6, 2009, 3:52 GMT

   Tegucigalpa - A plane carrying ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya flew Sunday over Honduran capital Tegucigalpa but was unable to land at Toncontin airport, as clashes between his supporters and the military left at least two people dead.

Zelaya's plane eventually landed in San Salvador in neighbouring El Salvador.

   Zelaya flew on a private plane with Miguel d'Escoto, a Nicaraguan diplomat and president of the UN General Assembly.

   A second delegation headed by OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza with presidents Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina, Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay flew directly to El Salvador Sunday to show support for Zelaya.

   Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes was due to meet his guests at the airport, Salvadorian authorities confirmed.

   The Honduran government installed after the June 28 coup had said that it would not allow Zelaya to return and had vowed to arrest the deposed president if he did reach Honduran territory.

   'I have ordered that his return cannot be allowed, come what may,' Enrique Cortez, designated as foreign minister of the interim government, said early Sunday.

   In a telephone interview with Venezuelan-based broadcaster Telesur, Zelaya said that the civil aviation coordinator at Toncontin had told the pilot that the plane would be intercepted by the Central American country's Air Force if it did not leave Honduran airspace.

   'Faced with that situation, we have to proceed with what we had planned, which is the immediate reunion with the remaining members of the OAS (Organization of American States), the other presidents who are here in the area to see what solutions we can find,' Zelaya said.

   He said that the aircraft had been unable to land in Tegucigalpa: 'You cannot land with obstacles on the runway.'

   Zelaya vowed to try again Monday to reach Honduras.

   'What is happening here in Honduras is savagery,' he said.

   After Zelaya's plane left, the post-coup government extended the curfew to last from 6:30 pm Sunday to 5 am Monday 'to guarantee order and the security of the country and of all people.'

   At least two people were killed and two others were injured Sunday in clashes between security forces and hundreds of supporters of Zelaya at Toncontin airport.

   Police confirmed the deaths and said the clashes erupted when Zelaya's supporters attempted to occupy the runway. Television footage of the confrontation captured the sounds of gunfire.

   All roads leading to Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa were being blocked by police, and most flights had reportedly been suspended. Still, thousands of supporters of Zelaya gathered around the airport.

   Hours earlier in Washington, the OAS voted unanimously to suspend Honduras' membership over last week's coup. The vote by 33 member countries made Honduras the second country to be suspended from the hemispheric bloc, after Cuba in 1962, which may subject Honduras to cuts in economic aid as well as political isolation.

   Not all countries in the Americas thought that travelling now was the best decision for Zelaya. 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.

   Insulza, who visited Tegucigalpa himself Friday, said that Zelaya would face serious risks and should try to obtain 'guarantees' for his safety before travelling.

   Insulza stressed that Zelaya's return would be purely his own decision, as the OAS took no official position.

   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 to seek a second presidential term.