Ousted President Zelaya back in Honduras

Sep 22, 2009, 4:10 GMT

   Tegucigalpa, Honduras - Honduras was placed under curfew as a new crisis deepened with the clandestine return of ousted president Manuel Zelaya, who took refuge in the Brazilian embassy as diplomatic pressure mounted for his restoration to office.

   The de facto government of Roberto Micheletti condemned the action Monday and demanded the Brazilian government hand over Zelaya, who was sent into exile in a June 28 coup.

   Micheletti repeated the demand during a nationwide broadcast, saying the only way Zelaya could legally return to the country would be to surrender to face criminal charges filed against him during his exile.

But diplomatic pressure in favour of Zelaya increased, as the Organization of American States (OAS) met in emergency session Monday and demand that he be reinstated as president until his term expires in January.

Earlier, the de facto government had denied his presence amid conflicting reports of precise whereabouts.

   From New York, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim confirmed that Zelaya was in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa and said that Brazil hopes to achieve 'a peaceful and quick solution for Zelaya's current situation.'

   'I spoke personally to Zelaya, and I welcomed him onto Brazilian territory,' Amorim said.

   The ousted president, who had been expected to speak to the UN General Assembly this week in New York, spoke to Venezuelan-based television channel Telesur from the embassy. He said 'thousands' of his supporters were gathered outside the building.

   'It is time for reconciliation, for meeting each other again so we can design the path that allows Honduras to get back the peace and quiet it needs so much. We are going to seek dialogue. We believe it is the best path,' Zelaya said.

   Micheletti, the former Congress speaker elevated to president after Zelaya's ouster, had earlier denied that Zelaya was back in the country at all.

   Past attempts by Zelaya to return to Honduras ended in standoffs. Micheletti insisted that Zelaya would be arrested on charges of treason and corruption if he were to set foot in the country.

   Zelaya continues to be recognized by the international community as the legitimate Honduran leader. The government set up after the coup is headed by Micheletti, who was next in line under presidential succession rules.

   Since the coup, Honduras has been suspended from membership in the OAS and has been isolated in the Americas and subjected to economic sanctions.

   Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS), said in a statement from Washington: 'I want to make a call to calm for all parties involved in this process and to tell the authorities of the de facto government that they have to take responsibility for the security of President Zelaya and of the Brazilian Embassy.'

   In New York, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged immediate negotiations to resolve the impasse without violence.

   'It's imperative that dialogue begin, that there be a channel of communication between President Zelaya and the de facto regime in Honduras. And it's also imperative that the return of President Zelaya does not lead to any conflict or violence, but instead that everyone act in a peaceful way to try to find some common ground,' she said.

   'We have certainly communicated very directly our expectation that there will be order and no provocation on either side. Both sides have supporters who need to be restrained and careful in their actions in the days ahead.'

   Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close ally of Zelaya, said in Caracas that the ousted president returned to Honduras 'over land, crossing rivers, risking his life with barely four companions.'

   Chavez, addressing Zelaya, said: 'Congratulations, you have done something heroic that will go down in the history of Honduras and Latin America.'

   Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, acting as mediator in the Honduran crisis, had drafted a proposal known as the San Jose Accord to end the standoff, but it has been rejected by the interim Honduran government. It calls for Zelaya to be reinstated as president to head a government of national reconciliation until his constitutional term ends in January.

   The next presidential election is scheduled for November 29.