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OAS suspends Honduras over coup
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-06 07:46
WASHINGTON: The Organization of American States (OAS) suspended Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to reinstate President Manuel Zelaya, who was toppled in a coup. The OAS took the rare step to suspend one of its members after the interim government ignored an OAS ultimatum by the 34-member body to restore Zelaya. It was the strongest move yet by foreign governments to isolate the caretaker government. In Central America's first coup since the Cold War era Zelaya, a leftist who took power in 2006 and had been due to leave office in 2010, was ousted by troops and sent into exile last Sunday. The OAS, in a resolution passed by a 33-0 vote late on Saturday night, with Honduras itself not voting, also encouraged member states to review their relations with Honduras. Venezuela, Brazil and others had sought to include language that would have mandated a cutoff in bilateral cooperation with Honduras - wording that was opposed by the United States, Canada, Mexico and Colombia among others, diplomats said. The suspension could complicate access to credits from regional lender Inter-American Development Bank for Honduras, a coffee and textile exporter that is the hemisphere's third poorest country. The bank said last week it was suspending loans over the coup. Reuters
(China Daily 07/06/2009 page6) |
