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Honduran military told to turn back Zelaya's jet
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-06 07:00
If Zelaya's plane is allowed to land, the others will land as well, Correa said. If not, Correa, the presidents of Paraguay and Argentina and Jose Miguel Insulza, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, planned to land in El Salvador. Honduras' new government has vowed to arrest Zelaya for 18 alleged criminal acts including treason and failing to implement more than 80 laws approved by Congress since taking office in 2006. Despite a Supreme Court ruling, Zelaya had also pressed ahead with a referendum on whether to hold an assembly to consider changing the constitution. Critics feared he might press to extend his rule and cement presidential power in ways similar to his ally Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. But instead of prosecuting him or trying to defeat his referendum idea at the ballot box, other Honduran leaders sent masked soldiers to fly Zelaya out of the country at gunpoint.
Its membership suspended by the OAS, the isolated interim government now faces trade sanctions and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidized oil, aid and loans. The immediate concern, however, was avoiding bloodshed. The Central American country's Roman Catholic archbishop and its human rights commissioner urged Zelaya to stay away, noting that no one has died so far in the standoff. "We have to defend our rights in a way that is personal but peaceful. Against the bayonets, we must put forth our conscience and our patriotism," Zelaya said as Venezuelan pilots flew him toward home. Zelaya supporters said they got the message as they converged on the airport, where at least five soldiers with binoculars and high-powered rifles watched from the roof with their weapons trained on the protesters. "We have no pistols or arms, just our principles," organizer Rafael Alegria said. "We have the legitimate right to fight for the defense of democracy and to restore President Zelaya." Large crowds of Zelaya's critics also have staged daily demonstrations to back Micheletti, the congressional president who was named by lawmakers to finish out the final six months of the Zelaya's term. Most of the ousted leader's supporters come from the working and middle classes of this nation, while his opponents are based in the ranks of the well-to-do — although the increasingly leftist approach of the wealthy rancher had eroded his popular support. |
