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Ousted Honduran leader returns home - briefly

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-25 09:32

EL PARAISO, Honduras: Ousted President Manuel Zelaya took a symbolic step into his homeland Friday, vowing to reclaim his post a month after soldiers flew him into exile.

Ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya sings the national anthem at the Las Manos border station July 24, 2009. Zelaya took a few symbolic steps inside Honduras on Friday but then backed away from a confrontation with Honduran security forces waiting to arrest him. [Agencies]

But he stayed less than 30 minutes before returning to Nicaragua, saying the risk of bloodshed was too great. He said he would give talks with the coup-installed government another try.

"I am not afraid but I'm not crazy either," Zelaya told the Venezuela-based television network Telesur. "There could be violence and I don't want to be the cause."

Shortly before Zelaya's crossing, his supporters clashed with soldiers and police nearby after the government ordered everyone off the streets along the 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) border with Nicaragua in a noon-to-dawn curfew. Police said one demonstrator was slightly injured.

Wearing his trademark white cowboy hat, Zelaya walked up to a sign reading "Welcome to Honduras" and smiled to cheering supporters at the remote mountain pass flanked by banana trees.

Related readings:  Zelaya says to return home this weekend  Honduras authorities to consider Zelaya return  Honduras orders Venezuelan diplomats expelled  Honduran interim government extends curfew until Monday  Zelaya says not to return to talks with post-coup govt

He stopped a few steps into Honduran territory, speaking to nearby military officials on his mobile phone.

"I've spoken to the colonel and he told me I could not cross the border," Zelaya said. "I told him I could cross."

But he soon went back to Nicaragua and said he was ready to return to the negotiating table.

"The best thing is to reach an understanding that respects the will of the people," Zelaya said.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Zelaya's trip "reckless." International leaders had urged Zelaya not to go home without an agreement out of fear it would lead to bloodshed. Zelaya had said he had no choice after US-backed talks with his ousters failed to reinstate him.

The interim government has insisted it will arrest Zelaya once he returns, ignoring threats of sanctions from nations worldwide if he is not reinstated. Soldiers formed a human chain near the border crossing Friday but did not move to approach Zelaya.

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