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Ousted Honduran leader returns home - briefly
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-25 09:32
Interim Deputy Security Minister Mario Perdomo told The Associated Press that authorities didn't bother to arrest Zeyala because he barely entered Honduras. "Zelaya made a show of entering Honduras, he put one foot in, and left," Perdomo said. "And he did this in a dead zone of the frontier, which we tolerated." Zelaya said his reinstatement is necessary to preserve democracy and prevent coups, not only in Honduras but across a region that has seen many in its turbulent political history. "The people of Latin America and the world have been losing their rights," Zelaya said. Thousands of Zelaya opponents demonstrated in San Pedro Sula, the country's second-largest city. An equal number of supporters flocked to the border to support Zelaya's return, and soldiers manned checkpoints on highways leading to the border area to prevent them from getting to El Paraiso. Some made their way on foot after bus drivers refused to risk the trip. The government said the border curfew was intended to preserve the peace, but by late afternoon authorities did not appear to be enforcing it. All governments in the Western Hemisphere have condemned the coup, in which soldiers acting on orders from Congress and the Supreme Court arrested Zelaya and flew him into exile. Nations on both sides of the political spectrum say Zelaya's return to power is crucial to the region's stability. But Washington and the Organization of American States have asked Zelaya to be patient and not return on his own, fearing it would plunge the country into chaos.
She said it would not help restore democratic and constitutional order in Honduras. An initial attempt to fly home on July 5 was frustrated when officials blocked the runway of the Honduran capital's airport. Honduras' Supreme Court ordered Zelaya's arrest before the coup because he ignored court orders to drop plans for a referendum on whether to form a constitutional assembly. The military decided to send Zelaya into exile instead. The negotiations stalled after neither side accepted a proposal from Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, the chief mediator. Arias called for Zelaya's reinstatement, amnesty for the coup leaders and early elections.
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