 |
| Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president of Honduras, addresses the U.N. General Assembly, 30 Jun 2009 |
Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has addressed the United Nations General Assembly, appealing for international support for his reinstatement.
President Zelaya spoke to the body moments after it passed a resolution condemning what it called the coup against him and demanded Mr. Zelaya be restored to power.
Mr. Zelaya called the resolution historic and referred to the soldiers and officials who removed him from power as "usurpers."
Mr. Zelaya said he plans to return to Honduras Thursday, four days after he was flown out of the nation, still in his pajamas. But Tuesday, Honduran officials issued a statement saying he would be arrested if he returned to the nation.
Honduran soldiers, acting on orders of the Supreme Court, arrested Mr. Zelaya early Sunday and flew him to Costa Rica. The United States and other countries have condemned the action and say Mr. Zelaya is still president of Honduras.
In Washington, the OAS is scheduled to hold another special session to discuss the situation.
 |
| Honduran soldiers chase supporters of ousted Pres. Manuel Zelaya after violence broke out in Tegucigalpa, 29 Jun 2009 |
On Monday, Honduran security forces clashed with more than 1,000 demonstrators protesting the coup. Police fired tear gas to push back the protesters massing outside the presidential palace in the capital, Tegucigalpa.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said the ouster was "not legal" and that the United States still views Mr. Zelaya as the Honduran president. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for Honduras to restore full democratic and constitutional order.
U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann said the ouster was a "throwback to another era that we had hoped was now a distant nightmare."
The Honduran Supreme Court said it ordered the army to arrest Mr. Zelaya because of his attempt to hold a referendum on changing the constitution to allow him to run for another term. The court had ruled the referendum illegal.
Honduran lawmakers Sunday appointed parliament leader Roberto Micheletti as president. Mr. Micheletti said his rise to power was legal and not a coup. He is facing growing international pressure from foreign governments, including the United States, Mexico and Venezuela.
Mr. Zelaya was elected in 2006 to a four-year term. The 1982 constitution bans re-election. Despite his ouster, he has pledged to serve out his term.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
E-mail
Print
