Tegucigalpa - New protests planned Monday were increasing
tensions in Honduras, where clashes over the weekend between police
and supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya left two people dead
and about ten wounded.
The government set up after the June 28 coup prevented Zelaya's
return to the Central American country Sunday.
On Monday, both Zelaya's supporters and those who backed the
interim government led by former Congress speaker Roberto Micheletti
were planning demonstrations.
The interim government was the target of strong criticism over
censorship of the media, as international television channels and
radio stations were cut off whenever they featured comments by Zelaya
or anyone else opposing the coup.
Sunday's violence around Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa led
Honduran authorities to extend the curfew, while classes were
suspended in schools and universities. Tegucigalpa's streets were
deserted Monday, with shuttered shops and closed public buildings.
'The people are going to keep fighting in the streets because that
is a right that the constitution grants them,' said one Zelaya
supporter.
When Zelaya arrived in El Salvador on Sunday, after a failed
attempt to return to Tegucigalpa, he addressed his country's security
forces and asked them not to 'point their rifles or kill their
Honduran brothers.'
'I order you, in the name of God, that repression against the
Honduran people ends,' he said.
Jose Miguel Insulza, the secretary-general of the Organization of
American States, and presidents Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of
Argentina, Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay met
with Zelaya in El Salvador. Zelaya vowed to return to his country
soon.
Meanwhile, in Honduras, local media were starting to talk about
the possibility of holding elections earlier than the scheduled date
of late November.
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