Tegucigalpa - Post-coup Honduras Saturday said it was
leaving the Organisation of American States, the interim government
announcing it would not meet the 'one-sided' demands of the OAS.
The statement came after OAS secretary-general Jose Miguel Insulza
said Friday he had failed to make any diplomatic progress with the
post-coup leaders who ousted President Manuel Zelaya last weekend.
The Supreme Court rejected demands by the OAS to allow Zelaya to
return to office. The OAS set a deadline of Saturday to reinstate
Zelaya, the democratically-elected president, or face suspension from
membership in the OAS.
'I didn't expect them to change their mind,' Inzulza told
reporters in the Honduran capital.
Zelaya, who faces arrest back in Honduras, was planning to return
to his country Saturday to demand back the presidency. He was to be
escorted by Presidents Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina
and Rafael Correa of Ecuador.
UN General Assembly President, Miguel d'Escoto of Nicaragua, also
declared his readiness to accompany Zelaya back to Tegucigalpa after
the UN condemned the coup. The General Assembly has acknowledged
Zelaya as the rightful president and denied recognition to Roberto
Micheletti - the former Congress speaker who was designated president
after Sunday's coup d'etat.
Insulza spoke after meeting with representatives of the official
institutions, including the Supreme Court, and with supporters of
Zelaya. He is to present the results of his meetings to the OAS
Saturday in Washington.
Hours before Insulza's arrival, tens of thousands of people took
to the streets of Tegucigalpa to demonstrate both for and against
Zelaya.
A presidential election was scheduled for November, and the
interim government headed by Micheletti has said they would stick to
that date.
The military, Supreme Court and Congress charged Zelaya was making
a power grab by trying to change the constitution so he could run for
another term of office.
A number of countries, including all members of the European
Union, have withdrawn their ambassadors from Honduras to protest the
ouster of a democratically-elected president.
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