Jul 4, 2009, 19:54 GMT
Tegucigalpa - Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, the influential head of the Honduran Roman Catholic Church, on Saturday asked ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya to remain abroad and avoid a 'blood bath.'
'Not one single Honduran has died until today, please reconsider because then it would be too late,' Rodriguez Maradiaga said in a statement addressed to the ousted president.
Zelaya had planned to return to Honduras Saturday in the company of several other Latin American heads of state. However, given his attendance at a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) Saturday in Washington that could see Honduras ousted from the regional group, it was likely that the return would be delayed until Sunday.
The Honduran Church - which had been critical of the conservative- turned-left-winger Zelaya long before Sunday's coup that ousted him - also asked the OAS to 'pay attention to everything illegal that has been happening in Honduras, and not just from June 28.'
'We are telling the international community of the right we have to define our own destiny without unilateral pressures of any kind, seeking solutions that promote the good of all. We reject threats of the use of force or blockades of any kind that only make the poorest suffer,' the Honduran Bishops' Conference statement said.
The document noted that when Zelaya was arrested by the military 'he was no longer acting as president,' since he had violated the country's constitution.
Your Talkback on this Story