Washington(dpa) - The Organization of American States (OAS) voted
unanimously to suspend Honduras' membership over last week's coup,
but disagreed early Sunday on the ousted president's plan to return
to the country immediately.
The vote by 33 member nations made Honduras the second country to
be suspended from the hemispheric bloc, after Cuba in 1962, which may
subject it to cuts in economic aid as well as political isolation.
After the special session in the OAS Washington headquarters,
Manuel Zelaya announced his intention to return to Honduras on
Sunday, a week after he was sent into exile by soldiers.
'I will go to the country because it needs for peace to return,'
Zelaya said at the OAS headquarters in Washington.
Venezuela fully supported Zelaya, calling any argument against his
immediate return 'unacceptable.'
'We believe the foremost duty of this organization is to accompany
president Zelaya, who has decided, and to look for every avenue to
make his return unconditional and immediate,' Venezuelan Foreign
Minister Nicolas Maduro said. 'Otherwise, we would be legitimizing
the violence of the coup plotters.'
But the US, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Caribbean
nations expressed reservations over the lack of sufficient security
guarantees, and said it could worsen the unrest in the Central
American country.
'Canada believes for the moment the time is not right for the
return of Mr Zelaya to Honduras, that it is far from clear that
current conditions could guarantee his safety upon return,' said
Peter Kent, Canada's minister for the Americas.
Panama also urged Zelaya to reconsider his plan to return home
immediately, saying the time was not yet appropriate.
'We consider that isolating the de facto government of Honduras as
we have done today will produce the necessary elements to achieve the
goal that we all pursue, to restore president Zelaya in his post,'
Panama Foreign Minister Guillermo Cochez said.
OAS secretary general Jose Miguel Insulza, recently returned from
a visit to Tegucigalpa, said Zelaya would face serious risks and
should try to obtain 'guarantees' for his safety before travelling.
'There are risks, it is risky, the risk of being arrested and the
risk of clashes,' Insulza said. 'It is not a safe return.'
It was yet unclear early Sunday whether Zelaya would make the
trip, and which - if any - OAS officials, heads of state or Latin
diplomats would accompany him. Insulza said Zelaya's return would be
purely his own decision, as the OAS took no official position.
The de facto government said last week that Zelaya would be
arrested if he arrived back in the country.
Zelaya was ousted in a coup by soldiers acting on orders from the
country's Supreme Court, ostensibly to prevent him from attempting to
change the constitution and seek a second presidential term.
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