Tegucigalpa - A plane carrying ousted Honduran President
Manuel Zelaya flew Sunday over Honduran capital Tegucigalpa but was
unable to land at Toncontin airport, as clashes between his
supporters and the military left at least two people dead.
According to Salvadoran Communications Minister David Rivas,
Zelaya's plane eventually left for San Salvador.
Zelaya flew on a private plane with Miguel d'Escoto, a Nicaraguan
diplomat and president of the UN General Assembly.
A second delegation headed by OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel
Insulza with presidents Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina,
Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay flew directly
to El Salvador Sunday to show support for Zelaya.
Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes was due to meet his guests at
the airport, Salvadorian authorities confirmed.
The Honduran government installed after the June 28 coup had said
that it would not allow Zelaya to return and had vowed to arrest the
deposed president if he did reach Honduran territory.
'I have ordered that his return cannot be allowed, come what may,'
Enrique Cortez, designated as foreign minister of the interim
government, said early Sunday.
In a telephone interview with Venezuelan-based broadcaster
Telesur, Zelaya said that the civil aviation coordinator at Toncontin
had told the pilot that the plane would be intercepted by the Central
American country's Air Force if it did not leave Honduran airspace.
'Faced with that situation, we have to proceed with what we had
planned, which is the immediate reunion with the remaining members of
the OAS (Organization of American States), the other presidents who
are here in the area to see what solutions we can find,' Zelaya said.
He said that the aircraft had been unable to land in Tegucigalpa:
'You cannot land with obstacles on the runway.'
Zelaya vowed to try again Monday to reach Honduras.
'What is happening here in Honduras is savagery,' he said.
After Zelaya's plane left, the post-coup government extended the
curfew to last from 6:30 pm Sunday to 5 am Monday 'to guarantee order
and the security of the country and of all people.'
At least two people were killed and two others were injured Sunday
in clashes between security forces and hundreds of supporters of
Zelaya at Toncontin airport.
Police confirmed the deaths and said the clashes erupted when
Zelaya's supporters attempted to occupy the runway. Television
footage of the confrontation captured the sounds of gunfire.
All roads leading to Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa were being
blocked by police, and most flights had reportedly been suspended.
Still, thousands of supporters of Zelaya gathered around the airport.
Hours earlier in Washington, the OAS voted unanimously to suspend
Honduras' membership over last week's coup. The vote by 33 member
countries made Honduras the second country to be suspended from the
hemispheric bloc, after Cuba in 1962, which may subject Honduras to
cuts in economic aid as well as political isolation.
Not all countries in the Americas thought that travelling now was
the best decision for Zelaya. 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.
Insulza, who visited Tegucigalpa himself Friday, said that Zelaya
would face serious risks and should try to obtain 'guarantees' for
his safety before travelling.
Insulza stressed that Zelaya's return would be purely his own
decision, as the OAS took no official position.
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 to seek a second presidential term.
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