by the El Reportero’s news services
Thousand of people wait for the arrival of Zelaya.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Ousted President Manuel Zelaya was kept from landing at the main Honduras airport on Sunday because the runway was blocked by groups of soldiers with military vehicles, some of them lined up against a crowd of thousands outside. His Venezuelan pilot circled around the airport and then decided not to risk a crash.
Zelaya landed in Nicaragua and vowed to try again today or tomorrow in his high-stakes effort to return to power in a country where all branches of government have lined up against him, including the military that shot up his house and sent him into exile in his pajamas a week earlier.
“I am the commander of the armed forces, elected by the people, and I ask the armed forces to comply with the order to open the airport so that there is no problem in landing and embracing with my people,” Zelaya said from the plane.
“Today I feel like I have sufficient spiritual strength, blessed with the blood of Christ, to be able to arrive there and raise the crucifix.”
But interim President Roberto Micheletti insisted on preventing the plane from landing and said he would not negotiate until “things return to normal.”
“We will be here until the country calms down,” Micheletti said. “We are the authentic representatives of the people.”
But as this editions goes to press, supporters of 1ousted Honduras president Manuel Zelaya returned to the streets yesterday after two people died in clashes with the army, as the deposed leader headed to Washington to meet Hillary Clinton.
Zelaya said in Nicaragua he would travel later in the evening to Washington where he would hold talks with the US Secretary of State.
But vowing to return to Honduras, he promised not to repeat the mistake of announcing his return, as he did on Sunday, only to find his destination blocked by the military.
The crisis that led to the ouster of Honduran president Zelaya began to germinate in November 2008, when he announced his intention to call a referendum on whether to convene a constituent assembly to consider a package of constitutional reforms, including one which would allow Zelaya to be reelected.
Zelaya wanted to hold the actual convocation vote on November 29, simultaneously with the general elections.
He said he would not remain in power beyond the end of his current mandate in January 2010 — unless the people were to ask him to continue.
Zelaya won wide international support after his military ouster, but the presidents decided against flying on Zelaya’s plane, citing security concerns. Flying with Zelaya were close advisers and staff, two journalists from the Venezuela-based network Telesur, and U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, a leftist Nicaraguan priest, and former foreign minister.
Honduras’ new government has vowed to arrest Zelaya for 18 alleged criminal acts, including treason and failing to implement more than 80 laws approved by Congress since taking office in 2006.
Despite a Supreme Court ruling, Zelaya had also pressed ahead with a referendum on whether to hold an assembly to consider changing the constitution.
Critics feared he might press to extend his rule and cement presidential power in ways similar to his ally Hugo Chávez in Venezuela.
But instead of prosecuting him or trying to defeat his referendum idea at the ballot box, other Honduran leaders sent masked soldiers to fly Zelaya out of the country at gunpoint, and Congress installed Micheletti in his place.
On July 5, the Organization of American States (OAS) suspended Honduras by 33 votes (with one abstention – Honduras) and two people were killed by soldiers at Tegucigalpa airport as the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, made an unsuccessful attempt to return to the country… Latin News, The Australian, and Associated Press contributed to this report.
