Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Sep 22 (DPA) Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya returned Monday to the Central American country and had taken refuge in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa.
Earlier, the de facto government had denied his presence amid conflicting reports as to his precise whereabouts.
From New York, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim confirmed that Zelaya was in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, and said that Brazil hopes to achieve “a peaceful and quick solution for Zelaya’s current situation”.
“I spoke personally to Zelaya and I welcomed him onto Brazilian territory,” Amorim said.
The ousted president, who had been expected to speak before the UN General Assembly in New York this week, spoke to Venezuelan-based television channel Telesur from the embassy. He said “thousands” of his supporters were gathered outside the building.
“It is time for reconciliation, for meeting each other again so we can design the path that allows Honduras to get back the peace and quiet it needs so much. We are going to seek dialogue, we believe it is the best path,” Zelaya said.
Roberto Micheletti, the former Congress speaker designated as president after Zelaya’s ouster, had earlier denied that Zelaya was back in the country at all.
Past attempts by Zelaya to return to his country have ended in standoffs. Micheletti has long insisted that he would be arrested if he were to set foot in Honduras, and charges have been filed against him for treason and corruption.
Zelaya was removed from office by a military-backed coup June 28, but he continues to be recognised by the international community as the country’s legitimate leader. The government set up after the coup is headed by Micheletti, who was next in line under presidential succession rules.
Since the coup, the country has been suspended from membership in the Organisation of American States (OAS). It has generally been isolated in the Americas and subjected to economic sanctions.
Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the OAS, said in a statement from Washington, “I want to make a call to calm for all parties involved in this process, and to tell the authorities of the de facto government that they have to take responsibility for the security of President Zelaya and of the Brazilian Embassy.”
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the US embassy in Tegucigalpa was trying to determine the purpose for Zelaya’s visit and urged both sides to exercise restraint and refrain from taking steps that would provoke violence.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez – a close ally of Zelaya – said in Caracas that the ousted president returned to his country “over land, crossing rivers, risking his life with barely four companions”.
“Congratulations, you have done something heroic that will go down in the history of Honduras and Latin America,” Chavez said, addressing Zelaya.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias – acting as mediator in the Honduran crisis – had drafted a proposal, known as the San Jose Accord, to end the standoff, but it has been rejected by the interim Honduran government. It calls for Zelaya to be reinstated as president to head a government of national reconciliation until his constitutional term ends in January.
A presidential election had been scheduled for Nov 29 prior to Zelaya’s ouster.
