- Zelaya greets
“sympatizantes†at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa:
Photo: REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
Ousted President Manuel Zelaya was back in Honduras on Monday
almost three months after he was toppled in a coup d’etat in Honduras.
"I was traveling for around 15 hours using different routes and different methods of transport to arrive
here and call for dialogue, which is my role as the elected president of Honduras," Zelaya told Reuters by telephone from inside the Brazilian embassy. Several thousand Zelaya supporters gathered
outside while a military helicopter clattered overhead.
Zelayas surprisingly comeback has increased political pressure on the country's de facto ruler Roberto Micheletti to find a political dialogue -
and has also increased the risk of more violence. A national curfew was declared after the news of Zelayas comeback was broken.The Hondurans have the courage to
reactThe next days will show if the political crisis can be solved in a peaceful way, says DCA-coordinator Katja Levin from Central America.
“Like other institutions and NGOs
DanChurchAid closed down its office Tuesday as the social ambience and political situation in the capital was tense and insecure,†tells country coordinator for DanChurchAid (DCA)
Katja Levin, who is actually visiting Central America.
Katja Levin also tells that there is an increasing conscience within the democratic movement in Honduras about the need for constitutional
changes that can further a more democratic and just society.
â€The positive aspects of the actual crisis are that a lot of Hondurans no longer passively are sitting and looking at
corrupt politicians and an elite that is getting still richer. Now the Hondurans have grasped the opportunity and the courage to react and to think that a change is possible,†says
Katja Levin from Central America.International pressure on Honduras
DCA has together with Honduran and European networks of partners and sister organizations (ACT-Honduras and CIFCA) worked on and supported a political
agenda to maintain an international political pressure on the de facto-government of Roberto Micheletti.
In Denmark the Danish minister for Cooperation, Ulla Tørnæs, has
terminated the Danish aid for the institution of the Ombudsmand in Honduras as it turned out that it supported the coup d’etat against Mel Zelaya.EU urges peaceful solutionLast week The European Union warned the de facto government of Honduras that it risked further sanctions unless a peaceful solution is found to
the crisis triggered by the coup against President Manuel Zelaya.
A statement approved by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels said the 27-nation bloc would continue to restrict political contacts
with the de facto government installed after the June 28 military takeover and warned of tougher sanctions.The European Union reaffirmed its support for mediation by Costa Rican President Oscar
Arias and the Organization of American States and called on all parties to work for a peaceful negotiated solution and a restoration of the constitutional order ahead of November elections.
It
also expressed deep concern about reported human rights violations, including threats to rights activists, arbitrary detentions and repression of peaceful demonstrators. "The resolution is
important because it means a zero tolerance towards the coup in Honduras and against the authorities that participated in this coup or against the people that are now an obstacle to coming back to
normality," Diego Lopez Garrido, Spanish junior minister for EU affairs said.
The European Union Presidency reacted promptly to the new situation in Honduras.
In a statement Tuesday the
Presidency of the European Union underlines the importance of a negociated solution to the current crisis in Honduras. The European Union urges all concerned to refrain from any action that might
increase tension and violence.
Read the statement.
http://www.se2009.eu/en/meetings_news/2009/9/22/presidency_statement_on_honduras
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Brazil's Cities Minister Marcio Fortes (front, 3rd R) rides a bicycle to celebrate World Carfree Day at the Esplanada dos Ministerios in Brasilia September 22, 2009. REUTERS/Roberto Jayme (BRAZIL POLITICS SOCIETY ...
