Zelaya's homecoming botched, Honduras in chaos

Supporters of Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya stand in front of riot police and soldiers outside Toncontin international airport in Tegucigalpa on Sunday. Zelaya was unable to land at the airport after security forces blocked the runway on orders of the initerim government, which ousted Zelaya in a coup. Reuters

TEGUCIGALPA: Already volatile, Honduras slid toward greater instability after soldiers blocked an airport runway to keep ousted President Manuel Zelaya from returning, and protests that had remained largely peaceful yielded their first death.

Police and soldiers blanketed the streets of the capital early yesterday, enforcing a sunset-to-sunrise curfew with batons and metal poles. Officials closed the country's main airport to all flights for 24 hours.

Soldiers clashed on Sunday with thousands of Zelaya backers massed at the airport in hopes of welcoming home the deposed leader removed a week earlier.

But military vehicles and soldiers blocked the runway. Pilots of the plane loaned by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez circled the airport and decided not to risk a crash.

Zelaya instead headed for El Salvador.

"I'm doing everything I can," Zelaya said live on Venezuela's Telesur television. "If I had a parachute I would immediately jump out of this plane."

"From tomorrow the responsibility will fall on the powers, particularly the United States," Zelaya added

He has vowed to try again today in his high-stakes effort to return to power in a country where all branches of government have lined up against him.

"I call on the Armed Forces of Honduras to lower their rifles," he said late Sunday at a news conference, flanked by the presidents of El Salvador, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador, and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, who flew there from Washington.

"I am risking myself personally to resolve the problems without violence," said Zelaya, who planned to fly later to Nicaragua. He urged the United Nations, the OAS, the United States and European countries to "do something with this repressive regime".

Insulza said he "is open to continuing all appropriate diplomatic overtures to obtain our objective".

But interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said he won't 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."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday in Geneva he is saddened by the loss of life in Honduras and he urged authorities to protect civilians, saying they should be allowed to express their opinions without being threatened.

He again called the coup unacceptable.

Clashes broke out Sunday afternoon between police and soldiers and the huge crowd of Zelaya supporters surrounding Tegucigalpa's international airport. At least one man was killed - shot in the head from inside the airport as people tried to break through a security fence, according to a photographer at the scene.

At least 30 people had

to be treated for injuries,

the Red Cross said, after security forces fired warning shots and tear gas.

When Zelaya's plane was turned away, his supporters began chanting "We want blue helmets!" - a reference to UN peacekeepers.

Karin Antunez, 27, was in tears.

"We're scared. We feel sad because these coup soldiers won't let Mel return, but we're not going to back down," she said, referring to Zelaya by his nickname. "We're the people and we're going to keep marching so that our president comes home."

Zelaya won wide international support after his ouster, but several presidents who originally were to accompany him decided it was too dangerous to fly on Zelaya's plane.

AP-AFP

(China Daily 07/07/2009 page11)