OAS to Vote on Suspending Honduras
By VOA News
04 July 2009
The Organization of American States is meeting Saturday to vote on suspending Honduras, which has refused its calls to re-instate toppled President Manuel Zelaya.
In an apparent show of defiance, the country's new government announced late Friday that it no longer recognizes the OAS charter and is withdrawing from the group.
OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza flew to Honduras to urge authorities to restore Mr. Zelaya, but the Honduran Supreme Court told him the decision is irreversible, and that the leftist leader will be arrested if he returns.
Mr. Zelaya says he will attempt to go back to Honduras on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, urged him not to return. In an appeal broadcast on radio and television, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez said a Zelaya return to the country at this time could unleash "a bloodbath."
The OAS chief is expected to join Mr. Zelaya when he attempts to return Sunday, along with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and others.
Thousands of Mr. Zelaya's supporters rallied in the capital Saturday, near the presidential palace.
On Friday, anti-Zelaya demonstrators took part in a rally featuring acting President Roberto Micheletti, who said he is the "president of all Honduras."
Coup leaders accuse Mr. Zelaya of treason and abuse of power. Soldiers forcibly expelled him from Honduras June 28, the day he planned to hold a referendum on a constitutional change that would allow him to seek another term. The Supreme Court had ruled the referendum was illegal.
The international community has widely condemned the coup. Several countries, including Spain, Italy and France, have withdrawn their ambassadors from Honduras.
The World Bank also has announced it is suspending loans to Honduras. The U.S. State Department is considering freezing aid to the Central American country.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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