MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Zelaya’s activities in embassy triggers controversy in Brazil

What is it Mr. Amorim: asylum or refuge?

The activity displayed by ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya from the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa has triggered controversy in Brazil’s political establishment and uncertainty about diplomatic jargon such as the extent of the “refuge” condition.

According to Brazilian experts and analysts the irruption of Zelaya last Monday in the Brazilian embassy has caused an unprecedented and difficult to explain conflict since there is no technical definition of “asylum” or “refuge”, and the embassy is at the heart of the Honduran internal political crisis, which can also be described as “interference in internal affairs”.

“There is no doubt that Brazil had to grant Mr. Zelaya political asylum if he requested it following his ousting by an act of force, but his unexpected return creates a completely different scenario”, said former Brazilian Foreign Secretary Luis Felipe Lampreia.

The Brazilian government insists it was “taken by surprise” and did not collaborate with the secret return of Zelaya to Honduras, who according to several political leaders, has converted the embassy into a “fortress” from where he calls on his followers, which is contrary to basic diplomatic rules and practice.

The opposition Popular Socialist Party has asked the Lula da Silva administration to explain how Mr. Zelaya arrived at the embassy in Tegucigalpa, and his presence, since “its not an asylum, it seems as Brazilian diplomacy is involved in a clandestine operation and a clear interference in the internal affairs of another country”.

Lawmaker Raul Jungmann said that the Brazilian embassy has become “an electoral stage” and Foreign Secretary Celso Amorim “must be responsible for what is happening”.

Senator Arthur Virgilio from Brazil’s main opposition party claims the “administration of Lula da Silva patched up all this which is a major unforgivable diplomatic blunder”.

In related news the IMF announced Thursday it was freezing relations and Honduras share of SDR distribution, following consultations with other country members, and “will only recognize Manuel Zelaya as the constitutional president of Honduras”.