MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mounting pressure for letting Zelaya leave embassy in Honduras

The de facto regime of Micheletti wants Zelaya to formally resign before he is allowed to leave the county

Honduran president elect Porfirio Lobo said on Sunday he is committed to enable ousted president Manuel Zelaya to leave the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, where he remains under refuge following a frustrated attempt last week.

Lobo said he had plans to meet this week with Zelaya in the Dominican Republic, but the planned exit of Zelaya to Mexico last Wednesday was cancelled.

The Mexican government sent an aircraft to Honduras to pick up Zelaya and his family but he was impeded from leaving when the de facto regime, under Roberto Micheletti, said he could only depart with political asylum status.

Zelaya who sneaked back into Honduras in September, after having been ousted by a coup June 28th was planning to travel to Mexico as “distinguished visitor” but the de facto regime demanded he officially resigns to his reinstatement claims.

“I will help all that is possible to facilitate the exit of former president Mel Zelaya but I must insist that the safe-conduct (to leave the country) and the amnesty and its terms are a decision from the authorities”, said Lobo on his return to Honduras from Miami.

Meantime the Dominican Republic presidency said in a release that the “talks between Lobo and Zelaya will have to be postponed until the de facto government creates the conditions for president Zelaya to leave and hold talks, as is his wish”.

Lobo thanked Dominica president Leonel Fernandez but “for the moment, as you know, there will be no meeting”.

Zelaya has a pending arrest warrant allegedly for violation of the Honduran Constitution for having tried to organize the day he was ousted, a popular consultation that would have opened the way for a possible re-election, but which had been specifically banned by a judge.

From Lima Peruvian President Alan Garcia and his Brazilian peer Lula da Silva condemned the de facto regime of Honduras for not allowing Mr. Zelaya to fly to Mexico.

“The presidents condemn in the most emphatic way the unacceptable negative by the de facto authorities from Honduras to grant an exit safe-conduct for Mexico to the constitutional president Manuel Zelaya Rosales” according to a joint statement.

Garcia and Lula da Silva said such an attitude was completely contrary to International Law. The frustrated trip to Mexico was in the context of ongoing efforts to reach a solution for dialogue, in conformity with OAS resolutions”.

The Mexican government said on Sunday it was prepared to grant ousted president Zelaya any “migratory figure” that helps end the crisis.

“We are willing to grant any of the figures contemplated in our legislation, but we also believe it is something to be defined when transfer is effectively taking place” said Chancellor Patricia Espinosa.

Meantime the Spanish government praised and gave full support to talks between president elect Lobo and ousted president Zelaya.

“We are hopeful of a national dialogue that will help definitively overcome the Honduran crisis” said the Spanish government adding that in permanent coordination with “our partners in Latinamerica, Europe and United States, we will continue with all necessary collaboration to make possible this great national accord in Honduras which the international community is demanding”.