Everett, Wash.
Published: Sunday, July 5, 2009

Soldiers keep Honduran president's plane from landing

Associated Press

 TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Ousted President Manuel Zelaya was kept from landing at the main Honduras airport today because the runway was blocked by military vehicles and groups of soldiers, some of them clashing with a crowd of thousands outside.

His Venezuelan pilot circled around the airport and decided not to risk a crash.

Zelaya instead landed in Nicaragua on his way to El Salvador, and vowed to try again Monday or Tuesday in his high-stakes effort to return to power in a country where all branches of government have lined up against him, including the military that shot up his house and sent him into exile in his pajamas a week earlier.

"I am the commander of the armed forces, elected by the people, and I ask the armed forces to comply with the order to open the airport so that there is no problem in landing and embracing with my people," Zelaya said from the plane. "Today I feel like I have sufficient spiritual strength, blessed with the blood of Christ, to be able to arrive there and raise the crucifix."

But interim President Roberto Micheletti insisted on preventing the plane from landing, and 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."

Micheletti alleged that Nicaragua is moving troops in an attempt at psychological intimidation, and warned them not to cross into Honduras, "because we're ready to defend our border." Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega called the allegation "totally false."

Violence broke out among the huge crowd surrounding the airport, with at least one man killed -- shot in the head from inside the airport as people tried to break through a security fence, according to an Associated Press photographer at the scene. At least 30 people were 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 U.N. peacekeepers.

Zelaya said he would consult with the presidents of Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, who flew from Washington to El Salvador.

Zelaya won wide international support after his military ouster, but the presidents decided it was too dangerous to fly on Zelaya's plane, which carried only his close advisers and staff, two journalists from the Venezuela-based network Telesur and U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, a leftist Nicaraguan priest and former foreign minister.

Honduras' new government has vowed to arrest Zelaya for 18 alleged criminal acts including treason and failing to implement more than 80 laws approved by Congress since taking office in 2006. Zelaya also refused to comply with a Supreme Court ruling against his planned referendum on whether to hold an assembly to consider changing the constitution.

Critics feared Zelaya might try to extend his rule and cement presidential power in ways similar to what his ally Hugo Chavez has done in Venezuela.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA