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Honduras high court threatens Zelaya with arrest
Tegucigalpa (AFP) Aug 23, 2009 Honduras's Supreme Court has rejected a Costa Rica-brokered deal that would have restored ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power and sternly warned that he faces arrest if he returns. In a ruling late Saturday that fell in line with similar pronouncements by the military-backed regime, the high court said that Zelaya will not be allowed to return to power, and "cannot avoid having to submit to established procedures of the penal process" should he return to Honduras. Zelaya was ousted from power in a June 28 military-backed coup and replaced with interim leader Roberto Micheletti. The court decision also accused Zelaya of "crimes against the government, treason against the nation, abuse of power" and other misdeeds, as it affirmed the legitimacy of Micheletti's government. Micheletti's government had been installed as part of a lawful "constitutional succession," the high court found. The ruling may signal the death knell for the proposal mediated by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias that called for Zelaya to return to power, an amnesty for political crimes, and early elections. Under this agreement Micheletti would return to his pre-coup post as speaker of Honduras's parliament. Zelaya was originally elected as a moderate conservative but took a sharp turn to the left while in office, aligning himself with Venezuela's socialist leader Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales. Elected in 2006 for a non-renewable four-year term, Zelaya was ousted after forging ahead with controversial plans to hold a referendum to change the constitution so that he could extend his stay in office. The country's top court previously ruled the move was illegal, and backed the bloodless coup during which Zelaya was bundled in his pajamas onto a plane bound for Costa Rica. The latest ruling comes on the eve of the planned arrival in Honduras Monday of a delegation of foreign ministers from Organization of American State countries.
The delegation was hoping to negotiate a solution to the succession crisis gripping the impoverished Ceearlier related report Diplomatic sources said Argentine charge d'affaires Alejandro Amura was holed up at his residence on orders from Buenos Aires, which has refused to recognize the interim Honduran government that gained power in a June 28 coup. Amura is accompanied by an administrative aide, Alejandra Eguino, and her nine-year-old daughter, the sources told AFP, asking not to be named for fear of reprisals. The Honduran Foreign Ministry said the expulsion order was "strict reciprocity" for Argentina's decision to expel the Honduran ambassador in Buenos Aires because she supported the coup. The diplomatic fallout from the coup, in which President Manuel Zelaya was bundled out of the country, continued Friday as it emerged Spain would expel the Honduran ambassador in Madrid. In an exchange of letters with the Washington-based Organization of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza, Spain said it had decided to cancel the Honduran ambassadors credentials after he was sacked by Zelaya. Spain "finds it opportune to state that its firm position regarding the coup d'etat in Honduras is clear and without reservations," a letter from the Spanish mission to the OAS read. Argentina's embassy is located just a few blocks from that of Venezuela, where diplomats have also faced threats of expulsion from Tegucigalpa and have been locked up at their embassy for a month. Meanwhile, a delegation of six foreign ministers from OAS member countries is scheduled to travel to Honduras on Monday to seek a negotiated solution to the crisis gripping the impoverished Central American country, a Costa Rican official told AFP. The foreign ministers, whose mission has faced delays for the past two weeks, will meet on Monday and Tuesday with interim Honduran officials to seek a deal to reestablish constitutional order in the country, as proposed in a plan brokered last month by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. The delegation will include diplomatic chiefs from Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, as well as OAS Secretary General Miguel Insulza. ntral American country. It was not immediately clear whether the weekend high court ruling would affect their plans. The foreign ministers, whose mission has faced delays for the past two weeks, planned to meet Monday and Tuesday with interim Honduran officials. The delegation, led by OAS Secretary General Miguel Insulza, was to include diplomatic chiefs from Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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