Honduras

OAS chief Insulza “not confident” of Zelaya turnaround

Article published on the 2009-07-03 Latest update 2009-07-03 13:04 TU

Police officers arrest a supporter of Honduras' ousted President Zelaya during a march in San Pedro Sula
(Photo: Reuters)

The Organisation of American States (OAS) Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza has said he is “not confident” that the leaders of the coup in Honduras will change their position, ahead of a visit to the crisis-hit country.

Insulza is due in Honduras on Friday to press demands that President Zelaya, who was ousted in Sunday’s coup and sent abroad, be reinstated.

Zelaya has been threatened with arrest if he returns to the country.

"I cannot say I am confident," Insulza told reporters on Thursday. "I will do everything I can but I think it will be very hard to turn things around in a couple of days."

Insulza said he was planning to talk with the main protagonists of the coup, notably members of the Supreme Court, Congress and the army, who clashed with Zelaya over his plans to change the constitution.

"We are not going to Honduras to negotiate,” he said. “We are going to Honduras to ask them to change what they have been doing now, and find ways in which we can return to normalcy."

The OAS threat to suspend Honduras from membership of the organisation led to the country’s interim leader Roberto Micheletti backing down from plans to hold elections on November 29. He said they could now take place earlier.

“As long as it’s within the law, there’s no problem,” said Micheletti. “I’d have no objection if that was a way to solve this kind of problem.”

Honduras has already felt a diplomatic backlash. All European Union countries have now withdrawn their ambassadors and there have been similar moves from central and South American countries such as Venezuela; Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Ecuador.

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, a key supporter of Zelaya, said that Caracas would be suspending oil shipments to Honduras while the World Bank has put a freeze on aid. Demonstrations within the country have also turned violent with soldiers clashing with protesters in San Pedro Sula and the capital Tegucigalpa.