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Exiled president of Honduras returns to start 'reconciliation'
Ed Harris22 Sep 2009
The deposed president of Honduras made a dramatic return to its capital today, dodging arrest by sheltering at the Brazilian embassy before calling for negotiations with the leaders who forced him from the country at gunpoint.
The interim government initially ordered a 15-hour curfew after Manuel Zelaya's return. But that was extended to a 26-hour shutdown of the capital, Tegucigalpa, as thousands of Zelaya supporters gathered outside the embassy, dancing and cheering.
Electricity was cut off at the embassy and in areas with newspaper offices - it was exactly three months after the coup that ousted the left-wing leader.
Security vice-minister Mario Perdomo said checkpoints were set up on roads leading to the capital to keep out Mr Zelaya's supporters from other regions. Defence minister Lionel Sevilla said all flights to Tegucigalpa had been suspended indefinitely. Mr Zelaya said he sneaked into the country by travelling for 15 hours overland in a series of vehicles. His homecoming has created an unwelcome challenge for the interim government that threatened to throw him in jail if he returned.
As tensions mounted, de facto president Roberto Micheletti used a televised address to say: "A call to the government of Brazil: respect the judicial order against Mr Zelaya and turn him into Honduran authorities."
Mr Zelaya said he was trying to start negotiations on a solution to the standoff. "It is the moment of reconciliation," he said. He has been living in exile in Nicaragua since soldiers flew him from the country on 28 June. The crisis erupted after Mr Zelaya tried to hold a non-binding public consultation to ask people whether they supported moves to change the constitution.
The US and European Union have cut aid to Honduras to increase pressure for his return.
