HONDURAS COUP

Ousted leader leaves Panama

07-03-2009 | AP

The Honduras president left for an unknown destination after attending the installation ceremonies of President Martinelli

Panama Star PANAMA. International diplomats who have threatened and isolated Honduras' coup-spawned government said Thursday they would travel to Honduras in an attempt to persuade the interim leaders to restore the president they ousted, and who was in Panama.

It was a difficult balance for the Washington-based Organization of American States, which has taken the lead in international efforts to reverse the military overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya: It needs to engage the interim government to get Zelaya back, but can't be seen as compromising with a government it doesn't recognize.

OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza was planning to travel to Honduras on Friday, possibly accompanied by foreign ministers from the region, his deputy Albert Ramdin said. "We are not going to negotiate," he said in an interview on the sidelines of a Caribbean summit in Guyana.

"We want to see a return to the country of President Zelaya in safe and unconditional circumstances to resume his position," he said. "After that, they can solve through dialogue whatever differences there are domestically."

Insulza has already made phone calls to former Honduran presidents and religious leaders in Honduras, he said.

Talks with interim President Roberto Micheletti himself were apparently barred because the organization fears it would grant legitimacy to his military-backed government.

The OAS has given Hondurans until Saturday to restore Zelaya or be suspended from the organization, and Zelaya has delayed his planned return until after that deadline.

Nations around the world have promised to shun Micheletti, who was sworn in after the Sunday coup.

Micheletti backers have vowed to reject foreign pressure, and Honduran officials say they will arrest Zelaya on more than a dozen charges if he sets foot in the country.

Meanwhile, Panama’s Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela announced yesterday morning that Zelaya’s Chancellor, Patricia Rodas, confirmed Zelaya would be leaving Panama on Thursday night.

She also confirmed his family is in Honduras, taken in by different embassies. Upon leaving, Zelaya said he was planning a strategy with his allies and he will hold the world powers responsible if the de facto government does not resign.