Honduras’ interim president appeared to reverse course on Thursday and reject any official visit by the head of the Organization of American States (OAS), days after his government said OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza could come as an observer with a diplomatic delegation.
The delegation initially intended to visit Honduras this week in a bid to resolve the dispute over the June 28 coup that ousted president Manuel Zelaya.
But the mission was postponed as the interim government publicly questioned Insulza’s objectivity and said he could participate only as an observer.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Micheletti on Thursday told reporters Insulza was not welcome except as a tourist.
“We don’t want him to come,” Micheletti said. “He has no business coming to this country to impose anything.
“For us, he is not welcome in this country unless he comes as a tourist, to spend dollars ... for the good of our businessmen,” Micheletti said.
The comments came the same day that Insulza held a rare meeting with representatives of the interim government, which is not recognized by the OAS, at his home in Washington.
“We had a very long, very interesting and, I think, very constructive conversation,” Insulza said in a news release.
It was not clear if Insulza still intends to be part of the OAS delegation of foreign ministers and other officials.
About 5,000 Zelaya supporters gathered in front of the heavily guarded offices of federal investigators in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa on Thursday, demanding information about the whereabouts of 27 pro-Zelaya demonstrators arrested the previous day.
Zelaya, who was rousted from his home and flown into exile by Honduran soldiers in June, spent the day in Chile, his latest stop on a Latin American tour he hopes will solidify backing from the region’s governments.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet received Zelaya with head-of-state honors and reiterated her government’s recognition of him as the democratically elected president of Honduras.
“We will continue to support all actions” aimed at restoring Zelaya to the presidency, said Bachelet, whose country saw a CIA-backed coup in 1973 that ushered in the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
On Wednesday, Chile refused to recognize Honduran ambassador Francisco Martinez — who has reportedly declared himself an ally of Micheletti.
Meanwhile, Argentina has expelled the Honduran ambassador over her support for the coup that Zelaya, the foreign ministry announced on Thursday.
“At the request of the constitutional President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya the Argentine foreign ministry ordered the cessation of functions of the Honduran Ambassador to Buenos Aires, Carmen Eleonora Ortez Williams,” the ministry said in a statement.
Ortez voiced support for Micheletti, who is not recognized by the international community, the Argentine statement said.
Argentina said it would communicate with Honduras through the Honduran embassy in Washington.
Argentine President Cristina Kirchner has been a staunch defenders of Zelaya’s right to return to power unconditionally.
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