Zelaya Threatens Violence if He is not Reinstated

Zelaya threatens violence
if he is not reinstated


By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
and the A.M. Costa Rica staff


The ousted president of Honduras has threatened violence against the interim government if he is not restored to power.

José Manuel Zelaya, in a Nicaraguan television interview, said Friday there will be "generalized violence" if the coup is not reversed.

Meanwhile, Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega, who has been hosting Zelaya, warned the Honduras interim government that Nicaragua's forces are prepared to fight if attacked. He said that he thought the interim Honduran government might stage a raid into Nicaragua to distract attention from the internal problems.

Earlier Friday, the interim leader of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, said there is no way ousted President Zelaya will return to office, dampening hopes of a negotiated settlement to the political crisis in Honduras.

The country has been politically divided since Zelaya was forced from office and flown out of the country June 28 to Costa Rica. The military says he was illegally trying to change the constitution to extend his term.

Supporters of the ousted president took to the streets of the Honduran capital again Friday. Police fired tear gas at demonstrators who blocked the main highway out of Tegucigalpa. At least 88 people were arrested on Thursday during similar protests.

Micheletti said Sunday that there would be no more blocked roads in Honduras and that the police and military would clear them of protestors. A curfew was lifted except for areas along the border with Nicaragua.

Zelaya is supposed to travel to México to meet with President Felipe Calderón there Tuesday. He met with Hugo Llorens, the U.S. ambassador in Nicaragua and said he urged Washington to apply more pressure on the interim government.

Friday in Honduras a judge issued another set of arrest warrants for the ousted president. They alleged misappropriation of some $2 million in public funds.