Ortega Says Honduras May Try To Provoke
Nicaragua
By FREDDY CUEVAS and ALEXANDRA OLSON (AP)
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega claimed Honduras'
coup-installed government might try to
provoke a border military incident "to
distract attention" from international
efforts to restore ousted President Manuel
Zelaya.
"There is a danger that, to try to distract
attention from the internal conflict they
themselves created, they might organize a
group of people with military training to
attack a Honduran army position, for that to
serve as a pretext for a retaliation against
Nicaragua," Ortega said in a speech in
Managua, the Nicaraguan capital.
"But they shouldn't think they would have a
cakewalk in Nicaragua," said Ortega, who has
been hosting Zelaya and a few hundred of his
supporters camped out near the Honduran
border.
The two countries' border was the scene of
much of the fighting in the 1980s Contra
war, in which U.S.-backed rebels fought
Ortega's Sandinista government, and Ortega
noted "we are not talking about an army that
doesn't have a history of aggression against
Nicaragua."
Though Ortega cited no evidence for the
current plot theory, and did not offer
details on when such a provocation might
occur, he said his country "is preparing for
was because we want peace."
The claims came as Honduras' interim leader
dampened hopes for a negotiated solution to
the country's crisis, capping days of mixed
signals by saying firmly that there's no way
the ousted president can return to power.
Marking a tougher stance, riot police fired
tear gas and arrested supporters of ousted
President Manuel Zelaya who blocked a main
artery leading into the Honduran capital
Friday. Interim President Roberto Micheletti
said his government would no longer tolerate
street blockades that regularly snarl
traffic in Tegucigalpa and other cities.
Micheletti's Foreign Ministry said in a
statement it "reserves the right" to cancel
visas for U.S. diplomatic personnel in
Honduras, in retaliation for Washington's
decision this week to revoke the diplomatic
visas of four Honduran officials. However
the government did not take any immediate
steps against U.S. diplomats.
Zelaya's return has been a key demand of
crisis mediator and Costa Rican President
Oscar Arias, who also has proposed amnesty
for the coup plotters and other measures as
part of a compromise deal.
But on Friday, a judge in Honduras issued
yet another set of arrest warrants against
Zelaya and three other former officials for
alleged falsification of public records,
fraud and abuse of authority. The charges
are related to the alleged misappropriation
of $2 million in government funds to pay for
ads by Zelaya's administration in January.
The interim government previously announced
Zelaya faces charges of treason, usurping
the powers of other branches of government,
abuse of authority and trying to undermine
Honduras' system of government.
Zelaya told a television station in Managua,
Nicaragua on Friday that "either they
reverse the coup, or there will be
generalized violence," although he later
told Mexico's Radio Formula that he wanted
to avoid any bloodshed.
Zelaya also announced plans to travel next
week to Mexico, where the government
confirmed he will meet with President Felipe
Calderon on Tuesday.
Micheletti, installed by Congress after
Zelaya was forcibly flown out of the country
on June 28, has sent mixed signals
throughout the week on whether he might
permit Zelaya's return as part of a deal. On
Thursday, a former government official who
has been in close contact with Micheletti
told The Associated Press that the leader
was open to compromising on the issue.
But later the same day, Micheletti denied
telling Arias he would soften his stance,
saying he was "a man of character who
maintains his positions."
Zelaya can return to Honduras only to face
trial, Micheletti said. "Under no
circumstances will we let him take
possession of the government."
Arias said Micheletti had asked him to send
an envoy to Honduras to jump-start
negotiations. He added that he was
considering the proposal, and that Zelaya's
return to power would be part of any talks.
Arias said the envoy would have to meet with
several sectors, "especially businessmen ...
who have been very reluctant to consider the
possibility that Zelaya be reinstated."
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley
said Friday that Washington holds out hopes
for a negotiated solution despite
Micheletti's remarks.
"We continue to believe that the agreement
or the points that President Arias has put
forward provides the best opportunity to
resolve the situation," Crowley said. "And
we encourage both the de facto regime and
President Zelaya to accept the terms."
Further complicating matters, Honduras'
Congress put off until Monday consideration
of a bill granting both sides amnesty from
prosecution — an important part of Arias'
plan. Congress had originally been scheduled
to take up the matter this week.
The interim government has long said it
hopes to resist international pressure until
November elections, which it hopes will
weaken calls to restore Zelaya.
Zelaya supporters are doing their best to
see that doesn't happen: Protesters who want
him reinstated blocked the main highway
leading out of Tegucigalpa on Friday, coming
under tear gas fire from riot police for the
second time in two days.
At least one person was injured and several
were arrested, police spokesman Daniel
Molina said. At least 25 were injured and 88
were arrested in clashes Thursday.
"We will not allow any more disturbances,"
Micheletti said. "We are going to bring
order to Honduras."
Thousands more Zelaya supporters marched
peacefully elsewhere in Tegucigalpa, led by
his wife, Xiomara Castro, who returned to
the capital after military blockades
prevented her from joining her husband in a
Nicaraguan town near the border.
"The coup leaders are desperate, and force
is the only recourse they have left, which
we will not accept or allow because we
believe in peace and liberty," Castro said.
"Those are our weapons."
Later Friday, the Micheletti government
lifted a dusk-to-dawn curfew for most of the
country. In effect almost continuously since
the June 28 coup, the curfew was still in
place along the border with Nicaragua where
many Zelaya supporters have gathered.
The United States has suspended millions of
dollars in military and development aid to
Honduras to protest Zelaya's ouster. It
stepped up the pressure this week, revoking
the diplomatic visas of four Honduran
officials and warning it was reviewing the
visas of all officials in the interim
government.
Zelaya adviser Milton Jimenez said a
proposal would be floated in the
Organization of American States for other
countries to extend visa cancellations to a
broader range of those involved in the coup,
as well as freezing their bank accounts.
Before his ouster, Zelaya had been trying to
organize a referendum to gauge popular
support for a constitutional overhaul,
defying court orders declaring the vote
illegal. Opponents say he was trying to
extend his presidential term, which ends
Jan. 27, but Zelaya denies any such
intentions.
Alexandra Olson reported from Mexico City.
Associated Press writers Morgan Lee in
Tegucigalpa, Filadelfo Aleman in Ocotal,
Nicaragua, and Marianela Jimenez in San
Jose, Costa Rica, contributed to this
report. |
