Brazil
Not To Send Troops To Defend
Embassy in Honduras
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
does not intend to send troops to defend its
embassy in Honduras, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said Monday.
Jobim said he did not believe the Honduran
forces would attack the Brazilian citizens
in the embassy, where ousted Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya has been taking
refuge since Sept. 21.
It was Zelaya's third attempt to enter the
country, from which he was ousted in late
June by a military coup. Though the embassy
grants refuge to Zelaya, the Brazilian
government has denied any involvement with
his arrival in Honduras.
Since Zelaya entered the embassy building,
the interim Honduran government has been
pressuring Brazil to hand him over. The
Honduran military police have cut the
embassy's public services and blocked its
supplies.
Additionally, several conflicts between
pro-Zelaya groups and the police have taken
place in front of the embassy, killing two
people and leaving several injured.
Jobim said the Honduran crisis should be
solved in a peaceful way, adding that there
was nothing to be done in case the interim
Honduran government revoked the building's
diplomatic status.
On Sunday, the interim government said the
building would lose its diplomatic status in
10 days if Zelaya was not handed over to the
authorities.
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