Honduras' interim government on Sunday expelled personnel from the Organization of American States looking to set up a mediation effort and gave Brazil a 10-day ultimatum to decide what to do with ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who is holed up in the Brazilian Embassy.
OAS Special Adviser John Biehl told reporters in the capital, Tegucigalpa, that he and four other members of an advance team — including two Americans, a Canadian and a Colombian — were stopped by authorities after landing at Tegucigalpa's airport Sunday. Biehl, who is Chilean, said he was later told he could stay, but the others were put aboard flights out of the country.
"We were detained in the airport," Biehl said. "A high-ranking official told us we were expelled, that we had not notified (the interim government) that we were coming."
"For reasons I completely do not know, as we were getting in a line for the flight (out), a colonel in civilian dress called my name ... and said I could decide then and there if I wanted to stay."
Biehl said he planned to set up a visit by OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza, who he said would arrive "at the appropriate time."
Interim government Foreign Minister Carlos Lopez said the four were turned back because they had been "clearly warned" that they had to give advance notice of their visit, and didn't. He said Biehl had been allowed to stay because he had played a role in the San Jose talks mediated by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
Interim President Roberto Micheletti has previously said the OAS was welcome to come, but suggested that they begin arriving on Monday. Flores said the team's arrival didn't come "at the right time ... because we are in the middle of internal conversations." Talks between Zelaya and Micheletti's representatives have produced no results.
A spokesman for Micheletti also warned Brazilian authorities to "immediately take measures to ensure that Mr. Zelaya stops using the protection offered by the diplomatic mission to instigate violence in Honduras."
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva immediately rejected the missive, saying his government "doesn't accept ultimatums from coup-plotters."
Micheletti didn't specify what he would do after 10 days. He has said previously that he plans to arrest Zelaya, who was deposed in a June 28 coup. Zelaya faces treason and abuse of authority charges for ignoring court orders to drop plans for a referendum on rewriting the constitution.
But Micheletti has also said he has no plans to raid the Embassy and that Zelaya could leave if Brazil offers him political asylum.
Zelaya, who surprised the world by sneaking back into Honduras last week, called on his followers nationwide to mark Monday's three-month anniversary of the coup with a mass march in the capital to demand his reinstatement.
Brazil — like the rest of the international community — recognizes Zelaya as Honduras' legitimate president, and says it wants to protect him.
But Brazil said previously that Zelaya's arrival took Embassy officials by surprise, and Silva asked Zelaya "to take care to give no pretext to the coup leaders to engage in violence."
On Tuesday, the day after Zelaya's return, baton-wielding soldiers used tear gas and water cannons to chase away thousands of his supporters outside the Embassy.
Since then, the diplomatic mission has been surrounded by police and soldiers. Zelaya and about 65 supporters inside accused authorities of temporarily cutting off water and electricity early in the week, and later said the government released an unidentified gas that caused headaches, nosebleeds and nausea.
Brazilian Charge d'Affaires Francisco Catunda confirmed that Saturday: "Yes, it was released," he said in a rare interview outside the building. "One of our officials felt it, felt symptoms." Catunda added that some people had throat problems, but he did not give details.
A Honduran rights group, the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, said Saturday that independent medical personnel entered the Embassy and confirmed that some of the people inside had symptoms. But Zelaya was in good health, they said.
Zelaya accused Micheletti's government Sunday of bombarding the Embassy with "electromagnetic radiation." In a statement broadcast by Channel 36 television, Zelaya did not offer any other details, nor did he specify whether the alleged radiation had hurt anyone.
The U.N. Security Council has issued a statement that "called upon the de facto government of Honduras to cease harassing the Brazilian Embassy."
A leader of Zelaya's National Front Against the Coup said a protester died Saturday from complications due to inhaling tear gas when soldiers and police broke up Tuesday's demonstration. Local news media reported the woman had asthma.
Protesters say 10 people have been killed since the coup, while the government puts the toll at three.
New talks to resolve the dispute began after Zelaya reappeared in Honduras last Monday following what he described as a secret, 15-hour journey. Many nations have announced they would send diplomatic representatives back to Honduras to support negotiations.
But the Honduran government said Sunday it would not automatically accept ambassadors back from some nations that withdrew their envoys.
Countries including Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela will have to negotiate re-establishing diplomatic relations with the foreign ministry and reaccredit their diplomatic representatives, the government said.
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Associated Press writers Fabiola Sanchez in Porlamar, Venezuela; and Freddy Cuevas in Tegucigalpa, contributed to this report.
Source: AP Features
