"Ousted Honduran leader returns home -- briefly" by Morgan Lee, Associated Press Writer | July 24, 2009
EL PARAISO, Honduras --Ousted President Manuel Zelaya took a symbolic step into his homeland Friday, vowing to reclaim his post a month after soldiers flew him into exile.
But he stayed less than 30 minutes before returning to Nicaragua, saying the risk of bloodshed was too great. He said he would give talks with the coup-installed government another try.
"I am not afraid but I'm not crazy either," Zelaya told the Venezuela-based television network Telesur. "There could be violence and I don't want to be the cause."
Shortly before Zelaya's crossing, his supporters clashed with soldiers and police nearby after the government ordered everyone off the streets along the 600-mile border with Nicaragua in a noon-to-dawn curfew. Police said one demonstrator was slightly injured.
Wearing his trademark white cowboy hat, Zelaya walked up to a sign reading "Welcome to Honduras" and smiled to cheering supporters at the remote mountain pass flanked by banana trees. He stopped a few steps into Honduran territory, speaking to nearby military officials on his mobile phone. "I've spoken to the colonel and he told me I could not cross the border," Zelaya said. "I told him I could cross."
But he soon went back to Nicaragua and said he was ready to return to the negotiating table.
Well, who is he going to talk to?
The "de facto government" REJECTED THEIR OWN PROPOSAL!
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Zelaya's trip "reckless."
So was that DAMN WAR YOU VOTED FOR, ****!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, what a piece of work she is!
International leaders had urged Zelaya not to go home without an agreement out of fear it would lead to bloodshed. Zelaya had said he had no choice after U.S.-backed talks with his ousters failed to reinstate him....
As they were meant to!
Soldiers formed a human chain near the border crossing Friday but did not move to approach Zelaya. In a statement, the interim government said it too still believes in negotiations.....
After it REJECTED its OWN PROPOSAL? Please!
Zelaya said his reinstatement is necessary to preserve democracy and prevent coups, not only in Honduras but across a region that has seen many in its turbulent political history. "The people of Latin America and the world have been losing their rights," Zelaya said. Thousands of Zelaya opponents demonstrated in San Pedro Sula, the country's second-largest city.
An equal number of supporters flocked to the border to support Zelaya's return, and soldiers manned checkpoints on highways leading to the border area to prevent them from getting to El Paraiso. Some made their way on foot after bus drivers refused to risk the trip.
Where is the criticism, 'bamer?
And WE KNOW how the AmeriKan MSM is handling the Honduras protests!!!!
The government said the border curfew was intended to preserve the peace, but by late afternoon authorities did not appear to be enforcing it....
Because they are OUTNUMBERED BIG TIME and are NOT STUPID!
Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya, surrounded by supporters and the press, lifts the chain that divides the border between Nicaragua and Honduras in Las Manos, Nicaragua, Friday, July 24, 2009. Zelaya's supporters flocked to the remote border between Honduras and Nicaragua to support his bid to reclaim the presidency from the government that ousted him in a June 28 coup. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Washington and the Organization of American States have asked Zelaya to be patient....
Un-flippin'-believable!
And WHO is RUNNING AROUND HALF-COCKED INVADING PLACES on LIES?
The negotiations stalled after neither side accepted a proposal from Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, the chief mediator. Arias called for Zelaya's reinstatement, amnesty for the coup leaders and early elections.
--more--"
Yeah, well, that is a DAMN LIE!!!!
WASHINGTON - Efforts to break the political stalemate that has polarized Honduras failed again late Tuesday as leaders of the de facto government rejected a proposal by the head of their own negotiating team to allow the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, to return to power"
Updated rewrite:
"Zelaya briefly steps into Honduras -- now what?" by Morgan Lee, Associated Press Writer | July 25, 2009
OCOTAL, Nicaragua --Ousted President Manuel Zelaya's foray Friday brought the Honduran political crisis no closer to a resolution -- and irritated some foreign leaders who are trying to help Zelaya reclaim his post.
Only ONE that I heard from!
Demonstrators clashed with security forces who fired tear gas. Shaded by his white cowboy hat, Zelaya encouraged them, saying protesters facing tear gas should "grab the canister and throw it back."
I agree!
He warned security forces they would pay for obeying the regime that sent him into exile: "You are risking your careers as police and soldiers." Many miles away in the northern Honduras city of San Pedro Sula, thousands of Zelaya opponents staged their own protest, holding signs reading "Zelaya can return, but to jail."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Zelaya's trip "reckless" and said it would not help restore democratic and constitutional order in Honduras. Organization of American States Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza had urged Zelaya not to go home without an agreement out of fear it would lead to bloodshed.
Zelaya, a rich rancher who moved to the left and allied himself with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after being elected, said he had no choice after U.S.-backed talks failed to reinstate him....
U.S. pressure "has been limited. Its measures have not been effective," Zelaya said. "There is a de facto regime ruling with bayonets, and in that sense, the United States has told me they want a peaceful solution. I'm also looking for a peaceful solution."
The U.S. and peaceful solutions?
Two great tastes that don't go together -- like military intelligence.
--more--"