OAS gives Honduras three days to restore Manuel Zelaya to presidency

The Organisation of American States (OAS) gave Honduras three days to restore Manuel Zelaya to the presidency or face expulsion from the region's major group, as Washington added to the pressure on coup leaders by formally suspending military contact.

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Published: 6:04PM BST 01 Jul 2009

ose Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the 34-member OAS, said: "We need to show clearly that military coups will not be accepted. We thought we were in an era when military coups were no longer possible in this hemisphere," he said.

The ultimatum issued by the OAS to the new government prompted the ousted leader to delay plans to return home on Thursday.

"We will wait 72 hours in order to continue with this process," Mr Zelaya told reporters in Washington, where he held meetings with state department officials.

Mr Zelaya, a Left-winger, was overthrown on Sunday by a military-led coup over proposed constitutional changes critics said were designed to extend his time in office. He has won the strong support of President Barack Obama, who has condemned the coup as "illegal".

The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that it was suspending military ties with Honduras, its strongest ally in Central America. Since the early 1980s, US personnel have served at the joint Soto Cano air base near the capital, which is now used principally for drug interdiction and humanitarian missions.

Mr Zelaya's meetings in the American capital came as Spain became the latest country to withdraw its ambassador from Honduras.

EU nations also said they had agreed to have no contact with the post-coup leaders in Honduras, "to avoid making gestures which could give the impression that the EU recognises" the new government.

Protests erupted late on Tuesday for the second day in the Honduran capital, when unidentified attackers hurled a grenade, which failed to explode, at the Supreme Court.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... dency.html