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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Ousted Honduras President 'will meet successor' |
| 2009-12-12 |
| Ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya is due to meet his elected successor, Porfirio Lobo, in the Dominican Republic. President Leonel Fernandez said he expected the two to meet on Monday however neither have confirmed this. Mr Zelaya is under siege in the Brazilian embassy in Honduras following his return to the country in September. He refuses to accept the election of Mr Lobo as his successor, and wants to serve out the remainder of his term. But Congress in Honduras voted overwhelmingly against allowing him to do so, something Mr Zelaya has said "ratifies the coup". Earlier this week the government blocked a plan for the ousted president to fly to Mexico, saying he could only leave the country if he was offered formal asylum elsewhere. Mr Fernandez said he expected the two men to meet in Santo Domingo to discuss how to resolve the political crisis in Honduras. He said Mr Zelaya would arrive on Sunday, followed by Mr Lobo the next day. He said he would meet them separately before any joint discussions could take place, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported. "As of Sunday and Monday, we will have both figures of the Honduran political world in the Dominican Republic," he said. There has been no confirmation as yet whether the interim government that came into power following the June coup had agreed to allow the meeting the go ahead or how Mr Zelaya would even travel to the region. In Honduras, information minister Rene Zepeda, said there had been no request from either Mr Zelaya or the Dominican Republic seeking permission for the ousted president to leave the country without fear of arrest on charges of treason and abuse of power. Mr Zelaya told AP he was "thankful" to President Fernandez for trying to arrange a meeting but also did not confirm if the meeting with Mr Lobo had actually been organised. Mr Lobo, who is due to assume the Presidency in January, has also not publically confirmed his attendance. The BBC's Central America correspondent Stephen Gibbs says many details about the meeting still remain unclear; it may be that the invitation from President Fernandez is more of an open challenge to all sides to find a compromise and not a genuine breakthrough. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #4 He sure does, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Honduran Congress refuse to waive those. After all, let Mel go abroad and he's just going to cause trouble, no matter what he 'promises'. Better to grab him and try him (fairly, of course) to show that at least in Honduras, no man is above the law. There's a novel lesson in Latin America. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-12-12 10:06 |
| #3 how's Z getting out of the Brazilian embassy? Diplo pouch? I think he still has criminal charges against him |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-12-12 09:29 |
| #2 Pat him down for zip guns and the like. Check that hat, too. |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-12-12 02:24 |
| #1 Agree to "Meet" him, when he shows up at the door, Grab him. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-12-12 12:31 |