• Honduras
• What we do
• Partners
• In brief
• Read more

Honduras

Coup d'Etat in Honduras strongly condemned

“We strongly condemn this COUP D’ETAT, and question the legitimacy of the democratic institutions and the civil mechanisms for the resolution of political and social conflicts. In these moments, it is most urgent to request those who today are in possession of the power to respect the Human Rights and all the constitutional guarantees of Honduran citizens,” it says in a statement from the ACT Forum Honduras.

Mr Zelaya's expulsion to Costa Rica by the Honduran army on Sunday has been criticised in Brussels, Washington and Latin America as a coup.

In the statement the Act Forum Honduras – part of the worldwide Accion by Churches Together - underline that the official declarations of the Organizations of American States (OAS), the United Nations, the European Union and the International community all coincide with the need to reestablish the State of Law and that President Zelaya return and continue his constitutional mandate.

“In the light of these events, as members of the ACT Honduras forum, we declare our rejection of the method that has been used to try to solve the political conflict and which means a serious and dangerous backward step for the democratic system in the country, violating the Constitution of the Republic.”

The Copenhagen Initiative for Central America and México (CIFCA) – a network conformed by 40 European organizations from 11 countries has sent a statement to the European Union.

Complaint to the Constitutional Court

In Honduras The Associations of Lawyers for Democracy, judges and other civil society organizations made an official complaint to the Constitutional Court Tuesday.

In their complaint they say that several of president Zelayas constitutional and citizen rights grossly have been violated. Their demand is that president Zelaya be reinstated. I boks: Complaint – in Spanish

President says he will return

The ousted resident Zelaya won overwhelming international support Tuesday as the presidents of Argentina and Ecuador signed on to accompany President Manuel Zelaya and other figures on a flight to Honduras on Thursday.

President Zelaya says he will return to Honduras on Thursday, accompanied by the head of the Organization of American States. The OAS was to hold an emergency meeting to discuss whether to expel Honduras from the grouping.

20 years in prison if Zelaya returns

In Honduras the Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi said Zelaya would be seized "as soon as he sets foot on Honduran soil" and face 20 years in prison on charges that also include abuse of authority.

With no international support but a significant following at home, the new Honduran leadership called thousands of flag-waving people into a downtown plaza. Soldiers fenced off the area around the presidential palace, where security forces used tear gas and water cannons Monday against Zelaya supporters, injuring and arresting dozens, writes the AP.

Mr Zelaya, 57, was ousted amid stiff opposition from the courts, military, Congress and even some members of his own party to his plans to have a referendum on the idea to amend the constitution so a president can be reelected for another four year term.