Jul 5th, 2009 | TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras' exiled president flew toward home in a Venezuelan jet in a high-stakes attempt to return to power on Sunday, even as the interim government ordered the military to turn away the plane.
Protests at the airport turned violent, despite Manuel Zelaya's appeals to remain peaceful. Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas toward thousands of his supporters, some of whom threw rocks and set a fire. A van tore through the crowd as someone shouted through loudspeakers to make way for the wounded. A Red Cross spokesman said no one had been killed.
"I am the commander of the armed forces, elected by the people, and I ask the armed forces to comply with the order to open the airport so that there is no problem in landing and embracing with my people," Zelaya said while en route. "Today I feel like I have sufficient spiritual strength, blessed with the blood of Christ, to be able to arrive there and raise the crucifix."
Interim President Roberto Micheletti refused to withdraw his order to prevent the plane from landing, and said he would not negotiate with anyone until "things return to normal."
"We will be here until the country calms down," Micheletti told a news conference. "We are the authentic representatives of the people."
Thousands of protesters descended on the airport in the Honduran capital in anticipation of the showdown, pressing against about 250 officers with riot shields as they waved Honduran flags and posters of Zelaya, chanting "Honduras! Honduras!"
Police helicopters hovered overhead. Commercial flights were canceled, and each private plane landing was met on the tarmac by armed police.
Micheletti also alleged that Nicaragua is moving troops to their border in an attempt at psychological intimidation, and warned them not to cross into Honduras, "because we're ready to defend our border." Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega called the allegation "totally false."
Honduras' civil aviation director said Zelaya's plane was ordered not to enter Honduran air space.
Zelaya won wide international support after his military ouster a week ago, but the only prominent escort aboard his plane was the U.N. General Assembly president after Latin American leaders backed out, citing security concerns.
At least three other planes left the Washington area separately, carrying Latin American presidents, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States and journalists. They were trailing Zelaya to see what happens in the skies over Honduras before deciding where to land.
Flying with Zelaya were close advisers and staff, two journalists from the Venezuela-based network Telesur, and U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, a leftist Nicaraguan priest and former foreign minister who personally condemned Zelaya's ouster as a coup d'etat.
The Telesur crew enabled Zelaya to speak in a live interview from the air. "No one can obligate me to turn around," Zelaya declared.
But with their safety not guaranteed, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa pleaded with the Honduran military forces to avoid bloodshed. "If there is violence the whole world must clearly know who is responsible," he said.
If Zelaya's plane is allowed to land, the others will land as well, Correa said. If not, Correa, the presidents of Paraguay and Argentina and Jose Miguel Insulza, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, planned to land in El Salvador.
Honduras' new government has vowed to arrest Zelaya for 18 alleged criminal acts including treason and failing to implement more than 80 laws approved by Congress since taking office in 2006.
Despite a Supreme Court ruling, Zelaya had also pressed ahead with a referendum on whether to hold an assembly to consider changing the constitution. Critics feared he might press to extend his rule and cement presidential power in ways similar to his ally Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. But instead of prosecuting him or trying to defeat his referendum idea at the ballot box, other Honduran leaders sent masked soldiers to fly Zelaya out of the country at gunpoint.
The military solution prompted condemnation from the United Nations and OAS. Many called it a huge step back for democracy, and no nation has recognized the new government. President Barack Obama has united with Chavez and conservative Alvaro Uribe in criticism.
Its membership suspended by the OAS, the isolated interim government now faces trade sanctions and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidized oil, aid and loans.
The immediate concern, however, was avoiding bloodshed. The poor Central American country's Roman Catholic archbishop and its human rights commissioner urged Zelaya to stay away, noting that no one has died so far in the standoff.
"We have to defend our rights in a way that is personal but peaceful. Against the bayonets, we must put forth our conscience and our patriotism," Zelaya said as Venezuelan pilots flew him toward home.
Zelaya supporters said they got the message as they converged on the airport, where at least five soldiers with binoculars and high-powered rifles watched from the roof with their weapons trained on the protesters.
"We have no pistols or arms, just our principles," organizer Rafael Alegria said. "We have the legitimate right to fight for the defense of democracy and to restore President Zelaya."
Large crowds of Zelaya's critics also have staged daily demonstrations to back Micheletti, the congressional president who was named by lawmakers to finish out the final six months of the Zelaya's term.
Most of the ousted leader's supporters come from the working and middle classes of this impoverished nation, while his opponents are based in the ranks of the well-to-do -- although the increasingly leftist approach of the wealthy rancher had eroded his popular support.
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Weissert reported from Tegucigalpa and Ikeda from Washington. Associated Press writers Freddy Cuevas and Marcos Aleman in Tegucigalpa, and Jorge Barrera and Jeanneth Valdivieso in Washington contributed to this report.
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