TEGUCIGALPA– International pressure mounted on the de facto government of Honduras yesterday to let ousted president Manuel Zelaya return to power after a man was shot dead in clashes between police and Zelaya supporters on Tuesday night.
It was the first reported death in political violence since Mr Zelaya, forced into exile by a June 28th coup, slipped back into Honduras this week and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy.
A 65-year-old Zelaya supporter was killed in the poor Flor del Campo district of the capital, Tegucigalpa, a source at the coroner’s office said. Five other pro-Zelaya protesters were shot and wounded in another part of the city, a doctor at the Escuela hospital said.
On Wednesday, riot police firing tear gas dispersed thousands of Zelaya supporters marching through the city toward the Brazilian embassy, according to a Reuters witness. A Red Cross official said there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Mr Zelaya slipped back into Honduras on Monday, ending almost three months of exile after he was toppled in the coup, bringing the world’s attention to his cause again.
Hundreds of soldiers and riot police, some in ski masks and carrying automatic weapons, have surrounded the embassy where Mr Zelaya is taking shelter with his family and about 40 supporters.
Brazil and Venezuela called at the United Nations for Mr Zelaya, a former rancher and timber magnate who took office in 2006, to be returned to power. Concerned about the rising tension in Honduras, the United Nations suspended assistance in preparing the presidential election set for November.
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who finds himself involved in a crisis outside Brazil’s traditional sphere of influence in South America, said on Wednesday he requested a meeting with US president Barack Obama this week to discuss Honduras.
The government that has ruled since Mr Zelaya’s overthrow said it was suspending a curfew in effect day and night since Monday starting at 6am on Thursday and encouraged people who have been holed up inside to return to work.
Large lines formed at stores in the capital as residents rushed to stock up on water and basic foods. State-run television broadcast frequent messages from the de facto government warning that Mr Zelaya would be responsible for any violent acts.
Honduras is a major coffee producer but output has not been affected by the crisis.
Soldiers toppled Mr Zelaya at gunpoint and sent him into exile in his pyjamas after the Supreme Court ordered his arrest, saying he had broken the law by pushing for constitutional reforms that critics say were an attempt to change presidential term limits and extend his rule. Mr Zelaya denies the allegations.
De facto leader Roberto Micheletti said Mr Zelaya could stay in the embassy “for five to 10 years” if he wanted, hinting his administration was getting ready for a long standoff.
Mr Micheletti, a one-time Zelaya ally who was the head of congress before the coup, was unmoved by the mounting international pressure on his government. – (Reuters)