Fri, July 03, 2009
QUITO, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The heads of nine Latin American legislatures promised to accompany ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya back to his country, Ecuadorian congress leader said Thursday.
Fernando Cordero said he would seek to "accompany President Zelaya" on his return, together with eight other legislature leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, the Andean Parliament and the Latin American Parliament.
Zelaya said Thursday in Panama that he planed to return to Honduras on Saturday, instead of his previously announced Thursday, when the ultimatum issued by the Organization of American States (OAS) expires.
The OAS issued a three-day deadline early Wednesday for the coup leaders to return power to Zelaya.
According to Cordero, the legislature leaders had signed a joint declaration in a meeting in Quitto, further condemning the coup and calling for all world governments to halt diplomatic relations with Honduras.
Hooded and heavily armed soldiers stormed the Honduran presidential palace early Sunday morning and forced Zelaya to board a plane to Costa Rica. Later in the day, Honduran Congress named Roberto Micheletti as acting president.
The United Nations, OAS, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, the Group of Rio, the South American Union of Nations and many foreign government leaders condemned the coup.
