Honduras Rejects OAS Appeal to Restore President

Nations around the world have promised to shun Micheletti and the nation already is suffering economic reprisals.

Supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya hold hands as they stand in front of a line of soldiers guarding the entrance to a park during a protest through downtown Tegucigalpa,Thursday, July 2, 2009.(AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

(AP)

Neighboring countries have imposed trade blockades, major lenders have cut aid, the Obama administration has halted joint military operations and all European Union ambassadors have abandoned the Honduran capital.

If the OAS does suspend Honduras, Insulza said a government led by a new Honduran president after elections in November would not be automatically reinstated into the organization.

"It is not by any means automatic," Insulza said. "To eliminate a suspension, it should be unanimous decision, and it is not so obvious that it would be."

On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Honduras issued a statement expressing "deep concern over restrictions imposed on certain fundamental rights" by Micheletti's government, including a curfew in force since Sunday, and "reports of intimidation and censorship against certain individuals and media outlets."

Micheletti's government is so eager to find a friend that it announced it had been recognized by Israel and Italy — surprising the governments of those countries. Italy withdrew its ambassador to protest the coup, and Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said: "All rumors about Israeli recognition of the new president are wholly unfounded."

Micheletti asked Nobel Peace laureate Rigoberta Menchu to help mediate the conflict, and she arrived in Tegucigalpa on Friday.

"I come to try to talk with anyone who wants to listen to search for peace for this country," she said.

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Associated Press writers contributing to this report included Freddy Cuevas in Tegucigalpa; Bert Wilkinson in Georgetown, Guyana; Filadelfo Aleman in Managua, Nicaragua; Angela Charlton in Paris and Mark Lavie in Jerusalem.

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