Zelaya's Plane Circles Honduran Runway, Can't Land

Thousands of supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya march towards the international...

Thousands of supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya march towards the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Saturday, July 4, 2009. Zelaya announced Saturday that he would return to Honduras to try to retake office following last week's military-backed coup, despite the interim government's insistence that he faces arrest and trial.(AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

(AP)

The military solution drew condemnation at the United Nations, and Honduras was suspended by the OAS. Many called it a huge step backward for democracy, and no nation has recognized the new government. President Barack Obama has united with Chavez and conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in insisting on Zelaya's return.

Without OAS membership, the isolated interim government faces trade sanctions and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidized oil, aid and loans for the impoverished nation.

Zelaya, a wealthy rancher who has shifted to left during his presidency, has drawn most of his support from the working and middle classes, while his opponents are based in the ranks of the well-to-do.

Micheletti's vice foreign minister, Martha Lorena Alvarado, said the interim government sent the OAS a letter expressing "willingness to conduct conversations in good faith." In Washington, senior Obama administration officials took that as a positive sign.

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Speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the State Department, the officials said the United States and other OAS member countries are coordinating contacts and outreach to facilitate a resolution, despite their insistence on having no formal relations with the interim government.

The immediate concern, however, was avoiding more bloodshed. Both critics and supporters of Zelaya have staged large demonstrations. The country's Roman Catholic archbishop and its human rights commissioner urged Zelaya to stay away to avoid provoking them.

Moments after Zelaya's plane was turned away, about a dozen trucks filled with police ordered everyone off the streets, imposing a sunset-to-sunrise curfew.

"This is a war," said Matias Sauceda, 65, a human rights activist. "Imagine — things are so bad, that the president is in the air and they don't let him land."

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Weissert reported from Tegucigalpa and Ikeda from Washington. Associated Press writers Freddy Cuevas, Marcos Aleman and Esteban Felix in Tegucigalpa; and Robert Burns and Jeanneth Valdivieso in Washington contributed to this report.

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