Washington/Tegucigalpa/Madrid - Honduras' post-coup government is headed in "the absolute opposite direction" from a path leading to normalization, Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS), said Monday. The international community has refused to recognize the de facto government set up after a coup on June 28 that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and has demanded his reinstatement.
On Sunday, the de facto government expelled several OAS diplomats and restricted liberties in response to a call by Zelaya for his supporters to help him recover power. It also closed two media loyal to the ousted president.
"The chances for normalization of the situation in Honduras with a view to re-establishing the constitutional order and having democratic elections are in the absolute opposite direction to the one they chose (Sunday)," Insulza said in a special session of the OAS Permanent Councilin Washington to debate the situation in Honduras.
Insulza was also speaking of the interim government's decision to impose a 10-day deadline for Brazil to grant Zelaya asylum or hand him over, after the ousted president returned to the country and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa last week.
According to Insulza, "it is not possible to reconcile" this attitude with holding democratic elections.
Before Zelaya's ouster, a presidential election had been scheduled to take place on November 29. The election is still set to take place, although both the international community and Zelaya have declared it illegitimate.
Insulza said the OAS is "very concerned" about the latest measures adopted in Honduras, since they set up "a sort of state of emergency" and "free the hands of those who want to carry out more acts of repression."
Zelaya had urged his supporters to launch a "final offensive" and to march to Tegucigalpa on Monday, the day marking three months from the coup that sent him into exile. He was ousted over efforts to amend the constitution to allow him to run for another term in office.
De facto Foreign Minister Carlos Lopez Contreras said Honduras was giving Brazil 10 days to hand Zelaya over or to grant him asylum.
"That does not mean that Mr Zelaya will be left on the street or that we will enter the embassy, only that the diplomatic mission will be recognized as a private office of a foreign government," he explained.
The government decree, which was approved Saturday and made public late Sunday in a nationwide broadcast, authorizes police to dissolve non-authorized public meetings and demonstrations.
The government also banned statements violating "peace, public order or offending human dignity" and authorized the state telecommunications organ Conatel to suspend radio and television broadcasters.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Monday that Spain will not recognize Honduras' de facto government despite the Central American country's refusal to allow the Spanish ambassador to return unless it does so.
The ambassador had left Honduras, along with other European diplomats, following the coup. Madrid wanted to send the ambassador back to aid mediation efforts, but Honduras said Spain first had to recognize the de facto government headed by Roberto Micheletti, according to Spanish media.
Moratinos told Spanish National Radio that Spain did not want its relations with the de facto government to deteriorate, but would not recognize it, while trusting that the ambassador could return to Honduras "as soon as possible."
