nterim Honduran leader vows Zelaya won't return
By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 7 mins ago
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Honduras' interim leader warned that the only way his predecessor will return to office is through a foreign invasion, setting up a dramatic showdown with the ousted president who is preparing to come home accompanied by world leaders.
A defiant Roberto Micheletti said in an interview with The Associated Press late Tuesday that "no one can make me resign," defying the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Obama administration and other leaders that have condemned the military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya....
Soldiers stormed Zelaya's residence and flew him into exile early Sunday, after he insisted on trying to hold a referendum asking Hondurans if they wanted to reform the constitution. The Supreme Court, Congress and the military all deemed his planned ballot illegal.
Zelaya, who is an ally of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, backed down from the referendum Tuesday, saying at the United Nations that he would no longer push for the constitutional changes he wanted.
One of several clauses that cannot be legally altered in the Honduran constitution limits presidents to a single, 4-year term, and Congress claims Zelaya, whose term ends in January, modified the ballot question at the last minute to help him eventually try to seek re-election. Chavez has used referendums in Venezuela to win the right to run repeatedly.
"I'm not going to hold a constitutional assembly," Zelaya said. "And if I'm offered the chance to stay in power, I won't. I'm going to serve my four years."
The U.N. General Assembly voted by acclamation Tuesday to demand Zelaya's immediate restoration, and the Organization of American States said Wednesday coup leaders have three days to restore Zelaya to power before Honduras risks being suspended from the group.
OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza delivered what he called "an ultimatum" as OAS talks regarding the crisis wound past the eight-hour mark. "We need to show clearly that military coups will not be accepted. We thought we were in an era when military coups were no longer possible in this hemisphere," he said.
Spain's Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that it is recalling its ambassador from Honduras to protest the coup, saying it is acting as part of international efforts to reinstate Zelaya.
Micheletti vowed not to resign no matter how intense the international pressure became. He insisted Honduras would be ready to defend itself against any invasion by any Latin American country.
He did not name any specific countries, but earlier Tuesday, Chavez said any aggression toward Zelaya from Micheletti's government should prompt a military intervention by the United Nations....