Coup in Honduras monopolize attention on Ibero-American summit

Coup in Honduras monopolize attention on Ibero-American summit Written by Carmen Esquivel Sarria Friday, November 20th, 2009 November 20, 2009, 15:28  San Jose, Nov. 20 (PL) The crisis created by the coup in Honduras hog the limelight at the XIX Ibero American Summit to be held in Portugal from November 30 to December 1, Costa Rican Foreign Ministry said today. Although the theme of the event is knowledge and innovation, certainly the political conflict in Honduras will be the focus of debates and discussions, said Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno. The summit will begin one day after a general election by the de facto regime, which are rejected by wide popular sectors, and by the international community. The UN, the OAS, the Rio Group and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America announced that it neglected on the process under coup. On June 28 hooded soldiers kidnapped Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and forcibly took him to Costa Rica. After two unsuccessful attempts to return home, Zelaya returned in a surprise on 21 September and has since been found in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa. The Brazilian government ignorance ahead of elections scheduled for 29 November, a position shared by most Latin American governments in the failed coup are a dangerous threat to the entire region. Only the United States and Panama announced the endorsement of the elections lacking legitimacy to be realized under a dictatorship. "Panama should not support an election called by those who orchestrated the coup. It is an unfortunate decision," said Panamanian sociologist Marcos Gandasegui, and said more than 180 countries disagree with that process. The constitutional president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, has sued to delay the race until achieving the restoration of institutional order. He warned the states that hold elections under current conditions is "a legal aberration, a trick and a deception of the people" and called upon the international community to ignore this election. lac / car Last Updated (Friday, November 20th, 2009)