Estoril, (Portugal): Leaders from Latin
America, Spain and Portugal said today that Honduras should
return ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power.
Reinstating Zelaya is "a fundamental step" for the
Central American country to return to constitutional
normality, the leaders said in a statement, calling the June
coup that had forced Zelaya out of office "unacceptable."
The Honduras coup was Central America's first in 20
years.
The statement -- released at the end of a three-day
Iberoamerican summit in Estoril -- also said leaders at the
annual meeting had analysed Honduras' weekend election won by
Porfirio Lobo, but they did not elaborate.
Summit participants discussed the global financial crisis
and climate change, though the talks were overshadowed by
efforts to reach a united stance on the Honduras crisis.
The final statement on Honduras seemed to reflect a clear
victory for regional heavyweights Argentina, Brazil and
Venezuela, who had opposed any recognition of Sunday's
elections in Honduras.
The leaders of Colombia, Peru and Costa Rica, however,
endorsed the election individually.
"Some will say (the statement) goes too far, others will
say it doesn't go far enough," Portuguese Prime Minister Jose
Socrates said.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 02, 2009, 00:20