Porlamar, September 28: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva here said that it ‘does not accept ultimatums from a coup-making government’. He was talking about the 10 days ultimatum given by the present Honduran government for clearing the status of expelled Honduran president Mel Zelaya who is holed up in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.
The deposed Honduran leader is ‘the legitimate president of Honduras’ and his status is that of a ‘guest of the Brazilian embassy’ in Tegucigalpa, Lula said Sunday at a press conference during the South America-Africa Summit here.
‘Zelaya was expelled from power in the most shameful way possible,’ Lula said.
‘For me, the solution is simple: the coup-makers must leave the presidential palace,’ Lula added saying that ‘Zelaya must return to power and elections must be called’.
Zelaya, for his part, said Sunday during a Mass that ‘dialogue’ is the only way out of the political crisis his country has been going through since he was ousted about three months ago.
The Roberto Micheletti-led Honduran government had given Brazil an ultimatum to clear the status of Zelaya who has been living in the Brazilian embassy since his return to Honduras last week and had also announced that it would not receive the ambassadors of Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela.
‘Once again we ask the government of Brazil to define the status of Zelaya, within a space of not more than 10 days. If that is not done, we will see ourselves forced to take additional measures,’ Honduran foreign ministry had said Saturday night.
—-Agencies