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UPDATE 1-U.N.'s D'Escoto to travel to Honduras with Zelaya

Sun Jul 5, 2009 10:50pm IST
 
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WASHINGTON, July 5 (Reuters) - United Nations General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto will accompany ousted President Manuel Zelaya to Honduras, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said on Sunday.

"There is a great mobilization of people in Tegucigalpa and we don't know if the interim government or the top brass of the military will dare repress those people. So we decided that the most prudent thing to do was that the president of the U.N. General Assembly Miguel D'Escoto accompany President Zelaya back to Tegucigalpa," Correa said at a news conference in Washington.

In Central America's first coup since the Cold War era Zelaya, Zelaya, a leftist who took power who had been due to leave office in 2010, was ousted by troops and sent into exile a week ago after a dispute over presidential term limits.

Correa said Zelaya would return to Honduras on Sunday. He provided no details about the trip.

Latin American countries had advised Zelaya against a return to Honduras, saying it could sharply escalate tension. The interim government has said it would arrest him if he returns.

Organization of American States Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo and Correa will travel to neighboring El Salvador to monitor Zelaya's return, Correa said.

"The time is running out for this interim government and not because of international pressure, but because of the Honduran people's pressure," Correa said, speaking after a meeting in Washington with the group of Latin American presidents who will travel to El Salvador.

The OAS had met earlier on Sunday in Washington and took the rare step to suspend Honduras after the interim authorities ignored an ultimatum by the 34-member body to reinstate Zelaya.

(Reporting by Alonso Soto, Editing by Stacey Joyce and Sandra Maler)

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