Ibero-American countries demand Zelaya restitution
PORTUGAL: Heads of State and Government and senior officials
attending the 19th Ibero-American Summit on Tuesday demanded the
immediate restitution of ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power, but
failed to reach a consensus on the legitimacy of the Presidential
elections held on Sunday in the country.
Although the Honduran coup which occurred on June 28 this year and
Honduras’ presidential elections held on Sunday were not on the summit’s
work agenda, they both became key issues and were thoroughly discussed
at the meeting.
The majority of the Ibero-American leaders did not recognize the
results of the Sunday general elections, while Panama, Costa Rica,
Colombia and Peru were in favour of the recognition of the elections,
which were won by conservative Porfirio Lobo from the opposition.
Some Presidents of the Ibero-American countries did not appear at the
summit, including Cuba’s Raul Castro, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Bolivia’s
Evo Morales, Uruguay’s Tabare Vasquez, Paraguay’s Fernando Lugo,
Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, Guatemala’s Alvaro Colom, and the ousted
President of Honduras Zelaya who has been sheltered in the Brazilian
embassy in Tegucigalpa since September.
The Summit which closed on Monday also issued a resolution condemning
the June-28 coup and requesting the immediate restitution of Zelaya to
his position.
The leaders also requested the end of the harassment toward the
Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa and pledged they would keep on working
toward a solution which allows the return of a democratic Government to
Honduras.
According to the Lisbon Declaration released at the closing session
of the 19th Summit, the Ibero-American leaders also stressed that the
Summit’s main theme of “innovation and knowledge” must become a
permanent work system and an instrument to help eradicate poverty, fight
hunger and improve the health of all Ibero-American citizens.
They also agreed to establish a new program on Technological
Innovation and to create the Ibero-American Biannual Forum on
Technology. ESTORIL, Wednesday, Xinhua |
