NEW YORK, 28 September 2009: Any action taken against the Brazilian embassy in Honduras where ousted Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya has taken shelter would be a disaster, a top United Nations political official said today.
– I must say the situation there took a seriously bad turn with the threats on the Brazilian embassy, Under-Secretary-General B. Lynn Pascoe told a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York, referring to published reports that the de facto government has given the embassy 10 days to decide whether to grant Mr. Zelaya asylum or hand him over.
– It’s a very serious problem for all of us. It would be a disaster if any action were taken to violate international law on the inviolability of the embassies. We’re also concerned to see the worsening situation as the de facto government has been turning up the screws internally, closing media outlets and also taking state of emergency measures against the population.
– We’re very concerned about all of that and have been trying to work with others to see whether we can move that process forward, he added, reiterating UN readiness to provide whatever help it can to resolve the crisis and its full support for the efforts of Costa Rican President Óscar Arias to mediate the crisis.
Addressing the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate today, Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Isabel Rodas Baca called for Mr. Zelaya’s return to power.
She expressed her appreciation for the support shown for her country’s “long way back towards our democracy”.
The ousted leader, the official said, is “calling out for life to be respected, for integrity to be respected, for the freedom of speech to be respected.” Mr. Zelaya, she stated, is appealing for “this sad story of persecution” to never be repeated.
On Friday the Security Council stressed the need to ensure the security of the Brazilian Embassy where Mr. Zelaya turned up last week after being ousted by the military in June.
Kilde: www.un.org/news
