Update 3: The past 24 hours in Honduras Share This /

Three days have passed since ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya secretly returned to Tegucigalpa, surprising both his supporters and the de facto Micheletti government. International leaders continue to call for dialogue between the two parties and the reinstitution of Zelaya to the presidency. De facto President Roberto Micheletti has announced his willingness to begin a dialogue and invited the Organization of American States to send a delegation to facilitate talks. However, Micheletti maintains that he will not agree to a settlement that includes Zelaya's return to the presidency. Just the Facts has been closely following the events in Honduras since Zelaya returned on Monday. Below is a summary of the past 24 hours in Honduras. You can find the summaries from Tuesday and Wednesday here and here.

• The curfew in Honduras was lifted at 6:00 am today, allowing Hondurans to "return to some kind of normality." Domestic flights resumed early this morning, and the de facto regime announced later that international flights would also resume in the afternoon. According to the BBC, the curfew was estimated to cost Honduras $50 million a day.
• Water and power were restored to the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa on Wednesday. U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said, "water and power have been restored. Food and water is being delivered to the embassy. And also the staff has been allowed to depart with police coordination."
• The United Nations announced it would temporarily suspend assistance for the elections scheduled for November 29. A statement released by the spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reads: "he does not believe conditions are currently in place for the holding of credible elections that would advance peace and stability." In the same statement, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon noted that the UN is "concerned about the current situation and allegations of human rights violations in Honduras," and urged adherence to international human rights treaties and conventions ratified by Honduras.
• More details on how Zelaya got to Tegucigalpa: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez says Zelaya went by plane and "traveled in the trunk of a car and in tractors from Nicaragua to Honduras in a secret operation aided by supporters in the military" in order to arrive in Tegucigalpa.
• De facto President Roberto Micheletti has said he is open to talks with Zelaya with the participation of a delegation from the Organization of American States. But he still maintains that he is only willing to discuss one item - the November elections - and is not willing to negotiate on reinstating Zelaya to the presidency or dropping charges of treason against him. "I am prepared to discuss how to resolve the crisis, but only inside the parameters of the constitution."
• OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza announced that he will lead a mission on Friday or Saturday to Honduras to make a new attempt at mediating a resolution of the political crisis in Honduras. The mission would widely consist of the same foreign ministers who traveled there last month. It was also announced that the ambassadors who had been pulled from Honduras after the coup d'etat in June would return to their posts.
• Four of six presidential candidates have supported talks between Micheletti and Zelaya. The candidates are scheduled to meet with Micheletti today.
• A pro-Zelaya march to the Brazilian embassy took place yesterday, despite the de facto government's decision to ban meetings of more than 20 people starting at noon on Wednesday. According to the New York Times, protest organizers were able to convince the police to allow them to march, and urged protestors to avoid violence on the way. Other reports from yesterday cite many human rights abuses and police aggression against Zelaya supporters. Official reports indicate that one Zelaya supporter was killed, while Zelaya and his supporters claim at least 10 people have died since Monday.
• The Democratic Civic Union organized a demonstration today in front of the United Nations headquarters in Tegucigalpa, to protest against the interference of foreign governments in Honduran internal affairs. Initial reports estimate that approximately 20,000 people attended.
• Honduras continues to come up in world leaders' speeches at the United Nations General Assembly. President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernández Reyna:

  We cannot conclude these words without referring to the situation prevailing in Honduras. This organization of the United Nations issued a resolution condemning the coup that took place in that Central American nation in June this year and asking for the return to democratic order. The Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union, the African Union, and the Arab League assumed the same attitude. Despite worldwide condemnation of this attack on democracy, the de facto government of Honduras has continued in power, highlighting weakness in the implementation of measures by the international community. Now, President Jose Manuel Zelaya, the only legitimate President of Honduras, who was scheduled to speak today before the General Assembly, chose instead, with great display of personal boldness, to return to his country. And right now, he is waiting for us, the representatives of the peoples united in this global forum, to act with the same dignity, with the same responsibility, and with the same level of commitment to the reign of democracy, liberty, and justice.

  Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli:

  Honduras' return to the Rule of Law is necessary for its well being and that of Central America. That is why we are closely following the reconciliation in Honduras. The San José Accord constitutes the best method for formulating a consensus government that can oversee new elections and guarantee a peaceful return to democracy. Let us allow the Honduran people to resolve their destiny and future with one another, democratically. We Panamanians have the utmost trust in the Honduran society’s capacity for reconciliation.