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Ousted Prez Returning to Honduras

By the Associated Press

Posted Jul 5, 2009 12:49 PM CDT

(AP) – Exiled Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has announced his imminent return home to reclaim his post even though the interim government that overthrew him is vowing to prevent his plane from landing. Zelaya says UN General Assembly President Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann will accompany him on the plane. In a change of plans, other Latin American presidents are not traveling with Zelaya.

The presidents of Ecuador, Argentina, and Paraguay, and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States will fly separately to El Salvador. Honduras is bracing for Zelaya's showdown with the interim government in power since the army ousted him a week ago. The interim government has ordered “the armed forces and the police not to allow the entrance of any plane bringing the former leader," the new foreign minister says.

[Images (3)]

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Soldiers guard the perimeter near the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Sunday July 5, 2009. Manuel Zelaya has vowed he will return to Honduras but the interim government plans to stop him. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

A soldier guards a parking lot near the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Sunday July 5, 2009. The Organization of American States has suspended Honduras because of last week's coup. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya talks with reporters outside of the Ecuadorean embassy in Washington Sunday, July 5, 2009, where he announced plans for his return to Honduras. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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We have no pistols or arms, just our principles. We have the legitimate right to fight for the defense of democracy and to restore President Zelaya. - Rafael Alegria, pro-Zelaya protest organizer

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