Alba, Sica and Rio Group ratify defense of the democracy in Honduras
Caracas, Jun 29- An Extraordinary Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America (Alba) starts this Monday in Nicaragua aimed at defending the Honduran democracy, after the coup d’État against the constitutional President Manuel Zelaya and the establishment of a de facto Government in that Central American country. It is also expected meetings of the member countries of the Central American Integration System (Sica, Spanish abbreviation) and from the Rio Group.
The announcement was made on Monday early morning by the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega.
“Tomorrow (Monday), we will have a bigger attendance to this Alba meeting; then it will start a meeting with the Sica, the Alba and the President (of Mexico) Felipe Calderon, who chairs the Rio Group. We are making efforts to establish the urgency and importance of a meeting within the Rio Group,” Ortega stated.
In this sense, he deemed that with the attendance of most of the countries member of these integration and solidarity systems, there will be quorum to debate over the coup d’État perpetrated in Honduras and to ratify the defense to the constitutional rights of its people.
The presidents of the Alba started to arrive on Sunday night to Managua to take part in a summit summoned by the bloc urgently, in order to analyze the situation in Honduras after the coup d’État carried out against the constitutional President of that Central American country, Manuel Zelaya. The meetings will be aimed to return the President to its Office.
The Alba condemned, through a statement made public on Sunday at the United Nations (UN), the coup against Honduran democracy. They demanded the restoration of Manuel Zelaya’s constitutional presidency of Honduras and stressed that they will not recognize any other Government from that country.
“We demand the immediate return of the democracy in the Republic of Honduras and the restoration of Manuel Zelaya’s Office, who is the legitimate Constitutional President of that country,” reads the document.
The first President to arrive in Nicaragua’s capital city was Rafael Correa, from Ecuador. He said that his attendance was aimed “to defend the democracy not only in Honduras, but in Latin America.”
Correa stressed how important was that all the Heads of State of the Rio Group would take part in the meeting to be hold in Managua on Monday afternoon; for that reason, he made a call to President Calderon to summon the rest of the presidents.
“We requested a meeting with the Heads of State and it has been summoned instead a meeting with the ministers of foreign affairs, according to information received from the Mexican Ministry, because allegedly the presidents would not be able to attend,” he said.
“I do not know how many Heads of State have been asked [if they can attend]. Today (Sunday) morning, at least 10 out of 23 countries that are part of the Rio Group said they would attend,” he emphasized.
Therefore, Correa wondered: “I do not know what could be more important than solving an emergency of this nature, where there has been an attempt not only against Honduras’ people, but also against the democracy of Latin American peoples.”
Earlier, Correa had already condemned the brutal coup d’État in Honduras and he asserted that the return of the President Zelaya to his office had to be unconditional.
After his arrival in Managua, Correa stated : “We come here to tell these de facto powers that want to take over Honduras that they must reestablish immediately and unconditionally the legitimate, constitutional and democratic Government of the President Jose Manuel Zelaya.”
Afterwards, the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chavez, arrived.
“The oligarchies cannot stop the changes. This is an era of changes, necessary changes due to the failure of the right-wing. This aggression against Honduras is also against the peoples of the Continent and against the great majority of our Governments,” Chavez said.
“We need to warn this,” said Chavez to Ortega. “I keep praying God the Armed Forces do not attack the unarmed Honduras’ people (…) because the peoples have the right to resist and combat, and we will be here supporting them. This is a night of battle,” the Venezuelan President reiterated.
In addition to Chavez and Correa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez also arrived in Managua on Sunday. It is expected for this Monday the arrival of the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Honduras, Patricia Rodas, who was kidnapped on Sunday in her country and she managed to travel to Mexico from where she will take an airplane to Nicaragua.
