Brazil demands reinstatement of Zelaya
24 de setembro de 2009Sete países assinam acordo para criar banco
28 de setembro de 2009Brazilian Chief of Staff Dilma Rousseff defended Thursday Brazil’s decision on giving shelter to ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya.
“The embassy is the Brazilian territory,” she said, referring to the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras.
“I cannot believe that anyone civilized will propose that you hand out someone who asked for an asylum,” she said.
Zelaya returned to Honduras on Monday, almost three months after he was removed from office in a military coup on June 28, and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy.
Since then, the Honduran interim authorities have pressed the Brazilian side for handing the ousted president out
On Monday, the Honduran side cut the Brazilian embassy’s electricity and water supply and its phone lines.
Two people have already died in the confrontation between the police and Zelaya’s supporters in front of the embassy in the past few days.
Brazil’s Foreign Relations Minister Celso Amorim said that the Brazilian government did not know about Zelaya’s return beforehand.
He also said Brazil is not creating a problem by providing shelter to the deposed president.
The minister denied that Zelaya is using the embassy to encourage protests, noting Zelaya’s return is an opportunity to solve the political impasse in the country.
“This opportunity, of course, involves risks. But it is an opportunity for dialogue, which is what we are trying to provide,” he said.
