Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has said his supporters have "the right to insurrection" BBC NEWS,

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Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has said his supporters have "the right to insurrection" in their bid to see him reinstated.

Mr Zelaya said Hondurans were within their rights to demonstrate, go on strike, or even rise up against the interim Honduran government.

He was addressing a news conference in Guatemala, alongside his left-leaning counterpart, Alvaro Colom.

International efforts are underway to resolve the Honduran crisis peacefully.

Mr Zelaya was bundled out of Honduras on 28 June, but is widely recognised internationally as the legitimate president.

At his news conference in Guatemala, Mr Zelaya said: "Nobody owes allegiance to a usurper government that took power by arms, and the people have the right to insurrection and to oppose those measures."

'Be patient'

The chief mediator, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, earlier called the rival factions in Honduras to a new round of talks on Saturday to try to end the crisis.

Previous talks in Costa Rica have failed to produce a breakthrough.

But Mr Arias said on Tuesday: "It is not easy to get results in 24 hours."

The Costan Rican leader, a Nobel peace prize laureate, said: "My experience tells me that one has to be a little patient."

Thousands of people marched on Tuesday from the university to the US embassy in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, to urge Washington to do more to force the interim government headed by Roberto Micheletti to back down.

The crisis in Honduras erupted after Mr Zelaya tried to hold a non-binding public consultation on moves to change the constitution.

This could have led to an end to a ban on presidents seeking second terms.

The new administration, which is backed by the military, insists that Mr Zelaya was ousted legally. It says he will not be reinstated.

Mr Zelaya's dramatic attempt to fly back to Honduras failed earlier this month when the military blocked the runway at Tegucigalpa airport.


Published: 2009/07/15 01:30:35 GMT
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