UN condemns ‘intimidation’ against Brazilian embassy in Honduras where ousted-pres is hiding

UN decries harassment of Brazil’s Honduran embassy

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned “acts of intimidation” against the Brazilian embassy in Honduras, where that country’s ousted president is holed up, but said nothing about restoring him to power.

The council issued its statement after a briefing and closed-door consultations that “called upon the de facto government of Honduras to cease harassing the Brazilian Embassy.”

Soldiers flew President Manuel Zelaya into exile in his pajamas in June, but he sneaked back to Honduras and made it to Brazil’s embassy in the capital of Tegucigalpa on Monday.

The government that seized power in a coup initially cut power and water to the embassy, but eventually restored the services.

Still, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim asked the Security Council to discuss the situation, fearing Honduran authorities could attack the embassy.

In a press statement after the meeting, the Security Council “condemned acts of intimidation.”

It also asked Honduran authorities to guarantee “all necessary utilities and service, including water, electricity, food and continuity of communications.”

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, the current Security Council president, said the council confined itself to the issue of the protection of the Brazilian Embassy.

“Respect and protection of the inviolability of diplomatic premises is a universally accepted principle of international relations,” she told reporters.

The council has left efforts to try to resolve the political standoff to the Organization of American States and Rice said it “looks to the regional mediation to continue its work on the larger political question of Honduras.”

The return of Zelaya prompted his supporters to clash with police, who imposed a curfew that stretched for days.

Zelaya’s Foreign Minister, Patricia Rodas, is in New York and has asked to address the U.N. General Assembly in a slot previously set aside for Zelaya. Officials have not yet given her a time for her speech.

The assembly passed a resolution on June 30 unanimously condemning the military coup in Honduras and demanding Zelaya’s immediate return to power.

Rodas claimed Friday that police and soldiers fired tear gas into the Brazilian embassy to drive out Zelaya, his wife and about 70 supporters.

“I fear for the life of President Zelaya and for the lives of all Hondurans,” she said. “Something grave could happen in Honduras and the world knows it.”

But Inspector Daniel Molina, a spokesman for Honduran police forces, said no tear gas had been used.

Brazil’s Amorim said that in addition to periodically halting utilities to the embassy, Honduran authorities have “severely restricted,” official traffic in and out of the building.

“Brazil categorically rejects all threats against its embassy and the security of President Zelaya and everyone else under its protection,” he said.

Zelaya is a populist whose increasingly fiery leftist rhetoric made business leaders and other power centers in Honduras nervous.

His close ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, provided a plane that flew Zelaya to an undisclosed Central American location, where he crossed into Honduras over land. Amorim would not answer questions about the help Chavez provided Zelaya, but said the toppled president sought refuge from the Brazilian government and was granted it.

“I have no idea how he came back and I don’t care,” he said. “For us, he is the legitimate president of Honduras.”