Zelaya Doesn't Blink: Two Airplanes Heading South Today
by Al Giordano Sunday, Jul. 05, 2009 at 1:18 PM

“As president, I am going to accompany my people, and I appeal for calm… To the Honduran people: stay peaceful… nobody should use any weapon. Our weapon is democracy.”

Zelaya Doesn't Blink: Two Airplanes Heading South Today
Posted by Al Giordano - July 5, 2009 at 10:39 am

By Al Giordano

In a press conference that got underway at OAS headquarters a few minutes ago at 11:55 a.m. ET (9:55 a.m. in Tegucigalpa), Honduran President Miguel Zelaya announced that two planes will be heading south today.
The press conference was held after the coup regime in Honduras, which has claimed for days that it seeks to arrest and imprison Zelaya, blinked and announced that it will not permit any plane carrying the president to land in national territory.
He is going nonetheless, accompanied by an important international diplomat.
The first airplane will head from Washington DC directly to the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, and it will carry President Zelaya and Miguel D’Escoto, president of the United Nations General Assembly.
The second airplane will head first to San Salvador, carrying Presidents Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, Kristina Kirchner of Argentina, and OAS chairman Jose Miguel Insulza, "to begin the process... of assuring that the Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States is complied with" in Honduras.
Zelaya said:
“As president, I am going to accompany my people, and I appeal for calm… To the Honduran people: stay peaceful… nobody should use any weapon. Our weapon is democracy.”
Zelaya estimated the flight time to be four hours in the air.
Update: The first question I have is: could the presence of UN General Assembly President D'Escoto mean that they'll be traveling in a United Nations aircraft? That would complicate things for the coup regime.
Developing…

Please spread widely. General Joe