The Organization of American States Sunday condemned the military coup which ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, and said it would not recognize any government arising from the coup, Xinhua reported.
The OAS Permanent Council passed a resolution after a special session. The resolution condemned "vehemently the coup d'etat staged this morning against the constitutionally-established government of Honduras" and "the arbitrary detention and expulsion from the country of the constitutional president."
It called for the "immediate, safe and unconditional return" of Zelaya.
Zelaya was seized by soilders in the early morning and was flewn to Costa Rica.
He said in a press conference in Costa Rica that he did not resign and is still the president of the country.
OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza will consulte with other regional leaders in Nicaragua. And the OAS General Assembly is scheduled to meet on Tuesday at its Washington headquarters to discuss the situation in Honduras.
The Zelaya government has appealed Friday to the OAS to help the country restore political stability.
Carlos Sosa, the Honduran ambassador to the OAS, requested the OAS to convene an extraordinary meeting to evaluate the country's current situation and asked the OAS to apply the Inter-American Democratic Charter "with the best intention to return to Honduras the tranquility, stability, legality and institutions," Honduras media reported.
The OAS, if applying the charter, will send a mission to analyze the situation in the country, make a report and submit it to the OAS Permanent Council. It could then make necessary decisions to preserve and strengthen democracy in the Central American nation, Sosa said.
Tensions were rising in Honduras before the scheduled Sunday referendum which was pushed by Zelaya to changing the country's constitution. The military, the courts and the legislature opposed the referendum, fearing that the change of constitution would allow Zelaya to run for a second term after his current term expires in 2010 .
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