July 4, 2009 OAS fails to reinstate Zelaya

WASHINGTON (AP) - The OAS secretary general says his efforts to return Manuel Zelaya to the presidency in Honduras have failed.

Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza asked the organization Saturday to punish the de facto government by suspending the country from the organization. Minutes before Insulza's report to a special meeting of foreign ministers, ousted Honduran president Zelaya said he's optimistic and is still planning to return Sunday to his country a week after he was overthrown by a military coup.

But even before Saturday's emergency session, Honduras' interim government decided to pull out of the OAS rather than meet demands to reinstate Zelaya.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)