Amazon.com Widgets

As featured on p. 218 of "Bloggers on the Bus," under the name "a MyDD blogger."

Monday, July 06, 2009

Air Drama In Honduras

Moving to the other country locked in a political crisis, as I mentioned yesterday Mel Zelaya's plane was blocked fom landing on the runway in Tegucigalpa Airport. The military placed army trucks across the landing strip to prevent the plane from touching down. Meanwhile, large crowds massed at the airport and were pushed back by the military, causing at least one death. I will say that reporters and photographers do seem to have more access in Honduras than in Iran, leading to more in-depth stories. This, from Marc Lacey and Ginger Thompson at the NYT, is a good example.

An airborne drama that held Honduras in suspense for most of the day ended Sunday evening with the ousted president’s plane circling over the airport here in the capital, where soldiers and riot police officers blocked the runway and used tear gas and bullets to disperse supporters who had awaited what was supposed to have been his triumphal return.

As the plane carrying the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, swept in low and made two passes over the city, cheers erupted from the crowds below. An air force jet then streaked across the sky and Mr. Zelaya’s plane flew off to Nicaragua, where he made a brief stopover before heading to El Salvador.

“The runway is blocked,” Mr. Zelaya said in an interview from the sky that was broadcast over loudspeakers to his supporters on the ground. “There is no way I can land.”

He vowed to make another attempt soon.


There are some diplomatic efforts going on between the new Honduran government and the Organization of American States, which suspended Honduras last weekend. But who knows whether that will bear fruit.

At least there's something new to monitor on Twitter.

Labels: , , ,

|