Honduras refuses to restore president; snubs OAS

"If Honduras is out of the OAS, well, we will be isolated ... little by little we will regain the confidence of other nations, because we are a valiant people who have said 'enough' to Chavez," said Micheletti's assistant foreign minister, Martha Lorena Alvarado.

"We will not retreat," she said, "and Zelaya's return is not negotiable."

Insulza said Honduran officials gave him documents showing that charges are pending or have been brought against Zelaya, charges they say justify the coup.

The OAS diplomat also met with the two main candidates in Honduras' Nov. 29 elections, as well with the Popular Block umbrella group of farm, labor and student groups that largely supports Zelaya.

But Insulza said he would not see Micheletti, whom Congress named president after Zelaya's ouster, in order to avoid legitimizing the government.

Zelaya, meanwhile, was traveling in Central America and planned to return to Honduras on Sunday, according to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Zelaya had said he would be traveling with Insulza and the presidents of Argentina and Ecuador. Honduran officials have vowed to arrest the ousted leader if he returns home.

Micheletti led a raucous chant of "Democracy!" before a giant crowd Friday waving blue-and-white Honduran flags in front of the palace he has occupied since Zelaya was seized by soldiers on June 28 and flown into exile.

"I am the president of all Hondurans," he proclaimed, as police helicopters circled over the heavily guarded palace.

A rival rally by thousands of Zelaya backers marched to the OAS offices carrying a banner that read: "Mel, our friend, the people are with you!"

Micheletti's supporters say the army was justified in ousting Zelaya — on orders of Congress and the Supreme Court — because he had called a referendum which they claim he intended to use to extend his rule. Zelaya denies that and has said he will no longer press for constitutional changes.

The U.S. Embassy issued a statement Friday expressing "deep concern over restrictions imposed on certain fundamental rights" by Micheletti's government, including a curfew and "reports of intimidation and censorship against certain individuals and media outlets."

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