Lobo Urges Zelaya to Quit Annoying Honduras

President Porfirio Lobo today said that deposed president Manuel Zelaya should "calm down and quit being such an annoyance to Honduras". Mr. Lobo's comments were in response to a question by a reporter regarding Mr. Zelaya's recent remarks about attending the Rio Summit of Unity of Latin America and the Caribbean in Cancún, Mexico next week to propose adoption of a resolution calling for Honduras to abolish its Armed Forces in order to avoid future breaks in the country's constitutional order. Mr. Lobo was participating in an event commemorating the 36th anniversary of the opening of Hernán Acosta Mejía Air Base in Tegucigalpa. He reiterated that no one can tell Honduras how to manage its internal affairs. (2/19/10)

During the past two weeks, Mr. Zelaya has called on the Lobo administration to purge Honduras' Armed Forces of those who played a role in his arrest and exile on June 28, 2009. Mr. Lobo has indicated that he is not in any hurry to make changes to the upper echelon of the country's military, led by Brigadier General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez. (2/19/10) (photo of Porfirio Lobo courtesy AFP)