Under pressure, Honduras shuts pro-Zelaya media

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' de facto government sent troops on Monday to shut down two media stations loyal to ousted President Manuel Zelaya, digging in to resist international pressure for his return to power.

Zelaya was overthrown in a military coup on June 28, but he secretly returned from exile and sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy last Monday, sparking a tense standoff with the de facto civilian government that has vowed to arrest him.

Hundreds of soldiers and riot police have surrounded the embassy for the past week, while Zelaya urges his followers to take to the streets to demand he be restored to office in the coffee- and textile-producing country.

The Organization of American States held an extraordinary session in Washington on Monday to discuss the face-off. Honduras denied entry on Sunday to an OAS delegation seeking to set up a high-level visit to broker a negotiated settlement.

At the OAS session, U.S. ambassador Lewis Anselem criticized both the de facto government and Zelaya for allowing the crisis to escalate.

"The regime should manage security with restraint and caution. President Zelaya should exercise leadership in urging his followers insistently with no mixed message to express their views peacefully," Anselem said.

He described the de facto government's actions as "deplorable and foolish" but also called on Zelaya to "desist from making wild allegations and from acting as though he were starring in an old movie."

The crisis is the first serious test for U.S. President Barack Obama in Latin America. He has called for Zelaya's reinstatement and cut some aid to Honduras but has also been criticized for not doing more to restore democracy in the small Central American country.

Brazil, which was thrust to the forefront of the crisis when Zelaya snuck back into Honduras and entered its embassy, called on the international community to ratchet up the pressure on the de facto government to force a settlement.

"I'm hoping that the coup leaders accept a new round of talks with the OAS, otherwise the international community must increase the pressure," Marco Aurelio Garcia, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's top foreign policy adviser, told Reuters in Brasilia.

Garcia also lamented Anselem's remarks at the OAS, saying they underscored the "ambiguous nature of U.S. diplomacy."

A negotiated settlement seems unlikely, with Zelaya's reinstatement the main sticking point. OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza said a mission from the Western hemisphere's top diplomatic body would only travel to Honduras when "there are results to be achieved."

SHOWDOWN, SANCTIONS

The raids on Radio Globo and the Cholusat Sur television station -- both critical of the de facto government headed by Roberto Micheletti -- came early on Monday and followed a decree allowing suspension of some civil rights and media.

Both stations have been taken off the air several times since the June 28 coup that toppled Zelaya, a logging magnate who irked the opposition and business groups by allying himself with Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez.

"Troops assaulted the radio, took over the station and took it off the air," Radio Globo director David Romero said.

Police and troops cordoned off the building and the offices of Cholusat Sur, which has been off the air since late Sunday.

Guatemala complained that two Guatemalan journalists were "verbally and physically" assaulted by police during the raid on Radio Globo. It gave no more details.

The crackdown came hours before Zelaya followers planned a march in Tegucigalpa in what the deposed leader called the "final offensive." But the capital was generally calm and only a few hundred pro-Zelaya protesters squared off with police before dispersing peacefully after a few hours.

The government's tough stance sent a clear message that it does not intend to allow Zelaya to return to power, and instead appears to determined to hold out until presidential elections scheduled for November 29.

But several countries, including the United States, have suggested they might not recognize the vote. The media crackdown and an ultimatum to Brazil to resolve Zelaya's status or close its embassy have increased international pressure on Honduras, which has already suffered cuts in foreign funding.

Brazil's President Lula said he would ignore a 10-day deadline set by the de facto government to decide on the fate of Zelaya, who is holed up in the embassy with his family and some supporters.

Soldiers toppled Zelaya at gunpoint and sent him into exile in his pajamas after the Supreme Court ordered his arrest. His critics say he broke the law by pushing for constitutional reforms they saw as a bid to change presidential term limits and extend his rule. Zelaya denies wanting to stay in power.

(Additional reporting by Sean Mattson in Tegucigalpa, Deborah Charles in Washington, and Natuza Nery in Brasilia; Editing by Todd Benson and Anthony Boadle)