[RSCT] AP 8/1/09: Honduran teacher shot during pro-president march dies

[Rick Kisséll]

Honduran teacher shot during pro-president march dies

by Freddy Cuevas
Associated Press Writer
8/1/09

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – A Honduran educator who was shot in the head while protesting the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya died Saturday after being in a coma for two days, a teachers union leader said.

                        Roger Vallejo, a 38-year-old high school teacher in the capital of Tegucigalpa,
was wounded on Thursday as thousands of Zelaya supporters blocked a
highway and clashed with security forces, although police allege he was
shot by his fellow protesters.
                        Union leader Sergio Rivera said he died early Saturday.

                        Vallejo
is the second Zelaya supporter to be killed in clashes since the June
28 coup. Last month, 19-year-old Isis Obed Murillo was shot dead as a
crowd tried to break through the fence surrounding Tegucigalpa's
international airport, where a plane carrying Zelaya was attempting to
land.

                        From exile in Nicaragua,
Zelaya encouraged Hondurans to continue resisting the government of
Roberto Micheletti — who was installed as president following the coup
and said this week that authorities would no longer tolerate roadblocks
that have snarled traffic in Tegucigalpa and other cities.

                        "To
the different members of Honduran society: Rise up against the
repression, so that the blood being spilled will not be in vain,"
Zelaya said Saturday. "We will fight until we succeed in restoring the
constitutional order."

                        Zelaya spoke to
backers in the town of Ocotal, near the Honduran border, where he has
established a base of operations and where many supporters have been
gathering. He returned there late Friday after meeting with the U.S.
ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua.

                        Also Saturday, Micheletti said in a televised address that his government is resisting "with pride" the international condemnation and sanctions that have included the suspension of aid programs and freezing of military assistance.

                        Micheletti
also reiterated that his government reserves the right to cancel visas
for U.S. diplomats in retaliation after Washington revoked the
diplomatic visas of four officials in his government.

                        "That
is a right we have because this is our land ... it's not admissible for
anyone, as powerful as they may be, to come and tell us what to do or
humiliate us," Micheletti said.
                        The United States has been pressing for Honduras to allow Zelaya's return — the key demand of crisis mediator and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, who also has proposed amnesty for the coup plotters and other measures as part of a compromise deal.
                        Zelaya plans to travel next week to Mexico, where the government confirmed he will meet with President Felipe Calderon on Tuesday.

                        Before
his ouster, Zelaya had been trying to organize a referendum to gauge
popular support for a constitutional overhaul, defying court orders
declaring the vote illegal. Opponents say he was trying to extend his
presidential term, which ends Jan. 27, but Zelaya denies any such
intentions.

                        

                        Associated Press writer Filadelfo Aleman in Managua, Nicaragua, contributed to this report.



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