Zelaya's flying circus over Tegucigalpa

BBC:

At least one person has been killed as Honduran troops try to disperse supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya at Tegucigalpa airport.

Mr Zelaya's plane has been circling above the capital after flying in from the US, while the interim authorities insist it will not be allowed to land.

They are seeking to re-route the plane to El Salvador instead.

But speaking from the plane, Mr Zelaya appealed to the military to let him land "in the name of God".

Mr Zelaya, who was removed from power just over a week ago, has been issuing defiant messages from the air.

"I am the commander of the armed forces, elected by the people, and I ask the armed forces to comply with the order to open the airport so that there is no problem in landing and embracing with my people," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"I have sufficient spiritual strength, blessed with the blood of Christ, to be able to arrive there and raise the crucifix."

He is being accompanied on the plane by UN General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann and a number of journalists.

The presidents of Argentina, Ecuador and Paraguay and the head of the Organization of American States (OAS) left Washington at the same time as Mr Zelaya, bound for El Salvador to monitor events.

The Honduran interim government has accused troops from neighbouring Nicaragua of heading to the border but Nicaragua denies this.

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I wonder if Zelaya and his backers have any idea how foolish they look with this stunt. It appears they are trying to live down to the reputation of Latin American socialist. This also looks like a deadly circus after he instigated backers into a confrontation with the army. For a guy who ignored the rule of law to do a fly by asking the troops to rally to him after he fired their leader strikes me as absurd.

The Washington Post reports the circus landed in Nicaragua and may relaunch in a couple of days.