Zelaya flies into exile as new Honduran leader sworn in

TEGUCIGALPA (AFP) - – Deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya abandoned his Brazilian embassy hideout and flew into exile as the swearing-in of a new president raised hopes of an end to political turmoil.

Zelaya left on the official jet of Dominican President Leonel Fernandez Wednesday as part of a deal to begin a process of reconciliation in the Central American nation, which has been left badly divided by seven months of upheaval.

"We'll be back," he promised some of the thousands of supporters gathered at the airport, some holding placards. "See you later Papa Mel. God bless you," read one, using an affectionate nickname.

Zelaya, who was ousted in a military-backed coup last June and forced into exile in his pajamas, sneaked back in last September and took up refuge in the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, seeking reinstatement.

New Honduran President Porfirio Lobo, sworn in at a ceremony earlier Wednesday, had granted Zelaya safe passage out of the country and agreed not to arrest him over charges he violated the constitution while in power.

Zelaya's four-year term was to have ended anyway on Wednesday, the day Lobo was sworn in during a ceremony attended by few international dignitaries.

"We are leaving the worst crisis in our history," Lobo said at his inauguration. "I will be president for all, because as Hondurans we are all one."

Lobo's first act upon taking office was to sign a decree giving amnesty to the soldiers, politicians and judges who brought about the June 28 coup that ousted Zelaya.

He said the measure -- first proposed months ago in failed mediation talks in Costa Rica backed by Washington -- was needed as part of a process of national healing.

Later on his arrival in Santo Domingo, Zelaya thanked the people of the Dominican Republic for showing solidarity with his cause after what he described as "129 days as a prisoner" in his own country.

He said it was "very premature to make a hypothesis" about his political future.

Alongside him, Fernandez said: "It gives me great honor and satisfaction to be able to give president Zelaya the warmest of welcomes. President Zelaya is a symbol of Latin American democracy. We will always condemn the coup."

The United States, which suspended aid to Honduras following the coup and initially backed bids to reinstate Zelaya, warmly welcomed the inauguration of Lobo but stopped short of resuming assistance.

"We haven't made any determinations yet," said Arturo Valenzuela, US assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, who was in Tegucigalpa for Lobo's swearing-in ceremony.

Others attending the inauguration of Lobo included presidents Fernandez of the Dominican Republic, Ricardo Martinelli of Panama and Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan, and Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos.

Roberto Micheletti, the interim leader following Zelaya's ouster who organized the November elections that brought Lobo to power, did not attend the ceremony but went to Mass instead.

Lobo faces several challenges to repair the damage from Zelaya's overthrow.

The most immediate ones are filling state coffers starved of trade revenues and foreign credits, and engineering the return of Honduras into the family of Latin American nations, many of whom expressed outrage at last year's coup.

Fresh support from the United States and European countries are seen as key to breaking the diplomatic isolation imposed on Honduras as punishment for its undemocratic turn.

Valenzuela said Lobo had sought US help in lobbying the Organisation of American States (OAS) to end the suspension of Honduras from the group. The OAS said it would send a mission to Honduras to examine the issue.

France was "ready to support the new Honduran authorities" as Lobo embarked on a period of national reconciliation, a foreign ministry spokesman said in Paris.

But several nations -- Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela among them -- still refuse to recognize Lobo as president, saying it would imply approval of Zelaya's ouster and of coups generally.

Honduran lawmakers and top judges said they conspired to topple Zelaya because he had threatened the constitution by trying to stay in power beyond his single permitted term.

They claimed the former president -- who suddenly reversed ideologies halfway through his term to become a leftwing champion of the poor -- was egged on by his chief foreign ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.