Ousted Honduran President Plans Return

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says he will return to his country later this week.

Mr. Zelaya announced the plans late Monday during a meeting of Latin American leaders in Nicaragua.

Ousted Honduras' President Zelaya (L) and Nicaragua's President Ortega read final declaration of ALBA summit in Nicaragua, 29 Jun 2009The Honduran president says he plans to make the trip Thursday with Organization of American States Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza.

Earlier Monday, security forces in riot gear fired tear gas to push back protesters massing outside the Presidential Palace in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

More than 1,000 demonstrators upset at the ouster of President Zelaya taunted security forces Monday, pelting them with stones and setting up barricades of burning tires.

Witnesses and officials say more than 20 protesters were arrested. There have also been reports of injuries.

Mr. Zelaya was arrested by Honduran soldiers on Sunday and expelled to Costa Rica.

The clashes broke out as officials around the world condemned President Zelaya's banishment.

In Washington Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama said the ouster was "not legal" and said that in the U.S. view, Mr. Zelaya remains the president of Honduras. Earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the events a coup and called for Honduras to restore full democratic and constitutional order.

At the United Nations, General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann said the coup was a "throwback to another era that we had hoped was now a distant nightmare."

President Zelaya is now in Nicaragua to meet with other Latin American presidents. He is scheduled to address the U.N. Tuesday.

The Honduran Supreme Court says it ordered the army to arrest him because of his attempt to hold a referendum on changing the constitution to allow him to run for another term. The court had ruled the referendum as illegal.

Honduran lawmakers Sunday appointed parliament leader Roberto Micheletti as president. Mr. Micheletti said his rise to power was legal and not a coup.

The newly installed president is facing growing pressure from foreign governments including the United States, Venezuela and Mexico. But he said Monday that his new government is not afraid of anyone.

Mr. Zelaya was elected in 2006 to a four-year term. The 1982 constitution bans re-election. Despite his ouster, he has pledged to serve out his term.

During her comments Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Clinton did not say whether the U.S. will cut off aid to Honduras.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.