Honduran rulers close two broadcasters

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The de facto Honduran government has closed two broadcasters that aired messages from deposed President Manuel Zelaya, police said Monday.

Honduran police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said the two news outlets, Channel 36 and Radio Globo, had been closed indefinitely because they had "incited insurrection," The New York Times reported.

The crackdown on the broadcasters is part of a move by authorities to suspend constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly, making it easier for the Honduran army to arrest Zelaya supporters looking to gather Monday to mark the three-month anniversary of his June 28 arrest and deportation, the Los Angeles Times said.

Zelaya, from a refuge in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, has called on his supporters through friendly media outlets to march for him. The ousted president has the backing of the international community, but on Sunday Honduras reportedly expelled diplomats of the Organization of American States who had been trying to mediate the crisis.

The Los Angeles Times said acting Honduran rulers gave Brazil 10 days to turn over Zelaya or face "retaliation" as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared he would not be swayed by threats from "coup plotters."

The emergency measure could be used to shut down broadcasters deemed too sympathetic to Zelaya. The pro-Zelaya television station Channel 36 abruptly disappeared from the air Sunday, the newspaper said.