In an attempt to defuse a flap over charges that he had "stood up" Ma by not appearing at a state banquet Friday evening, Ortega visited Ma at the latter's residence in the Crowne Plaze Managua and, after a brief meeting, drove the Taiwan president to a banquet with overseas Taiwan groups at the Holiday Inn and openly explained why he did not appear at the Friday banquet.

Speaking to Ma, the Sandinista leader related that planning for the Taiwan visit initially focused on the issue of how to cope with the global financial crisis, but related that the atmosphere had been dramatically transformed by the overthrow on June 28 of Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya by a military coup which he said had brought "unprecedented tension" to the region.

Ortega related that, in addition to the funeral of Sandinista Managua City mayor Alexis Arquella, a crisis erupted on the Honduran issue Friday evening when Zelaya came to Managua to discuss the question of how the Organization of American States will respond to the passage of its 72-hour ultimatum to the interim Honduran government to relinquish power.

The deadline expired at midnight Saturday and, instead of allowing Zelaya to return, the Honduran authorities under former congressional speaker Ricardo Martinelli decided to instead withdraw from the OAS.

Moreover, Ortega related that a conference of bishops in Honduras had warned that there would be a "bloodbath" if Zelaya returned given intensifying domestic antagonism and the stiffening attitude of the military-backed government, which has already clamped down on critical media.

"We also received some information that the archbishop of Honduras had warned that there would be a bloodbath in Honduras if he returned," said the Nicaraguan president, evidently referring to a statement by Catholic Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez who warned Zelaya in a broadcast statement that "your return to the country could unleash a bloodbath."

"We need to unite to ensure that this does not happen and to absolutely avoid any bloody confrontation," declared Ortega. Ortega told Ma and the audience that there "had been many statements or new unfavorable to Nicaragua" and added that there had already been some small-scale conflicts between Nicaraguan and Honduran troops on the long border between the two nations.

Ortega related that he had talked with Zelaya all night until sending him off on a flight to Washington for an emergency OAS meeting Saturday afternoon and stated that Zelaya will have to await the decision of the OAS Saturday before deciding on whether or when to attempt to return to his country.

The OAS meeting suspended Honduras's membership during the meeting and Zelaya vowed again to return to Honduras yesterday.

Ortega stated that he had explained the complex situation for his absence to Ma and stated that if there was anyone to blame for his absence at the Friday night dinner it was the Nicarguan leader himself.

Ortega also reaffirmed his commitment to diplomatic relations with Taiwan and expressed approval for Ma's flexible diplomacy and related that Managua will host high technology industry exhibitions from Taiwan and China in August.

Ma stated that Ortega had explained Nicaragua's long struggle for democracy while driving the Taiwan president in his Mercedes jeep to Mastepe, a town 45 kilometers southwest of Managua, to review an exhibition on red beans and other agricultural products produced on agricultural cooperatives with technical assistance from Taiwan's International Cooperation and Development Fund.

The Taiwan president said that he had told Ortega that, under his policy of "diplomatic truce" with China, Taipei no longer opposed its diplomatic allies from having commercial relations with Beijing so long as formal diplomatic ties were retained with Taipei.

Moreover, Ma told the Nicaraguan leader that the KMT government aimed to maintain existing cooperation plans and hoped to expand into new areas, especially education through expanding the number of Nicaraguan students in Taiwan's vocational schools, universities and graduate schools.

After the luncheon banquet, Ortega and Ma participated in a ground breaking ceremony Saturday for a "Microfer" commercial exhibition center for agricultural and commercial "microenterprises" that is being financed mainly by the Taiwan government.

The Nicaraguan president personally drove Ma to Managua International Airport and walked him to the steps leading into the Boeing 747-400 Combi.