Honduran president Porfirio Lobo threatens striking teachers with suspension

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo threatened to fire teachers if they continue a three-week-old strike that has aggravated divisions caused by a 2009 coup.

Teachers who fail to show up in classrooms today will be suspended without pay, according to the president's decree. If they don't appear by April 4, they will be fired.

The protesters oppose a proposed law that would give parents oversight of schools and they say the government owes six months of back pay to 6,000 teachers. They also demanding the return of leftist former President Manuel Zelaya.

Original source: Associated Press