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Castro
Condemns Honduras 'Farce'
HAVANA - Cuba's president has accused
the US of helping to legitimize what he
called an "electoral farce" in Honduras.
Raul Castro made the comments in Havana
during the Alba summit of nine Latin
American countries, defending what he
said was the right of Manuel Zelaya, the
former Honduran president, to be
reinstated.
The Cuban leader said many of the
region's governments had "condemned
unequivocally" the military coup that
ousted Zelaya in June.
"Sadly, we weren't able to count on the
physical presence of the president of
Honduras, Manuel Zelaya," Castro said.
"The people of that Latin American
nation have had their constitutional
rights denied and a usurper government
has been imposed with the support of the
North American [US] administration,
which they've attempted to legitimize
with an electoral farce."
Alba, which approved economic sanctions
against the de facto Honduran government
of Roberto Micheletti, called for
international pressure to reject the
November 29 Honduran elections won by
president-elect Porfirio Lobo.
Zelaya, the ousted Honduran president,
secretly slipped back into the country
in September and has remained holed up
at the heavily-fortified Brazilian
embassy ever since.
On Friday he told reporters he would
stay there until January 27, when his
presidential term was to officially end.
Responding to Castro's comments, the US
state department said in a statement
that Cuba's leader was in no position to
give lectures about democracy.
"Millions of Hondurans voted in the
recent competitive election won by
Porfirio Lobo," the statement said.
"When Raul Castro was named president,
there was only one vote that counted -
his brother's. If Raul Castro wants to
lecture about democracy, he should start
practizing it as well." |
