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CENTRAL AMERICA |
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De Facto
Honduras Leader Says Ready To Sign Deal To
End Crisis
TEGUCIGALPA - Honduras' de facto leader
Roberto Micheletti said on Thursday that he
was ready to sign a deal to end the
country's political crisis which could clear
the way for reinstatement of ousted
President Manuel Zelaya.
"I have authorized my negotiating team to
sign a deal that marks the beginning of the
end (of the country's political standoff)",
Micheletti told a press conference.
The statement came after negotiators of the
interim government and Zelaya, who was
ousted in a June coup, resumed talks on
Thursday after six days of suspension.
The dialogue was resumed after a U.S. team,
led by Assistant Secretary of State Thomas
Shannon, arrived in Honduras for a
last-ditch effort to end the crisis, caused
by the June 28 coup that ousted elected
President Manuel Zelaya. Secretary of
Political Affairs of the Organization of
American States, Victor Rico, also attended
Thursday's dialogue.
"Time is running out. We only have a month.
We need an agreement as soon as possible,"
Shannon told a news conference at the U.S.
Embassy in Tegucigalpa.
Vilma Morales, member of the de facto
government commission, said this day was
special for Honduras because they would "fix
everything" for the peace and reconciliation
of the country.
Morales added that she was satisfied sitting
at the negotiation table again with her
colleagues, who represented Zelaya.
Meanwhile, Zelaya's representative Rodil
Rivera said: "We will sit down to sign the
agreements we have reached, mainly the one
regarding the Congress to decide if it
restitutes Zelaya or not."
The last round of negotiations collapsed
after Zelaya pulled his delegation out last
Friday. Delegates had reached 95 percent of
the agreement, but stumbled on whether or
not to give power back to Zelaya.
Zelaya insisted on being reinstated before a
planned presidential election to be held on
Nov. 29, while de facto leader Roberto
Micheletti firmly rejected Zelaya's return.
Shannon called the situation "difficult,"
but promised his delegation would stay an
extra day to help Hondurans broker a deal.
Shannon added that the time to reach a
solution was over, as there was only one
month remaining until the elections. He
stressed that the United States and the
international community considered an
agreement urgent.
According to Shannon, without an agreement
it would be difficult for the international
community to ascertain the winner of the
general elections to be hosted this month.
He also said that if the de facto government
and Zelaya reached an agreement, it would
allow the international community to
participate in the elections and assure that
they would be held in peace.
On a separate occasion, Micheletti put the
country's armed forces at the disposal of
the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on
Thursday to ensure that the Nov. 29
elections would go smoothly.
During a ceremony held in a military unit in
Tegucigalpa, the soldiers pledged to guard
and transport 15,269 voting boxes.
"Fulfilling a constitutional mandate, I am
putting the armed forces and the police at
the disposal of guaranteeing the free
voting, the guard, transportation and
vigilance of the electoral material,"
Micheletti declared at the ceremony.
Honduras will host elections on Nov. 29 to
choose a president, 128 deputies for the
Congress, 20 for the Central American
Parliament and 298 mayors.
The international community has said that it
would not recognize those elections until
the political crisis in the country was
resolved, since it recognized ousted
President Manuel Zelaya as the
constitutional president of the country.
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