Honduran political sides split on plan

By The Associated Press Comments 0
Published: November 7, 2009

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras— Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says a deal that could have returned him to power is defunct. Roberto Micheletti, who took power after a coup, says the same deal has been successfully accomplished.

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The Obama administration, caught in the middle of a power struggle in this tiny Central American nation, was urgently pressing Friday for the accord it hailed as "a historic victory for democracy.”

"No, it’s not dead, but maybe sleeping for the time being,” said State Department press spokesman Fred Lash.

On Friday, with the U.S.-brokered pact’s future seriously in doubt, Lash said the question of whether the U.S. will recognize upcoming elections "remains nebulous.”

Micheletti’s backers hope that a clean vote for a new president will force the world to accept that politics has returned to normal in Honduras. Zelaya’s backers accuse the coup-installed officials of trying to delay his return to power — at least until the election.

Honduras, one of the poorest nations in the hemisphere, plunged into political crisis four months ago when Zelaya was forced out of bed in his pajamas and flown to Costa Rica. He sneaked back into his country on Sept. 21, and has been in the Brazilian Embassy ever since under threat of arrest.

The U.S. and the rest of the international community — which cut off most foreign aid and diplomatic ties after the coup — are urgently seeking a resolution before Honduras’ election.

But the key players aren’t playing.

"The negotiations have come to an end,” Zelaya told The Associated Press.

Last week’s accord called for a unity government with backers of both sides to oversee elections.