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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Interim leaders make Honduras offer |
| 2009-10-24 |
| Honduras's military-backed interim government has made a new offer towards resolving its standoff with Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, just hours after Zelaya's aides said negotiations had failed. Vilma Morales, a representative of Robert Micheletti, the interim president, said that the de facto government was willing to allow Zelaya to appeal directly to the legislature to decide whether he should be reinstated. "Congress could decide [on Zelaya's reinstatement to the presidency] based on a request that he should formally present to the legislative branch," Morales said on Friday. Micheletti had previously insisted that the Honduran supreme court be the final arbiter of whether Zelaya could retake his post. The supreme court has already ruled out allowing Zelaya's reinstatement. Zelaya has said he wants congress to rule on his attempt to be reinstated, despite the fact that estimates suggest that he only has the support of about one-fifth of politicians in the chamber. Victor Meza, a Zelaya representative, said his side had no reaction to Micheletti's proposal because "it still hasn't been formally delivered to us". Micheletti's team also suggested a scenario in which both Micheletti and Zelaya would renounce any claim to the presidency, with a third party designated to serve out the three months left in Zelaya's term. However, Zelaya has not agreed to similar proposals in the past. Several countries, including the US, say that Zelaya should be promptly reinstated to the presidency pending elections scheduled for November 29. They have said that they will not recognise the result of the vote unless Zelaya is back in office in time for the election. |
| Posted by:Steve White |