Interim leaders make Honduras offer

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.

‘No reaction’

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.

Meza said that the government had exploited the talks to buy time, saying that “for us, there is no room to continue talks with people who are only seeking to draw out the discussion”.

“When we say today, they say tomorrow. When we say tomorrow, they say the
day after tomorrow. It’s a game of delay.”

Talks stalled

Talks between the interim government and Zelaya stalled last week after the delegations failed to agree on who should decide whether Zelaya should be reinstated.

Zelaya was forced from the presidential palace and in to exile by the Honduran army on June 28, as he planned to hold a non-binding referendum on changes to the constitution.

The supreme court had ordered his arrest after it ruled the public vote illegal.

Members of congress had accused Zelaya of trying to win support to extend his rule beyond the single term mandated by the constitution, claims Zelaya has denied.

Zelaya has sheltered at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa since secretly re-entering the country in late September.