Ousted Honduran president Zelaya says coup talks suspended

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Manuel Zelaya

Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has said that talks on ending the stand-off stemming from his ouster have broken down.

Speaking from the Brazilian Embassy in the capital, Tegucigalpa, where he has taken refuge, Zelaya told reporters the talks are suspended until the other side presents what he called a "reasonable" stance. A member of Zelaya's negotiating team, Victor Meza, said the proposal offered by interim President Roberto Micheletti is "completely unacceptable."

That proposal calls for the Honduran Supreme Court to decide whether Zelaya should be allowed to return to power.

Despite Zelaya's statements, however, envoys from the two sides have said that negotiations will continue.

Micheletti has recently come under international pressure to restore Zelaya to his post. Zelaya was ousted late in June of this year, after he refused to comply with orders by the country's Supreme Court to cancel a referendum regarding a constitutional rewrite that had been deemed illegal.


Sources