WASHINGTON – Time is running out for a solution to the political crisis in Honduras, the US state department said yesterday as senior government officials prepared to travel there to try to revive talks.
The officials, travelling to the Central American country today, plan to meet with Manuel Zelaya – who was ousted as president in June – and Honduras's de factoleader, Roberto Micheletti, in negotiations expected to last about two days.
“I think it’s getting quite urgent,” said state department spokesman Ian Kelly, referring to the need to reach an agreement before presidential elections next month. The US delegation includes the top state department and White House officials who deal with Latin America.
The Obama administration has said it was disappointed over the deadlock in talks to resolve the crisis sparked by the ouster of Mr Zelaya, a leftist who was sent into exile in an army-backed coup on June 28th. He has since been holed up at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa since slipping back into the impoverished coffee-producing country last month.
Repeated efforts to reach a deal have stalled over disagreement on whether Mr Zelaya could be reinstated to complete his term, which is due to end in January.
Mr Kelly said it was important for the two sides to end the crisis before the November 29th election. Neither Mr Zelaya nor Mr Micheletti is running, but Mr Zelaya has said Mr Micheletti’s refusal to reinstate him before the election will strip the vote’s legitimacy and further isolate the de facto government.
“We want to see an election, which is coming in about exactly a month, to enjoy the kind of international legitimacy that these people of Honduras deserve for their government,” Mr Kelly said.
After the last round of talks broke down last Friday, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton phoned both Mr Zelaya and Mr Micheletti and urged them to be flexible.
She is sending assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs Thomas Shannon, his deputy Craig Kelly and Dan Restrepo, the director for western hemisphere affairs at the White House, to push the two sides toward a compromise.
The US delegation plans to meet representatives from both sides to seek common ground. It was not clear if Mr Zelaya and Mr Micheletti would meet face to face.
“They will urge both sides to show flexibility and redouble their efforts to bring the crisis to an end,” Mr Kelly said. – (Reuters)