Honduras' de facto government remains dead-set against the return of Manuel Zelaya as the country's president, defying the Obama administration and disregarding the U.S. sanctions imposed last week against the poor Central American nation.
In fact, the government of interim President Roberto Micheletti appears to be digging in its heels against Zelaya by circulating accusations the ousted president illegally used public money to keep horses, buy watches and jewelry and repair his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Foreign Minister Carlos Lopez Contreras said his government continues to reject calls that it grant amnesty to Zelaya and allow him to return as president, as called for under a proposal by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
"Mr. Zelaya has orders for his arrest for crimes he has committed. That is the only possibility," Lopez Contreras told McClatchy in a telephone interview.
Lopez Contreras said outsiders don't seem to understand that whether Honduras grants amnesty to Zelaya depends not on Micheletti but the country's Congress and Supreme Court.
The foreign minister complained that Arias had rejected out of hand a Micheletti government counterproposal from Aug. 27 that would establish a unity government in Honduras that neither he nor Zelaya would head. It would also end Honduras' trade agreements with Venezuela that have been a point of pride for President Hugo Chavez.
"The mediator acts like a negotiator for Zelaya instead of as a mediator," Lopez Contreras said. "We don't see him playing an objective role." |