Thousands march in Honduras as impasse hardens

The impasse over Honduras' political future hardened further Wednesday as thousands of supporters of the de-facto government marched through the streets.

They answered the call of Roberto Micheletti, declared head of the de-facto government after President Manuel Zelaya was ousted and exiled June 28, by Congress, the Supreme Court and the military.

Mediation overtures by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias have come to a standstill as Micheletti and Zelaya hurled mutual verbal attacks at each other and vowed that they would not share power in a reconciliation government, as Arias has proposed.

Although the Organisation of American States (OAS) has suspended Honduras' membership until Zelaya, the democratically elected leader, is restored, cracks started forming in the alliance as countries chose sides.

Micheletti's de-facto foreign minister, Carlos Lopez Contreras, declared that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has expressed his "affection" for the conservative Micheletti government.

Lopez declared that Colombia is a friend because, like Honduras, Colombia is a victim of "common external aggressors such as (Venezuelan President) Hugo Chavez".

Chavez has led the push to restore Zelaya to the Honduran presidency. On Wednesday, Cuba also chimed in, with the retired revolutionary leader Fidel Castro charging in an essay that the mediator Arias was really trying to make sure Micheletti and his "putschists" remain in power.

"Arias is an articulate neoliberal who is devoted to the interests of the US," Castro wrote.

Micheletti's government boycotted Wednesday's resumption of mediation talks in Costa Rica, official sources in Tegucigalpa said. After the weekend stalemate in the talks, Arias had given the two sides until Wednesday to consider his own seven-point proposal and reassemble in San Jose for further talks.

Contreras noted however that the failure to send a physical delegation did not mean "that our part of the dialogue is broken." He indicated that the post-coup government had sent another proposal to Arias and hoped for further calls to talks.

Zelaya has called Micheletti's government a "terror regime".

"Their base is military power, oppression, control of the media, limiting public freedoms," Zelaya told DPA late Tuesday. "It's a terrorist government."

Arias, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation efforts in Central America during the 1980s, has proposed that Zelaya return to Honduras to head a reconciliation government, and called for early elections in October to elect a new government.

But Micheletti rebuffed the proposal as one that would intervene in the country's internal affairs. Micheletti has also rejected a compromise proposed by his own negotiating team in Costa Rica that would allow Zelaya to return under certain conditions.

The Honduran Supreme Court, military and Congress booted Zelaya out of his country June 28, charging he was plotting to hold a national referendum that would allow him further terms in office. Zelaya was awakened in the middle of the night and forced to flee the country while still wearing his pajamas.

On Tuesday, Micheletti's regime ordered Venezuelan diplomats to leave the country by Friday. But the Venezuelan embassy in Tegucigalpa said Wednesday it refused to leave. The de-facto regime charges that Venezuelan diplomats have been organising resistance from within the country that aims to restore Zelaya to power.

The pro-Micheletti demonstrations were organized by the Civic Union Democratic group (UCV,) a coalition of trade unions and nongovernmental organizations.

Last updated on Jul 23^rd, 2009 at 06:39 am IST--DPA