Saturday 17 October 2009

President Zelaya giving talks 2 more days - calls for tougher sanctions

It is reported by the Associated Press that 'a spokesman says ousted President Manuel Zelaya will give deadlocked negotiations two more days [until Monday] to resolve the Honduran political crisis. Ricardo Martinez says "we are willing to continue the dialogue."'

After days of talks, the illegal coup President Roberto Micheletti is saying that the Supreme Court - which backed Zelaya's ousting - should decide whether the Zelaya should be allowed to return to power.

"I had said that Micheletti was preparing to slap the Honduran people and the international community, and now he has done that," President Zelaya told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the Brazilian Embassy, where he took refuge after sneaking back into Honduras on Sept. 21 from his forced exile.

In a statement released later, Zelaya urged Western Hemisphere countries to step up economic sanctions "against the de facto regime."