Zelaya: No Part of U.S. Brokered Deal
Staying in this tin foil-lined room at the Brazilian embassy in Honduras, deposed president Mel Zelaya has told President Obama that he's backing out of the agreement he signed two weeks ago:
Zelaya also rebuffed US efforts after the Honduran Congress failed to vote to reinstate him as president -- a crucial part of last month's US-backed deal to end the impasse.Zelaya had made his intention to withdraw from the agreement clear on November 5 when he didn't submit a list of candidates for a unity government.Shortly after the coup the United States had demanded that Zelaya be reinstated before it would back an election, but Washington later shifted its position, saying it would support the outcome of elections even if Zelaya does not reclaim his post.
"We support the elections process there," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Thursday.
You can read Zelaya's rambling letter to Obama in English (rough translation), and in the original Spanish. He insists on being reinstated to power.
It remains for the US to insist that Zelaya abide by the accord he had agreed to and recognize the results of the November 29 elections as verified by international monitors.
