Honduras - political stalemate

Wavering de facto regime agrees to rethink rights curbs

Article published on the 2009-09-29 Latest update 2009-09-29 09:16 TU

Honduras interim President Roberto Micheletti speaks at the Presidential House in Tegucigalpa on Monday
(Photo: Reuters)

Honduran de facto leaders have followed a clampdown on dissents with a promise to reconsider rights curbs and resume mediation efforts. This comes after it on Monday invited back members of a mediation mission from the Organisation of American States.

De facto leader Roberto Micheletti said he was prepared to rescind a decree restricting civil liberties so that upcoming presidential polls are not affected.

"We're worried that this decree could affect the elections," Micheletti told journalists in Tegucigalpa, hours after soldiers shut down two dissident media outlets under the new measures. "If it's necessary, we'll revoke it."

The deep divisions within the central American country were laid bare as the Organisation of American States failed after more than ten hours of debate to reach consensus on the crisis, sparked by the 28 June coup.

Protesters taped their mouths shut to symbolise the loss of their right to express themselves as they were prevented from answering ousted President Manuel Zelaya's call to converge for a mass protest.

Zelaya, meanwhile, appealed to the UN General Assembly to restore law in Honduras in an address he gave by telephone from his refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, where he emerged after a surprise return last week.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement it was "pleased" to invite the preparatory mission from the pan-American organisation to visit Honduras from Friday and apologised for sending back four officials, who were detained at the capital's airport on Sunday.