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CENTRAL AMERICA |
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Honduras' Zelaya
To Stay In Brazil Embassy
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' deposed
President Manuel Zelaya said on Sunday that
he would stay in the Brazilian embassy in
the Honduran capital for as long as Brasilia
allowed him to and that he would be willing
to talk to the new president-elect.
Leftist Zelaya, who was ousted by the army
in a coup on June 28, slipped back into
Honduras in September and took refuge in the
Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, from where
he has been demanding his reinstatement.
The United States and Brazil have been
pushing for Zelaya's return to power but his
fate remains uncertain after the Honduran
Congress voted on Wednesday not to allow him
to finish his term that ends in January.
"As long as I have Brazil's support, I will
be here," Zelaya told Reuters by telephone
from the embassy, which is ringed by
Honduran soldiers around the clock.
Opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo won a
presidential vote last weekend and could
allow Honduras, which is suffering from an
aid freeze following the coup, to overcome
the five-month crisis.
Regional power Brazil has said it does not
recognize the election because it was
organized by the de-facto government. But it
signaled late on Friday it may consider
Lobo's victory as separate from the coup and
potentially legitimate.
Zelaya has also rejected the elections as a
sham, but told Reuters he did not rule out
talking to Lobo, a sign that he too may be
willing to compromise.
"I am a democrat ... I always talk," he said
when asked about holding talks with Lobo. |
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