Reuters/Tegucigalpa
An agreement to end a four-month political crisis in Honduras collapsed early yesterday after two rival leaders failed to form a unity cabinet to heal the damage from a June coup.
Ousted president Manuel Zelaya declared the pact dead just a week after it was signed and called on Hondurans to boycott presidential elections this month because, in a surprise move, de facto leader Roberto Micheletti moved to form a government without him.
The rival leaders had agreed to form a so-called unity and reconciliation cabinet by Thursday, but then they clashed over who would lead the cabinet until the Honduran Congress decided whether to reinstate Zelaya.
“It’s absurd what they are doing, trying to mock all of us, the people who elected me and the international community that supports me. We’ve decided not to continue this theatre with Mr Micheletti,” Zelaya said.
The impoverished coffee and textile-exporting country has been isolated diplomatically and cut off from international aid since Zelaya was toppled by soldiers and sent into exile in his pajamas in a June 28 coup.
Yesterday morning local television showed a heavy contingent of tanks and soldiers and other military vehicles surrounding the Brazilian embassy where Zelaya has been holed up since he sneaked back into Honduras in September. |
