Reply #10: U.S. “Disappointed” Over Events in Honduras [View All]

[L. Coyote]

U.S. “Disappointed” Over Events in Honduras

WASHINGTON – The U.S. government expressed disappointment Friday over the breakdown in implementation of the accord meant to end the standoff between deposed Honduran President Mel Zelaya and the de facto regime that took power with the June 28 coup.

“We urge both sides to act in the best interests of the Honduran people and return to the table immediately to reach agreement on the formation of a unity government,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement.

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In response to questions at his daily press briefing, the State Department’s Kelly said Washington was “disappointed that both sides are not following this very clear path which has been laid out in this accord.”

Asked what the United States wants to see happen next in Honduras, he said: “they need to sit down and start talking again ... they have to stop saying – maybe they need to stop making dire statements that the agreement is dead.”

“I think what happened last night is that there was not an agreement on a government of national unity in reconciliation. It was a unilaterally decided government. And a unilaterally decided government is not a government of unity. So I think it’s fair to say we’re disappointed at both sides,” Kelly said.

Despite persistent efforts, reporters were unable to get Kelly to say explicitly whether U.S. recognition of the winner of the Nov. 29 Honduran presidential election would depend on Zelaya’s reinstatement.

The question stemmed from comments by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint .... Republican said his decision was based on assurances from Thomas Shannon, the outgoing assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Washington would recognize the winner of Honduras’ election regardless of whether Zelaya was reinstated.

DeMint is one of a number of Republican lawmakers who have traveled to Tegucigalpa to show support for the Micheletti regime, which is not recognized by any government and whose agents are blamed for widespread human rights abuses since the coup, including killings and sexual assaults.