Honduran Leader: US Weakened Anti-Coup Movement

[Judi Lynn]

Honduran Leader: US Weakened Anti-Coup Movement
Ousted Honduran leader says US weakened anti-coup effort
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras November 23, 2009 (AP) The Associated Press

http://a.abcnews.com.nyud.net:8090/images/International/2d318478-254c-4663-8c2e-51a7fe269ca3_mn.jpg

Honduras' interim President Roberto Micheletti,
second left, looks at a homeless woman sitting
in the isle during mass in Tegucigalpa, Monday,
Nov. 23, 2009. Congress is scheduled to vote
on whether to instate ousted President Manuel
Zelaya on Dec. 2, days after general elections
on Nov. 29. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (AP)

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Monday the United States has weakened efforts to reverse the coup that ousted him, while a U.S. envoy says his country has clearly opposed the ouster and will examine upcoming elections closely for fairness.

Zelaya told the Radio Globo station that the Nov. 29 presidential elections are an attempt to legitimize his ouster, and said "whoever is elected will be as illegitimate as (Roberto) Micheletti," the interim president who replaced him.

In an open letter to the presidents of the region, Zelaya called on the region's leaders "not to adopt ambiguous or imprecise positions like the one shown now by the United States, whose final position has weakened the effort to reverse the coup, illustrating the division in the international community."

But the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Arturo Valenzuela, said Monday that the elections "are not something invented by the de-facto government as a way out or to clean up the coup."

http://radiohrn.hn.nyud.net:8090/website/sites/default/files/imagecache/interna/arturo%20valenzuela.jpg

U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Arturo Valenzuela

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