Monday, July 6, 2009

Monday Honduras news summary

Honduras was dramatically calmer today and life seemed to be getting back to normal. Following are some of the main highlights of the day:

The bishop of Granada, Nicaragua, Bernardo Hombach, criticized the OAS for its prompt action on the political developments in Honduras, but not for the alleged fraud in municipal elections in Nicaragua. "Many Nicaraguans are wondering" why the OAS "has a great belligerence towards Honduras and when fraud was committed in Nicaragua, the OAS did not intervene in any way," said the Catholic leader.

Advancing the General Elections to resolve the political crisis would harm independent candidates, stated Congresswoman Doris Gutierrez, a candidate for mayor of Tegucigalpa.

Panama today offered to mediate the political crisis affecting Honduras, as confirmed by the Foreign Minister of that country, Juan Carlos Varela. The Panamanian Foreign Ministry said it was in contact with the deposed President Zelaya and the new government led by Roberto Micheletti.

The deposed Honduran president told reporters he is traveling to Washington to meet with with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other officials from the Obama administration.

The Defense Minister, Lionel Seville, said that the plane attempting to return the deposed Manuel Zelaya on Sunday was never in danger.

According to Latin American experts, the economy of Honduras could be profoundly affected by international efforts to isolate and pressure the new government.

U.S. officials said they have "no plans" to meet with the commission sent to that country by the new government of Honduras, in an attempt to resolve the crisis.

The new Minister of Finance met with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and guaranteed the release of funds for the November elections.

President Micheletti called on the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to remind Zelaya Rosales that democracy in Honduras is just as important as it is in the U.S. The interim President thanked Mrs. Clinton for her intentions to seek a solution to the political crisis in Honduras.

Source: El Heraldo

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