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OAS Mission to Honduras Ends in Impasse With Acting Government

By Blake Schmidt

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- An Organization of American States mission to Honduras that sought a resolution to the country’s two-month political crisis ended in impasse, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno said on Honduran radio station HRN today.

The delegation failed to convince the acting government of President Roberto Micheletti to accept an agreement proposed by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, known as the San Jose accord, Stagno said on HRN.

Micheletti repeated today that he won’t allow the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who was woken at gunpoint at his home on June 28 and put on a plane out of the country. Micheletti vowed to hold presidential elections in November “whether the world recognizes them or not.”

“We’re not afraid of sanctions from anyone,” Micheletti told the mission of foreign ministers today, according to HRN radio.

Micheletti met the ministers after the U.S. State Department said it will suspend some visa services at its embassy in Honduras to push the acting government to accept the San Jose accord. The proposal would restore Zelaya as president, bump elections up a month to October and protect both sides with political amnesty.

Human Rights Watch called today for the international community to step up pressure against the acting government in light of an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report last week that alleged human rights abuses aimed at intimidating protesters.

To contact the reporter on this story: Blake Schmidt in Granada, Nicaragua at bschmidt16@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 25, 2009 19:05 EDT

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