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Jose Miguel Insulza, OAS secretary general |
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - The interim government said yesterday that it was canceling a visit by foreign delegates aimed at resolving the country’s political crisis because it could not accept the participation of a regional official who insists on reinstating the ousted president.
Interim President Roberto Micheletti is willing to reschedule the delegation’s visit, previously planned for tomorrow - as long as Organization of American States chief Jose Miguel Insulza is excluded, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Washington-based OAS, a long-established hemispheric body promoting democracy, development, and legal cooperation in the Americas, on Friday named the delegation comprising foreign ministers from Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
The group’s mission was to try to persuade Micheletti to negotiate with international mediators seeking to return President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a coup on June 28.
But in addition to insisting that he accompany the delegation, Insulza failed to include foreign ministers who might be open to “reconsidering our position,’’ the statement said, which “has made it impossible to hold the visit’’ now.
Micheletti’s government “is completely willing to consider a new date for the mission of foreign ministers . . . excluding Mr. Insulza, who could be replaced by other OAS officials,’’ the Foreign Ministry’s statement said.
Despite the suspension of millions of dollars of US aid and the threat of more sanctions, interim leaders have made clear they expect to hold out until the Nov. 29 elections. Coup backers hope the election will calm international demands to restore Zelaya, whose term ends Jan. 27.
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