Cuba, July 17: US-backed mediation talks for resolving Honduras crisis would weaken democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya, says former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
“It is obvious that each day of delay has a cost for the constitutional president and tends to dilute the extraordinary international support he has received,” Castro wrote in a column on Thursday.
“The Yankee [US] maneuver does not increase the possibilities of peace, but completely to the contrary, it diminishes them and the danger of violence grows,” he said.
On June 28, Honduras military ousted Zelaya in a military coup saying he violated the constitution by seeking to remove limits on presidential terms in office through a refrundum.
The Honduran Congress, which was also against the referendum, installed Roberto Micheletti as interim leader following the military intervention.
Representatives of Zelaya and Micheletti have begun talks in Costa Rica to find an end to the stalemate. They are expected to meet on Saturday, with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias mediating.
The Cuban revolutionary leader also repeated a previous accusation that a US military base in Honduras is helping the coup. The Honduran military is known to be trained and closely influenced by the US military.
“The correct thing in this moment is to demand that the United States government cease its intervention, stop its military support to the coup leaders and remove its (military) force from Honduras,” said Castro.
Although, the US has condemned the coup and President Barack Obama has said the Zelaya should be returned to power, the democratically-elected but militarily ousted President has said the US needs to do more to help him back in power .
The last leftist leader Zelaya elected as president in Latin America ended his country’s alliance with its traditional ally, the United States, and teamed up with Venezuela, Ecuador and other anti-US leftist leaders in the region.
Honduras remains tense in the aftermath of Zelaya’s ouster as many supporters still demand the reinstatement of the deposed president. Hundreds of people have also been arrested in the country for protesting agianst the coup.
—–Agencies