Venenzuela, October 05: Deposed President Manuel Zelaya says he will negotiate with the Honduran regime only when civil liberties are restored and the siege of the Brazilian embassy is lifted.
Zelaya, who was forced out of his country in June, lay a new set of preconditions for problem-solving talks with the military-supported interim government led by Roberto Micheletti.
According to the ousted president, the interim government should restore civil liberties and reopen two pro-Zelaya broadcast stations that has been occupied in recent months.
Zelaya also called for an end to the siege on the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa — where his has taken refuge since his surprise return on September 21.
Separately, in a telephone call Zelaya urged some 300 supporters to “peacefully demonstrate” against the regime on Monday.
Juan Barahona, the leader of the pro-Zelaya Resistance Front, vowed to defy demonstration bans. “We are not going to stay at our homes … they want to lock us up and have failed to do that,” he said.
The developments come after Micheletti agreed to resume negotiations this week in order to end the crisis that erupted after the June 28 military Coup d’etat , in which Zelaya was ousted at gunpoint and kicked out of the country in his nightshirt.
—–Agencies