No lifting of emergency decree for Honduras

[Judi Lynn]

No lifting of emergency decree for Honduras
October 02 2009 at 09:19AM
By Patrick Markey and Esteban Israel

Tegucigalpa - De facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti on Thursday resisted demands he lift a decree that suspended civil liberties as part of a crisis triggered by the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya.

Zelaya, who upset conservative elites with his ties to Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez, was overthrown and exiled by the army in June in a coup that has spiraled into Central America's worst political turmoil in years.

Micheletti imposed the emergency measures over the weekend to curb pro-Zelaya protests around the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, where the leftist has been holed up in refuge after sneaking back into the country 10 days ago.

Washington, the United Nations and even some of his local backers have called on the de facto leader to lift the decree, but Micheletti has resisted as the standoff drags closer to November elections that he says will resolve the crisis.

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