Ousted Honduran leader's rep says talks at an end

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The latest round of talks to resolve the dispute over Honduras' June 28 coup has ended in failure, a negotiator for ousted leftist President Manuel Zelaya said Friday, adding that further talks were unlikely.

Negotiator Victor Meza accused the government of interim President Roberto Micheletti of rejecting the main demand of the international community: that Zelaya be reinstated to office.

"For us, there is no room to continue talks with people who are only seeking to draw out the discussion," Meza said.

Supporters of Micheletti hope that the Nov. 29 presidential election will make calls for Zelaya's return irrelevant because his term will be ending. But many governments, including that of the United States, have said they will not recognize the vote unless Zelaya is back in office by then.

Zelaya's side rejected a proposal from the interim government on Thursday, and Micheletti's delegation said it would respond by Friday morning, further angering Zelaya's side.

"When we say today, they say tomorrow. When we say tomorrow, they say the day after tomorrow. It's a game of delay," Meza said.

The latest plan proposed by representatives of Micheletti would permit the two factions to consult whichever branch of government they wished to decide if Zelaya should be restored to office. The coup-installed government didn't explain how they might resolve the dispute.

Negotiations hit an impasse last week after the delegations failed to agree on who should decide whether Zelaya can resume his post and serve out his term, which ends in January.

Micheletti wants the decision to be made by the Supreme Court, which initially ordered Zelaya's arrest before his ouster June 28 over his attempt to hold a referendum on changing the constitution. The court, which had ruled the referendum illegal, has said Zelaya should not be allowed to return to office.

Zelaya says Congress should make the decision, even though he currently enjoys the support of only about a fifth of the legislators.

Zelaya has been holed up at the Brazilian embassy in Honduras after secretly re-entering the country in late September.