LI President Van Baalen speaks to liberal rivals in Honduras
President of Liberal International and Member of the European Parliament Hans van Baalen has spoken with both Honduran interim President Roberto Michelleti and deposed President Manuel Zelaya in Tegucigalpa. During their meetings with Van Baalen, Zelaya and Micheletti both signified to be willing to discuss the political situation in their country with each other as liberals. Zelaya said to Van Baalen to consider accepting the result of the upcoming Presidential election on 29 November.
Van Baalen was the first European politician to gain access to Zelaya, who is currently resident at the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital. Liberal International will be present with a delegation of observers during the elections, to oversee if they are conducted in a free and fair fashion. Interim President Micheletti will effectively become one of the Vice Presidents of Liberal International in January 2010, after he has stepped down in favor of the newly elected President of Honduras. Van Baalen condemned the fact that Zelaya had violated the Honduran constitution, but strongly advocated a reconciliation of all Honduran liberals after the election. According to Van Baalen, the Organisation of American States (OAS) is strongly biased towards Chavez supporters such as Manuel Zelaya and Daniel Ortega. Van Baalen says that when the upcoming elections in Honduras will be free and fair, their result should be respected by the European Union.