WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Exiled Honduran leader Jose Manuel Zelaya, in limbo since the last round of inconclusive talks on his future, is hoping to visit Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while backing a nationwide boycott of the next Honduran elections that may end up legitimizing the regime that toppled him.
Elections to choose a new Honduran president were set on May 28, a month before Zelaya was deposed and a new government installed in Tegucigalpa, the capital, under Roberto Micheletti.
Since the June 28 coup, Zelaya has attempted to enter the country and has stepped back amid warnings of arrest.
Brazilian government officials reported that Zelaya may visit Washington for talks with Clinton on the impasse.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley told reporters he was unaware of Zelaya's travel plans. Asked if he knew Zelaya could visit Washington next week, Crowley said, "I wouldn't rule it out."
He said the United States had taken stock of the situation after the OAS visit to Honduras and would "make some decisions in the next couple of days."
Zelaya told reporters after talks in Chile and Brazil that he wanted a stronger U.S. response to resolve the stalemate in Honduras.
This week a mediation mission from the Washington-based Organization of American States visited the Honduran capital but, as widely expected, failed to secure Micheletti's agreement to step aside and let Zelaya resume power as president before the Nov. 29 elections.
A frustrated and angry constituency of Zelaya supporters retaliated by calling for renewed protests across Honduras and a comprehensive boycott of the elections.
Strikes and other protests by Zelaya loyalists have already brought Honduras to a partial shutdown several times since the June coup.
The number Zelaya loyalists arrested for their activities remains unknown, but opposition activists have claimed that hundreds of their co-workers have been detained or questioned for their public loyalty to Zelaya.
An Amnesty International report this month cited testimonies that several hundred people protesting against the de facto government were arbitrarily arrested and beaten by government forces.
The report said the beatings were meant to punish those who opposed the ouster of Zelaya.
The National Resistance Front issued a communique to declare that general elections without the restitution of the constitutional order -- return to power of Zelaya -- would legalize the military violence.
Micheletti told the visiting OAS team this week the election would go ahead as scheduled irrespective of international public opinion. He also said the interim regime would ride through any punitive measures or sanctions imposed on Honduras to force it to accept Zelaya's return to presidency.
So far the European Union has suspended aid to Honduras and the United States has rescinded visas of Micheletti aides and shut down consular and visa-issuing services in Tegucigalpa.
