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US Committed to Honduran Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord

By Alan Gray, NewsBlaze

At a Daily Press Briefing on Friday, the State Department said the US is committed to the implementation of the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord, and asked both sides to act in the best interests of the Honduran people.

The spokesman also said "Failure to implement the accord could jeopardize recognition of the election by the international community."

The Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord was the result of dialogue between the parties and begins (translated):

"We, Honduran citizens, men and women convinced of the necessity to strengthen the state of law, to aid our constitution and the laws of our Republic, deepen democracy and assure a climate of peace and tranquility for our people, have carried out a frank and intense process of political dialogue to seek a negotiated and peaceful exit to the crisis in which our country has been submerged in recent months."

Here is an interchange between a journalist and the State Department spokesman:

Question: Has Senator DeMint been assured by the State Department that the U.S. will recognize the election results in Honduras (11/29/09) regardless of whether or not the steps of the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord have been implemented? What is our policy regarding support of the electoral process? Will we or not recognize the results even if the T-SJ Accord has not been implemented?

Answer: State Department officials have maintained regular contact with many interested Members of Congress on the situation in Honduras. As a rule, we do not disclose the private conversations of our officials with Members of Congress.

Our policy goal has always been to help the Hondurans restore the democratic order in their country. The signing of the Accord, through difficult negotiations among the Hondurans themselves with support from the OAS and the international community, provides the path to that goal.

As we noted in our statement on November 6, "We urge both sides to act in the best interests of the Honduran people and return to the table immediately to reach agreement on the formation of a unity government. The formation of a Government of Unity and National Reconciliation will serve the Honduran people and will change the political dynamics in the country in a positive way. It is urgent that this government be created immediately."

Our commitment is to the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord and its implementation. Our commitment to support the Honduran elections is the product of that agreement. Failure to implement the accord could jeopardize recognition of the election by the international community.

Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord: A translation