Honduran Congress consults Supreme Court on deal to end crisis

Tegucigalpa, Honduras - Honduras' unicameral Congress sent a deal to end the political crisis in the Central American country on to the Supreme Court for consultation on Tuesday. The Supreme Court's non-binding opinion will be taken into account when Congress votes on the issue. The agreement was already signed Friday by representatives of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted by a military coup, and of de facto leader Roberto Micheletti, who was designated leader in the wake of the coup. Negotiations were brokered by representatives of the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS). The deal establishes the creation of a government of national reconciliation by Thursday, while Congress has no deadline to decide on Zelaya's possible reinstatement. Also Tuesday, US Labour Secretary Hilda Solis and former Chilean president Ricardo Lagos arrived in Honduras to head a truth-finding commission to oversee the implementation of the deal. They were nominated for the task by the OAS. The commission is also set to include two Hondurans, one representing each side in the conflict. Zelaya was ousted from office and sent into exile on June 28 in a military coup backed by the Honduran Supreme Court and other institutions. He secretly returned to Tegucigalpa on September 21, and has since been holed up in the Brazilian Embassy in the Honduran capital. The international community has refused to acknowledge the de facto government as legitimate and has demanded Zelaya's reinstatement. Honduras is set to hold a general election on November 29, which the international community has refused to recognize as legitimate in the current post-coup setting. An exit to the crisis would most likely lead to the full recognition of the government issued from the election.