Deposed Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has rejected any possibility of a deal to restore constitutional order in the two weeks before the next scheduled elections, saying that to do so would legitimize a June coup.

Zelaya, who was ousted by the military on June 28, informed US President Barack Obama in a letter Saturday that he would not accept any proposal to return him to office temporarily to cover up the coup d'etat.

"This electoral process is illegal because it conceals the military coup and the de facto state of Honduras that does not guarantee free and fair citizen participation," he wrote.

"It is an anti-democratic electoral maneuver, repudiated by large parts of the population, to cover the material and intellectual authors of the the coup d'etat."

Zelaya also accused the US government of modifying its initial opposition to the coup, noting that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had earlier told him the Obama administration would only recognize the new elections if Zelaya were restored to office first.

Zelaya complained that the softened US position had allowed the de facto Honduran government of Roberto Micheletti and the National Congress to allow the clock to run out.

South American leaders have called for his reinstatement but Washington seemed to weaken his position by saying it would recognize a Nov. 29 presidential election simply on the basis of the signing of the accord.

Under the pact, Congress was supposed to vote on whether or not Zelaya would be restored to power, but no deadline was set and lawmakers have dragged their feet.

Zelaya, into the country in September, has been living in the Brazilian Embassy ever since.



Agencies