Honduran FM urges U.S. to stop meddling in internal affairs

TEGUCIGALPA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Honduran Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina on Wednesday said he called on the U.S. ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Laura Dogu, to stop offering her opinion on Honduras' internal and sovereign issues, including the appointment of the new acting attorney general and his deputy.

At a press conference following his meeting with Dogu, which he announced the day before, Reina said he asked the American envoy "to stop giving her opinion on internal issues" in Honduras, and stressed the Honduran government's "dissatisfaction" with earlier statements made by her and other senior U.S. officials.

According to Reina, Dogu said she would make the pertinent consultations following the meeting and would inform Washington about the position of the Honduran government.

U.S. relations with Honduras have been strained since the Permanent Commission of the Honduran National Congress appointed a new acting attorney general and his deputy on Nov. 1, after the legislature failed in August to elect them by consensus. The United States called the move anti-democratic behavior.

The decision, Reina stressed, was in keeping with the Constitution of Honduras and "as such it must be respected," so the Central American country will not accept opinions on the matter that denote "a certain interference in the internal decisions made in Honduras."

The Honduran foreign minister said Saturday that "democracy in Honduras was undermined by the impunity and corruption of the scheme that created the narco-dictatorship and those who wanted to sustain it," referring to past administrations backed by Washington.

"Having a partial vision promoted by those who abused power and violated the constitution in the past is unacceptable," Reina added.