Honduras regime seeks to disarm citizens ahead of polls

TEGUCIGALPA (AFP) - The Honduran de facto regime on Friday ordered citizens to turn in their weapons in a bid to avert violence around disputed presidential elections to be held at the end of the month.

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya has called on his supporters to boycott the November 29 national elections after crisis talks failed to restore him to power beforehand -- in order to finish his single term that ends in January.

The interim regime led by Roberto Micheletti said it would disarm citizens who risked disrupting the elections in a nation where violent street gangs operate with many weapons left over from decades of civil wars in the region.

"We've agreed a general disarmament from November 23 so that no one will harm the lives of others or provoke other actions against the electoral process," Press Minister Pineda Ponce told local television.

The disarmament would include temporary confiscations from people who held weapon permits, Ponce said.

Zelaya has called for street protests -- which have been met with military crackdowns -- since he was sent away from the presidency in his pajamas on June 28. He has been besieged in the Brazilian embassy since secretly returning in September.

Micheletti said Thursday he would briefly step down from November 25 to December 2 in an apparent bid to boost the international legitimacy of the polls.

The United States, the country's main military and economic backer, and Panama have said they will support the polls, but regional powerhouses Brazil and Argentina have said they will not recognize the results.

The Honduran Congress and Supreme Court, business leaders and the military all backed Zelaya's ouster, accusing him of seeking to change the constitution to stay in office beyond the one-term limit.

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