San Jose - Meetings aimed at ending the political crisis in
Honduras began Thursday at the home of Costa Rican President Oscar
Arias, but hours later there was sign of any headway.
Arias, who has taken on the role of mediator, hosted ousted
Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, leader of
the newly installed government, in separate meetings.
Zelaya arrived first at Arias' home in the Rohrmoser neighbourhood
of San Jose, meeting for more than an hour. Arias later spent about
three hours with Micheletti.
Zelaya and Micheletti each named four-member delegations to pursue
further talks. Micheletti thanked Arias for his efforts but said he
was returning later Thursday to Tegucigalpa. It was not immediately
known whether Zelaya would stay in Costa Rica.
As he left the meeting, Micheletti only committed to holding
'transparent and safe' elections on November 29, as scheduled even
before the coup. He left the door open to further talks and stressed
that he trusted Arias' mediation efforts.
Arias, who was awarded the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in
bringing peace to war-torn Central America, had asked to have two
days for these preliminary talks.
Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of
American States (OAS), said Thursday in Washington that the outcome
of the talks would be quickly apparent.
'The news will be that there was no chance for an agreement, that
there was an agreement, or that they agreed to meet again. But what
is not going to happen is that they spend four or five days talking,'
Insulza said.
While Micheletti met with Arias, about 200 Costa Ricans rallied
near the Arias' home to express opposition to Zelaya's ouster.
Earlier, Micheletti, who as Honduran Congress speaker was
designated to head the government after the June 28 coup that ousted
Zelaya, spent more than an hour at the San Jose airport demanding
'security guarantees,' refusing to leave for his meeting with Arias
until his demands were satisfied.
Micheletti said he was optimistic that a way out of the ongoing
Honduran political crisis could be found. 'I have faith that there
can be a solution,' he said.
Zelaya was less conciliatory when he arrived late Wednesday in San
Jose, calling Micheletti 'a criminal who has beaten down our people
and the rights of our democracy.'
Zelaya, whose ouster was widely condemned by the international
community, stressed that he had not come to San Jose for negotiations
on his reinstatement as president.
'I want to clarify that our presence here is not due to any
negotiation,' he said. 'It's as if you are invited to negotiate with
a criminal who raped your family.'
In Washington, Insulza reiterated that Micheletti should 'accept
the return of the constitutional president,' in line with an OAS
resolution that suspended Honduran membership until Zelaya was
reinstated.
'In the end we have to get to the return of President Zelaya,'
Insulza said. 'Everything else is negotiable.'
Following any deal, the OAS will have to decide whether to lift
its suspension of Honduras, he said.
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