[Honduras is now faced with a stalemate. Zelaya lacks the strength to overthrow the new regime installed through a military takeover by means of popular insurrection. The regime, already internationally ostracised, is in no position to subdue persistent popular protests nor gain legitimacy with the world beyond.
The as yet fruitless and protracted "negotiation" is aptly reflective of that. Evidently, it can't go on indefinitely. This is an unstable equilibrium. This is an unstable equilibrium.] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/world/americas/19honduras.html?_r=2&ref=wo <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/world/americas/19honduras.html?_r=2&ref=wo>July 19, 2009 Mediator Proposes Reinstating Honduran LeaderBy ELISABETH MALKIN<http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=ELISABETH%20MALKIN&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=ELISABETH%20MALKIN&inline=nyt-per> CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — The mediator in talks seeking to break the deadlock between the deposed Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/z/jose_manuel_zelaya/index.html?inline=nyt-per>, and the de facto government that exiled him<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/world/americas/29honduras.html> urged both sides on Saturday to agree to a plan that would return the ousted leader and grant a general amnesty for political offenses. The seven points proposed by the mediator, President Óscar Arias of Costa Rica<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/costarica/index.html?inline=nyt-geo>, during a second round of negotiations at his house in the capital, San José, would require the political elite of Honduras<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/honduras/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> to recognize Mr. Zelaya as the country’s legitimate president, which they have yet to do. Rixi Moncada, a representative of Mr. Zelaya, said Mr. Arias proposed during the afternoon session that the ousted president be reinstated by Friday. The two sides ended talks at 8:45 p.m. Saturday (10:45 p.m. Eastern time) and are to resume Sunday. The delegation for the de facto government asked for time to consult with officials in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. Mr. Arias said that there were still many differences between the sides and that he had asked them to make one last effort to be flexible. But there appeared to be signs of movement. As the talks ended for the day, Carlos López, a member of the delegation for the de facto government, said he hoped that Mr. Arias could announce good news on Sunday. Outside the negotiations, though, both sides took a combative stance, appearing to play to their hard-line supporters. Mr. Zelaya promised to return to Honduras soon, in defiance of promises by the de facto government to arrest him. The government of Roberto Micheletti<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/roberto_micheletti/index.html?inline=nyt-per>, who was named president by Congress after the military forced Mr. Zelaya onto a plane to Costa Rica three weeks ago, threw up a raft of legal objections to the idea of letting him return under an amnesty. Although Mr. Arias’s plan would restore Mr. Zelaya, it would also sharply curtail his powers and focus much of the country’s political energy on an early presidential election. Mr. Zelaya’s delegation nevertheless said it had agreed in principle to all seven points. But one of Mr. Micheletti’s negotiators, Vilma Morales, a former Supreme Court president, told local radio on Saturday that it was up to the Honduran Congress, Supreme Court and election authorities to decide on most of the points. As the talks went on, Mr. Zelaya, who was in neighboring Nicaragua, told Honduran radio that he might return home as soon as Monday. His wife, Xiomara Castro, leading protesters in Tegucigalpa on Saturday, said he would return within hours, “no matter the bayonets and machine guns” his supporters might face. Those statements could heighten tensions in Honduras, which has been paralyzed by strikes and protests since the June 28 coup. Mr. Zelayatried to fly into the Tegucigalpa airport<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/world/americas/06honduras.html> two weeks ago on a small plane provided by the Venezuelan government, but military vehicles parked on the tarmac blocked his approach. One supporter was killed when soldiers pushed back those who had come to greet him. As the talks began Saturday about 11 a.m., Mr. Arias warned both sides that Honduras was facing increasing isolation. Mr. Zelaya has been recognized as the legitimate president by the United Nations<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/united_nations/index.html?inline=nyt-org>, the Organization of American States<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/o/organization_of_american_states/index.html?inline=nyt-org> and the Obama administration. The Arias proposal would move forward by a month the general election scheduled for the end of November. The military would be placed under the command of the electoral tribunal to prevent any attempt to meddle in the balloting. Mr. Zelaya would also have to give up any attempt to rewrite the Constitution to remain in office. It was his insistence on holding a referendum to lay the groundwork for a new Constitution that precipitated his ouster. Mr. Arias’s plan would create a national unity government made up of members of all political parties until the new elected government took office, as scheduled, at the end of January. The proposal does not specify that any members of the Micheletti government would be included, which Mr. Zelaya has ruled out. Mr. Arias’s proposal would also grant an amnesty for all political crimes both before and after the ouster of Mr. Zelaya. In his statement at the start of the negotiations, Mr. Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his role in negotiating Central American peace accords, spoke of the weight of history in a region where the overthrow of elected governments has frequently punctuated an uncertain transition to democracy. If an agreement was reached, “it would be the first time in Latin American history that a coup d’état is reversed by the will of both sides,” he said. The Honduran coup has presented an unexpected test of Latin American policy for the Obama administration, which has thrown its support behind the mediation effort by Mr. Arias. The administration has also cut $16.5 million in military aid to Honduras since the coup and threatened to cut $180 million more in development aid. Jesús Mora contributed reporting from San José, Costa Rica. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
