Skip to main content

Mediator Seeks Zelaya's Return to Honduras by Friday






23 July 2009

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya pauses during news conference in Managua, 17 Jul 2009
Ousted President Manuel Zelaya (file photo)
The chief mediator in the Honduras crisis talks is proposing that ousted President Manuel Zelaya return to the Central American nation as its leader by Friday.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, who has been trying to narrow the differences between Mr. Zelaya and the forces that ousted him nearly a month ago, said the president's return to Tegucigalpa would be one part of a new 11-point plan he has sent to both sides.







The interim government in Honduras, led by Roberto Micheletti, has previously rejected any possibility of Mr. Zelaya's return to power. However, news reports late Wednesday, by Reuters, indicate the caretaker administration will send the Arias proposal to Congress and the judiciary for review.

There was no immediate comment by Mr. Zelaya's representatives.

The Costa Rican president's announcement of a new plan for Honduras followed a breakdown in the talks on Sunday, but the rival parties had said they are willing to return to San Jose, Costa Rica for more talks.

The interim government is under intense international pressure to accept a deal that would allow Mr. Zelaya to return to power. He was forced out of office in a June 28 coup and is now in exile in Nicaragua.

The political deadlock has sparked demonstrations on both sides of the divide.

The caretaker administration previously rejected a seven-point Arias proposal that would have allowed Mr. Zelaya's return in a unity government. The interim leaders say Mr. Zelaya illegally tried to change the constitution to extend his term and has threatened to arrest him if he returns home.

No country has formally recognized the caretaker government, and many nations have been demanding Mr. Zelaya's reinstatement.

Mr. Zelaya tried to return July 5, but the Honduran military prevented his plane from landing. One person was killed in clashes between soldiers and Zelaya supporters.





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

ASEAN pushes for resumption of N. Korea nuke talks

ASEAN and friends: Foreign Ministers from left, Vietnam's Pham Gia Khiem, South Korea's Kim Sung-hwan, Japan's Takeaki Matsumoto, Indonesia's Marty Natalegawa, and China's Yang Jiechi, hold hands during a group photo at the opening session of ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Thursday. (AP/Dita Alangkara) Associated Press, Nusa Dua | Thu, 07/21/2011 2:19 PM Foreign ministers from 10 Southeast Asian nations are calling for a speedy resumption of talks aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia had been negotiating since 2003 to persuade Pyongyang to dismantle the program in exchange for aid and other concessions. The North pulled out of the talks about two years ago after being censured for launching a long-range rocket. It has indicated a willingness in recent months to return to the table. The 10-member Association of Southeast As...

Judicial watchdog to visit Antasari in prison

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 06/15/2011 9:45 PM The Judicial Commission plans to send investigators to question former Corruption Eradication Commission chief Antasari Azhar regarding his belief that the panel of judges made mistakes during his trial. “We want to hear and collect evidence from his side, if there is any, about the judges during his trial,” Suparman Marzuki, the commission’s supervisory division chief, said Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com. The Judicial Commission is in the middle of gathering evidence in response to an allegation by Antasari’s lawyer that the panel of judges took into consideration the wrong evidence during his trial. The South Jakarta District Court panel found Antasari guilty of murder and he is currently detained at Tangerang Penitentiary.