Hondurans agree on constitution; no deal on Zelaya
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduras’ opposing factions agreed Tuesday on nearly every point of a pact to end the political crisis except the central issue: ousted President Manuel Zelaya’s return to the presidency.
Negotiators said Zelaya’s camp has promised that if he returns to power, he will drop his efforts to change the Honduran constitution, an initiative that led to his June 28 ouster.
Juan Barahona, a Zelaya supporter who has led street protests against the coup, walked out of the talks Tuesday in protest of the agreement on the constitution. He vowed to continue fighting for a new constitution on his own even if Zelaya is restored to office.
Critics say Zelaya was seeking to extend his time in office by removing a constitutional ban on presidential re-election, as his ally Hugo Chavez has done in Venezuela. Zelaya denied that was his intention, but soldiers flew him into exile at gunpoint after he ignored court orders to drop a referendum to ask Hondurans if they wanted an assembly to rewrite the constitution.
Zelaya sneaked back into Honduras on Sept. 21 and is holed up at the Brazilian Embassy. The United States and other countries have suspended aid to the Central American country to pressure the interim government to restore Zelaya.
Vilma Morales, a spokeswoman for the coup-installed government, said the two sides began discussing the subject of Zelaya’s return to power Tuesday and would continue the debate Wednesday.
“Tomorrow we will continue discussing different scenarios and alternatives,” Morales said.
Mayra Mejia, a spokeswoman for Zelaya negotiators, emphasized that the ousted leader’s return to power is not negotiable. “The ball is in their court. We wait their response tomorrow,” she said.
Morales said the two sides have agreed on every other aspect of the pact, first proposed by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. One point includes a commission to monitor that both sides stick to their part of the agreement.
Morales gave few other details. However, Barahona said the two sides had agreed to renounce amnesty from prosecution. The Arias plan had proposed amnesty for both the coup perpetrators and Zelaya, who faces abuse of power charges stemming from his efforts to change the constitution.
Related News
Opposing Honduran factions resume talks to end crisis prompted by coupOctober 13th, 2009 Honduran factions resume talksTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduras' opposing factions have resumed talks aimed at ending the crisis prompted by the June ouster of President Manuel Zelaya. The talks initiated last week produced some signs of progress before breaking off for the weekend.
Honduran negotiators report 'major' progress as talks to resolve stalemate break for weekendOctober 9th, 2009 Gains reported in Honduran talks to end stalemateTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Rival factions in the bitter Honduran political stalemate emerged from negotiations Friday reporting substantial progress, although no agreement on restoring ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The two teams of negotiators ended four hours of private talks with representatives of both sides saying agreement had been reached on 60 percent of the issues covered under an international plan for resolving the crisis.
Venezuela's Chavez say ousted Honduran president returned home with help from militarySeptember 23rd, 2009 Chavez: military helped Zelaya return to HondurasNEW YORK — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says the ousted Honduran president sneaked back to his country with the help of Honduran military personnel. Chavez says ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya traveled by plane, in the trunk of a car and in tractors from Nicaragua to Honduras in a secret operation aided by supporters in the military.
Honduran government, UN deny Zelaya's returnSeptember 21st, 2009 TEGUCIGALPA - The interim Honduran government and the spokeswoman for the UN in Tegucigalpa denied that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya had returned Monday to the Central American country. Roberto Micheletti, the former Congress speaker designated to lead the country after Zelaya's ouster, and UN spokeswoman Ana Elsy Mendoza both denied that Zelaya had taken refuge at the UN office in Tegucigalpa.
Honduran top court says ousted president would face trial if he returnsAugust 23rd, 2009 Honduran top court: Ousted president to face trialTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduras' Supreme Court says ousted President Manuel Zelaya would face trial if he returns to the Central American country. The Honduran top court is giving its opinion on a plan to solve Honduras' political crisis after Zelaya was ousted in a coup.
Ousted Honduran leader asks US to put more pressure on interim gov't to restore him to powerAugust 12th, 2009 Ousted Honduran leader asks for more US helpBRASILIA, Brazil — Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says the United States could help restore him to power by putting more economic pressure on the Central American country's interim administration. Zelaya says the U.S.
Ousted Honduran president says disgruntled military officers could rebelJuly 30th, 2009 Ousted Honduran president: Military could rebelOCOTAL, Nicaragua — Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says disgruntled military officers could rebel "at any moment" against the government installed in a coup. Zelaya says he has information that some soldiers and officers are "repudiating the way in which the military leadership is directing the armed forces."
He warns young officers could rebel "at any moment" and force military chief Gen.
Honduran government extends curfew at border areasJuly 27th, 2009 TEGUCIGALPA - The Honduran government Sunday extended a curfew at the Honduran-Nicaraguan border in view of the volatile situation there. Thousands of supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya were waiting in El Paraiso, close to the Nicaraguan border, for the curfew to end, which was extended by 12 hours, so they can meet their leader at the border.
Honduran government orders curfew to block Zelaya's returnJuly 24th, 2009 TEGUCIGALPA - Honduras Friday imposed a curfew at its borders with Nicaragua and EL Salvador apparently to block ousted President Manuel Zelaya's return to the country. The interim government said the curfew will remain at the border areas till Saturday morning.
Ousted Honduran president's plane not allowed to landJuly 5th, 2009 TEGUCIGALPA - The Honduran government installed after last week's coup Sunday prevented the return to the country of democratically elected Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. Alfredo San Martin, head of Honduras' Civil Aviation, said the plane carrying Zelaya was diverted to El Salvador.
Top OAS official says group seeks 'unconditional' return of ousted Honduran presidentJuly 2nd, 2009 OAS: No negotiations on Honduras president returnGEORGETOWN, Guyana — The No. 2 official with the Organization of American States says the group is seeking the "unconditional" return of the ousted president of Honduras.
Many in US Honduran community deny coup, support the ouster of President Manuel ZelayaJune 30th, 2009 Many Hondurans in US laud Zelaya's ousterMIAMI — Hondurans in the U.S. are organizing rallies supporting the ouster of the Central American nation's president, even as he plans to return to his country accompanied by U.N.
White House sees no alternative to restoring ousted Honduran president to powerJune 30th, 2009 White House: Honduran president should returnWASHINGTON — The United States said Tuesday it saw no acceptable solution to the ouster of the president of Honduras other than returning him to power. The comments came as Honduran President Manuel Zelaya planned to travel to Washington for a special gathering of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States.
Many in US Honduran community hold rallies to support the ouster of President Manuel ZelayaJune 30th, 2009 Many Hondurans in the US laud president's ousterMIAMI — Hondurans in the U.S. organized rallies Tuesday supporting the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, even as Zelaya prepared to return to his country accompanied by U.N.
Ousted Honduran president to appear before UN General Assembly on TuesdayJune 29th, 2009 Ousted Honduran president to address UN assemblyUNITED NATIONS — The ousted president of Honduras will address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
Loading ...