Gains reported in Honduran talks to end stalemate
TEGUCIGALPA, 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.
“We’ve made progress on many points and on many very important points,” said Vilma Morales, a negotiator for the government of interim President Roberto Micheletti, who came to power June 28 when the military detained Zelaya and sent him into exile.
Zelaya negotiator Mayra Mejia concurred, saying that “we’ve made substantial progress” in meetings she described as “very cordial.”
Both reiterated earlier statements that the negotiators had agreed not to reveal details about what had been resolved until the talks are completed. They planned to discuss the issues within their own factions over the weekend and resume negotiations Tuesday.
Zelaya negotiator Juan Barahona, however, challenged the upbeat assessment. He said no agreement had been reached on the fundamental issue: whether the ousted leader could return to serve out the remaining months of his term.
“Yes, there are advances … but they aren’t on the important issues,” said Barahona, an organizer of the protests that have roiled Honduras since the coup. “I’m still pessimistic, very pessimistic.”
Mejia, the labor minister under Zelaya, declined to comment on Barahona’s appraisal.
“All subjects are on the table and that’s all we want to say right now,” she said. “But we have made important advances.”
Negotiations revolve around the San Jose Accord, which would restore Zelaya as head of a unity government until his term ends in January and offer amnesty to both coup leaders and the deposed president, who faces abuse of power and other charges in Honduras. Micheletti’s government previously rejected the plan.
The international community has been pressuring the interim government to reverse course and allow Zelaya’s return before the Nov. 29 presidential election that was scheduled before the coup that has paralyzed the Central American nation.
Before negotiations broke for the day, police fired tear gas and a water cannon at about 200 pro-Zelaya protesters who demonstrated outside the hotel where the talks were being held to call for Zelaya’s immediate return. There were no arrests and apparently no major injuries, though many people rubbed their eyes or cried from the acrid smoke.
Zelaya remained holed up with dozens of supporters in the Brazilian Embassy, which has been his refuge since sneaking back into Honduras in late September.
Honduras has experienced near daily protests since the military-backed coup, which came after Zelaya pressed ahead with plans for a referendum on changing the constitution despite a Supreme Court order ruling the vote illegal. The U.S. and other nations have suspended foreign aid and imposed diplomatic isolation on the interim administration.
Micheletti has been unwilling to allow Zelaya’s return and wants to go ahead with the election without him. The interim government and its supporters insist Zelaya was a corrupt and inept leader and they had a right to remove him.
They charge that Zelaya hoped to amend the constitution to repeal its one-term limit for presidents. He denies that.
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