Mediator proposes path out of Honduras showdown

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Hopes for a quick resolution to Honduras’ political crisis dimmed when its interim government balked at a plan presented in talks Saturday to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya and form a national unity government.

The plan put forward by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, mediator of the U.S.-backed talks, would allow Zelaya to return to Honduras to serve out the rest of his term, move forward elections by one month, grant an amnesty for all political crimes committed before and after the June 28 coup, and include representatives of the main political parties in a reconciliation government.

Zelaya would have to cede control of the military to an electoral court a month before October elections and renounce plans for a referendum on retooling the constitution, which was a spark that launched the coup after the Supreme Court, military and Congress all objected to the vote.

“These agreements must be adopted as soon as possible because each day that goes by increases the weight on the shoulders of an innocent people,” Arias said in a statement distributed to reporters Saturday. Countries have cut off aid to Honduras and isolated the impoverished Central American country since the June 29 military-backed ouster of Zelaya.

But a representative of Honduras’ interim government at the talks said her delegation lacks the authority to accept most of Arias’ proposals, since decisions on amnesties, changing the date of elections and allowing Zelaya to return despite warrants for his arrest need the approval of Honduras’ courts or Congress.

“It is up to Congress to grant amnesties, so we cannot commit to something that intrudes on the powers of other bodies,” Morales told The Associated Press. “We cannot make commitments that ignore the jurisdiction of the electoral tribunal, and it is also up to Congress to discuss and legislate and issue a decree on moving up the elections.”

Many of the proposals by Arias in his seven-point plan had already been rejected by one side or the other in the dispute over Honduras’ coup, which has become a key test for democracy in Latin America and for U.S. diplomacy in the region.

Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for helping end Central America’s wars, said an international commission would monitor compliance with the accord.

The talks in Costa Rica’s capital were taking place under extreme pressure after Zelaya issued an ultimatum that if he was not returned to the presidency by the end of Saturday he would declare the talks a failure and return to Honduras to set up a parallel government. Micheletti has vowed to arrest him on arrival.

Delegates began arriving early Saturday for the talks, which had the backing of the Obama administration, the Organization of American States and much of the world community, though some leftist leaders denounced them as a U.S.-backed trap for Zelaya, a wealthy rancher who moved to the left after being elected.

On Friday, Zelaya appeared to reject any form of power-sharing government, saying it would unjustly reward coup leaders. Micheletti previously rejected the idea of Zelaya returning to the presidency.

The ousted Honduran leader said the midnight deadline for his return to the presidency was not negotiable.

“If at that time, there is no resolution to that end, I will consider the negotiations in Costa Rica a failure,” Zelaya said at a news conference Friday night at the Honduran embassy in Nicaragua. “I am going back to Honduras, but I am not going to give you the date, hour or place, or say if I’m going to enter through land, air or sea.”

Zelaya’s wife, Xiomara Castro, implied the return was imminent, telling demonstrators in the Honduran capital Saturday that “President Zelaya will be here in a few hours despite the bayonets.”

Zelaya did not say what steps he would take once on Honduran soil. But earlier this week, he said Hondurans had a constitutional right to rebel against an illegitimate government.

The Honduran military thwarted his attempt to fly home July 5 by using vehicles to block the runway at the capital’s airport, preventing his plane from landing in Tegucigalpa.

Zelaya’s supporters have staged near daily protests demanding his return, and about 3,000 blocked traffic on one of the main boulevards in the capital Saturday chanting slogans in favor of the ousted leader.

“Nothing will come out of the negotiations and people know that,” said Cesar Silva, who helped organize the protest. He said he expected Zelaya to return to Honduras after midnight Saturday.

Arias had appeared optimistic about a resolution Friday, saying both camps had “softened, and I think we are going to find more flexibility.” In the first round of talks the two sides agreed only to meet again.

About 300 Zelaya supporters chanted slogans outside Arias’ house as the meeting started.

“These negotiations have been put together to legitimize the coup government and all they are looking for is an exit that doesn’t include their punishment or reinstating Zelaya,” said John Vega, a Costa Rican student.

Honduras’ Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for Zelaya before the coup, ruling his effort to hold a referendum on whether to form a constitutional assembly was illegal. The military decided to send Zelaya into exile instead — a move that military lawyers themselves have called illegal but necessary.

Many Hondurans viewed the proposed referendum as an attempt by Zelaya to push for a socialist-leaning government similar to the one his ally Hugo Chavez has established in Venezuela.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley called Friday for all nations to support the talks and he urged them to avoid “any action that would potentially increase the risk of violence either in Honduras or in surrounding countries.

Micheletti told Colombia’s RCN Radio that his government was open to dialogue but argued that Zelaya committed crimes against “the economy, the citizenry and against the constitution” and could not be allowed to return to power.

Micheletti, who had been president of congress, was sworn in to replace Zelaya after the coup.

Associated Press writers Diego Mendez in San Jose, Costa Rica, and Mark Stevenson in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, contributed to this story.