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CENTRAL AMERICA |
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OAS Urges Both
Sides in Honduras to Reach Accord
TEGUCIGALPA – Talks between representatives
of ousted Honduran President Mel Zelaya and
the government led by Roberto Micheletti
began on Wednesday under a warning from the
Organization of American States that time is
running out for a solution to the crisis
sparked by the June 28 military coup.
The consequences of failure would be
“profoundly negative” for the Central
American nation, OAS Secretary-General Jose
Miguel Insulza said in his speech opening
the dialogue.
Honduras, he said, must “return to the
democratic institutionalism that reigned”
prior to the putsch and thus, free itself of
the sanctions reluctantly imposed on
Tegucigalpa by the OAS and the international
community.
Insulza is heading a delegation of diplomats
and officials from the OAS, Spain and the
United Nations who are hoping to accomplish
what two previous mediation efforts by Costa
Rican President Oscar Arias could not:
persuade the Micheletti government to accept
Zelaya’s reinstatement.
Yet the OAS mission is attempting to build
on Arias’ plan to resolve the crisis, the
San Jose Accord, which Insulza described as
the essential basis for the current talks.
He listed what he regarded as the five key
aspects of the accord: Zelaya’s return to
office; a “guarantee” that he won’t press
for an assembly to rewrite the Honduran
constitution; formation of a national unity
government; a political amnesty for Zelaya
and Micheletti government, and mechanisms
for international supervision to ensure the
pact is honored.
Zelaya accepted those terms weeks ago, but
Micheletti has been adamant in rejecting the
reinstatement of the elected president,
whose term ends in January.
Pressure for a negotiated solution has
increased sharply since Zelaya slipped back
into Honduras two weeks ago and took up
residence in the Brazilian mission, which is
surrounded by troops and police and has been
sporadically bombarded with acoustic weapons
and gas.
In the eyes of Constituional scholars and
most Hondurans, Zelaya’s ouster was not a
coup. The soldiers who escorted Zelaya from
the presidential palace were enforcing a
Supreme Court order of arrest after Zelaya
refused to comply with their earlier order
banning his planned referendum on revising
the constitution to allow for unlimited
presidential terms. The Constitution calls
for immediate disempowerment of any official
who does so.
Article 239 of the Honduran Constitution
says “Any citizen who has already served as
head of the Executive Branch cannot be
President or Vice-President again. Whoever
violates this law or proposes its reform, as
well as those who support such violation
directly or indirectly, must immediately
cease in their functions and will be unable
to hold any public office for a period of 10
years.”
The Organization of American States, the
United States and the European Union have
been pressing Micheletti to accept the San
Jose Accord, a proposal put forward by Costa
Rican President Oscar Arias.
The plan calls for Zelaya to return and lead
a national unity government for the few
months left in his term, and for a political
amnesty that would protect both sides in the
dispute.
Time is running out before presidential
elections scheduled for Nov. 29, as both the
European Union and Washington have said they
will not recognize the winner of that
balloting unless Zelaya is restored to
office beforehand. |
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