 |
HONDURAS: US, EU Turn Up the Pressure
By Thelma Mejía
TEGUCIGALPA (IPS) - The United States and the
European Union are cranking up the pressure for
talks brokered by Costa Rican President Óscar Arias
to bring about a restoration of democracy in
Honduras, while urging both sides to refrain from
violence.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ian said the United
States is calling "on all parties, particularly
President Zelaya and the de facto regime, to work
together and come to a peaceful resolution that
restores the democratic order," which would mean
"the restoration of the democratically elected
president."
"All parties in the talks should give this process
some time. Don't set any artificial deadlines ...We
have to give the process a chance," Kelly told
reporters.
He was apparently referring to Zelaya's remark that
if he is not reinstated at the next round of talks
led by Arias, the negotiations will have failed. The
Costa Rican leader said the meeting will be held
Saturday in San José.
The European Parliament, which discussed the
situation in Honduras Wednesday, condemned the Jun.
28 coup and urged the bloc's governments not to
recognise de facto President Roberto Micheletti.
Just a few days after Zelaya was pulled out of bed
at gunpoint by army troops early in the morning of
Jun. 28 and put on a plane to Costa Rica in his
pajamas, the EU countries withdrew all of their
ambassadors from Honduras.
The European Commission announced Wednesday that it
had frozen its aid to Honduras, which stands at
around 300 million dollars for the 2007-2013 period.
However, development aid funds will not be affected,
as the measure only applies to funds that are
directly administered by the Honduran government.
The 27-member bloc has backed the efforts made by
the Organisation of American States (OAS), which
suspended Honduras, as well as Arias'
peace-brokering attempts.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke Monday with
Arias to confirm his support for the Costa Rican
leader's mediation efforts, offering technical
assistance and agreeing "to work together with
President Arias to help the parties reach an
agreement," according to a U.N. statement issued in
New York.
"The Secretary-General is confident that an open
dialogue and international support will help resolve
the current crisis," the press release added.
Zelaya, meanwhile, attempted to hasten the
negotiations, basically giving Micheletti one week
to step down.
In remarks made from Nicaragua, Zelaya accused the
de facto government of dragging out the talks to
"buy time" and consolidate its grip on power.
"They have this week to comply with the resolutions
of the Organisation of American States and the
United Nations. If that doesn't happen, we'll have
to take other measures," he said.
Carlos López Contreras, who was appointed foreign
minister by Micheletti and headed the mission that
met with Arias on Jul. 9-10, lamented Zelaya's
comments, which he attributed to "a tense, emotional
state." But he added that "we are confident that the
talks will make progress in the framework of respect
and the state of law."
The eyes of the world "are on the mediation, and if
one of the parties pulls out, the dialogue will
fail. But I am optimistic and I don't want to think
about the worst case scenario; we are confident in
Arias' mediation skills," he told IPS.
Speaking during a brief visit to Guatemala Tuesday,
where he met privately with President Álvaro Colom,
Zelaya said the Honduran people "have the right to
insurrection in defence of the constitutional order"
under article 3 of the constitution.
The article says "no one owes allegiance to a
usurper government" or to those who take power by
"the force of arms" or by means that violate the
country's constitution and laws.
He called on his supporters to keep up the protests
they have held since the coup, and urged them to
redouble their efforts against the Micheletti
regime.
"I have not given up and I don't plan to do so; I am
preparing to return. I won't tell you when, so as
not to tip them off," said Zelaya.
He also challenged Micheletti to "arrest me if you
can." The courts put out an order for his arrest
immediately after the coup, and his Sunday, Jul. 5
attempt to land at the airport in the Honduran
capital was thwarted by barriers placed on the
runway by the military.
"I will enter the country at any point; let's see if
you repress me, because I will be accompanied by the
people. You coup-mongers, your days are numbered,
and you deserve to be punished," he added.
Arias said "I understand Zelaya's wish to return and
be reinstated as president as soon as possible, but
my experience tells me that a bit of patience is
necessary. We can advance and achieve something
concrete (on Saturday), but if we don't, we will
continue on Sunday."
Little progress was made in the first round of
talks, when Zelaya and Micheletti refused to get
together face-to-face, meeting separately with Arias
instead.
Congressman César Ham of the left-wing Democratic
Unification (UD) Party, who fled to Nicaragua after
the coup, told reporters with Honduran media outlets
that the support for Zelaya is "unconditional" and
that a member of his party had been named to the
ousted president's negotiating committee.
Ham said Arias' mediation must be based on three
basic "non-negotiable" points: Zelaya's immediate
reinstatement, without conditions; penalties for
those involved in the coup; and the election of a
constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution.
The coup was triggered by Zelaya's attempt to hold a
non-binding vote asking Hondurans if they wanted to
install a constituent assembly to reform the
constitution, which was deemed illegal by the courts
and Congress.
Zelaya and his negotiating committee, headed by his
foreign minister Patricia Rodas, has dug in its
heels on its positions, after it was reported that
the Micheletti government cancelled the credit cards
and froze the bank accounts that the ousted
officials were using in the name of the government.
The head of the country's industrial association,
Adolfo Facussé, said Zelaya's call for a popular
insurrection "indicates that we should get ready for
violence. But I am confident that the ex-president,
who I consider a friend, will recapacitate and place
his trust in Óscar Arias' mediation.
"This crisis should leave us many lessons, one of
which is that there should be more control over
presidents here, and over the discretionality with
which parliament has operated," he told IPS. "This
is a political question that has to be resolved by
the politicians, in order to guarantee us legal and
investment security." |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
