WASHINGTON — The chief negotiator for the political standoff in Honduras said Thursday that the two camps in the crisis had agreed to a number of compromises, including the formation of a so-called unity government and amnesty for crimes committed by both sides.
But, the negotiator warned, the two sides were still far apart on the central point of contention — the reinstatement of the ousted president — making it unlikely that they would reach a deal when talks formally resume this weekend. Indeed, tensions between the camps remain high, with the deposed president threatening to sneak back into the country and the de facto government enforcing a curfew after warning that armed groups were planning a rebellion.
The negotiator, President Óscar Arias of Costa Rica, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, said both sides had agreed to some form of unity government that would include members of all political parties and serve as a check on presidential powers. Fears that the deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, was trying to subvert the Constitution and extend his tenure were a driving force behind his ouster last month.
The two sides have also agreed to amnesty, Mr. Arias said, both for those who ousted Mr. Zelaya and for Mr. Zelaya himself, who has been threatened with arrest if he returns to Honduras. The de facto government of Honduras says Mr. Zelaya was legally removed based on a warrant for his arrest. But nations around the world, whether through the United Nations General Assembly or the Organization of American States, have denounced his ouster as an illegal coup.
Roberto Micheletti, the interim president in Honduras’s de facto government, said Wednesday that he would step down, but not if Mr. Zelaya returned to power. Mr. Arias dismissed that option, saying there would be no agreement without the president’s reinstatement, even if it meant Mr. Zelaya went back with significantly limited powers. Both sides have agreed, however, to invite international monitors to watch over the next presidential elections, which are scheduled for November, Mr. Arias said.
Despite the gulf that remains over Mr. Zelaya’s return to power, Mr. Arias said that he expected “some significant advances” when talks resume this weekend in Costa Rica, though he cautioned that whatever ground had been reached could dissolve. The first round of negotiations got off to a shaky start last week, when Mr. Zelaya and Mr. Micheletti left hours after they began and never met face to face.
(The NY Times)
