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TEGUCIGALPA — Supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya paid tribute Saturday to a teenager killed during protests and expressed fear the interim government will drag out negotiations to resolve the crisis so it can remain in power through November elections.
But a delegate of de facto President Roberto Micheletti who participated in the talks in Costa Rica on Friday, said his side has not ruled out the possibility of early elections as a way out of the conflict.
The only consensus reached between representatives of Zelaya and Micheletti during a second round of negotiations on Friday was that they would meet again — fueling concern the crisis could continue for months. No date was set for future negotiations.
Micheletti — the congressional leader who was sworn in as president when the military escorted Zelaya out of the country on June 28 — made no public statements Saturday.
Zelaya, who was in the Dominican Republic, flew to Washington, but declined to comment on his plans to reporters before boarding the plane.
But his wife, Xiomara Castro, who attended the demonstration in the capital, Tegucigalpa, said Zelaya "is very excited, confident" that he will return to power with the help of the Organization of American States, the United Nations and "especially the United States," which have all denounced his ouster.
Former Honduran Foreign Minister Carlos Lopez, of the Micheletti delegation, said his side has not ruled out holding early elections. Lopez said Friday's talks were a way for the two sides to approach each other and now "we have the opportunity to reflect."
Friday's meetings took place without Zelaya and Micheletti. Each leader met separately with chief mediator, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, on Thursday but refused to talk together — insisting that the other give up claims to lead the country.
Arias vowed to name a date to resume the talks in coming days. A Costa Rican government spokesman, who was not authorized to give his name, said Saturday that Arias has been losing his voice and after seeing a doctor planned to spend a quiet weekend analyzing the situation.
Arias was diagnosed with a nonmalignant cyst on his vocal cords last year and advised not to speak for a month, but the spokesman said the president had no plans to postpone talks because of his condition.
But Zelaya's supporters at home fear the interim government may drag out the process as a way of wearing them down. They have held daily demonstrations in Tegucigalpa since his ouster.
Zelaya's wife was among about 1,000 people at a peaceful demonstration near the airport Saturday to honor Isis Murillo, 19, a protester from Zelaya's home state of Olancho who was shot by soldiers at the airport a week ago during Zelaya's unsuccessful attempt to return. Zelaya's plane had been blocked from landing by military vehicles parked on the runways.
"There are few possibilities for a way out," said Juan Barahona, a national leader of the protest movement. "What I see is that the coup perpetrators are interested in staying in power and wearing out the resistance movement."
President Barack Obama's administration, the U.N. and the OAS have demanded that Zelaya be returned to power so he can serve out a term that ends in January. No foreign government has recognized Micheletti.
U.S. officials have promoted the talks in Costa Rica's capital, hoping to ease Zelaya back into the presidency while resolving the concerns of Honduras' Supreme Court, Congress and military, which say they legally removed the president for violating the constitution. They accuse him of trying to extend his time in office, though he denies that.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Friday the pace of negotiations will be set by Arias, but U.S. officials would continue consultations and would work within the OAS.
Arias won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending Central America's civil wars.
____
Associated Press Writers Marianela Jimenez in San Jose, Costa Rica, and Ramon Almanzar in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, contributed to this report.
© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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- Regions: Venezuela , United States , Honduras , Ecuador , Cuba
 | Stalemate Ahead of Honduras Talks | BBC News | Thu Jul 9 | 3 |
 | Honduran rivals accept Arias as mediator | Associated Press | Mon Jul 6 | 0 |
| Honduras Pulls Out of OAS | VOA News | Sat Jul 4 | 3 |
| Honduran De Facto President, Ousted Leader Zelaya to Meet | Bloomberg.com | Wed Jul 8 | 0 |
| Honduras "to Stop Zelaya Plane" from Landing | BBC News | Sun Jul 5 | 3 |
- Public Discussion (24)
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{"commentId":8030308,"authorDomain":"eric-albert"}
If Obama was clearly against the Miliatry coup, he would cut off aid to the military regime. Instead he minces word about what is a military coup, and apparently knew about its plans, without doing anything against them. Typical Liberal class whores, say one thing, but do another. Join the OAS by refusing to support the military junta through secret alliances.
{"commentId":8030308,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"eric-albert"}
- 3 votes
#1 - Sat Jul 4, 2009 9:49 PM EDT{"commentId":8033098,"authorDomain":"merena29"}
Military regime? WHAT? Michiletti isn´t a part of the miltary he was the Speaker of the House...like Nancy Pelosi.
{"commentId":8033098,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"merena29"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":8033351,"authorDomain":"kelvins273"}
I think he's referring to the military's role in Zelaya's ouster. Nevertheless, your point stands. While the military threw Zelaya out, the new government isn't a military regime.
{"commentId":8033351,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"kelvins273"}
{"commentId":8058674,"authorDomain":"merena29"}
kelvins, the military is in charge of preserving the integrity of the Constitution in Honduras...that is why they threw him out on order of the Supreme Court. Also, the military in Honduras like many Latin American countries is used as a police force.
{"commentId":8058674,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"merena29"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8031016,"authorDomain":"georgeviking"}
The Honduras situation and countless others in Latin America (as in military coups/dictatorships) are the reasons Puerto Rico is scared $+1tless of independence. Down here only 3%-10% truly support the idea versus 40-50% for statehood... a statehood the US government will never give us...
Latin American democracy = EPIC FAIL
Says a Latino.
{"commentId":8031016,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"georgeviking"}
- 1 vote
#2 - Sat Jul 4, 2009 11:03 PM EDT{"commentId":8032850,"authorDomain":"tracid1826"}
I support the coup if the president was breaking laws, he should be ousted and the OAS should butt out.
{"commentId":8032850,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"tracid1826"}
- 2 votes
#3 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 2:29 AM EDT{"commentId":8033360,"authorDomain":"kelvins273"}
No. If he was breaking laws, he should have been impeached. Surely impeachment provisions exist in the Honduran constitution and could easily be activated if the majority of the country was as unhappy with Zelayas' actions as they appear to be. You can't defend the rule of law with extralegal activities.
{"commentId":8033360,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"kelvins273"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8042212,"authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
Agree with Kelvins273
{"commentId":8042212,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8042721,"authorDomain":"mangrovedock"}
Actually from what i understand (i live in Honduras) there are no formal mechanisms for impeachment. This is why the congress voted to remove him after the supreme court ruled Zelaya actions illegal. People must not forget that Zelaya was going to change the constitution to allow him to become a dictator and had already had the press releases saying he was disbanding congress and cancelling elections to be held in November. When this came to light he was immediately arrested and exiled in the hope of preventing violence.
The world needs to stop looking at how he was removed and look at WHY he was removed. If the president of the USA was known to be invovled in smuggling cocaine, trying to make himself a dictator, giving away all the natural resources of the country, you would not wait to have him impeached, he would be dealt with in the same way they dealt with JFK.
{"commentId":8042721,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"mangrovedock"}
- 2 votes
#4 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 6:46 PM EDT{"commentId":8052537,"authorDomain":"kerwynw"}
I guess the U.S. won't be sending in troop to restore the democratically elected President of Honduras. The usual double standard and BS applies i.e. He's not an asset to the U.S. and there's no strategic value or vital interests that the U.S needs to protect.
{"commentId":8052537,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"kerwynw"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8058714,"authorDomain":"merena29"}
Confessor why should the US send in military troops? This is not their problem and they should butt out as should the OAS and the UN.
{"commentId":8058714,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"merena29"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8058952,"authorDomain":"kerwynw"}
Isn't that why the U.S. Invaded Iraq to restore democracy?
{"commentId":8058952,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"kerwynw"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8059421,"authorDomain":"merena29"}
Confessor how is there not a democracy here now?
{"commentId":8059421,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"merena29"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8062306,"authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
Usually, in a democracy, when a President breaks laws, he's impeached first and found guilty, before the military arrives to kick him out.
{"commentId":8062306,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":8064933,"authorDomain":"merena29"}
squidward, you are applying US laws...in Honduras there is no impeachment process the Supreme Court orders the removal.
{"commentId":8064933,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"merena29"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8062615,"authorDomain":"nickthehunter"}
Iran security forces beat protesters and Barry waits for days before saying anything, president basically throws out a a country's constitution and Obama waste no time saying he should be returned to power and the coup was "not legal"
{"commentId":8062615,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"nickthehunter"}
#5 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 7:19 PM EDT{"commentId":8084738,"authorDomain":"kerwynw"}
lx chel: You're missing my point about the hypocrisy of the U.S position vis a vis democracy.
{"commentId":8084738,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"kerwynw"}
- 1 vote
#6 - Tue Jul 7, 2009 6:50 PM EDT{"commentId":8091570,"authorDomain":"merena29"}
Well ok...however, that is sort of how it happened here...the Congress met and basically unapproved of his activities as president, the the Supreme Court ordered the military to act under their constitutional duty under article 247 to protect the constitution from everyone including the president...they busted down the doors to the presidential residence and arrested him thus flighting him out of the country...they say for his own protection but technically he lost his citizenship by his action under 42 but that could be technically argued by him since it wasn´t in the document. I am unsure if they meant it to be understood..was it the best thing for them to remove him from the country? If they were protecting the country from worse unrest yes...if they were just dumping him no...I want him to be tried..not sure how that will be accomplished though. I assume from your comment that you were meaning to be sarcastic so my point I guess goes more to the explination of what happened. Of course I find it a bit brow lifting that when we had a soccer game against Haiti, everyone forgot about the protests, arguing, the removal of Zelaya and dropped it all to watch us cream Haiti 1-0...no wonder we went to war with El Salvador in 1969 over a soccer game..
{"commentId":8091570,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"merena29"}
- 1 vote
#7 - Wed Jul 8, 2009 2:19 AM EDT{"commentId":8099591,"authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
Soccer unites folks. Congrats on the victory over Haiti.
{"commentId":8099591,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":8100300,"authorDomain":"merena29"}
Thanks we play the US on Wednesday and hopefully you guys are nice and let us win...that should make us party for a week.
{"commentId":8100300,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"merena29"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8102454,"authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
Hey, don't be hard on your team. If they play hard, they can beat the US. After all, you saw how far the US got and they almost beat Brazil.
{"commentId":8102454,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":8120608,"authorDomain":"merena29"}
Squid, we got our butts kicked..figures...0-2 oh well we beat you guys last time..our heads are in other places right now...
{"commentId":8120608,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"merena29"}
#8 - Thu Jul 9, 2009 1:02 PM EDT{"commentId":8123787,"authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
haha good luck with the political situation in Honduras. Overall, my opinion is that the US should just stay the f uck out of the politics of Latin American countries. The US has done enough damage in that department.
{"commentId":8123787,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"youngandsuxessful"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":8129531,"authorDomain":"merena29"}
Squid...evidently something happened...Micheletti is on his way back and left a group of people here who are experts along with others in his place...Zelaya like a hard head broke his end of the deal and REFUSED to meet with Miceletti...I have to wonder if he is a grown man or a two year old throwing a tantrum...or he just knows how busted he is..
They were once friends..they aren´t political enemies..or they weren´t until this. Miceletti had no reason to cause harm except that the Constitution dictated his removal so here we are..and we still have a fool in a cowboy hat that is being a hard head..it is going to turn everyone against him quickly.
{"commentId":8129531,"threadId":"619504","contentId":"2997856","authorDomain":"merena29"}
- 1 vote
#9 - Thu Jul 9, 2009 8:48 PM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"619504","isPrivate":false}
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