Zelaya and Micheletti Leave Delegations to Continue Mediation

The Two Men Didn't Talk to Each Other in Costa Rica Talks

Honduran president Manuel Zelaya and de facto president Roberto Micheletti both participated in the beginning of a mediation session in Costa Rica today.  The men had separate meetings with Costa Rican president and mediator Oscar Arias where they explained their positions to him.  However, the two Honduran leaders did not sit down to talk face-to-face today.  Rather, they each left delegations empowered to continue talks.

El Heraldo reports that Zelaya's delegation is composed of Foreign Affairs Minister Patricia Rodas, former Foreign Affairs Minister Milton Jimenez, Congresswoman Sylvia Ayala from the Democratic Unification Party, and Lenca indigenous leader Salvador Zuñiga.

On Micheletti's commission is former Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Lopez Contreras, businessman and politician Arturo Corrales from the Democratic Christian party, Liberal Party leader Mauricio Villeda, and former Supreme Court Justice Vilma Morales.

The commissions are not yet complete.  El Heraldo reports that each commission will eventually contain eight people.  Notwithstanding, the commissions met together today in Arias' home to begin talks.

Upon leaving the talks, none of the presidents spoke about what was discussed that day behind closed doors.  However, Micheletti read a statement after his discussion with Arias.  In the statement, he said that elections would occur in Honduras.  He did not state when they would occur. 

Micheletti's government has proposed holding early elections (as opposed to reinstating Zelaya as president) as a possible way to end the conflict. US intellectuals sent a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today opposing any proposal that would allow the coup government to hold elections.  "Elections currently would take place under a coup regime that has suspended civil liberties, and where the conditions for free elections do not exist," the letter, signed by Noam Chomsky and other prominent thinkers, states. "Democracy has to be restored before a legitimate election can take place.... Anything less than the urgent restoration of President Manuel Zelaya to office would be an usurpation of the will of the Honduran people."

The intellectuals' letter also argued that "the U.S. must ensure his prompt restoration by enacting forceful economic sanctions against the regime."  Thus far the US State Department has not cut off all US aid to Honduras.

Micheletti and Zelaya have reportedly decided to allow their commissions to make progress in the mediation before potentially sitting down to talk face-to-face.  This move will likely free up Zelaya to keep working towards a solution to the crisis, rather than allowing the Micheletti government to drag its feet in talks until elections roll around.  Zelaya has approximately six months left in his term.

Upon leaving today's talks, Arias said he thought the talks would not end any time soon.  "It's possible that this is going to take more time than we could have imagined," he told the press. This is in part due to the fact that "it is difficult to talk about a successful negotiation if President Manuel Zelaya is not reinstated."  Micheletti has stated that he believes talks should "start from the understanding that Zelaya's return is not open to negotiation."