Looking For A Peaceful Solution To The Unrest In Honduras

Photo: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya arrives in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wednesday to begin talks aimed at resolving the crisis sparked when he was expelled on June 28. (Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters)

Can Arias Broker A Deal On Honduras? -- Christian Science Monitor

Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias will begin leading talks today between ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the interim government.

San Jose, Costa Rica; and Mexico City - One of the unexpected byproducts of the political crisis in Honduras has been the rare accord among leaders across the ideological spectrum.

But unanimous world condemnation of the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya put any future negotiations in a tough spot: who could actually remain an objective mediator?

Starting Thursday, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias is going to try.

The Nobel Prize winner, who has dedicated 25 years to peace efforts in countries ripped by civil war along the Central American isthmus, will lead a series of dialogues with the two men claiming to be the president of Honduras: the ousted Mr. Zelaya, and Roberto Micheletti, who was sworn in as the new provisional president the same day Zelaya was kicked out. If anyone is poised to bridge positions that have been thus far intractable, many say it is Mr. Arias.

Read more ....

More News On The Unrest In Honduras

Interim Honduran leader arrives for talks on coup -- Yahoo News/AP
Honduras rivals to talk, but no sign of concessions -- Reuters
Deposed Honduran president to meet de facto leader -- AFP
Honduras' Roberto Micheletti in Costa Rica for coup talks -- Miami Herald
Honduran sides far apart as talks set to start -- CBC
Honduras crisis: rivals to hold talks in Costa Rica -- the Telegraph
Honduran Economy in Peril From Political Crisis -- Voice of America
It Wasn't A 'Coup' -- Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Forbes opinion
A Chance for Honduras -- Washington Post editorial

My Comment: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is in a poor position coming into these talks. His term ends in less than 4 months .... but even then I am skeptical that the Interim President or Congress would permit him to assume the President's Office until then.

His only hope out of these talks will be to insure that his political Party will be permitted to run their slate of candidates in November's election. If he decides to play hardball .... he (and his political party) will be disenfranchised and Honduras will become poorer because of it.

On a side note, I have always been in favor of term limits for President's in Latin America. They have a rotten history of dictators and corrupt governments, and the best way to dissuade this from happening has always been term limits. Mexico's President can only serve 6 years .... Honduras 4 years(which President Zelaya is trying to change), and for Colombia it is for two terms (which the present President is also trying to change).