By Dolores M. Bernal, NEWS JUNKIE POST
Efforts to reinstate Honduran President Manuel Zelaya are falling short, but will continue. It will be two weeks tomorrow since Zelaya was taken out and exiled from his mansion at gun point by his own military. Since then, none of the efforts by other countries or even the United States have been able to negotiate a deal with the de facto government that replaced him after the coup d’etat.
The President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias has been working since Thursday to establish a dialog with Roberto Micheletti, the Italian business man who once led Honduras’ congress, but is now its leader. But playing the role of peacemaker didn’t get Arias far, the Honduran regime now in place, refuses to give up power and allow Zelaya to take back his place.
“It’s not very likely that this situation with such deep issues could be resolved in a meeting,” said Arias. “We’ll announce the dates for more talks in the days to come.”
The dialog between Costa Rica and Honduras to reinstate Zelaya was an idea formulated in the U.S. after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Zelaya earlier this week in Washington, D.C. But the Obama Administration’s efforts to support and recognize Zelaya as the “true” Honduran President has drawn criticism from Republicans in Congress.
On Thursday, Congressman Connie Mack from Florida, introduced a resolution to “officially” disapprove of Zelaya’s efforts to change the Honduran constitution in order to extend presidential term limits. Such resolution would validate the de facto regime’s charges against Zelaya, which caused his removal from office on June 28.
“Manuel Zelaya’s record on quashing freedom looked like it was ripped from Hugo Chavez’s playbook. Zelaya trampled the Honduran Constitution, pushing for an illegal referendum to allow him to rule indefinitely,” Mack said.
“The United States and freedom-loving nations across the globe must stand with the Honduran people during this state of upheaval. We urge a legal and peaceful resolution to this crisis that respects freedom, the rule of law and democracy,” he said.
The Obama administration has continued to support Zelaya despite the accusations against him. The administration believes that the coup d’etat disrupted the democracy in that nation and that Zelaya should be allowed to return to finish his term, which ends in November of this year.
The Costa Rican President has agreed to the role of mediator until further notice, but he has condemned the efforts by Republicans in the U.S. to meddle politics into the diplomatic dialog process.
“Let us, Central Americas, resolve the problems of Central Americans,” Arias said.
