Update 9: Honduras
The advance mission for the upcoming Organization of American States (OAS) delegation of ten foreign ministers and Secretary General José Miguel Insulza arrived in Honduras last week to begin pushing for a dialogue between both de facto President Roberto Micheletti and ousted President Manuel Zelaya, and preliminary reports show that both parties have expressed a desire to talk. Meanwhile, two different delegations of U.S. members of Congress traveled to Honduras on "fact-finding trips." Here's is today's update on the situation in Honduras:
- Two delegations from the U.S. Congress traveled to Honduras on "fact-finding trips." The first delegation, led by Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), arrived in Honduras on Friday, despite an attempt to block the trip by Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts). Sen. DeMint was joined by Rep. Aaron Shock (R-Illinois), Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Illinois), and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado). While in Honduras, the delegation met with de facto President Micheletti, as well as members of the Honduran Supreme Court, election officials and business and civic leaders. Sen. Kerry tried to prevent the fact-finding trip due to the hold Sen. DeMint has placed on the confirmations of Arturo Valenzuela as the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, and Tom Shannon as the ambassador to Brazil. However, with the help of Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the delegation received permission directly from the Defense Department to travel to Honduras. Today, three of Florida's members of Congress, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Díaz-Balart and Mario Díaz-Balart (all R-Miami), traveled to Honduras to meet with Micheletti and to express their support for the November 29th elections. While in Honduras, the delegation also planned to meet with representatives of the opposition and of ousted President Zelaya.
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The four OAS functionaries who were expelled from Honduras one week ago arrived in Honduras on Friday to prepare for the OAS mission of ten foreign ministers and OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza, due to arrive in Honduras on Wednesday. John Biehl, an OAS special envoy, held separate meetings with both ousted President Manuel Zelaya and de facto President Micheletti to advance the possibility of a dialogue, mediated by the OAS, between both parties. After his meetings, Biehl told reporters, "there will be a call next week for dialogue between the acting government and the other side and it will be accepted. That has already been agreed." Reuters reports today, however, that while both leaders say they are ready for talks, their key demands remain unchanged: "Micheletti says Zelaya must face the courts and is resisting pressure to restore him to power, while Zelaya insists he be reinstated unconditionally." Even though Secretary General Insulza was not due in Honduras until this Wednesday, it has been confirmed that he was in Honduras and met with de facto President Micheletti last week. An OAS press release reads:
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, confirmed on Saturday that in the last few days he met in Honduras with Mr. Roberto Micheletti. "The meeting was aimed at promoting a dialogue between the parties in the conflict with the goal of restoring democracy and the constitutional order in Honduras, with strict respect of the mandate given to the Secretary General by the General Assembly on July 4th", Mr. Insulza said.
- Zelaya told reporters that "in order to begin a 'sincere' dialogue with the interim government civil liberties must be restored." Today, Micheletti announced that the Council of Ministers abolished the decree he imposed last week to suspend important civil liberties, stating that he made the decision to completely annul it since "it is no longer necessary because we have peace in the country."
- Thirty-eight farmers who were imprisoned on Wednesday after police and soldiers removed them from the National Agrarian Institute building are now on a hunger strike "to demand a just trial, the restitution of president Zelaya, and respect for our right to the land."