Rivals sign deal to end Honduras crisis
Ousted President Manuel Zelaya looked set to be reinstated, pending
approval from Congress, as rival sides in Honduras finalized a deal
Friday to end four months of political paralysis.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led international praise for
the deal reached late Thursday, with a push from US envoys, amid a deep
crisis set off by a June 28 military-backed coup. The accord between
Zelaya and de facto leader Roberto Micheletti includes a power-sharing
government and a congressional decision on Zelaya’s brief reinstatement
ahead of presidential polls next month. A visit by envoys from the
United States, the country’s main military and financial backer, gave
the final boost to reach the agreement.
“You can’t underestimate the relation (of Honduras) with the United
States,” Michael Shifter, of the Inter-American Dialogue think-tank told
AFP.
Many in Latin America had criticized the United States for failing to
apply enough pressure on the de facto leaders, despite freezing aid and
suspending visas of top members of the regime. The deal entered into
effect when it was signed Friday, but it will be officially recognized
on Monday, according to the document seen by AFP.
A national unity government will be in place by November 5, it added.
Zelaya’s return is “the issue that is going to be the most provocative
and the one we’ll have to pay more attention,” said US Assistant
Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, before leaving Honduras Friday.
Shannon said there was no timeline for the 128-member Congress to
vote on the deal. Lawmakers were also due to consult with the Supreme
Court.
Foreign observers from Brazil to Canada poured praise on both sides
for breaking the lengthy stalemate.
“I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America
that, having suffered a rupture of its democratic institutional order,
overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue,” Clinton said
in Islamabad.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, who first proposed the deal, said
Friday he was confident that Congress would approve the restitution of
Zelaya before the elections. Under the deal, Zelaya will have to drop
his controversial mission to change the constitution, which his rivals
saw as a bid to extend his four-year term, and step aside for the victor
of the November 29 poll.
Micheletti’s envoys finally backed down from their insistence that
the Supreme Court decide on Zelaya’s return late Thursday. Micheletti
warned, however, on CNN in Spanish Friday that Zelaya would start a
“campaign of persecution” against him and the de facto government.
-AFP
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