Once there was a Honduras that was Democratic and .....

Surprise Surprise. Any doubt this would have been the outcome.

Obama involved himself in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state for political reasons - prompted Arias as the mediator. Arias is a friend of Chavez and Zelaya. Is it any wonder, as a leftist himself, Arias sought to return his friend to power in Honduras?

Was there any doubt? Not for Obama.



Mediator’s Plan Would Return Honduran Ex-President

By ELISABETH MALKIN
Published: July 18, 2009

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — The mediator in talks seeking to break the deadlock between the deposed Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, and the de facto government that exiled him urged both sides on Saturday to agree to a plan that would return the ousted leader and grant a general amnesty.

The seven points proposed by President Óscar Arias of Costa Rica during a second round of negotiations at his house in the capital, San José, would require the political elite of Honduras to recognize Mr. Zelaya as the country’s legitimate president, which they have yet to do. The talks adjourned at 8:45 on Saturday night, as the representatives of the de facto government asked for a 15-hour break to consult with Tegucigalpa.

Throughout the day Saturday, both sides appeared to play to their hard-line supporters.
Mr. Zelaya promised to return to Honduras soon, in defiance of promises by the de facto government to arrest him.

The government of Roberto Micheletti, who was named president by Congress after the coup, threw up a raft of legal objections to the idea of letting Mr. Zelaya return under an amnesty.

Although Mr. Arias’s plan would restore Mr. Zelaya, it would also sharply curtail his powers and focus much of the country’s political energy on an early presidential election.

A source close to the talks said Mr. Zelaya’s delegation had agreed in principle to all seven points. But a former Supreme Court president, Vilma Morales, who is one of Mr. Micheletti’s delegates at the talks, told local radio that it was up to Congress, the Supreme Court and election authorities in Tegucigalpa to decide on most of the proposal.

As the talks went on, Mr. Zelaya, who was in neighboring Nicaragua, told Honduran radio that he would return home, perhaps as soon as Monday. His statements could heighten tensions in Honduras, which has been paralyzed by strikes and protests since the June 28 coup.

Mr. Zelaya tried to fly into the Tegucigalpa airport two weeks ago on a small plane provided by the Venezuelan government, but military vehicles parked on the tarmac blocked his approach. One supporter was killed when soldiers pushed back those who had come to greet him.

The ousted president’s wife, Xiomara Castro, leading protesters in Tegucigalpa on Saturday, said he would return within hours, “no matter the bayonets and machine guns” his supporters might face.

As the talks began Saturday about 11 a.m., Mr. Arias warned both sides that Honduras was facing increasing isolation. Mr. Zelaya has been recognized as the legitimate president by the United Nations, the Organization of American States and the Obama administration.

The Arias proposal would move forward by a month the general election scheduled for the end of November. The military would be placed under the command of the electoral tribunal to prevent any attempt to meddle in the balloting.

Mr. Zelaya would also have to give up any attempt to rewrite the Constitution to remain in office. It was his insistence on holding a referendum on a proposal to amend the Constitution that precipitated the coup.

Mr. Arias’s plan would create a national unity government made up of members of all political parties until the new elected government took office, as scheduled, at the end of January.
The proposal does not specify that any members of the Micheletti government would be included, which Mr. Zelaya has ruled out.

Mr. Arias’s proposal would also grant an amnesty for all political crimes both before and after the ouster of Mr. Zelaya.

In his statement at the start of the negotiations, Mr. Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his role in negotiating Central American peace accords, spoke of the weight of history in a region where the overthrow of elected governments has frequently punctuated an uncertain transition to democracy.

If an agreement was reached, “it would be the first time in Latin American history that a coup d’état is reversed by the will of both sides,” he said.

Mr. Micheletti had said he would step down if it would help end the conflict, but he had emphasized that he would not make way for Mr. Zelaya.

The Honduran coup has presented an unexpected test of Latin American policy for the Obama administration, which has thrown its support behind the mediation effort by Mr. Arias.













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