Scorecard for Sat. Begins: Micheletti 2, Zelaya O/ why did reps take Micheletti "offer" to OAS??

[magbana]

As I suggested last night, a scorecard is being used to goad Zelaya into making concessions to end impasse. Micheletti's "offer" was presented by representatives to the OAS. Why not to Nobel Prizer, Arias?

Karen Lee Wald, editor, Cuba-Inside-Out list,has annotated this article with comments marked, "klw."

One Side Makes Offer in Honduran Impasse

Orlando Sierra/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A supporter of Manuel Zelaya demonstrated in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Wednesday.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 15, 2009

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Roberto Micheletti, the interim leader of Honduras, said Wednesday that he was willing to step down to help end the country’s political crisis, but only if the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, was prevented from regaining power.

Mr. Micheletti, a former congressional leader who was selected by lawmakers to serve out the final six months of Mr. Zelaya’s term, presented the offer as a way to end a nearly three-week standoff over the military-backed coup in Honduras. At the same time, he also accused unidentified people of handing out weapons and planning an armed rebellion.
The interim president said he was willing to leave office “if at some point that decision is needed to bring peace and tranquillity to the country, but without the return, and I stress this, of former President Zelaya.”

The offer was presented by a Honduran delegation to the Organization of American States, Mr. Micheletti told reporters in Tegucigalpa. It was unclear if the organization, based in Washington, had received the proposal.

Mr. Zelaya was not available for comment, but the offer appeared unlikely to resolve the standoff that began with the coup on June 28. Soldiers seized Mr. Zelaya in his home at gunpoint and put him on an airplane to Costa Rica. Talks on ending the crisis are expected to resume Saturday in Costa Rica.

If Mr. Micheletti resigned, under Honduran law the presidency would pass to the Supreme Court president, Jorge Rivera. The Supreme Court supported the coup, as did the Honduran Congress.

Mr. Zelaya has said that he intends to return as president, and he insists that this is not open to negotiation. On Tuesday, he said Hondurans had a right to stage an insurrection against Mr. Micheletti’s internationally isolated interim government.

Asked Wednesday about the possibility of an armed rebellion, Mr. Micheletti said: “I don’t think we will get to that point. Our country is peaceful. I don’t believe Hondurans will pick up arms to kill other Hondurans.”But he contended that some people were trying to foment a rebellion. “This morning we were informed that they were handing out some guns,” Mr. Micheletti said, without specifying to whom he was referring.

Mr. Micheletti, a member of Mr. Zelaya’s own political party, was named by Congress to serve out the presidential term. Mr. Zelaya was accused of violating Honduran law by ignoring the courts and Congress when he moved ahead with plans for a constitutional referendum that many Hondurans viewed as a power grab. Mr. Zelaya has denied that he was seeking to change the Constitution so he could serve another term.

Mr. Micheletti has threatened to jail Mr. Zelaya, a wealthy rancher who shifted to the left after his election, if he returns to Honduras.

Demonstrations for Mr. Zelaya’s return continued in Tegucigalpa on Wednesday, and his supporters called for labor strikes.

A labor leader, Israel Salinas, one of the main figures in the pro-Zelaya movement, told thousands of demonstrators who marched through Tegucigalpa, the capital, that workers at state-owned companies planned to walk out later this week.

He said protest organizers were talking with union leaders at private companies to see whether they could mount a general strike against Mr. Micheletti.

President Óscar Arias of Costa Rica is mediating talks aimed at resolving the impasse, but Mr. Zelaya has grown frustrated by the lack of progress.

Two rounds of negotiations have failed to produce a breakthrough. Mr. Arias, who won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in ending Central America’s wars, has urged Mr. Zelaya to “be patient.”



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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/world/americas/16honduras.html