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President Arias is the Chosen Mediator of the Conflict in Honduras – Meeting to be Held on Thursday in San Jose |
| July 8th, 2009 - With the intention of helping the people of Honduras to settle their differences, and to avoid further violence, the Costa Rican President Óscar Arias Sánchez has been chosen to serve as a mediator between the conflicting parties in the sister Central American Republic of Honduras. This was confirmed by the president this yesterday afternoon from his residence in Rohrmoser after receiving approval from both parties, for him to lead the talks between Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti. In a press release from Casa Presidencia Arias said "Both parties have invited me to be a facilitator, a mediator in this conflict, so the two can sit down to negotiate immediately. I have invited them to come to Costa Rica as soon as possible because every day it gets much more difficult to generate the confidence that is needed for the two sides to reach a solution to end this conflict". President Arias has said that the meetings between the two parties will take place at the highest level on Thursday. "President Zelaya called me from Washington to say that he would be coming to San Jose on Wednesday night, while Mr Micheletti will be arriving on Thursday morning, so I think that we could start the dialogue on the same day in the afternoon" said Arias. President Arias refused to refer to matters about the conflict, by contrast, he emphasized that regardless of the differences that led to the coup against Zelaya, the most important thing is that the two parties will participate in discussions to seek a peaceful resolution of differences that allows the restoration of democracy and free elections in coming months. "The most important part of this is that there is willingness from both parties to sit down and negotiate, that is a very important step. My experience is that these talks have to be at the highest level, so I placed the condition that they Mr Zelaya and Mr Micheletti, along with their closest collaborators have to come. This is not a matter of days, so I asked them to stay here Thursday and Friday. In two days I hope we can resolve this issue and reach an agreement satisfactory to both parties and move towards the elections" he said. Finally, the President Arias did not conceal his satisfaction to contribute once again as he did for over 20 years to achieve peace in the region and stated that, although the place of the talks was not defined, he suggested that they take place in his family home thus to generate a climate of greater confidence. "Being a mediator in this conflict gives me great satisfaction, knowing that one can help resolve a conflict of this nature, which has killed two innocent people and could generate more violence. If one can do something to return normalcy in Honduras and generate a climate of trust, allowing a democratic election in the coming months, would be very gratifying" said Arias. OAS FULLY SUPPORTS MEDIATION OF PRESIDENT ARIAS IN HONDURAS The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, reported Tuesday in full detail to the Permanent Council of the institution in a closed meeting about the diplomatic initiatives undertaken recently looking for a solution to the crisis in Honduras, following the coup that ousted constitutional President José Manuel Zelaya. Mr. Insulza reported about the conversations held Monday and Tuesday with the President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, to examine the possibility of him playing a mediator role looking for a way out of the situation created when the Honduran Head of State was expelled from his country on Sunday, June 28. President Arias accepted Monday the role if and when it was agreed by all parts and he could count on the OAS full support. Secretary General Insulza said that, according to him, there could be no better mediator than the Nobel Prize winner and current president of the Central American Integration System (SICA), a person widely respected and admired for his democratic and transparent past, and remembered for his crucial role in the ending of the Central American conflict. All members of the Permanent Council appreciated this new development, congratulated the OAS Secretary General on his initiatives and expressed their hope that President Arias, with the full support of the OAS, will reach a successful solution. |
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