Protest as Honduras's rival camps dig in for talks
Posted: 11 July 2009 0557 hrs

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TEGUCIGALPA : Thousands of supporters of Honduras's ousted president rallied in the capital Tegucigalpa on Friday, as his representatives met with those from the rival de facto government in Costa Rica.

Around 4,000 people calling for the return of deposed President Manuel Zelaya blocked the road leading north from the capital to Honduras's second city of San Pedro Sula.

It was the latest of many demonstrations held both for and against Zelaya since the leader was abducted and hauled out of Honduras by the army on June 28.

An organizer, Juan Barahona, told AFP the protests backing "Mel" -- Zelaya's nickname -- would continue until the de facto government permitted him to come back and resume his rule.

There was no early sign of that happening, though.

Zelaya and interim Honduran leader Roberto Micheletti kicked off the talks in Costa Rica's capital San Jose on Thursday -- though in a sign of their evident mutual hostility they did not meet face-to-face.

They flew out, leaving their aides to discuss the democratic crisis rocking their country under the mediation of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.

Those talks were due to wrap up late Friday, Arias's spokesman and brother Rodrigo Arias said.

Though Zelaya, Micheletti and Costa Rican officials claimed the talks were "positive" they appeared to be mired in the dispute over the presidency, with neither side ready to give ground.

Zelaya, speaking to reporters in the Dominican Republic on Friday, said the talks "opened the window" on mediation "to find an immediate solution for the restoration of the elected president."

He was to fly to Guatemala and the United States to drum up support for his position, his foreign minister, Patricia Rodas, said.

But Micheletti, who flew to Tegucigalpa late Thursday, insists he remains the "constitutional president."

He said he was ready to return to the talks "if necessary," though both he and Zelaya stressed they did not view the discussions as a negotiation.

"The truth is that there are still intransigence on both sides," the head of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, told Chilean radio.

"They called me at about two, three o'clock in the morning in Washington (to tell) me that the positions have become much more rigid," he said.

Arias, after speaking to the rival leaders, reflected that the talks "could possibly take more time than imagined."

Zelaya, who had to abort an attempt last Sunday to land in Tegucigalpa when soldiers and army vehicles blocked the runway, vowed to return to Honduras and sweep aside the replacement regime.

"Even though my return didn't happen, everything this regime is doing is nul and void, and constitutes a crime," he said.

Zelaya has the support of most Latin American states and the government of US President Barack Obama.

The United States has suspended military ties with Tegucigalpa and is warning it could sever 200 million dollars in aid. The World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank have frozen credit lines.

Zelaya's left-wing allies have also made life uncomfortable for Micheletti. Venezuela has suspended its oil deliveries to Honduras, while Nicaragua denied Micheletti permission to fly through its airspace for the Costa Rica meeting.

Honduran judges, business leaders, generals and many lawmakers remain opposed to Zelaya's return, though.

A wealthy rancher who moved sharply left after taking power in January 2006, Zelaya raised hackles by trying to bypass congress to hold a referendum on rewriting the constitution.

Though he denies it, the move was seen as a bid to lift the one-term presidential limit so he could seek re-election this year.

His support base is largely drawn from Honduras's unions and the poor.

Other citizens who do not necessarily approve of Zelaya have nonetheless joined the protests calling for his return out of concern that democracy was trampled in his ouster.

- AFP /ls