Costa Rica to mediate Honduran power struggle says Clinton

Could diplomacy help unclog the impasse between Honduras’ ousted president Manuel Zelaya and interim leader Roberto Micheletti? That’s the gamble being taken by Costa Rica with the backing of U.S. officials:

(Costa Rican president/1987 Nobel prize winner) Oscar Arias will support negotiations between Manuel Zelaya and Robert Micheletti…(U.S. secretary of state) Hillary Clinton said after talks with Zelaya in Washington.

"We are supporting the efforts that the OAS [Organization of American States] has made but we think there needs to be a specific mediator," Clinton said on Tuesday.

"To that end, we are supporting President Arias of Costa Rica to serve in this important role.

"President Zelaya ... agreed that President Arias has a lot of experience going back many years as a mediator.

"[Arias] is willing to serve as a mediator and we have received word that the de facto caretaker president, Micheletti, will also agree to President Arias serving in this role."

In addition, the AP reported that a Honduran Supreme Court spokesman said that the government "could push for political amnesty” for Zelaya though it would ultimately be up to Congress.

Thousands of people for and against Zelaya have rallied in the capital city of Tegucigalpa today. Unlike the ugly violence on Sunday, today’s rallies appear to be peaceful. Honduran First Lady Xiomara de Zelaya even came out of hiding to head a demonstration in favor of her deposed hubby.

Image- AP (“Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya arrives at the State Department in Washington to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday, July 7, 2009. Zelaya is back in the U.S. after his failed attempt to land in Honduras last Sunday. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)”)
Online Sources- Al Jazeera English, AP, Voice of America, The Telegraph, The Latin Americanist,