国际英语新闻：Zelaya says yes, interim government says no to Arias' mediation proposal

SAN JOSE, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Saturday said "yes" to Costa Rican President Oscar Arias' mediation proposal of setting up a national unity government, while the post-coup interim government refused to put Zelaya back into office.

    Zelaya said on Saturday on Radio Globo that he is in favor of the establishment of a power-sharing "government of reconciliation," as proposed by Arias, designated mediator for the Honduras political crisis.

    He also said that he would go back to Honduras within days despite the arrest order issued by his opponents.

    During the second round of talks between the Zelaya side and the de facto Honduran government, held here on Saturday, Arias suggested that a "government of reconciliation" should be established with the participation of both parties.

Ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya speaks to the media during a news conference at the Honduras embassy in Managua beside his Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas July 13, 2009.

    The interim government's delegation, for its part, rejected Arias' suggestion on Zelaya's return to power, even under conditions of a political amnesty.

    Arias suggested during his meeting with the delegations that Zelaya, as the constitutional president of Honduras, should return to office and stay in power till Jan. 27, and a general amnesty should be applied to all political crimes committed before and after the coup.

Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya (L) talks with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias in front of Oscar Arias's residence in San Jose, capital of Costa Rica, July 9, 2009.

But officials from the interim government told reporters that a "no" will be the answer to the proposal of Zelaya's reinstatement.

    Besides the power-sharing reconciliation government, the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize-winning mediator also recommended that the Nov. 29 elections should be moved up by one month to Oct. 25.

    Other suggestions put forward by Arias on Saturday include a request on the Honduran military force to hand out the power to the Supreme Court of Elections, so as to guarantee the election voting procedure's "transparency and normality."

    And a commission should be set up by national figures of Honduras in cooperation with international-regional organizations to verify whether the agreements -- if reached -- are put into practice by real means.

    The Costa Rican president promised that, once his proposals are accepted, his government will make every effort to help Honduras return to the Organization of American States (OAS), from which it was expelled days after the coup. He also pledged to push for the lifting of coercive sanctions against the country.

    Arias expressed his hope that this could be the first coup d' etat in history that ends up in peace.

    In the first round of talks held in San Jose last weekend, the only agreement reached between the Zelaya side and the de facto Honduran government was to meet here again to make one more attempt for a peaceful solution.

    On Friday Zelaya gave a one-day ultimatum to the mediation process, calling on his followers to stand up in revolt if the second-round talks fail.

    He also vowed to return to Honduras within days despite an arrest order issued against him by the post-coup leadership. His return plan was not revealed for reasons of security, but the interim government was preparing to frustrate his probable entry from Nicaragua, which borders Honduras with mountains and thick forests.

    In Honduras on Saturday, supporters of Zelaya and those of the interim government clashed in a coastal city, pelting stones and wielding sticks against each other.

    According to local media reports, in Tocoa City on the Atlantic coast of the Central American country, Zelaya's sympathizers clashed with demonstrators in support of the interim government headed by former congressional leader Roberto Micheletti.

    Witnesses said that during the conflict many people, including youngsters and children, were badly beaten, and the police had to intervene to bring the situation under control.

    Meanwhile, in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, hundreds of Zelaya's supporters blocked the traffic on a main pathway in the southern parts of the urban area.

    There were also several hundred demonstrators marching near the International Airport in Tegucigalpa, where Zelaya made a failed attempt to land on a Venezuelan jet on July 5.

    Zelaya was ousted and forced into exile on June 28 in a military coup, which was widely condemned by the international community.