Colombian foreign minister in Honduras to fine-tune accord for return to OAS
[Translation of an article from Diario Tiempo of San Pedro Sula for May 18. See original here and related article here, here and here.]
Tegucigalpa – President Porfirio Lobo Sosa and Colombian Foreign Minister María Angela Holguín met yesterday to fine-tune details of the accord permitting the reintegration of Honduras into the Organization of American States (OAS) and the return to the country of former President Manuel Zelaya.
The Colombian diplomat arrived in the country by surprise to meet for some six hours with President Lobo, members of the Truth Commission, Foreign Minister Mario Canahuati and other state officials to deal with reintegration into the OAS and Zelaya’s return.
Holguín said she had come to meet with “President Lobo and with his team, with whom we have been working on this mediation, to reach an agreement and so Honduras can return soon to the OAS.”
She added that after the meeting on April 8 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, between President Lobo and his counterparts from Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, there was a commitment to find a solution to the political crisis in Honduras.
For that end, she and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro were charged with seeking a rapprochement for the purpose of signing an accord that would allow reintegration into the OAS and Zelaya’s return, with no political persecution.
Since that time they have communicated by telephone and e-mail “and I considered it was very important to meet in person, that we sit down and look in a detailed way at each of the points and continue to advance in this negotiation, which we hope will result in a successful conclusion in a short time.”
On the verge of an agreement
Concerning the date of the reintegration, she said that “the ideal, and I personally hope it is this way, is for Honduras to be seated and be reintegrated by the meeting in El Salvador. I am very optimistic. I believe we have advanced, I wouldn’t want to put percentages on it, but I am convinced that we are on the verge of attaining this.”
She said she cannot give a date for the signing of the accord and so “I wanted to come personally because it seems to me that we could accelerate a little and advance on the points that are still pending” and “I am almost sure that Honduras will be in El Salvador (on June 6)” for the OAS assembly.
While the meeting was taking place, members of the Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular (FNRP) reported that Zelaya will return to Honduras between May 28 and May 30.
Conditions
Other conditions for the accord are the recognition of the FNRP as a political force, the calling of a national constituent assembly, return of those expatriated by the coup d’état and respect for human rights.
Tags: Colombia, Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular, Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, Maria Angela Holguin, Organization of American States, Porfirio Lobo, reintegration