U.S. mediation aims to defuse Honduras crisis over Zelaya

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Honduran interim government authorities are preparing for the arrival of an Obama administration mediation team amid fears a prolonged stalemate will pile up pressure on the economy and deepen the effects of aid suspension and diplomatic isolation.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters a delegation will travel to Honduras Thursday to try and resolve the impasse over the June 28 ouster of President Jose Manuel Zelaya and his replacement by the current de facto president, Roberto Micheletti.

Zelaya returned from exile in September and is currently holed up in the Brazilian Embassy, demanding to be reinstated as president.

U.S.-led mediation has been focused on ensuring Zelaya is restored as president while elections for a new president take place on Nov. 29. His current term expires next year. The mechanics of the deal have been snagged over Micheletti's refusal to step aside and let Zelaya back into the presidential seat.

Kelly said the U.S. team visiting Tegucigalpa would include Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Craig Kelly and White House Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs Dan Restrepo.

Kelly said the delegation plans to meet with representatives from both sides to discuss strategies to move the reconciliation process forward. "They will urge both sides to show flexibility and redouble their efforts to bring the crisis to an end," Kelly said.

He said the delegation would visit Honduras amid "a rapidly developing situation" and with both sides still in negotiation.

"The two sides are still talking, and the U.S. remains actively engaged with both sides," Kelly said.

Although the U.S. Embassy in Honduras and the Organization of American States have attempted earlier mediation, it is the first direct diplomatic initiative by the Obama administration to help resolve the crisis.

"We're just taking every opportunity to try and press on both sides the urgency of the situation and to try and get them to resolve this as soon as possible," Kelly said.

Zelaya was forced out of power when he began moves to change the Honduran constitution to extend his term of office. Micheletti's de facto government argues Zelaya's ouster was justified and, before negotiations cooled temperatures, threatened to put him on trial to face charges of abuse of power.

Asked if the U.S. administration considered a legitimate election possible at such short notice, Kelly replied, "The clock is ticking. In order for it to be seen as legitimate and for the authorities down there to conduct a completely open and transparent electoral process ... there needs to be some time, and this is precisely why we see some urgency in this."

U.S. officials and Latin American diplomats have said a presidential election without a due legal process would open Honduras to further international isolation and deepen the economic and social crisis in the country.