Catholic Church leaders are weighing in on Honduras’ coup stalemate with a proposal to jump-start negotiations, part of a growing movement by crisis-weary Hondurans to resolve the crisis and end the country’s crippling isolation.
The coup-installed government, which has shrugged off international condemnation, is coming under increasing pressure to negotiate from political, civic and business leaders who had supported the ouster of left-leaning Honduran president Manuel Zelaya.
Several compromise proposals have surfaced as Honduras struggles to emerge from 10 tumultuous days that saw Zelaya sneak back into the country and mount his boldest challenge yet to the interim government, which responded by imposing curfews, suspending civil liberties, banning demonstrations and closing opposition media.
Bishop Juan Jose Pineda said on Wednesday his plan would broaden talks to include civic groups that have led street protests both in support of and against Zelaya, with the process guided by one Honduran and one foreign mediator.
Pineda said the talks would revolve around a compromise proposed by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, which would provide amnesty for the coup participants and reinstate Zelaya to the presidency with limited powers to serve out his term, which runs into January.
“We believe we have to look for a Honduran solution,” Pineda said during a presentation of the plan on Channel 10 television.
The bishop has acted as a go-between for Zelaya and interim President Roberto Micheletti, who has refused to meet face-to-face with the ousted president.
John Biehl, special adviser to the Organization of American States, said on Wednesday he sensed some movement toward talks.
“The moment has arrived for tempers to cool and reason to reign, and that’s when errors will start being corrected,” Biehl said.
“I have found a strong willingness for dialogue,” adding that he had heard of proposals to return Zelaya to office briefly.
Some of the business and political leaders who backed the coup, under intense US pressure to sway the government toward restoring Zelaya, are now open to considering the possibility of returning him to office with limited powers.
Porfirio Lobo, a top conservative contender in November’s presidential election, announced that Congress would be open to passing reforms needed to make an accord work.
“If we have to reform some laws, I don’t think Congress is going to be an obstacle,” said Lobo, whose party is the second-largest legislative bloc, with 55 seats in the 128-seat Congress.
As part of the attempt to return to normality, Micheletti’s government said on Wednesday it was dropping the nighttime curfew in force since Zelaya entered Honduras on Sept. 21, took refuge at the Brazilian embassy and called on his followers to protest.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of