TEGUCIGALPA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' post-coup
government on Sunday suspended the curfew, part of a martial law that has been
in place since July 28, when soldiers seized President Manuel Zelaya and forced
him to board an aircraft to Costa Rica.
A statement read by government officials on domestic
broadcast media said that the measure had "achieved its goals" and had "returned
calm to the population."
The measure had imposed a curfew from 9:00 p.m. local
time to 6:00 a.m. the following day, although this was changed to 6:30 p.m.
during the peak of anti-government protests. In the last few days soldiers had
only enforced curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. local time.
During the curfew period, the nation's legislature,
the National Congress, had suspended guarantees included in the nation's
Constitution that cover freedom of association and of movement, and that limit
arrest without charge to 24 hours.
Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias has been mediating
between Roberto Micheletti, who took over the presidential power thanks to
military intervention, and Zelaya. Both men were in Costa Rica's capital San
Jose on Thursday to speak with Arias, but not with each other.
On Thursday, they each appointed a team of four
officials to continue talks, which are set to continue on Monday. Neither side
has made any public statements that bring their positions any close together.
CARACAS, July 12 (Xinhua) --
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez on Sunday made an open call on the United
States to push for the downfall of coup leaders in Honduras.
In his regular Sunday broadcast "Alo Presidente," Chavez
said he had spoken to Thomas Shannon, the deputy U.S. secretary of state for
Latin America, on the phone and told Shannon that U.S. President Barack Obama
should see the reality of what is happening in Honduras. Full story
SAN JOSE, July 12
(Xinhua) -- Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias has called for a second round of
talks within a week between Manuel Zelaya, Honduras' president ousted in a June
28 military coup, and Roberto Micheletti, the nation's post-coup leader,
according to Sunday's edition of the La Nacion newspaper.
Arias hosted the two leaders on Thursday at separate
meetings, after which each side designated a committee of four to speak for
them. Micheletti and Zelaya did not meet face-to-face, and Micheletti went
directly from Arias' residence to the airport. Full story
MEXICO CITY, July 9
(Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and post-coup leader Roberto
Micheletti met Thursday with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias respectively in
San Jose, but Micheletti swiftly left the country, squashing all hopes of a
face-to-face meeting.
Arias, a 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was accepted by
both parties to serve as a mediator in the talks. Full story
SAN JOSE, July 9 (Xinhua) --
Honduras' post-coup leader Roberto Micheletti was afraid of being arrested or
getting killed in Costa Rica, and refused to leave the airport before getting
security guarantees when he arrived here on Thursday for mediation talks hosted
by President Oscar Arias, Costa Rican government sources said.
A source with the Costa Rican government told Xinhua that
the security staff of Micheletti had warned him that he might be in danger of
being arrested or suffering a life-threatening attack while leaving the
airport. Full story
