Clinton announces mediator for Honduran conflict

Secretary Clinton has helped usher in a breakthrough on the crisis in Honduras. After meeting with ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya yesterday, Clinton announced that Costa Rican President Óscar Arias — winner of the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for working on peace accords in Central America — will mediate the conflict in Honduras.

When asked in a press briefing whether Zelaya should be restored to power, Clinton said:

Now that we have a mediation process that we hope can begin shortly, I don’t want to prejudge what the parties themselves will agree to. There are many different issues that will have to be discussed and resolved. But I think it’s fair to let the parties themselves, with President Arias’ assistance, sort out all of these issues.

Regarding nonhumanitarian U.S. aid that is conditioned on Honduras’s remaining a democracy, Clinton said:

[W]e have paused in the aid that we think would be affected by the letter of the statute. There is humanitarian aid, and that is a concern for us – the well-being of the people of Honduras. But we’ve made the decision to basically pause on any further aid.

The breakthrough with bringing Arias in as mediator is a peacemaking achievement Clinton can add to her many accomplishments.

Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images