TFH01: DIALOGUE OF GUYAMURAS: UPDATE EVENING OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001042 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA A/S TOM SHANNON E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2019 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL HO SUBJECT: TFH01: DIALOGUE OF GUYAMURAS: UPDATE EVENING OF OCTOBER 12-MORNING OF OCTOBER 13 TEGUCIGALP 00001042 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens, reasons 1.4 (b & d) ¶1. (C) Summary: On October 12, Minister of Governance Victor Meza who headed President Zelaya's negotiating team in the OAS supported Guaymuras Dialogue, briefed the Ambassador on their planned strategy for the talks. He said that the Zelaya side would continue to seek a consensus on the basic elements of the San Jose Accord and leave the most sensitive issue ) the restitution of President Zelaya - as the last item to be dealt with. As of mid-day October 13, both sides have reached agreement on 11 of the 12 San Jose Accord articles. The two sides have agreed to delete or modify several of the articles. They have also agreed to begin to discuss the issue of the restitution of President Zelaya beginning later this afternoon. Agreement on Article 6, which covers restitution of President Zelaya, calls for requesting the National Congress to approve legislation restore the constitutional order that existed prior to June 28, which would return Zelaya to the Presidency and Micheletti to serve once again as President of the National Congress. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Meza was accompanied by attorney Rodil Rivera Rodil. Rivera was recently tapped to replace Resistance Front leader Juan Barahona who resigned his position on the Zelaya negotiating team due to his opposition to agreement by both sides to initial Article 3 of the San Jose Accords, which renounces the holding of a constituent assembly. Also present at the meeting was Ambassador John Biehl of the OAS who has been tasked by Secretary General Jose Manuel Insulza to monitor and support the negotiations. Meza said that he and the Zelaya team had spent most of the weekend working on developing a good negotiating strategy, which President Zelaya approved in a three hour working session at the Brazilian Embassy. Meza reiterated that the last week's talks had gone well. He said that both sides had been able to reach agreement on five of the 12 articles of the San Jose Accord. The negotiating teams had developed a productive and harmonious working relationship and that agreement had been reached quickly on most of the San Jose text. Meza commented that Micheletti team leader Armando Aguilar Cruz (a former supreme court magistrate) had been the most constructive member on the other side, but also sensed that consultant Arturo Corrales appeared keen on reaching a final agreement. According to Meza, the Micheletti team members, former Supreme Court President Vilma Morales, was the most difficult to deal with. ¶3. (C) Meza said that October 13 was a critical day in the negotiations. He said the Zelaya approach was to propose that both sides agree to postpone discussion of Article 6 of the San Jose Accord, which dealt with the most controversial issue on the agenda ) the restoration of President Zelaya. Meza said he hoped to move ahead and reach a consensus on the remaining six articles ) number seven to 12. Meza said he expected little difficulty in reaching agreement on Article 7, which covered the creation of a Verification Commission to oversee and monitor the implementation of the Accord. He said both sides agreed that the commission should be headed by three internationally respected figures. The Ambassador suggested that the Verification Commission, at least at the working level, should arrive soon after the agreement was signed and should operate in the Presidential Palace, so as to be in the best position to monitor the implementation of the Accord. Meza agreed and said that the Zelaya side planned to suggest additions to Article 7 to include the Honduran military as guarantor of the Accords. ¶4. (C) At mid-day October 13, Ambassador John Biehl briefed the Ambassador on the results of the morning negotiations. Biehl said that the discussions had gone extremely well and that the two sides had reached agreement on 11 of the 12 Articles in the San Jose Accord. He said that as we had discussed with Meza the evening before, there were modifications to several of the Articles. Biehl said that the conversations had been friendly and productive and that both sides had agreed to continue the discussion over lunch. Biehl said that both sides planned to discuss the Article 6, which covers the restitution of President Zelaya, later this TEGUCIGALP 00001042 002.2 OF 002 afternoon. LLORENS