STATE DEPT BRIEFING, JULY 13 - HONDURAS

[magbana]

"QUESTION: Just a change of subject. Honduras – there was a story over the weekend saying that Micheletti had voiced or held out the possibility of amnesty for Zelaya. And his exact quote was, “Asked about the possibility of amnesty, he said, ‘If he,’ meaning Zelaya, ‘comes peacefully first to appear before the authorities, I don’t have any problem,’” with amnesty, although those weren’t – I mean, he did say with amnesty. Do you find that idea an appealing one as a way to try to reach an agreement?

MR. KELLY: Yeah. Well, this is not an American process. It’s a process that we are putting all of – it’s a process led by Costa Rican President Arias that we are giving our full support to. And --

QUESTION: That sounds like an American process to me. (Laughter.)

MR. KELLY: We are supporting this process led by President Arias. It is not an American --

QUESTION: Whose country is in what part of the world?

MR. KELLY: It’s not a process that’s being led by the United States of America. (Laughter.) And we just have to give – we have to give time for this process to work. And I’ll just – we – we’re – as I say, we’re standing firmly behind President Arias. He said late last week that he expects to sit down again within a week with the two parties, and these would be the kinds of proposals I hope that both sides can discuss.

QUESTION: What has the Secretary been doing on this, calls or anything over the weekend?

MR. KELLY: Well, over the weekend, it was mostly Tom Shannon, our Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and NSC Senior Director Dan Restrepo, who were – who had a lot of conversations. They met with President Zelaya upon his return Saturday. They discussed, of course, the talks in San Jose and, of course, reiterated our support for the restoration of democratic order in Honduras and, of course, for President Arias’s mediation efforts. So it’s – we have had a number of conversations, but it’s been Tom and Dan who really have led the way – this weekend, anyway.

QUESTION: Did President Chavez call – we have a report that President Chavez called Assistant Secretary Shannon over the weekend. Is that correct? And what kind of a readout can you give us about that?

MR. KELLY: It is correct. I believe – maybe I should take this question. But it is correct; Chavez did call Shannon.

QUESTION: Over the weekend?

MR. KELLY: Yeah. Over the weekend. Let me take the question and see if I can get you a readout.

QUESTION: But on Friday, you published a statement on that.

MR. KELLY: Oh, okay.

QUESTION: I’m thinking that there was a – I thought there was an additional call over the weekend.

MR. KELLY: No, I think it’s just that one.

QUESTION: Well, can you double-check?

MR. KELLY: Yeah. Sure.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. KELLY: Thank you. "
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2009/july/125995.htm

[subsuelo]

1. "It’s not a process that’s being led by the United States of America. (Laughter.)"

kind of tells the whole story right there doesn't it

[Judi Lynn]

2. That's for damned sure. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

3. Info. on Ian Kelly:

http://northfield.org.nyud.net:8090/files/StO-KellyIan.gif

Hillary Clinton formally announced Kelly's appointment at one of the department's daily press briefings in May.

"Ian has spent significant time overseas serving in various public affairs positions that have prepared him well for his new role," Clinton said in introducing Kelly. "He will be a full-fledged member of my senior team, and as such, he will speak authoritatively on my behalf and on behalf of the department."

Before returning to Washington, Kelly served as public affairs adviser at the U.S. Mission to NATO, and as the press attache at the American embassies in Italy and Turkey. As director of democratic initiatives to the Newly Independent States (NIS) at the State Department, he coordinated the activities of nearly a dozen federal agencies involved in democracy-building in the former Soviet Union. Prior to assuming that assignment, Kelly was a regional public affairs officer for the NIS, a job that took him to all 12 former Soviet republics.

His other assignments have taken him to Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and Leningrad and Moscow, U.S.S.R. Prior to joining the foreign service, Kelly taught Russian at Columbia University, where he earned his doctorate.

http://fusion.stolaf.edu/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=NewsDetails&id=4668