Leader open to reversal of coup

[Judi Lynn]

Leader open to reversal of coup
Friday, July 31, 2009 3:03 AM
By Freddy Cuevas and Alexandra Olson
Associated Press

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras' interim leader has backed off his opposition to restoring Manuel Zelaya to the presidency but wants concessions to mollify reluctant business leaders, a former Honduran government official said yesterday.

Interim President Roberto Micheletti's refusal to consider Zelaya's reinstatement had been a key stumbling block in talks on solving the Central American nation's political crisis since the June 28 coup.

Micheletti told the chief mediator in the conflict, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, that the door is open to Zelaya's reinstatement, said the former official, who said he spoke Wednesday with Micheletti.

Arias, meanwhile, said Micheletti has asked him to send an envoy to Honduras to jump-start negotiations.

Arias said the envoy would have to meet with several sectors, "especially businessmen ... who have been very reluctant to consider the possibility that Zelaya be reinstated."

Meanwhile, thousands of Zelaya supporters clashed with police, who fired tear gas at a market in Tegucigalpa. A protester was shot in the head, police said.

Red Cross spokesman Domingo Flores said protesters attacked an ambulance and beat three Red Cross workers, accusing them of backing the coup.

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