Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Hillary Appoints Arias To Be Honduran Mediator

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asked Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to mediate the current political crisis in Honduras.

Apparently, interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti is agreeable to this arrangement.

I've mixed feelings about Arias involvement.

On one hand, Arias did win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for similar work he did in Guatemala.

On the other hand, Arias himself might have a conflict of interest. Costa Rica's constitution also prevented Presidents from serving more than one term. Arias challenged this provision in the Costa Rican constitutional courts. He lost.

But Arias saw to it that the composition of the court was changed and when he petitioned them again in 2003 - presto - he was allowed to run for President again and he was elected to that office in March 2006 after a recount.

Surely, Micheletti has to be aware of how Arias managed to get back into office. And surely so does President Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Would Obama and Hillary have appointed Arias if they didn't think this would result in Manuel Zelaya's return to the Presidency in Honduras?

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