On the eve of forming of a truth commission to investigate the cause of the June 28 Honduran coup, the country´s president, Porfirio Lobo, was in San José Monday to thank a leader of the reconciliation process, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
Arias, who served as a mediator in the Honduran conflict, is scheduled to leave office on Saturday, after completing his four-year term as president of Costa Rica. He opened his doors to the feuding parties when former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted on charges that he intended to amend the Constitution, which is an illegal act in Honduras.
“My primary motive for being here is to thank President Arias for his long hours in working towards reconciliation,” the newly installed Honduran president said during a press conference at Costa Rica´s Casa Presidencial.
Lobo also spoke about the establishment of a truth commission in Honduras, which was part of the San José Agreement, a 12-point document that Arias introduced during the mediation process.
Although controversy is already gripping the creation of the commission – as some argue it´s better to let the details of the conflict remain buried – Lobo is determined to see it through.
“We can´t complete the reconciliation without knowing the truth,” he said, explaining that his motive is not to point fingers, but to know what went wrong so that it doesn´t happen again.
“When I came into office, my commitment wasn´t to Zelaya or to (interim president Roberto) Micheletti, it was to the Honduran people and to the reconciliation process,” Lobo said
For his part, Arias made another plug for international recognition of Lobo´s presidency, the legitimacy of which is still questioned by some countries. Arias called it “absolutely unacceptable” that international leaders have not re-embraced Honduras.
Other issues discussed during the meeting were the association agreement with Europe and Arias´ exit from Costa Rican politics.
