Congress debates amnesty law

• published: 24 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST 1. Wide exterior of the Honduran Congress 2. Wide interior of Congress during session 3. Mid of Congress members 4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Juan Orlando Hernandez, Honduras Congress President: "We have been talking about submitting to the plenum of the assembly the issue of the Amnesty. The issue will be presented in a project of law, and my colleague Mario Perez has it ready. For those who are assisting the session for the first time I want them to know that this has been discussed for months." 5. Wide of Congress members 6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Juan Orlando Hernandez, Honduras Congress President: "It is more than necessary, it is urgent for the reconciliation of the country, and these kind of initiatives create the space for reconciliation." 7. Wide of Honduran President-elect Porfirio Lobo at news conference 8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Porfirio Lobo, Honduran President-elect: "We are going to implement the amnesty. We consider that there has to be state action leading to an instrument that gives forgiveness for everybody. That is the message on behalf of the state." 9. Cutaway cameras 10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Porfirio Lobo, Honduran President-elect: (Asked about relations with the United States) "Starting from tomorrow everything goes back to normal, I haven''t had any contact with President Obama though (US President Barack Obama). They have offered us that they would help us with anything. They have already been helping us in this whole process. Ambassador Llorens (US Ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens) has done an extraordinary job." 11. Wide of news conference STORYLINE The Honduras Congress is scheduled to present an amnesty motion on Wednesday for all those involved in last year''s coup d''etat, the president of the Congress said on Tuesday. "The issue will be presented in a project of law and my colleague Mario Perez has it ready," said Juan Orlando Hernandez. Granting amnesty, Hernandez said, was "urgent for the reconciliation of the country." Speaking at a separate news conference in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran President-elect Porfirio Lobo said he supported granting amnesty both to ousted President Manuel Zelaya and to all of those involved in the coup. "We consider that there has to be state action leading to an instrument that gives forgiveness for everybody," Lobo told reporters. Zelaya was ousted at gunpoint on June 28 and flown out of the country by the military to Costa Rica after he was arrested by soldiers in a dispute over a constitutional referendum. He still faces treason and abuse-of-power charges, although Lobo has voiced his support for granting Zelaya amnesty. Lobo is due to be sworn in as President on Wednesday after his election last November. Only a handful of leaders will be present at his inauguration. Some Latin American nations do not recognise Lobo''s victory because the vote was held under the interim government that replaced Zelaya. During Tuesday''s news conference, the President-elect said he had not yet been in contact with US President Barack Obama but hoped for a normalisation of relations once he is sworn in. "They have offered us that they would help us with anything." Lobo said. "They have already been helping us in this whole process." Lobo praised the US Ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, for doing "an extraordinary job." Zelaya is expected to leave the Brazilian Embassy, where he has been holed up since sneaking back into Honduras in September. He plans to travel to the Dominican Republic as a private citizen, thanks to an accord signed by Lobo and Dominican President Leonel Fernandez. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/99d60c6d80d865b84e67c497eefae3c4 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork