Costa Rica to mediate Honduras talks as protests grow

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday backed a Costa Rican bid to mediate an end to the showdown in Honduras, but stopped short of demanding the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Zelaya and interim leader Roberto Micheletti backed the choice of Nobel Peace Prize winner and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to lead negotiations, as mass protests both for and against Zelaya returned to the capital's streets.

Arias said in Costa Rica that the two foes would start talks in his house in San Jose on Thursday.

Zelaya's highest-level meeting with the US administration so far in the crisis came amid increasing pressure on the leaders who packed him away over a dispute with the courts, politicians and the army over his plans to change the constitution.

"There needs to be a specific mediator and to that end we are supporting the efforts of President Arias of Costa Rica to serve in this important role," Clinton told reporters after meeting Zelaya, who was sent away on June 28.

Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending the conflict in neighboring El Salvador.

Clinton also said Zelaya had agreed to a negotiating process without preconditions on his future role.

But she declined to call for Zelaya's reinstatement as president, which the White House has been urging.

When asked if she backed his return, she said she hoped for "a restoration of democratic, constitutional order, a peaceful resolution of this matter that will enable the Honduran people to see the restoration of democracy."

Interim leaders insist they took power in a "constitutional succession" not a coup, and accuse Zelaya of a string of crimes including corruption and failing to implement laws.

Earlier Tuesday they for the first time hinted at a possible exit in the crisis.

Zelaya -- who the army prevented from landing in the capital Tegucigalpa during violent protests Sunday -- could come back if Congress grants him amnesty, a spokesman for the Supreme Court told AFP.

"The only one with the power to give amnesty is the Congress," said Danilo Izaguirre, spokesman for Honduras's Supreme Court.

"We are open to dialogue. We want to be heard," Micheletti said Tuesday, amid worldwide condemnation for the coup, and after violence on the streets.

A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday condemned "excessive force" by authorities quelling protests in Honduras, after two deaths in weekend clashes with the army.

Zelaya's wife led demonstrations in his favor on Tuesday, out in public for the first time since taking refuge in the US embassy after her husband was sent away.

"Everything is negotiable," apart from Zelaya's return to power, said Xiomara Castro, wearing a typical farm workers hat and surrounded by union leaders.

Thousands of supporters of the interim government also took to the streets in a demonstration for peace, after a break in their demos the previous day.

A commission from the interim government was also in Washington attempting to put forward their position with politicians there as Zelaya met with Clinton.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Monday that the Organization of American States should work to restore constitutional order, after the 34-member pan-American body suspended Honduras at an emergency session over the weekend.

International pressure on the Central American nation includes a freeze on aid, the recalling of ambassadors and temporary trade embargoes.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Zelaya's key backer, said he has suspended crucial shipments of oil.

The Pentagon has suspended all military activities with Tegucigalpa.

Night curfews -- which suspend some freedoms guaranteed by the constitution -- and media blackouts have heightened tension in one of Latin America's poorest countries.