Zelaya mistrusts Honduras talks

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, trapped in an embassy by soldiers months after being toppled in a coup, was skeptical on Tuesday about the chances of holding talks with the divided country's de facto leader.

Foreign ministers and diplomats from the Organisation of American States will visit Honduras on Wednesday to broker talks between Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, who took power after the June 28 putsch in the poor coffee-growing country.

Diplomats are optimistic of progress and Micheletti is expected to call officially for dialogue to end a crisis that echoes Central America's Cold War-era troubles, with soldiers and police armed with clubs on street corners in the capital.

But leftist logging magnate Zelaya told Canadian radio he will not meet his rival without an agreement to restore him to power. He told Reuters he believed Micheletti was playing for time to keep the de facto government alive longer.

"To me, the dialogue they have called for has no credibility, it seems to be another game they are playing," he said late on Monday by telephone from his base in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.

An aide in the embassy named eight people, mainly pro-Zelaya activists and former officials, whom the ousted president wants to meet the OAS diplomats. But aide Rasel Tome said the eight must be allowed to visit Zelaya in the embassy.

Tensions flared when Zelaya slipped back into Honduras two weeks ago. He has been trapped in the Brazilian embassy since then by troops surrounding the building as Micheletti slapped emergency curbs on pro-Zelaya media and street protests.

A group of 12 Lenca Indians supporting Zelaya sought asylum in the Guatemalan embassy on Tuesday, citing death threats and beatings from security forces. Activists plan a series of anti-coup protests in the next 24 hours.

"We are protesting peacefully, we want democracy," said Daniel Martinez, 51, at a small march near Brazil's embassy. He had head and leg wounds he said were from police clubs at a march last month where one protester died in serious clashes.

MEDIA STILL SHUTTERED

Talks would likely centre on the San Jose agreement drafted by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias when he mediated earlier in the crisis. The document calls for Zelaya's reinstatement and a unity government until scheduled November 29 elections.

"I would only accept a face-to-face meeting when (Micheletti) agrees to sign the Arias Plan, which he has yet to accept," Zelaya told CBC radio on Tuesday.

But Micheletti wants Zelaya to stand trial and is resisting pressure to restore the leftist who is allied with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Zelaya was toppled after riling powerful conservatives who fear he wanted to extend his hold on power.

Diplomats have praised a change in attitude from Micheletti, who has welcomed back OAS officials he expelled last month and bowed to international pressure by agreeing to lift the curbs on media and social freedoms.

"We are now very optimistic. There have been very significant advances from both sides," said OAS Special Adviser John Biehl who is currently in Honduras.

However, two media outlets that had their equipment taken by masked soldiers last week are still off the air and a ban on marches of more than 20 people is still in place, pending the formal lifting of the curbs.

(Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Ignacio Badal; Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)