LADBAC@UNMB.BITNET (Dr. Barbara A. Kohl) (10/20/89)
October 18, 1989
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
Copyright 1989
(Latin America Data Base, Latin American Institute, University
of New Mexico. Project Director: Dr. Nelson Valdes. Managing
Editor: Dr. Barbara A. Kohl)
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GENERAL
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SALVADORAN PEACE TALKS: SUMMARY
On Sept. 13-14 in Mexico, the Farabundo Marti National
Liberation Front (FMLN) and the Salvadoran government agreed
to participate in monthly talks with the ultimate objective
of ending the civil war. Both sides agreed to avoid
withdrawing from the talks.
The first session of the peace talks was scheduled for
Oct. 16-17 in Costa Rica. The site for the talks was a
Roman Catholic convent, located in Moravia, a town six miles
northeast of San Jose.
Heading the FMLN delegation in Costa Rica were FMLN
commanders Joaquin Villalobos and Shafik Handal. Members of
the government delegation included Presidency Minister Col.
Juan Antonio Martinez Varela; Justice Minister Oscar
Santamaria; and, personal representative of President
Alfredo Cristiani, David Escobar Galindo.
San Salvador Auxiliary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez and
two other Salvadoran bishops were present at the talks.
According to some media sources, the Roman Catholic bishops
acted as mediators, while others reported they served as
witnesses. Next, the government agreed to a request by the
FMLN that representatives of the United Nations and the
Organization of American States attend as witnesses.
Vicente Juan Segura, secretary of the Vatican's
representative in Costa Rica, was also present as a witness.
Col. Vinicio Machuca, commander of El Salvador's
National Police, and Col. Mauricio Vargas, commander of the
3rd Infantry Brigade were also in San Jose. The two
colonels said they were acting as advisers to the government
delegation, and would not directly participate in the talks
with the FMLN.
Steven McFarland of the US embassy in San Salvador
traveled to San Jose to "follow" the peace talks. According
to Notimex, an FMLN proposal that the US representative
participate in the discussions was rejected by the
government.
Summarized below are initial proposals by the FMLN and
the government, followed by highlights of events and
statements related to the peace talks in Costa Rica.
FMLN proposal (first presented in Mexico, and
elaborated in Costa Rica)--At the Mexico meeting, the FMLN
offered to participate in joint deliberations with the
Salvadoran military to implement a temporary cease-fire by
Nov. 15. For the first time, the FMLN proposed that it
would form a political party and run candidates in future
elections. A definitive cease-fire and FMLN participation
in national electoral politics would be contingent on the
government's agreement to undertake a series of social,
political, military and constitutional reforms.
Elements of the reforms are as follows:
* Advancing the date for legislative elections
scheduled for March 1991. A series of detailed reforms was
suggested toward guaranteeing political pluralism, including
restructuring the National Electoral Council.
* Increasing the number of deputies in the unicameral
legislature equivalent to one for each 40,000 citizens.
* Reorganization and reform of the armed forces,
including reduction in size, separation of civilian police
and army, effective subordination of the military and the
police to civilian authorities under a democratic government
framework, and a prohibition on the Salvadoran military from
entering into alliances and treaties with any foreign
military organization or government.
* Suspension of repression against civilians, and
measures to ensure respect for Salvadorans' human rights and
civil liberties.
* Establishment of a commission comprised of
representatives of the FMLN, the government, the OAS, and
the UN to monitor human rights in El Salvador.
* Emergency economic measures to guarantee minimum
nutrition, health care and employment for Salvadorans.
(Unemployment is estimated at 50%.)
* Implementation of an agrarian reform program
effectively suspended in 1983. Included here would be
established limits to farm size, pardon of debt owed by
low-income and landless peasants, and indemnization of
former owners of expropriated land by the government.
On the morning of Oct. 17, the FMLN called for the
removal of 18 senior commanders who are directing the war.
Defense Minister Gen. Humberto Larios; air force commander
Gen. Juan Rafael Bustillo, and numerous brigade commanders
were named. The military has been linked to most of the
human rights abuses occurring during the civil war in the
last nine years. Of the over 70,000 Salvadorans who have
died since 1980, most were killed by the army and death
squads aligned with it.
In Costa Rica, the FMLN requested that the Permanent
Committee on National Debate for Peace participate in the
peace talks. A total of 76 political, religious, and civic
organizations have joined the Committee, created last year
by the Catholic Church to pressure for a negotiated solution
to the civil war.
Government proposal--In brief, the government's
proposal calls for a definitive cease-fire prior to
negotiating political reforms and democratization.
* Suspension of activities by the FMLN and its "support
organizations" on Oct. 18. The proposal specifies the FMLN
suspend "actions and hostilities that affect the civilian
population," the use of mines, sabotage against the nation's
economic infrastructure, and "all other acts implying
violence against public order, persons and property."
* Rebel organizing to participate in elections and
national political life would begin immediately.
* The rebels would begin demobilization at the latest
by Jan. 15, 1990.
* The government promises to halt offensive military
operations "without prejudice that the armed forces carry
out their constitutional duties," and to implement a series
of measures to incorporate the rebels into the "democratic
process." Included are food, medical assistance and other
unspecified necessities.
The halt in offensive military operations is described
as "all aggression or hostile acts that affect national life
in political, economic, social and military spheres by means
of psychological, armed and conspiratorial actions and
techniques against all civilian and military objectives."
* Establishing agreements for legally constituted
political, labor union and civic organizations to develop
respective activities in a peaceful and legal manner.
* The International Support and Verification Commission
(CIAV) created under the Tela accords (August 1989 Central
American summit) would be requested to monitor fulfillment
of peace accord provisions.
* Pope John Paul II and the secretaries general of the
United Nations and the Organization of American States would
be requested to act as guarantors of the peace process and
national reconciliation.
Oct. 16: At 11:15 a.m., Costa Rican President Oscar
Arias opened the talks by calling on both sides to reach
agreement on a cease-fire and end the civil war "in the
spirit of" Esquipulas II. Earlier in the day, Arias met
separately with the two delegations, and urged them to scale
down respective demands to make compromise possible.
--In a public speech on Monday, Arias asserted that El
Salvador must stop the violence. He said, "War never solved
anything. There are no winners or losers." Addressing both
delegations, he added, "You must not leave here as
accomplices of more war and more bloodshed."
--Unidentified rebel spokespersons cited by Notimex
said that Arias' presumed impartiality supported the
government proposal for the FMLN's unconditional surrender,
or a cease-fire prior to discussion of establishing
democracy in El Salvador and the incorporation of the rebels
into the political process.
--At a press conference Monday night, FMLN commanders
Villalobos and Handal said the government's unilateral
cease-fire plan, which leaves the causes of the civil war
intact, would not work. Both sides would engage in constant
violations of the cease-fire such as has occurred in
Lebanon.
After noting that "we are not the Nicaraguan contras,"
Villalobos said that unconditional surrender is simply not
acceptable. He added that a definitive cease-fire and
long-term peace are premised on resolving the political,
economic, and social causes of the Salvadoran conflict.
Handal said the governing Nationalist Republican
Alliance (ARENA) "should also assume the pledge of
terminating aggression against citizens...[I]n El Salvador
the state has no limits on violating human rights."
--In San Salvador late Monday night two persons were
injured when troops opened fire to disperse participants in
a vigil to demonstrate support for the peace talks organized
by the Permanent Committee on National Debate for Peace.
The vigil began at 8:00 p.m., and was to conclude at noon
Oct. 17 in the Metropolitan Cathedral.
Oct. 17: Villalobos reiterated that the government's
offer amounted to no more than "a call for unconditional
surrender." He told journalists the government proposal was
"absurd, illogical and inflexible."
Villalobos said, "The war cannot be ended through magic
and without attacking the causes which have given rise to
the conflict...Basically, the government proposal is to stop
the fighting, without basis or discussion--simply silence
the guns."
--Justice Minister Santamaria, head of the government
delegation, called the proposal "serious and responsible."
He reiterated that dismantlement of the guerrillas must
precede any "talk on democratization." He made no comment
on the FMLN's proposals.
--Government spokesperson Martinez Varela denied the
offer was merely a scheme to get the rebels to disarm. "We
are not asking anyone to surrender," he said. He refused to
answer further questions.
--According to a statement by the armed forces press
office, at 7:00 a.m. a group of unidentified persons
attacked with automatic weapons a car driven by the daughter
of Col. Ricardo Casanova Vejar in the town of Santa Tecla
(west of San Salvador). Ana Isabel Casanova, a 23-year-old
university student, was killed about a block from her home.
Col. Casanova is director of the Armed Forces Studies
Center (CEFA) and former director the Gerard Barrios
military academy.
In a communique released in Costa Rica, the government
attributed the assault to FMLN "terrorist commandos." The
statement said that the incident "confirms that the FMLN is
developing...a terrorist plan consisting in part of
assassinations of public officials and their families." In
a telephone call, Cristiani told members of the government
delegation in Costa Rica to present formal protests to the
FMLN commanders.
At a press conference, Col. Jorge Antonio Medrano,
commander of the 1st military detachment headquartered in
Chalatenango, blamed the FMLN for the killing. On Tuesday
morning, at least one radio station in San Salvador received
a telephone call from a person stating that the FMLN claimed
responsibility for the attack in an effort to pressure the
government to stop its repression.
In a statement released in El Salvador, rebel leaders
said, "It is totally false that urban commandos from the
FMLN killed Miss Isabel Casanova. We reiterate it is not
FMLN policy to make attempts against the lives of relatives
of military chiefs."
The statement said the killing was part of the
"psychological warfare" waged against the FMLN by the
Salvadoran military high command's intelligence division and
press office. "It is highly suspicious that this occurs
just when [the Costa Rica] meeting is taking place, and that
the military quickly blamed the FMLN for the attack," it
said.
In Costa Rica, FMLN commander Mercedes Letona asserted
that the Front had nothing to do with Ms. Casanova's death.
She said it appeared to be a provocation instigated by
top-ranking military officers to forestall a negotiated
solution to the civil war. Letona noted that "anyone" can
call a radio station and claim he or she is with the FMLN.
[Foreign and local media sources pointed out that the
wording and rationale contained in the statement called in
to the radio station did not seem to match prior FMLN claims
for responsibility in assassination and sabotage cases.]
Letona protested the violence perpetrated against
members of the Permanent Committee on National Dialogue for
Peace by troops pertaining to the 1st Infantry Brigade.
Auxiliary Bishop Rosa Chavez said, "Mutual accusations
get us nowhere. This is the past we are trying to
overcome."
--On Tuesday evening, Rosa Chavez told reporters that
despite a breakdown in the discussions in the afternoon, the
peace talks would be resumed Wednesday morning. President
Arias made a surprise visit to the site of the talks. Rosa
Chavez said that given both delegations' unwillingness to
discuss the other side's peace proposal, the Catholic
bishops had suggested instead concrete pledges by both sides
to "humanize the conflict" and "reduce the level of
violence."
Rosa Chavez said that the bishops' objective was to
create mutual trust, and an environment more propitious for
dialogue and discussion on the major proposals.
Examples of possible actions by the government are
suspensions of air attacks and bombings of villages and
other civilian targets, and military operations involving
interrogation, arrest and detention of civilians without
court orders or other judicial processes.
Possibilities for the FMLN would be suspension of
sabotage operations and large-scale military offensives to
expand territorial control. (Basic data from several
reports by Notimex, AP, Xinhua, AFP, 10/16/89, 10/17/89; New
York Times, 10/18/89)
SENATE APPROVES $9 MILLION NICARAGUAN ELECTION AID PACKAGE
On the evening of Oct. 17, the Senate voted 64 to 35 to
send $9 million to assist Nicaraguan opposition parties in
the February 1990 election, and to pay for monitoring
activities by US observers. President Bush, top
administration officials and the presidential candidate of
the National Opposition Union (UNO), Violeta Barrios de
Chamorro, made last-minute appeals to senators. The bill
was earlier approved by the House.
Some liberal Democrat senators argued that the US had
no business meddling in the elections of a sovereign
country. A few conservatives, including Jesse Helms (R-NC),
were opposed to the funding because half of foreign
contributions to political parties or candidates under
Nicaraguan law must go to the Supreme Electoral Council to
help defray overall electoral expenses.
According to the New York Times, some of the money
is earmarked for observer teams such as one headed by former
President Jimmy Carter, and up to $5 million will go to
independent or opposition political, press, labor or other
groups to monitor or support the election process via the
National Endowment for Democracy. The remaining $4 million
will include money to support UNO. UNO has said it would
use more than $1 million for trucks, staff, air-conditioners
for political headquarters and other administrative
expenses.
Sen. Brock Adams (D-Wash.) said he did not understand
why the US should bankroll the Nicaraguan opposition's
campaign. He noted that he had run "a bare-bones campaign"
in his own re-election.
Critics have pointed out for several weeks that US law
prohibits foreign contributions to the Democratic or
Republican party. Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) said that
meanwhile, the Bush administration advocates "publicly
financing an election in Nicaragua."
The Times cited supporters who said there was no
comparison between "the campaign laws of an established
democracy and the effort in Nicaragua of opposition parties
to run against an authoritarian Government."
Supporters won a crucial vote earlier in the day to cut
off debate, 74-25, and then defeated several amendments that
would have gutted the bill.
--Notimex cited White House spokesperson Marlin
Fitzwater telling reporters in Washington that Violeta
Barrios de Chamorro "is our candidate." The US, he said,
wants to provide financial assistance to UNO because the
Feburary elections constitute the "last" opportunity for
democracy in Nicaragua.
Of the total $9 million, said Fitzwater, $5 million
would go to NED to support the electoral process. Another
$2 million would go to Barrios de Chamorro's election
campaign.
The remaining $2 million would go to the Supreme
Electoral Council, in accordance with Nicaraguan law.
Fitzwater asserted that while no one wants to give money to
the Sandinistas, providing UNO with direct campaign funds
was to the only way to ensure a reasonable chance for free
and fair elections. (Basic data from Notimex, 10/17/89; New
York Times, 10/18/89)
U.N.-O.A.S. COMMISSION MEETS WITH
CONTRAS CAMPED IN HONDURAS
On Oct. 12, a special United Nations and Organization
of American States commission met for the first time with
Nicaraguan contra troops in Yamales, Honduras. The
International Support and Verification Commission (CIAV) was
created in August after the Central American presidents
signed an accord calling for the "voluntary demobilization,
repatriation or relocation" of the contra army within 90
days. The commission is charged with overseeing the
voluntary demobilization and guaranteeing the safety of
former contras who repatriate.
Addressing 2,500 uniformed contras, the commission
members urged them to dismantle, stating that the Central
American presidents' plan was the best option since their
reason for being had disappeared.
Senior UN official Francesc Vendrell told them: "You
are Nicaraguans, patriots and people of Nicaragua. Don't
let yourselves become the subject of a policy that perhaps
has already become an anachronism, and don't stay here to be
abandoned by a country that once helped you."
Vendrell and OAS counterpart Hugo de Zela met with
members of a negotiating committee headed by contra military
leader Enrique Bermudez, and with 43 contra officers and
representatives of the estimated 50,000 family members and
dependents.
At a press conference on Oct. 13 in Tegucigalpa,
Vendrell said that in conversations with the US State
Department, the CIAV has the impression that the US is
willing to contribute economically to the CIAV's work.
(Basic data from Notimex, 10/13/89; New York Times,
10/15/89)
U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL VOTE ON CENTRAL
AMERICAN PEACEKEEPING FORCE DELAYED
Unidentified Central American diplomats at the United
Nations cited by the New York Times (10/14/89) say the
Nicaraguan contras camped in Honduras are selling weapons
and ammunition to El Salvador's Farabundo Marti National
Liberation Front. The diplomats predict that the contras
will try and raise as much cash as possible by selling the
weapons rather than hand them over to the United Nations,
and that many will resort to banditry or hire themselves out
as mercenaries.
Last month Guatemalan President Vinicio Cerezo said
during a visit to the UN that the contras could become "the
bandits of Central America" if they are not rapidly disarmed
and disbanded. He called on the US to speed resettlement of
the contras by using humanitarian aid allocated to them to
finance agricultural and other projects in Nicaragua that
might encourage them to go home.
According to the Times, on Oct. 12 the UN accepted a US
suggestion to increase the size of the peacekeeping force
planned for Central America in an effort to halt the
transfer of arms from the contras to the FMLN. Secretary
General Javier Perez de Cuellar asked the Security Council
to send a 543-member peacekeeping force to the region
containing 260 military observers, or twice the number first
suggested by the Central American governments.
Meanwhile, US representative at the UN, Thomas R.
Pickering, has acted to delay a meeting by the Security
Council to approve the estimated $41 million cost of the
peacekeeping force for the first six months. Pickering has
said the Bush administration needs a few days to consider
the budgetary implications. The US owes the UN $491 million
in unpaid regular budget contributions and $254 million for
peacekeeping operations.
On Oct. 16, State Department spokesperson Margaret
Tutwiler said some contras have sold their weapons to
members of the FMLN, but that such activity has occurred in
isolated cases. (Basic data from New York Times, 10/14/89;
Notimex, 10/16/89)
SPANISH PRIME MINISTER GONZALEZ TO
ADVISE PRESIDENT BUSH ON CENTRAL AMERICA
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Spanish
Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez said he will advise President
Bush during an Oct. 19 meeting at the White House to modify
its policy toward Nicaragua. Regarding the February 1990
elections in Nicaragua, Gonzalez said, "They offer a way
out. I therefore think it much healthier politically to
gamble that they will work rather than gamble that they
won't work and create obstacles."
Gonzalez noted that Nicaragua had invited
representatives of the international community to observe
all phases of the electoral process. "[Former president
Jimmy] Carter has already been there. He can stay there
until the elections. I'm sure no one will stand in his way."
Next, the Spanish leader said that while he did not
expect Washington to provide enthusiastic support for easing
up on Nicaragua's current leaders, "It's a question of
rationalizing its options. Instead of keeping the contras
in an armed situation, let them be repatriated. After all,
they are voters and citizens whatever their ideology."
On Panama, Gonzalez asserted that under no
circumstances should the US intervene militarily to oust
Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega. "We must seek a Panamanian
solution which involves respect for the popular will. But
not only respect for the popular will expressed in
elections, but also respect for civilian power. A civilian
government must be able to decide what happens to the armed
forces."
Gonzalez said that the Panama Canal treaties must be
respected "because this doesn't affect a government or a
regime, but a people and even a continent." He added, "It
would be a historic error to violate the canal treaties."
(Basic data from New York Times, 10/16/89)
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NICARAGUA
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NICARAGUA: MORE ON SOVIET MILITARY AID QUESTION
After first disputing reports that the Soviet Union had
cut military shipments to Nicaragua, US intelligence
officials said last week that total Soviet bloc military aid
to Nicaragua was about 20% less than it was last year. In
the past, the US government estimated the total value of
Soviet military aid to Nicaragua at an average of $500
million a year.
In its Oct. 16 issue, the New York Times cited "foreign
experts" in Managua saying that they believed the USSR would
continue current levels of economic aid to Nicaragua.
According to statistics released recently by the Nicaraguan
Ministry of External Cooperation, Soviet non-military aid
from 1981 to 1988 totaled $2.9 billion. The current
three-year aid agreement provides a total of $1.4 billion in
non-military aid.
In numerous statements, Soviet officials have said
Nicaragua has not received direct military shipments from
the USSR since Jan. 1. [Ed. notes: According to rumors
circulating in Managua and elsewhere, the Nicaraguan
government requested that the Soviet Union halt weapons
shipments. First, the number and strength of contra attacks
had significantly declined. Second, the government in
Managua assumed that the Bush administration would use
Soviet military aid as further justification to continue
support for the contras, as well as for rallying Central
American allies to endorse more US funding to maintain the
contra army, among other types of aggression. At the time
of the Nicaraguan request that the Soviet government suspend
weapons shipments, plans were underway for advancing the
general elections and inviting a variety of foreign
observers to monitor the electoral process.]
During Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze's
recent visit to Managua, the Nicaraguan government formally
articulated commitment to a suspension of all new Soviet
military supplies until the February elections. The Soviet
Union and Nicaragua declared support for a regional
framework for removing military bases, prohibiting the
presence of foreign military advisers and reducing arms
levels under a joint Soviet-US structure.
State Department officials immediately dismissed any
suggestion that the Soviet Union may have a direct role to
play in overseeing regional affairs. The Monroe Doctrine
rejects the intervention of outside nations in the
hemisphere.
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