cries@mtxinu.COM (10/14/89)
/* Written 3:51 pm Oct 13, 1989 by cries in ni:cries.regionews */
/* ---------- "ElSal: I'view Cmdte. Gonzalez-FMLN" ---------- */
EL SALVADOR: "CRISTIANI DOESN'T EVEN WANT PEACE..."
INTERVIEW WITH COMMANDER LEONEL GONZALEZ - FMLN
(cries.regionews from Managua October 13, 1989
Comandante Leonel Gonzalez is one of five members of the
FMLN General Command. In this interview, he comments on the
peace talks.
Interview conducted by SALPRESS. From "Barricada" October 5,
1989.
*********************
**Q. What do you think of President Alfredo Cristiani's
recent speech before the United Nations in which he put
forward a proposal for a total end to hostilities?
**A. Cristiani's speech, as everyone has recognized, is
demagogic and shows a lack of sincerity, a lack of political
will to bring peace and democracy to El Salvador. Everyone
was waiting for a clear response to the proposal the FMLN
made in Mexico, but he didn't even mention it. This is a bad
sign. It shows he doesn't want to make a mutual agreement,
but to impose one.
It confirms that Cristiani doesn't even want peace and that
it is a lie that they're working in the spirit of the
Esquipulas II, Costa del Sol, and Tela agreements in which
the Central American presidents expressed the need for the
government and FMLN to come to an agreement.
**Q. Do you think the army would accept a total end to
hostilities?
**A. All the High Command is capable of accepting is a
unilateral end to hostilities. They're afraid of reaching a
mutual agreement since our forces are now established in 12
of the country's 14 departments. This agreement would mean
respecting our being established in these areas. Like we
stated in our September 11 proposal: let's have full
guarantees between both sides.
In calling for a unilateral end to hostilities, they are
searching for a military advantage. They would deploy their
forces deep into our zones in order to show they have
military control. But this will bring us back to a very
tense situation since any force that enters our zone must be
beaten and wasted. So this measure would mean prolongation
of the war.
**Q. What conditions would the FMLN demand for an end to
hostilities?
**A. We propose not just a cease-fire but also the
incorporation of the FMLN into political life, the beginning
of an electoral debate, and the search, via the vote, for
what the people would decide to be the way forward.
The proposal we presented has had acceptance nationally and
internationally because it's seen as a good draft of a way
towards constructing a negotiated solution. What the people
and the international community are demanding of Cristiani
and the High Command is that they find the political will to
solve this conflict.
**Q. What do you expect at the October 16-17 round of
negotiations in Costa Rica? What will be discussed there?
**A. We're waiting to hear the government's response to our
proposal. In Mexico, they promised to study it, so they're
obliged to bring a counter-proposal. For us, we're ready to
listen and work towards arriving at a concrete agreement
that would make it possible for the Salvadoran people to
celebrate this coming Christmas without bullets and war.
But it's also important that the government delegation give
some explinations. How is it possible that a few days after
the Mexico meeting they step up repression and strip
campesinos of their lands? Why are the armed forces not
taking part in the talks?
Another angle from which to look at the Costa Rica meeting
is that all the political and social forces, the political
parties, popular movement, the Church, everybody should be
present and be a participant in this process which is in the
interest of the entire nation.
I think there's a fresh challenge for Cristiani in Costa
Rica. He has to bring a substantive plan.
**Q. How do FMLN military operations and the recent decision
to reinitiate sabotage fit into the negotiation process?
**A. Like I said, in Mexico we presented our proposal to end
armed actions and get involved as a political party. To
date, the government has given us no response. On the
contrary, it has shown little will to make a mutual
agreement. Our political-military action is justified now
more than ever, because we've put it terms of the entire
nation's hope to attain peace.
(We encourage feedback. Send comments, suggestions, etc. to
us via e-mail. Address cdp!ni!cries)
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