LADBAC@UNMB.BITNET (Dr. Barbara A. Kohl) (10/05/89)
October 4, 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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COUP ATTEMPT IN PANAMA: SUMMARY OF EVENTS & STATEMENTS
On Oct. 3, a group of mid-level officers and their
supporters attempted to oust Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega,
commander-in-chief of the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF).
Another such attempt in March 1988 also failed. Summarized
below are highlights of the day's events in Panama, and of
reactions in the US as of late Tuesday evening.
* Between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. local time, shooting began
at the PDF headquarters and barracks compound, located in a
congested part of downtown Panama City. The compound is
surrounded by the Chorrillo, a densely populated slum on the
banks of the Panama Canal. The insurgents were led by Maj.
Moises Giraldi Vega, head of the Urraca battalion in charge
of headquarters security. Giraldi assisted Noriega in
quashing last year's coup attempt, and is reported to have
led the detachment that arrested its leader, Chief of Police
Col. Leonidas Macias. News reports and statements by
Chorrillo residents indicated that between 200 and 300
troops launched the attack on Tuesday morning.
By late morning, rebel troops had seized a television
station, and three radio stations--Radio Exitosa, RPC, and
the state-run Radio Nacional.
At 11:30 a.m., a communique was read over the three
radio stations announcing that Gen. Noriega and six top
colonels were being "retired" on the technicality that they
had been on active service for more than 25 years and
exceeded the deadline for mandatory retirement. Two of the
officers named with Noriega were Col. Marco Justines, chief
of the joint military staff, and Col. Julio Ow Young, head
of the G-2 secret police. "The authority and right to issue
orders of these officers is hereby withdrawn," said the
communique.
The communique did not say whether any members of the
high command were in custody, nor did it mention the
whereabouts of Gen. Noriega. The statement said Giraldi was
supported by at least three young officers, including
cavalry commander Capt. Javier Licona, special forces chief
Capt. Jesus Balma, and Capt. Edgardo Sandoval, chief of the
company charged with maintaining public order.
In reference to the civilian political opposition, the
communique said, "This is strictly a military movement.
There is no politics involved." The junior officers said
they continued to recognize the provisional government of
President Francisco Rodriguez (currently in New York to
attend the UN General Assembly), and that their immediate
objective was to mend rifts within the PDF.
The statement also called on PDF troops to support the
insurrection "for the good of Panama toward correcting the
anarchy prevailing within the Panamanian state." Next,
according to Notimex, the communique said that elections
would be organized as soon as possible under the supervision
of the Organization of American States. The communique was
signed by Maj. Giraldi.
* In Washington, former Panamanian ambassador Juan
Sosa, an anti-Noriega activist, said before the radio
announcement that the shooting was part of a coup attempt
carried out by dissidents within the PDF. Sosa said there
has been discontent among some officers who were passed over
in recent promotions and who were dissatisfied for other
reasons.
* On Tuesday morning, White House spokesperson Marlin
Fitzwater said he was unable to confirm that Noriega had
been ousted, and that the US had advance word on the
uprising.
In a statement to reporters, President George Bush
said: "There were rumors around that this was some American
operation and I can tell you that is not true. Nobody's
sure what's happening there."
The New York Times cited unidentified administration
officials who said the US had learned of the planned
uprising in the last two days and had not tried to
discourage it. One official said that the US had agreed to
take custody of Noriega if he was captured by the rebels.
Another official cited by the Times said that early Tuesday,
before it was clear that Noriega had not been captured, the
US had asked to have him turned over and the rebels refused.
Before news reached Washington that the coup had
failed, Bush said, "I would repeat in the hopes that it be
conveyed instantly to Panama; we have no argument with the
Panamanian Defense Forces...Our argument has been, as has
many other countries, with Mr. Noriega, who aborted the
democratic will of the people of Panama."
* About 500 troops loyal to Noriega organized
themselves in a cordon about a kilometer from PDF
headquarters. They mounted roofs of surrounding high-rise
buildings, hurled grenades and fired mortars and small arms
into the compound. Hours before the rebel communique, a
huge fire at the complex had broken out, and sporadic
gunfire and mortar explosions could be heard.
Members of a civilian home guard, known as the Dignity
Battalions, joined loyal troops in guarding key sites
throughout Panama City shortly after the attack on PDF
headquarters.
* The US Southern Command put its troops and civilians
on Delta Alert, its highest level of readiness. US troops
in combat gear took up positions only 600 yards from PDF
headquarters, near the canal. The Command has installations
at Fort Amador and Quarry Heights, less than a mile from the
barracks. The Pentagon said no US troops were involved in
shooting. Journalists in Panama City said they had seen
what appeared to be US A-37 Dragonfly spotter aircraft
overflying the city.
At about noon Command spokesperson at Quarry Heights,
Mercedes Morris, said: "The firing is continuing at this
moment right now, there is firing. We can hear automatic
weapons, hand grenades and other heavy detonations."
* Following the rebel officers' radio announcements,
automobile caravans flying Civic Crusade banners, with
passengers waving white handkerchiefs, drove through the
city celebrating the fall of Noriega.
* An hour after the rebel communique was read, a man
identifying himself as Lt. Col. Arnulfo Castrejon made a
broadcast over television Channel 2 saying that forces loyal
to Noriega "were ready to give their lives to defend Gen.
Noriega. This is a betrayal." Nobody was visible on the
screen as the broadcast was made. The camera showed only a
clock on a wall.
The communique said, "The nationalist officers of all
ranks and in all the barracks countrywide have confirmed
their loyalty to the fatherland...and to our commander-in-
chief Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega...The few who allowed
themselves to fall prey to cowardice, to foreign money and
to treason are a minority who advocated foreign
intervention. In the next few hours, this group will appear
before justice, covered with shame."
The statement said Noriega was at an undisclosed
location controlling the operations against the insurgents.
* Firing around the Defense Forces headquarters tapered
off in the early afternoon. Reporters were blocked from
approaching the compound. Several ambulances were seen
leaving the area and witnesses said there were some dead and
wounded, but the number of casualties was not immediately
known.
By this time, Radio Nacional had been taken over by
loyalist troops and Defense Forces spokesperson Edgardo
Lopez went on the air to appeal to all soldiers to reject
the insurgents. He said the headquarters complex would be
retaken "in the next few hours."
* In Washington, Jose Blandon, a Panamanian defector
and former close aide to Noriega, said a leader of the
assault told him by telephone Noriega was wounded and
captured. He said officers intended to send Noriega to the
US to face drug charges but that it would be difficult
because other officers in the Defense Forces were also
involved in the drug trade.
* At 2:30 p.m. local time, Channel 2 television
announced the surrender of rebel troops. "The rebels have
surrendered. General Noriega is in command of Panama's
Defense Forces," the brief communique said.
Later, a statement released by Justice and Interior
Minister Olmedo Miranda, said: "We want to underline that
the situation in the country has been duly controlled to
guarantee the peace and tranquillity that the state should
assure for its citizens."
The government declared an 8 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew and
said the news media could report only official statements on
the military revolt. Sporadic gunfire continued into late
afternoon at the headquarters compound, and at another PDF
installation a few hundred yards away.
* In his speech to the UN General Assembly in
mid-afternoon, Rodriguez said an attempted coup had been
crushed. He did not accuse the US of complicity in the
revolt but said Washington had undermined Panama with
"financial terrorism, economic blackmail and political
interference."
Rodriguez said, "We are an invaded country, whose
primary interest is throwing off the shackles of coarse
interference in its sovereign affairs, which threatens the
basic rights of its citizens."
Next, the president stated that the US was violating
the terms of the Panama Canal treaties. He called on all UN
bodies to monitor his government's progress toward restoring
full democracy and to be alert to interference by other
nations.
* Noriega appeared on television at the end of the day
and said the coup had failed. The general stated that for
several hours US soldiers had blocked access to the
headquarters compound and to the Pan-American highway in an
attempt to lend support to the insurgents. He added: "The
incident this morning corresponds to the permanent
aggression and penetration by the forces of the United
States against the tranquility of our country."
* As of 6 p.m. the whereabouts of Guillermo Endara,
presidential candidate of the Civic Opposition Democratic
Alliance (ADOC) in the annulled May elections, remained
unknown. On Tuesday morning, he was removed by supporters
from the site where he had been engaged in a hunger strike.
* On Tuesday afternoon in Washington, Democrat Sen.
David Boren, chairperson of the Senate Intelligence
Committee, characterized the failed putsch as "brave
people...trying to rid themselves of a drug dealer and a
thug who's taken over their country." His comments came
after a classified briefing by the CIA.
Referring to the US Southern Command, Boren said, "for
the United States...to stand by--two miles away as the crow
flies--and do nothing, and allow these people to fail,
personally I think is wrong."
The senator said he was informed early Tuesday that the
insurrection was under way. Boren claimed that 200 to 300
rebel troops seized the PDF headquarters, with Noriega
"trapped and pinned down" inside. But some 500 loyal troops
surrounded the headquarters later on and freed the general,
he said, adding that no US troops or citizens were involved
in any aspect of the coup attempt. (Basic data from
numerous reports by Notimex, AP, AFP, Xinhua, 10/03/89; New
York Times, 10/04/89)
ON CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE OF BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S
$9 MILLION AID REQUEST FOR NICARAGUAN ELECTIONS
On Sept. 29 at a hearing of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, Asst. Secretary of State for
Inter-American Affairs, Bernard W. Aronson was unable to
explain why the State Department wanted to spend $815,000 in
salaries and $1.3 million on "vehicles" for members of the
Nicaraguan opposition working on next February's elections.
Aronson described the $9 million proposal as "a modest
program" to assist democratic forces in "a David versus
Goliath fight." He insisted that time was running short,
since voter registration was scheduled to begin Oct. 1, and
to continue for the following three Sundays.
Rep. David Obey (D-Wisc.), chairperson of the House
Appropriations subcommittee responsible for foreign aid,
said, "we still have minimal information from the
administration about the specifics" of its plan.
Aides to Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) apparently expressed
concern that the money would subsidize the Communist Party
of Nicaragua, one of 14 parties belonging to the opposition
alliance that nominated Violeta Barrios de Chamorro for
president.
Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for
Democracy, acknowledged that Bush's proposal to send $5
million through his organization to Nicaragua "dwarfs what
the endowment has been able to spend" on elections in
Panama, Chile, the Philippines or any other country. The
NED is a private nonprofit corporation that receives almost
all its funding from Washington.
[On Sept. 15, the NED board of directors approved $1.5
million in grants for Nicaragua. That money is separate
from the $9 million requested for the fiscal year 1990.]
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), chairperson of the
Foreign Relations subcommittee on Latin America, said the
administration was proposing to spend $5 for every potential
voter in Nicaragua's electorate of 1.8 million people. "We
all want to help. But just coming up here and saying `I
want nine million bucks and I can't tell you how it's going
to be spent, where it's going to be used,' is totally
unacceptable."
Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-RI), chairperson of the Foreign
Relations Committee, asked Aronson if Bush was planning any
"covert operations" to influence the Nicaraguan elections.
Aronson declined to answer, saying such questions should be
discussed behind closed doors by the congressional
intelligence panels.
Paul S. Reichler, a Washington lawyer who represents
the government of Nicaragua, criticized the administration
proposal as "an attempt to buy the election" for Barrios de
Chamorro.
On Oct. 3, during a hearing of the House Rules
Committee, the Bush administration for the first time stated
that the CIA will not engage in covert operations to
influence the outcome of the February 1990 Nicaraguan
elections. The Committee was considering a bill to provide
money for US intelligence agencies in the coming year.
Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Calif.), chairperson of the
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the
bill "authorizes no funds whatsoever" for secret efforts to
influence the elections. In addition, he said, "The
administration has pledged that it will not seek covert
funds" to influence the vote.
Beilenson implied that the committee had shut down on
secret contingency funds to conduct political operations in
Nicaragua without congressional approval. He said the
administration could get money for such operations only by
seeking approval from the House and Senate Appropriations
and Intelligence Committees.
Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), ranking Republican on the
Intelligence Committee confirmed the arrangement: "The
administration has agreed not to request covert aid for the
election activities of the internal Nicaraguan democratic
opposition. It has chosen to seek overt assistance to
support a democratic election process aimed at helping to
compel the Sandinistas to permit largely free and fair
elections."
Congress reportedly insisted on such assurances as a
condition for providing money openly to encourage democratic
elections in Nicaragua.
On Oct. 3, the House Appropriations Committee approved
a bill that would provide up to $9 million in aid for
registering voters and monitoring the vote in Nicaragua.
Most of the money would be channeled through the NED. About
$400,000 are earmarked for election monitoring activities by
former President Jimmy Carter and his organization, the
Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government. The
committee stipulated that the "funds are not to be used for
cash payments to individuals for political purposes, or to
finance the campaigns of candidates for public office."
According to Cindy M. Buhl, legislative director of Pax
Americas, a political action committee seeking negotiated
settlements in Central America, "The administration was
forced to bend to the will of Congress and renounce the use
of covert activities in the Nicaraguan electoral process."
The House is scheduled to vote on the $9 million aid
bill on Oct. 4. The bill is likely to be approved, since
the House Democratic leadership has expressed support.
Next, on Oct. 5, the House is scheduled to vote on HR 2748,
the FY 1990 Intelligence Authorizations Bill. Critics point
out that while the bill does not authorize new funds for
covert aid to the Nicaraguan opposition and does not allow
use of contingency funds in Nicaragua, it also does not
contain an explicit prohibition on covert operations.
[Ed. note: As pointed out by Jim Burchell, of the
Norhteast Regional Quest for Peace organization, $3.5
million--already appropriated by Congress to promote
"democratic elections" in Nicaragua--is equivalent to 0.175%
of Nicaragua's gross domestic product of $2 billion in 1987.
Proportional spending by a foreign government on US
elections would come to $7.875 billion (of US 1987 GNP, $4.5
trillion).
Adding the proposed $9 million to the previous $3.5
million, totals $12.5 million, or 0.625% of Nicaraguan GDP.
An equivalent proportion of US GNP would be $28.175
billion.] [Basic data from 09/29/89, 09/30/89, 10/03/89
reports by Nicaragua Network (Washington, DC); New York
Times, 09/30/89, 10/04/89]
JAPAN REJECTS U.S. REQUEST TO CONTRIBUTE
MONEY TO NICARAGUAN OPPOSITION COALITION
On Sept. 28, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced
that the Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Toshiki
Kaifu rejected a request from Secretary of State James Baker
that it contribute money to the Nicaraguan Opposition Union
(UNO). The request was conveyed by Baker to Foreign
Minister Taro Nakayama at the United Nations during the
week.
According to news accounts in Tokyo, party secretary
general Ichiro Ozawa reacted to the request with surprise
and some disdain. He reportedly said that the idea of
supporting one party in another country's election was
"impossible." Japanese law prohibits foreign contributions
to political parties in Japan. (Basic data from AFP,
09/28/89; New York Times, 09/29/89)
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EL SALVADOR
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SALVADORAN PRESIDENT ON PEACE
TALK PROPOSAL; REBEL RESPONSE
On Oct. 2, during an address to the UN General
Assembly, Salvadoran President Alfredo Cristiani said his
government would propose "a complete end to hostilities that
would bring a definitive end to fighting" when officials
meet in Costa Rica Oct. 16-17 with representatives of the
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). He gave
no details of the cease-fire proposal.
According to Cristiani, the same mechanisms for the
repatriation and demobilization of the Nicaraguan contras
could be employed in the case of the Salvadoran rebels. The
president accused the FMLN of illegitimately taking up arms,
of "taking advantage" of El Salvador's economic crisis to
spread its "fanaticism," and of rejecting several proposals
for dialogue offered by his government.
Next, Cristiani said the "absence of democracy" in
Nicaragua has been the "origin of political and social
conflicts" in Central America.
[About 50 people protesting Cristiani's arrival at UN
headquarters Monday apparently missed their mark, and
attacked the motorcade of East German Foreign Minister Oskar
Fischer. Two men jumped in front of the limousine carrying
Fischer, and were dragged away by police. Eight people were
arrested and several policepersons injured in the ensuing
scuffle. Meanwhile, Cristiani was driven unnoticed into the
UN garage.
Carrying signs reading "Cristiani equals death squads,"
the protesters said they would harrass the politician at
each stop of his visit in the US.]
Cristiani's speech was delivered a week after the FMLN
mounted its heaviest offensive in months. More than 70
soldiers and guerrillas were reportedly killed or wounded in
fighting in at least eight of the country's 14 departments
since Sept. 25. The FMLN said the resumption of military
action was a response to an escalation in illegal arrests of
labor union members, and disappearances and political
murders by government security forces.
At a news conference after his speech, Cristiani said
he expected the monthly peace talks agreed to by the two
sides would last for some time.
In a statement released Oct. 3 in Mexico City, the FMLN
described Cristiani's proposal as "unreal and impractical,"
since it suggests a cease-fire prior to concrete measures to
bring "democratization, social justice and
self-determination" to El Salvador. The statement said, "To
end the war and then to negotiate is the equivalent of
asking for surrender without having won the war. Aside from
being unreal," the plan "would transform itself into a
formula for not negotiating and for prolonging the war."
Rebel station Radio Venceremos described the proposal
as hypocritical, "demagogic, demented and delirious."
Cristiani was accused of trying to improve his image abroad
while at the helm of a "brutal fascistic government."
(Basic data from AFP, Notimex, 10/02/89; New York Times,
10/03/89, 10/04/89)
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GUATEMALA
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GUATEMALA: GUERRILLAS CALL FOR TALKS WITH REPRESENTATIVES
OF SEVERAL SOCIAL SECTORS, INCLUDING MILITARY
On Sept. 30, in a statement published in Guatemala's
major newspapers, the Guatemalan National Revolutionary
Union (URNG) repeated an offer to negotiate a cease-fire
with President Vinicio Cerezo's government. The statement
called for talks with several social sectors to identify an
alternative to what the URNG called a repressive and
terrorist government.
Next, the rebels stated that Cerezo and Defense
Minister Alejandro Hector Gramajo have ignored previous
requests to resume 1987 talks held in Madrid.
Guerrillas have been fighting the government for over
30 years. The government has been condemned on numerous
occasions for ignoring multiple thousands of murders of
civilians by rightist death squads and its own security
forces in its attempt to exterminate the guerrillas.
The URNG--a coalition of the country's four rebel
organizations--said the government had not fulfilled its
pledge to promote social change, and that Guatemala remains
in the throes of "instability, chaos and corruption." The
statement included a copy of a letter from the URNG to UN
Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar asking him to
intervene on behalf of human rights in Guatemala.
The statement said a dialogue among all political,
business, religious and military sectors of society was
needed to end "repression, terror, human rights violations
and to begin a true democratic process." The URNG said the
talks could take place in any country which offered security
for dialogue participants.
In a separate statement during the week, the URNG said
the rebels had killed 1,172 soldiers in nearly 800 clashes
since April. Military spokespersons responded by asserting
that they have defeated the guerrillas and that only 1,000
armed insurgents are left in isolated pockets of the
country.
In statements to reporters on Oct. 2, Defense Minister
Gramajo rejected the possibility of a dialogue between the
government and the URNG. He said rebel statements calling
for peace talks with several sectors of Guatemalan society
were "nothing more" than political maneuvers designed to
give them a positive image, or to remind Guatemalans
that they still exist. (Basic data from AFP, 09/30/89;
Notimex, 10/02/89)
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NICARAGUA
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NICARAGUA: OPPOSITION COALITION LOSES
POPULAR SOCIAL CHRISTIAN PARTY
Late last week, Mauricio Diaz, president of the Popular
Social Christian Party (PPSC), announced that his party was
pulling out of the opposition coalition known as UNO. In
the February elections, the PPSC will support the
presidential candidacy of Erick Ramirez, head of the Social
Christian Party (PSC), and the two parties will run a joint
slate of candidates for the National Assembly.
Both the PPSC and the PSC are popular in Nicaragua.
Diaz said that the most conservative elements within
UNO dominated decision-making within the coalition. Ramirez
and his party had earlier been kicked out of UNO.
UNO's vice presidential candidate Virgilio Godoy
continues to have serious problems within UNO and his
Independent Liberal Party (PALI). Godoy walked out of an
UNO meeting on Thursday where party representatives were
divvying up candidates for the National Assembly. He said
PALI was not being given an adequate share of the
candidacies. (Basic data from Nicaragua Network, 09/29/89)
NICARAGUA PROPOSES EXCHANGING AMBASSADORS WITH U.S.
On Sept. 30, the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry proposed
exchanging ambassadors with the US to begin normalizing
diplomatic relations. In July 1988, US ambassador Richard
Melton was expelled from Nicaragua after he allegedly helped
to organize an opposition demonstration. Washington then
expelled ambassador Carlos Tunnerman.
Deputy Foreign Minister Victor Hugo Tinoco said "we
feel it would be logical to go back to the beginning and
exchange ambassadors to justify a staff increase at the U.S.
embassy." Tinoco said US charge d'affaires in Managua John
Leonard has approached Nicaraguan Interior Minister Tomas
Borge about the staff increase.
Leonard said he was pleased with Nicaragua's
proposal.
Accompanying Leonard at his meeting with Borge were
four Republican congresspersons who requested and received
permission to visit Nicaraguan jails holding persons charged
with counterrevolutionary activities. The interior minister
personally accompanied the congresspersons on a tour of two
prisons outside Managua. They arrived Sept. 29 to observe
preparations for elections and voter registration. (Basic
data from AFP, 09/30/89)
---
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