cries@mtxinu.COM (09/02/89)
/* Written 6:04 pm Aug 30, 1989 by cries in ni:cries.regionews */
/* ---------- "Hond: Contras Out Of Paradise" ---------- */
HONDURAS: OUT OF PARADISE
(cries.regionews from Managua August 30, 1989
At a summit meeting in Tela, Honduras in early August, the
five Central American presidents agreed to disband the
contra forces based in southern Honduras near the Nicaraguan
border. Days after the agreement was signed, Austrian Ralf
Leonard and a small delegation of jounalists toured the
camps. The Honduran government has since declared all contra
camps off limits and surrounded them with Honduran military
personnel.
*****************
The newly planted corn fields wave in the wind on both sides
of the highway as if there'd never been a war here. Only the
occasional gutted vehicle in the street serves as a reminder
of the hard battles that wracked the region. The Honduran
outpost is hidden in a deep trench, protected by a thick
wall of sandbags. The last kilometers before the town of Las
Trojes run just 100 meters from the Nicaraguan border. "El
Paraiso" (Spanish for Paradise) is the name of this fertile
department east of Tegucigalpa. After the last Honduran
post, where they check the safe-conduct issued by the
commander of the 110th Brigade, begins "Little Nicaragua",
some 400 square kilometers occupied completely by the
contras.
They are recognized for their unkempt appearance: some have
no shirt, others wear them open. The US-issue camouflage
clothing is the same that the Honduran soldiers wear. Only
the tag on the right front pocket saying "Honduras" is
missing. The Hondurans are also distinguished by their US M-
16 rifles, whereas the contras go without weapons. Only
those at the posts have their Belgian FALs or Soviet AK-47s.
The rest of the weapons are stored in the soldiers' huts and
are only removed for drills.
Those who expect that in a guerrilla camp Spartan sobriety
and an atmosphere of conspiracy reign will be disillusioned
on arrival at the contras' general headquarters in Yamales.
The broken and dusty road is bordered by shops crammed full
of colorful clothes and cheap plastic toys. There is also
glassware, deodorants, and shaving cream, styles of which
better all the time, according to one travelling sales
representative who comes by every two or three months to
take orders. Some of the peddlers are business-wise
Hondurans, while others are contra families who obtained a
license and pay taxes to Honduran authorities. At every bend
in the road a kiosk offers soft-drinks, cigarettes, and
candies.
The camps, divided into batallions of some 700 men each, are
found along a five km. stretch of road. In all, 12,000
contra troops have come to call this their new home. The
provisional barracks of the past, hurriedly constructed of
branches stuck in the groung and covered with plastic, have
been replaced by solid wooden shacks, some with zinc roofs.
Some doors even have padlocks on them. The contras have been
fixing them up for the past few months.
With the cease-fire that brought an end to the Honduran
government's denial of the camps' existence, Yamales has
almost become a prosperous town. Some soldiers live with
their wives, and others have found a way to share the
monotonous camp life with their buddies.
However, this idyllic situation is about to come to an end.
After the signing of a demobilization plan by the five
regional presidents at Tela, Honduras on August 7, to be
carried out before the end of the year, restlessness and
insecurity grew among the mercenary fighters. "The
Sandinistas have already signed so much and never
complied... If we go back to Nicaragua, it will be with our
guns in hand," says everyone from the commanders on down to
the youngest kid in uniform.
With The Strategic Command
Crossing a small creek and continuing up a bad, steep road,
we come to the "strategic command", the heart of contra
military planning. A sentry armed with a new FAL rifle
checks by radio to see if we arrived at a good time. We have
to wait. Meanwhile, a helicopter takes off, identified by
the US jounalists with me as one supplied by the CIA. Some
time later we are welcomed by Commander Ruben who is in
charge of civilian relations for the High Command. The
general headquarters consist of a series of houses made of
solid planks well protected by a barbed wire fence. A diesel
motor provides the current for the computer equipment,
photocopier, and other machines necessary for the rebel
army.
Commander Ruben's office walls are decorated with
unforgettable words and slogans from the commanders. A memo
from the High Command sent to all units is pinned on a
bulletin board: All those who attempt to violate human
rights will be punished with the suspension of food rations
distributed by the US development agency, AID. Next to it is
a copy of a letter sent by some members of the US Congress
congratulating the mercenary chiefs for having improved the
human rights situation.
Ruben feels cheated by the United States. "The US plays a
bad role," he says. "They used us as a means of pressure.
They gave us aid, not to win the war but to get us killed."
More than 6,000 lives have been lost in the fight against
communism, according to the contra commander. One group of
commanders recently asked Washington that 1,400 soldiers
receive the status of US war-wounded. "In the end, we are
defending the interests of the US," reasoned one of the
leaders.
Oscar Sobalvarro, alias Commander Ruben, was one of a six
commander delegation that visited the presidents of Costa
Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador before the Tela
summit meeting. They also had a 15 minute audience with
George Bush in Washington and met with Senators and
Congressmen who had always supported their cause in the
past. The commanders started this trip after losing
confidence in their civilian leaders, lodged in their
luxurious Miami homes. "The politicians haven't achieved a
thing," says Commander Modesto of the Ismael Castillo Urbina
Battalion.
Ruben feels it was a mistake for the contra leaders to sign
the cease-fire with the Sandinistas in Sapoa on March 23,
1988: "It wasn't necessary because we still had some of the
$100 million in military aid." Commanders Tono and Fernando,
who signed the accord in the name of the troops, were purged
from the contra High Command. According to Ruben, "Now
they're doing some kind of work in Miami."
Since the Sapoa accords there has been a fragile truce,
extended each month by the Sandinista government and
accepted by the contras. Ruben denies the numerous reports
of rising contra violations of the cease-fire: "The
Sandinistas are attacking themselves." But the proof of
constant assaults by roving contra bands is solid enough,
and 83 members of US Congress demanded that US Secretary of
State James Baker carry out an investigation to see if the
rightist rebels are really only receiving humanitarian aid
from the US. In a bipartisan agreement last April, touted as
Bush's first foreign policy victory, Congress approved more
than $60 million in non-lethal aid to the contras. This sum
must be used for repatriation of the contras if the Central
American presidents happened to sign a concrete
demobilization plan. Now, this is exactly the case.
Troops Talk
It is difficult to know what the troops really think about
their imminent repatriation. In the presence of a security
officer, provided by Ruben for "our protection" and who
never left our side, all the soldiers repeated the same
message as if it had been memorized: "We'll keep fighting in
Nicaragua until there's democracy." What they mean by
democracy was unclear. "That the communists leave," one said
lucidly. "With a system like Honduras," said another.
Only the chiefs know the details of the demobilization
accords. The troops know that such a document exists and
that the camps that have become their country must soon be
broken up. While they give the troops orders to hang in
there, the commanders prepare their flights to the US.
Commanders Walk
"After August 7 we received a growing number of requests,
all from Nicaraguans." said Guillermo Chirinos, head of the
Inter-governmental Migration Committee (CIM) in Tegucigalpa.
The Geneva-based organization that attends to the procedures
for immigration and emigration was given authority by the US
embassy to make a pre-selection from those seeking to
emigrate to the US.
Chirinos doesn't know whether the requests are coming from
commanders or soldiers: "They present themselves with their
civilian names, and it's not our job to identify them." This
indirectly confirms the declarations of one contra chief,
who refused to give his name, that the commanders are
looking for ways to get out.
There is little chance that the simple campesinos, who make
up the majority of soldiers, know about this organization.
And given the rigid camp discipline, only the superiors get
permission to travel to the city. "We only give passes to
Tegucigalpa in special cases," affirmed Modesto, "like to
visit sick family members." A battalion commander, on the
other hand, must send a letter to the High Command, who then
write up a safe-conduct which is approved routinely by
Honduran migration authorities in nearby Capire.
Confidence Lacking
Behind the empty statements of the "US freedom fighters" in
Yamales is hidden a genuine mistrust, based in part on real
experiences ever since the Sandinista army began detaining
or displacing campesinos who collaborate with the enemy. The
mistrust also was generated by the contra propaganda that
they have been exposed to for years without access to any
independent source of information. "No way are we going to
go back," says a woman who owns a small food store. "We'd be
like cattle going to slaughter."
A similar attitude is expressed in the refugee camp at Los
Guasimos. "When Ortega goes there will be peace," explains
one of a group of men that immediately surrounds the
visiting foreigners. "We're well informed about what goes on
in Nicaragua," says another. They listen to the Honduran
government radio, HRN, the "Voice of America", and "Radio 15
de Septiembre", the contra radio station.
17 year old Javier Martinez, who came with his family seven
years before from Jalapa - where and when the harsh battles
between the contras and Sandinistas began - would prefer to
emigrate to a third country. He wouldn't dare return to
Nicaragua but is fed up with life in the camps as well:
"There's no freedom here either."
Honduran President Jose Azcona stated after the Tela accords
that it is not his problem if the contras continue the war
inside Nicaragua. The Hondurans are more worried that the
rebels might break up and threaten Honduran security by
forming small groups of bandits. After our visit, the contra
camps were declared off limits to all journalists and the
Honduran army began to close the Yamales region. Expulsion
from El Paraiso - paradise - is imminent.
(We encourage feedback. Send comments, suggestions, etc. to
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---
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