patth (Patt Haring) (08/19/89)
Ported from PeaceNET:
/* Written 12:00 am Aug 17, 1989 by cries in cdp:cries.regionews */
/* ---------- "CentAm Summit: End of an Era" ---------- */
CENTRAL AMERICA: THE END OF AN ERA
(cries.regionews from Managua August 14, 1989
This time there were no helicopters hurriedly taking off from
the roof of the embassy, with frantic soldiers grabbing onto
the skids. It wasn't as dramatic as the fall of Saigon 14
years ago. But the results of the Central American
presidential summit meeting in Tela, Honduras had the same
flavor as the historic defeat for the United States. Some are
calling the summit agreement the "second Central American
declaration of independence".
>From August 5 to 7, Presidents Oscar Arias of Costa Rica,
Jose Azcona of Honduras, Vinicio Cerezo of Guatemala, Alfredo
Cristiani of El Salvador, and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua held
marathon debates in the seaside town of Tela. On August 7,
the five presidents finally reached a concrete agreement: the
mechanism and procedure, along with set deadlines, for the
disbandment of the Nicaraguan contra forces created eight
years ago by the US to overthrow the Sandinista government.
It came as somewhat of a surprise that from this meeting, the
fifth regional summit and the first for Cristiani, that such
a firm agreement would be signed. Pressures from Washington
were intense. The presidents, all except Ortega, received
personal telephone calls from President George Bush and
visits from Under-secretary of State for Latin American
Affairs, Bernard Aronson, as well as from contra leaders. The
message was clear and constant: the US government will
continue to support the counterrevolutionary army as a
"guarantee for the 1990 elections" in Nicaragua, a way of
pressuring the Sandinista government to comply with the
promise of holding free and fair elections. It would not be
until after the elections that the contras be disbanded and
then only if democratization effectively took place in
Nicaragua.
Honduran President Azcona came to the summit in Tela with the
same position and stated that the bill for the disbandment of
the 13,000 contra troops now situated in the southern
Honduran zones of Olancho and El Paraiso should be footed by
the US, since Washington armed and financed them from the
start.
The Nicaraguan government's position was that both the
Honduran and US proposals ignored the measures for contra
disbandment already approved by the Central American
presidents at the summit meeting in February at Costa del
Sol, El Salvador. "It represents the submission of Honduras
to the interests of the United States," said Ortega, "to
indefinitely maintain the contras in its territory."
Ortega also warned his Honduran colleague that he would "push
forward a suit in the International Court of Justice if that
which was already agreed upon is not honored." This was seen
as a very threatening bargaining chip by Honduras. Nicaragua
presented a case against its northern neighbor in July 1986
for allowing contra camps to be established in its territory.
If Honduras removed the contras, said Ortega, "they wouldn't
be doing a favor for Nicaragua, but would simply avoid
committing a crime."
The seeds for yet another conflict were planted by El
Salvador. President Cristiani had been maintaining the
argument for symmetry between the forces of the Farabundo
Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and the contras. He
claimed that both should be disbanded simultaneously.
Summit Ups And Downs
The situation was tense at times as Cristiani insisted that
his symmetry thesis prevail. However, a letter from the FMLN
brought by Ortega carried much weight with its proposal from
the Salvadoran guerrillas to open a dialogue with Cristiani's
government. The proposal was elaborated after the FMLN held
discussions with the political parties and social forces of
El Salvador. Arias' opinion also played an important role,
that contra disbandment cannot be conditioned on elections in
Nicaragua.
Another factor with heavy importance was the agreement
reached by the Nicaraguan government and the country's 21
legal parties signed just the day before the summit began and
brought to Tela by Ortega. A month before, President Ortega
had announced his intention to convoke a national dialogue
with all the parties that are to take part in the elections
of next February to discuss guarantees in the electoral
process.
The marathon session, transmitted on TV and radio, concluded
with the signing of two documents. One asked the Central
American presidents to begin contra disbandment immediately
and demanded that no foreign forces with interest in the
region interfere. The other text contained 39 points related
to guarantees of a fair electoral process in Nicaragua. "I'm
convinced that today we took a very important step towards
peace," said Ortega after the dialogue.
No less important in Tela were Azcona's worries about
upcoming elections in his country, scheduled for November of
this year. He is counting a great deal on ridding the country
of the 13,000 contras and their 50,000 relatives that
presently occupy entire villages in Honduras, and cleaning up
the image of his country internationally.
The Summit Peaks
On August 7, the two year anniversary of the signing of the
Esquipulas II accords, the five Central American presidents
approved a plan of disbandment that foresees the creation of
an International Commission of Support and Verification
(CIAV). Set up by the secretaries-general of the Organization
of American States and the United Nations, the commission's
objective will center around material organization for the
resettlement of the contras, collection of funds to finance
the move, recuperation of weapons, and verification of the
conditions for the reentry of the ex-contras into Nicaragua.
Apparently, the regional heads of state were satisfied with
the Sandinista measures guaranteeing clean elections, freedom
of the press, and safeguards for disbanded contra soldiers,
for no new demands were placed on the Nicaraguan government
such as those in prior summit accords. However, a separate
agreement was signed stating that Nicaragua will withdraw its
suit from the International Court of Justice when it has been
verified that no armed contra troops remain in Honduras.
With respect to the problem of El Salvador, the presidents
called for both sides to take part in negotiations. The
Central American governments "vehemently urge the FMLN to
carry out a constructive dialogue with the objective of
achieving a just and true peace," the document read. "In
equal manner, the governments urge the government of El
Salvador to arrange with full guarantees... the incorporation
of FMLN members into peaceful life."
Reactions
Reactions to the accord varied. Contra leader Enrique
Bermudez claimed, "We have the right not to take the accords
signed by the Sandinistas seriously." Meanwhile, seven high
ranking contra officials, including Israel Galeano Cornejo or
"Franklin", chief of the contra High Command, and Osorno
Coleman or "Blas", leader of the Miskito forces, asked the US
for asylum in Miami. Among the contra rank and file, some
troops look towards disbandment but don't know where to go.
Nicaragua is offering full guarantees, but many contras have
not received them in hand and threaten to continue with their
own battles.
In El Salvador, both Cristiani and the FMLN claimed that the
summit was a big success, but the future remains just as
unclear. The military has already announced that they are not
prepared to honor the commitment to dialogue and negotiate a
solution signed by the president.
Many in the international community applauded the
presidential summit results which signified a defeat of White
House plans, symbolized by the sending of Bernard Aronson to
Tela only one day before the summit was to begin. Contra
leader Bosco Matamoros was prompted to say that the accord
"represents a failure for the State Department of the policy
it tried to impose in 24 hours." All in all, the presidents
signed and sealed the end of an era: that of the unappealable
dictates from Washington.
---
Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations
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