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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Blackwell, Morton: Files
Folder Title: Central America - V
(5 of 5)
Box: 55
To see more digitized collections visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library
To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection
Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected]
Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/citing
National Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/
GRENADA:
The TFP Congratulates
President Reagan
In the wake of recent events in Grenada,
that our country has gone much too far by
the American Society for the Defense of
way of concessions. They now feel the mo-
Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) sent
ment has come to make the comunists real-
President Reagan the following telegram:
ize that we know our own strength and are
firmly resolved to use it in every way possi-
October 29, 1983
ble to prevent the collapse of our world-
The Honorable Ronald Reagan
wide influence and even the loss of our own
President of the United States
independence.
The White House
Furthermore, the real meaning of what
Washington, D.C.
just took place in Grenada could best be
summed up not in the motto: "better
Dear Mr. President,
red than dead," but rather "better dead
In the name of the American Society for
than red."
the Defense of Tradition, Family and Pro-
I cannot fail to add that the sober, re-
perty (TFP), its members, volunteers and
sponsible and efficient conduct of the ex-
supporters, permit
GULF OF
UNITED STATES
peditionary forces
me to express our
MEXICO
ATLANTIC OCEAN
was outstanding.
firm belief that your
CUBA
This American vic-
Dominican
conduct in the Gre-
Cayman Islands
Republic
Puerto Rico
Anguilla
tory sets an exam-
Haiti
St. Kitts
nada affair has been
Jamaica
Guadeloupe
ple for all the free
highly praiseworthy
Dominica
nations of the
in both its general
Honduras
Martinique
St. Lucia
world.
CARIBBEAN SEA
lines and in its de-
St. Vicent
NICARAGUA
o GRENADA
Please accept our
tails.
respectful testimony
COSTA RICA
Barbados
The intervention
Trinidad
Tobago
of support in this
in Grenada seems
PANAMA
VENEZUELA
GUYANA
matter.
to duly express the
Sincerely yours,
conviction of a
PACIFIC OCEAN
COLOMBIA
BRAZIL
great number of our
John Russel Spann
GRENADA: In leftist hands, a revolver pointed at the head of South
fellow Americans
America and knife polsed at the soft, underbelly of the United States
President
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE DEFENSE OF TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
WINNING" AND LOSING STRATEGIES
IN CENTRAL AMERICA
W
ITH the revitalization of El Salva-
dor's armed forces and deteriora-
ting popular and international support
for Salvadoran leftists, the military situa-
tion of the various guerrilla-terrorist
groups in El Salvador has become much
more serious.
In fact, officials in Nicaragua's San-
dinist leadership have concluded that its
guerrilla allies in El Salvador are unlikely
to topple the present government now or
in the near future.
"We triumphed and they haven't. It
will be very difficult for them to win,"
concluded a Nicaraguan official who,
even though he was speaking for the
ruling nine-member junta, agreed to be
interviewed only if he was not identified
by name.
The comment came after a Salvadoran
army sweep in Southern Usulutan Pro-
vince that disrupted one of the guerrilla's
vital supply lines in the wake of grow-
ing pressure by exiled Nicaraguan con-
tras fighting the Sandinist government
there.
"There is no brief explanation for why
we triumphed and they didn't," the of-
ficial said. "There was always a unity
Salvadoran guerrillas - A fractured force
among (Nicaraguan) revolutionaries from
the beginning. There was from the begin-
ning one willingness to struggle, and we
PROTECTING THE PRESS
managed to combine in a more harmo-
nious way all aspects of the struggle to
T
HE United Nations prides itself on
tries have met in Tailloires, France, to
destroy the dictatorship."
being an international forum where
protest the move.
the world's problems can be effectively
The proposed guidelines include gov-
Salvadoran terrorist groups have been
discussed. But more often than not the
ernment-enforced codes of conduct for
plagued with factionalism within their
body has only served as a loudspeaker
news organizations, curbs on access to
ranks. Last spring the leader of one of
for leftist and communist causes.
news sources and the licensing of re-
the groups allegedly murdered another.
One of the latest proposals now being
porters. The restrictions would, in effect,
Salvador Cayetano Carpio, one of the
considered is upsetting even the normally
give governments the power to tailor-
founders of the oldest groups, subse-
quently committed suicide.
liberal Western press. Some member na-
make the news allowed to leave their
tions have found that news filtering in
countries. Governments guilty of wrong-
Another factor cited for the failure
was the "deterioration of the interna-
from communist and Third World coun-
doings undoubtedly will feel much more
tries is not being reported properly by the
at ease knowing that news coverage of
tional situation." In 1979, citing human
media of the industrialized world. Too
such events will be held to a minimum.
rights violations, the Carter Administra-
tion favored the toppling of the Somoza
often, they say, these countries' short-
A sampling of the "non-offensive"
news is the United Nation's own state-
government and helped usher in the pre-
comings are presented in a "negative"
ment on the downing of the South Korean
sent Marxist regime. Now the United
manner.
747, in which it lamented only the loss
States is supporting efforts to preserve
Led by delegates of the Soviet Union
of life and property. Rather conspicu-
neighboring countries from a similar fate.
and its Third World friends, the United
ously, the document made no mention
The confession of the Nicaraguan of-
Nations Educational, Scientific and
of the Soviet Union.
ficial helps to bring out the real politics
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has
With such two-faced proposals by the
of guerrilla warfare. The case of El Sal-
proposed a series of measures which it
U.N., American Ambassador Liechen-
vador shows that if the factionalized
claims will "protect" journalists (add: of
stein's suggestion that it should move to
terrorist-guerrillas should come to power
totalitarian regimes). In November, the
Moscow appears welcome and long over-
it will not be through military force or
commission will hold a meeting in Paris
due. At least then, the world body, that
popular support, but rather through
to discuss the founding of the Orwellian-
so often parrots Soviet policy, could
negotiated surrender.
sounding New World Information Order.
enjoy firsthand the press system it wants
Eighty-three journalists from 25 coun-
to impose on the world.
TFP Newsletter - A fortnightly publication of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP).
John Horvat, Editor. Twenty-four issues per year. Subscription rates $22.50 per year for U.S. and Canada (sent First Class);
surface mail to other countries, $22.50 per year; airmail rates upon request. For subscription & information write TFP
Newsletter, P.O. Box 121, Pleasantville, N.Y. 10570. Permission is granted to reproduce in whole or in part any article in this
newsletter with credit given to TFP Newsletter.
2
THE TOADS
FOR HOW MUCH LONGER
THE TOADS?
by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
A
PPARENTLY, public opinion is rath-
elites should now be considered idiots.
er unfamiliar with an option that
Also idiots, in the eyes of the public, are
the press is, all the while, imposing more
the moralists, orators and poets who
and more upon all men.
stressed the suppposed sublimity with
This option is being promoted world-
which those imbecils speedily pursued
wide through a slogan that has the ap.
holocaust. Finally, the old dithyrambs to
pearance of a mere play on words: "bet-
religious or civil heroism must be silenc-
ter red than dead." Everyone knows
ed and give way to the praise of imbecili-
what this means: it is better to become
ty, which drags the weak into following it.
a Red, accept the humiliating imposition
Long live the poltroons! Their era of
of the communist regime, conform to the
glory has arrived. Should "better red
moral, social and economic anti-Christian
than dead" prevail, they will constitute
organization inherent to it, rather than
the flower of humanity, the astute and
run the risk of a nuclear bombardment.
security minded herd of those who have
deified egoism. This is the apotheosis of
vulgar squire. Today, amidst so much
Let the truth be said. The meaning of
Sancho Panza. How far this century had
talk about a "third way," "Third World,"
that slogan is that life - yes, earthly life
to fall to be consistent with the long pro-
and so on, almost no one remembers a
— is man's supreme good. One can infer
cess of decadence Christian Civilization
different option that avoids both death
from this that love of the Faith, national
was in was in when it awakened to histo-
and, above all, capitulation to the Soviet
independence, personal dignity and hon-
ry! I can already hear someone saying to
Moloch.
or must be less than love of life. Whence
me, "If we don't opt for the apotheosis
all the martyrs and all the soldiers who
On a supremely elevated level, it is ob-
of Sancho Panza, we will necessarily
vious that beyond Cervantes' alternative
heretofore understood the contrary are
have that of Don Quixote. Is this what
lie the sacrosanct paths of Christian her-
imbecils. By comparison, those who re-
you want, Dr. Plinio?" To which I
oism. Yes, of Christian heroism as the
nounced the Faith, fled the field of bat-
would not hesitate to answer that, as a
tle, or basely aquiesced to any insult to
Church has always taught it, and to
Catholic, I categorically deny that the
save their own skins, were despised as
which history owes its wisest, most splen-
human race can be reduced to a bunch
did and most auspicious deeds for the
poltroons.
of Quixotes and Sanchos, and that only
spiritual and temporal good of men.
The old table of standards has been in-
two roads are open to man: that of the
Today, however, I am not going to
verted. The martyrs and war heroes who
dishevelled and insane "hero" of La
dwell on that level, but on another
stood out in the ranks of humanity's
Mancha, and that of his abominable and
which, albeit much less elevated, de-
LENINCRAFT
ФА1ОЗА
The "toads": Those Western capitalists who, blinded by greed and indifferent or hostile to anticommunists, provide support to the Soviets
3
serves our highest attention.
would be inevitable, and that the spectre
panies do not hesitate to supply the
I ask: Do men not have the means to
of atomic bombardment would fade
means of victory to the inexorable enemy
prevent both atomic destruction and the
away. As a result, the dilemma surrender
of all forms and degrees of capitalism
catastrophe of surrendering to commu-
or death would fall apart.
and profit. Nothing could be more in-
nism?
What are the obstacles preventing the
sane or repulsive as far as suicide is con-
I have in my hand a weighty study on
implementing of that wholesome policy?
cerned.
that question which to me seems highly
Mr. Dermot Healy points out: a) the
Along with this deplorable example,
conducive to finding that happy solution.
pressure put on Congress by all major
Dermot Healy mentions a truly enlight-
It is "The Grain Weapon," by Mr. Der-
grain producers in the United States that
ening fact: the only noteworthy opposi-
mot Healy, which he presented as his
want to increase their sales to Russia;
tion to the grain sales came from Amer-
doctoral thesis at the University of Alber-
b) the excessive sensitivity of American
ican longshoremen who, for a time, re-
deen, Scotland (Centrepoint, No. 1,
presidents to this pressure; c) the pressure
fused to load grain destined for Russia.
1982, 50 pp.).
of major private companies that have a
These workers showed more good
In short, the author holds - and pro-
near monopoly on U.S. grain exports.
sense and a better notion of their duty
ves - that: a) the Russian leaders were
These companies would violate an em-
and rights than the "toads," that is, the
always very sensitive to a grain embargo
bargo; d) once an American embargo
moneyed bourgeoisie, who are by no
by the United States, since the country's
was set up, the Russians would turn to
means hostile to communism but very
food production is insufficient for both
other grain exporting countries, thereby
hostile to anticommunism.
its population and its livestock; b) an em-
rendering the embargo ineffective.
Behold the toads, always indefatigably
bargo would necessarily bring about
I would say that the only reason for
destroying themselves, indifferent and
widespread poverty with all its sequels
the failure of such an embargo is the
even hostile to those who, like the
such as unrest, strikes, agitation, etc.
greediness of gargantuan capitalist com-
longshoremen, try to defend an order
If such an embargo were to be pro-
panies. That is, to increase their profits,
of things without which the toads
longed, I think that the fall of the regime
and therefore their capital, these com-
wouldn't even be toads!
ROOTS OF REVOLUTION
R
EVOLUTIONARY advocates of
to these hackneyed Marxist premises and
the real causes of revolution and have
"change" in Central America and in
poured billions of dollars into economic
therefore aggravated the problem.
the Third World in general have criticized
and educational programs to aid devel-
Education and economic moderniza-
American policy on the ruthless guerrilla
oping countries. Now; roughly twenty
movements that terrorize native popula-
years after VISTA and the Peace Corps
tion, to name just two causes, have
tions. They claim that the misunderstood
were established, the problems have not
played a much greater role in destabiliz-
terrorists are only an inevitable product of
disappeared but have, in many cases,
ing the developing world than poverty
worsened.
and real injustice.
years of oppression. The United States
should focus its attention primarily on
According to Verne Newton, a former
Newton points out that in developing
the roots of the problem: injustice, de-
executive secretary to the Agency for In-
countries it is not the ignorant masses
grading poverty and illiteracy.
ternational Development, both liberals
that foment revolution, but it is the
The West, for the most part, listened
and conservatives have misunderstood
educated elite that usually provide the
4
earliest and most vociferous agitators for
of the Catholic laity in Nairobi, Kenya,
The case of Central America reflects
change.
Father Osei claimed that while modern
this conflict well. As far as economic
This point is clearly illustrated by the
formal education has enlarged people's
development was concerned, between
Latin American guerrilla movements,
knowledge of how others live, widened
1945 and 1975 Central America enjoyed
which for the most part are made up of
their horizons and increased their ambi-
real per capita gains in income, GNP and
students from upper and middle class
tions, it has also "brought about a les-
exports that ranked among the highest
families who were educated with ideas of
sening of social cohesion and the decline
in the developing world, causing the ex-
egalitarian revolution. Particularly wor-
of respect and belief in the authority of
pectations of an optimistic public to rise.
thy of note is the ruthless Sendero Lu-
the established institutions of traditional
With the OPEC oil price increase and
minoso, or Shining Path movement of
African Society.' He further noted that
the worldwide economic recession, the
Peru, founded by radical professors at
it has led to "social mobility and the
urban middle class saw their prosperity
the University of Huamanga in 1970.
consequent breakdown of the extended
vanish. Students and professionals went
Newton cites the example of the West-
family. Community spirit has given way
to the streets demanding sweeping poli-
ern liberal education given by Peace
to a certain form of individualism and
tical reforms which they hoped would
Corps volunteers who taught students to
even anonymity" (Our Sunday Visitor,
bring back prosperity.
question the traditional values of the
9-25-83).
Also in the Philippines, as the econo-
native peoples. Like the rebellious chil-
Economic modernization, Newton
my has turned sour, it is the clergymen,
dren of the 60's, the students often re-
states, is another cause of instability in
businessmen and students who are de-
placed traditional values with Marxist
the developing world.
manding reforms of questionable value.
theory. The results have been disastrous.
Contrary to myth, the revolutionary
Newton observes that the most perilous
In countries like Ethiopia, where the
conflict does not arise because of the
moment for a government is when it
Peace Corps was very active, many of
contrast between the rich and the poor,
tries to reform itself - a conclusion that
the students who led the Marxist revolu-
but rather on account of high expecta-
many liberal policy-makers seemingly
tion were taught by these volunteers.
tions of prosperity clashing with the ex-
tend to avoid.
On one of his trips to Africa, Newton
isting economic and political realities.
"Liberals should not be so naive as to
recalls that Andrew Young, the former
"The first to the barricades are usually
sell more political freedom, education
U.S. ambassador to the U.N. remarked
members of the middle and upper classes
and economic modernization as an in-
that there were at least 30 American-
who, while prosperous compared to the
surance policy against instability," he
trained Ph.D.s in the terrorist guerrilla
bottom ranks, are angry at the depriva-
warns. "In most developing countries,
camps of Mugabe and Nkomo fighting
tion they feel relative to what they think
these reforms are the very stuff of rev-
for the independence of what is now
they are entitled to," Newton notes.
olution, capable of setting in motion
called Zimbabwe (Kansas City Star,
"It's not that they're tired of having so
powerful forces that may prove impossi-
10-9-83).
little; they're frustrated at not getting
ble to control. Liberals who seek refuge
Father Joseph Osei, secretary general
more" (Kansas City Star, 10-9-83).
in platitudes about 'peaceful revolutions'
of the Bishops' Conferences of Africa
He cites the recent example of the riots
and 'stabilizing social change' resemble
and Madagascar recently cited modern
in Chile protesting the postponement of
the patricians who cheered Louis XVI's
education as one of the elements that
elections until 1990. After a day of riot-
demise at the dawn of the French Revo-
has left most countries of post-colonial
ing that left 24 dead, the protests stop-
lution but then recoiled in horror when
Africa poorer and more confused than
ped. The reason: The leaders of the
the riots began, disclaiming all respon-
before independence.
demonstrations decided to enjoy a three-
sibility' (Kansas City Star, 10-9-83).
Speaking at the first all-Africa meeting
day weekend in their country villas.
There are, of course, other factors that
play a major role in revolution. For in-
stance, the Marxist guerillas, aided by
various forces in politics, religion, econ-
omics and the media, are earnestly en-
gaged in the revolutionary pyschological
warfare maneuver designed to bring the
nations of the West under Communist
domination.
What Western policy-makers should
realize is that true stability in the
developing world is not dependent upon
a mere increase in economic or military
aid dollars but on a thorough under-
standing of the causes of revolutionary
unrest.
FREE!
Bumper Sticker
NEITHER RED NOR DEAD
- RATHER, INDOMITABLE
CHRISTIANS HEADING
FOR VICTORY
The American TFP
P.O.Box 121
Pleasantville, NY 10570
5
NE
FLASHES
Sign of the Times
At the start of the first U.S. trade ex-
turned over to boards made up of trade
hibition in six years in Moscow's Sokol-
union officials who would buy stock in
A vexed reader sent a letter to the
niki Park, Soviet and American trade
companies and over a period of years
editor of a Southern newspaper noting
representatives called for increased
come to have controlling interests in
the callous way abortion entrepreneurs
trade between the two nations.
them.
ply their trade.
Nearly 105 firms were represented in a
Industrialists, already burdened by the
"A colleague and I were eating lunch
show called "Agribusiness - 83" aimed
high tax society, affirm that the bill would
in a local restaurant. The piped-in FM sta-
at opening Soviet markets to American
literally lead to the takeover of private
tion music was playing. Then a commer-
farming and food-processing techniques
industry by the trade unions (San Fran-
cial break: "Lite Beer from Miller,' 'chew
and equipment. American firms hope to
cisco Chronicle, 10-5-83).
Wrigley's gum' and 'Get your abortion
bring in millions of dollars in orders
here.' Back to the music. Both of us
(Newsday, 10-18-83).
paused in our eating and felt that nause-
In another field, following the annual
Priest supports
ating feeling that comes when you just
ritual of propping up the grossly ineffi-
women's ordination
witness something sick" (Atlanta Con-
cient Soviet system, the Agriculture
stitution, 9-23-1983).
Department announced that a new long-
term supply agreement, which went into
When Father Vincent Connery, the 33
Although abortion advocates claim the
effect on October 1, will allow the Soviets
year-old pastor of the Church of the
infamous work benefits the poor, the
Sacred Heart in Norfolk, Va., wrote a let-
nefarious practice is in fact a profitable
to buy an additional half million metric
business that necessitates advertising
tons of U.S. grain.
ter to the Virginian-Pilot favoring women's
on (and thereby polluting) the airwaves.
Officials report that the sales include
"ordination," he became an instant ce-
400,000 tons or 15.8 million bushels of
lebrity.
corn and 100,000 tons or 3.67 million
Referring to the exclusion of women
bushels of wheat. As usual, no prices or
from the sacrament, the priest wrote that
Modern Quack Artist
other terms were disclosed.
perhaps it may be "time for the slaves to
revolt."
Under the agreement, the Soviets have
Maureen Gledhill of Liverpool, England
been buying regularly from the U.S. since
Fr. Connery's controversial letter soon
September 1 - the day on which the
made him the object of a feature-page ar-
was thrilled when she bought a colorful
Korean 747 was shot down (Corpus
ticle in a Sunday edition of the Wash-
abstract painting. For the equivalent of
Christi Caller, 9-22-83).
ington Post. Several other local news-
$100, she walked out of a local pet shop,
papers have also run the story, and the
owned by sculptor Erni Cleverly, with
outspoken priest has appeared on two
what she thought was a masterpiece -
until she found out the artist was a
Saints Relic Stolen
television talk shows to air his unortho-
dox views.
quack.
It seems that one pet shop's ducks
Thieves in the remote city of Paola, in
Bishop Walter Sullivan, instead of
escaped from its cage and ran through
southern Italy, disabled an alarm and
reprimanding Fr. Connery, praised him as
sawed through iron bars to steal the
a "very, very fine priest who is dedicated
a paint spill. Mr. Cleverley, rather clever-
bones of a 15th century saint from a
in his ministry," and said he "has the
ly, saw the value and natural talents of
the duck and tried him out on canvas
sanctuary.
right to share his thoughts To me, the
"Return the mortal remains of the
church's position on women as priests
with different colors. The duck, accord-
ing to its owner and agent, has a real eye
saint so that the devotion of the faithful
has some very solid basis, but we should
may continue," said Rev. Saverio Verni,
not be afraid to dialogue on it" (South
for composition and a flair for color.
the Provincial of the Minim Hermits of St.
Texas Catholic, 10-7-83).
Mrs. Gledhill, 28, spotted one of the
duck's masterpieces at the pet shop and
Francis of Paola, in a plea to the thieves.
insisted upon buying it. Cleverley reluc-
Taken were the bones, one of the san-
tantly sold the unsigned painting, re-
dals, hooded cassock, teeth and a 66-
Pagan Parody
specting the anonymity of its author.
pound statue of the order's founder, St.
Some weeks later, Mrs. Gledhill be-
Francis of Paola.
Today's liberal lifestyles and permissive
came suspicious when a friend spotted
The Hermits were founded by the
morals have often been decried as a
a telltale duckprint and commented that
miracle-working saint in 1436. Its mem-
steady drift toward neobarbarism and
the "masterpiece" looked as if a chicken
bers abstain from meat and devote them-
neopaganism.
had walked over it. She telephoned the
selves to the poor and the missions.
So, it is not surprising that in Denver,
pet shop and Cleverley revealed the
The fame of St. Francis' miraculous
Colorado, a couple decided to reaffirm
painter's true identity.
cures led Louis XI of France to send for
their traditional wedding vows in a pagan
However, he refused her a refund. "I
him after suffering an apoplectic fit. He
ceremony.
think it's worth at least 100 pounds
later became the spiritual director to
After studying paganism for the past
($150)," he said. "The duck is a natural"
Louis' son, Charles VIII (San Francisco
two years, Brian Becker 24 and his wife
(Newsday, 10-2-83).
Chronicle, 10-4-83).
Candice Becker, 23, decided to remarry
Modern art aficionados claim to find
according to the pagan ritual.
value and expression in the often chaotic
canvas of abstract art. However, when
Self-Management in Sweden
With the couple dressed in Celtic robes
in the presence of a "high priest" and
the work of a duck is mistaken for that
of a human, one is led to suspect that
In the largest protest march in
"priestess," the twenty-minute ceremony
there is more than one quack in the
Sweden's history, more than 75,000
was performed in the presence of twenty-
modern art business.
bankers, businessmen and white-collar
five similarly dressed people in the park-
workers marched on Parliament to pro-
ing lot of Abrahababra, a Denver witch-
test a bill that would tax company pro-
craft supply store.
fits more heavily and give the money to
The ancient pagan beliefs lend them-
Business as Unusual
trade unions to buy stocks.
selves quite well to the Twentieth Cen-
The measure is part of the controver-
tury. According to the "Rima," the so-
Despite its "get tough" attitude toward
sial "wage-earner funds" proposed by
called "high priestess," "The pagan
the Soviets after the downing of the
the country's socialist government. Un-
realizes that there is no heaven except
Korean airliner, the United States is con-
der the plan nearly $250 million a year
that which he himself makes, and like-
tinuing a "business as usual" attitude
would be collected from companies reg-
wise no hell but that of his own crea-
towards the perpetrators of the crime.
istering profits. The funds would then be
(Rocky Mountain News, 9-12-83).
6
DIVORCE AND CHILD ABUSE
T
HE U.S. Census Bureau has released
added by taking into account the chil-
on the playground than their counter-
figures showing that the medium
dren's economic and social backgrounds.
parts.
duration of U.S. marriages is 6.8 years
Guidubaldi found that although the
Children of divorce in general are
and the percentage of marriages ending
academic test scores of the two groups
absent from school more frequently
in divorce, which now stands at about 50
differed little, there were significant dif-
and are more likely to be withdrawn or
percent, has been climbing steadily since
ferences in the children's abilities to get
hostile. The study noted that problems
1950.
along with schoolmates and teachers.
diminished when elements of stability
As the "me" generation grows up, it
Using a measurement known as the
such as helpful relatives and friends
also breaks up as the responsibilities of
Vineland Teacher Questionnaire, teachers
were introduced in the household.
marriage and child rearing threaten its
were asked to rate students' social ad-
"Kids in divorced households often
egocentric lifestyle. Children, who once
justment. Girls from intact families had
find themselves caught in chaotic
strengthened and gave vitality to a mar-
riage, are now considered bothersome
hindrances to the career of one or both
parents.
Children of broken marriages are the
innocent victims of a type of psycho-
logical child abuse rarely mentioned by
the press. According to a new nationwide
study, when marriages fail, so do chil-
dren's relationships with schoolmates
and teachers.
The study, which was partially funded
by the National Association of School
Psychologists, was critical of the grow-
ing number of parents seeking divorce.
It suggested that much of the parents'
behavior is "egocentric" and damaging
to children.
"Liberation of adults has meant, in
some cases, the enslavement of children,"
said the study director, John Guidubaldi,
former president of the psychologist as-
sociation and professor of early childhood
education at Kent State University. "In
Children - The real victims of divorce
many cases, it's been a liberation from
responsibilities" (Newsday, 10-11-83).
the highest scores averaging 70 points out
routines," said Guidubaldi. "Their
While the study confirmed the finding
of a possible 106. Boys from divorced
parents tend to be much more mobile"
of similar past studies of smaller scope,
families rated the lowest with only 61
(Newsday, 10-11-83).
it was based on a much wider sample of
points.
Problems of the children of divorce
elementary school children. Conducted
Boys are considered to be particularly
are not expected to decrease. Some 25
by school psychologists in 38 states, the
affected by divorce. The study found
percent of all children now live with sin-
research involved 341 children from
that since they are frequently left without
gle parents and experts predict that twice
divorced households and 358 from intact
male role models after divorce, boys are
that many will witness their parent's
families. An important new element was
more likely to daydream in class or fight
divorce before they reach adultohood.
The "New" Boy Scouts and The Girl Next Door
I
T SEEMS almost impossible not to
told Timothy Curran, 21, that his avow-
South Wales, Australia, made an inquiry
be shocked at seeing to what extent
ed homosexuality was not a good moral
into prostitution. Some of the testimony
moral aberrations and alternate lifestyles
example for younger Scouts.
given at the hearings is nothing but a vile
are being pushed upon Western society
The 2nd District Court of Appeals
attack on very institution of motherhood.
and made to appear normal and accept-
overturned a Los Angels Superior Court
Witnesses claimed that prostitutes are
able.
ruling by finding that the use of homo-
just like "the girl next door" but with
With the overwhelming support of the
sexuality as a basis for expulsion was
more freedom to look after children.
press and support of the liberal establish-
"substantially arbitrary."
ment, the so-called "gay rights" move-
What the court decision really meant
Roberta Perkins, of the Collective of
ment aims at more than just being "ac-
was that homosexuality is normal, ac-
Australian Prostitutes, told the commis-
cepted." The drive to ban "discrimina-
ceptable and a good moral example for
sion that "most women who enter pro-
tion" against homosexuals in employ-
young men. Those who maintain that it
stitution don't see it as seedy, wrong or
ment and other fields is giving rise to a
is a serious antinatural moral aberration
evil - they simply see it as a job.'
new amoral standard for society as whole.
are thus being forced to accept the
Perkins claimed that high earnings and
Consider the case of a former Boy
contrary.
flexible routines allow prostitutes to
Scout leader in Los Angeles who has filed
Nor is motherhood sacred anymore.
lavish much of their time on their chil-
a $330,000 lawsuit claiming that he was
The drive to make prostitution an or-
dren and furnish all their needs. "This
expelled from the Scouts because of his
dinary job is beginning to take shape not
may shock a lot of people, but when you
homosexuality.
only in the United States (TFP News-
weigh all these facts, you can't help
The Boy Scouts of America, who
letter, Vol.III, no. 22) but in other
coming to the conclusion that prostitutes
pride themselves on the civic and moral
Western countries as well.
would make better mothers than most
formation of their members, allegedly
Recently, the state government of New
other women" (China Post, 10-8-83).
7
"PARADISE REDISCOVERED"
N
OW that Margaret Mead's Samoan
teen people living under the same roof.
"When a husband is killed, his widow
paradise has been questioned as an
The people are very open psychologically
is viewed as very vulnerable," Yost
imaginative version of reality, anthro-
and have an extraordinary sense of car-
found. "If she has two children, one may
pologists have found another primitive
ing for one another.
be buried alive." Infanticides of this
people whom they believe might serve as
Men and women have equal social
nature accounted for some four percent
a model for Twentieth Century society.
status inside the tribe and children have
of all deaths.
The Waorani tribe are an Amazonian
the same status as adults. If a child
Aside from these idiosyncrasies, Yost
people that have been isolated from other
doesn't feel like doing something, the
contends that the Waorani are for the
tribes for thousands of years. The tribe's
elder accepts his decision without rancor
most part good people. He is credited as
700 members live in a remote 8,000-
and without disciplining him. Through-
being the first outsider to win the con-
square-mile area in eastern Ecuador.
out the tribe there is a relaxed, pervasive
fidence of the remote groups and did so
Mimicing Mead, scientists and anthro-
"let it be" attitude.
by taking his wife and three children with
pologists are mounting an expedition to
Eureka! the anthropologists might
him into the rain forest. He claims his
conduct a comprehensive analysis of the
cry, we have finally found a society of
family helped him understand the tribal
tribe. They hope that new insights into
perfect and innocent harmony where no-
culture.
family patterns, stress, and disease in a
ble and benevolent savages live in total
"It seems to make sense that their
technologically-based civilization may
equality and freedom.
anger and conflict is turned outside the
emerge from their research of this tribe
However questionable the findings
family," he commented. "However, I
untouched by the "evils" of modern
may be, living in such a tropical "para-
regard the Waorani as some of the kind-
civilization.
dise" does have its disadvantages.
est people you would ever want to meet.
VEN.
PACIFIC
OCEAN
COLOMBIA
ECUADOR
Waorani
Territory
PERU
BRAZIL
Waorani Area in the Amazon
Return to the stone
age: Model for Twentleth
Century man
The five-member team will live with
For example, while the Waorani may
I would entrust my children to a family
the Waoranis for two months while per-
have warm family relations, they really
there much more than if I'd left them
forming cultural, biomedical and genetic
don't make good neighbors.
with friends in America" (Houston
studies. The expedition is being spon-
According to Grant G. Behrman,
Chronicle, 9-25-83).
sored by the Explorer's Club, the Stan-
leader of the research team, "Although
ford University Medical Center, the
the word 'Waorani' means 'people,' to
American Museum of Natural History
their neighbors they are known by an-
and other organizations.
other word, 'aucas,' which means
At first glance, the Waoranis are the
'savage' or 'barbarian.'
perfect substitutes for the Samoans. Ac-
Even among the less primitive tribes,
cording to Dr. James Yost, one of the
the Waorani have a reputation for fero-
expedition's leaders, "It is one of the
city. Studies reveal that more than 45
most egalitarian societies in the world.
percent of all deaths are caused by spear
Perplexed?
He claims there is no evidence of hy-
fighting within the tribe. Most of these
pertension, diabetes, cardiovascular dis-
killings are attributed to ancient vendet-
Bewildered?
ease, rheumatic heart disease, allergies,
tas between the different groups within
Confused?
obesity or sign of cancer. In addition, the
the tribe. Another 13 percent are killed
Waorani allegedly have a balanced diet
by outsiders.
and get plenty of exercise. They don't
Feminists would be alarmed to find
drink alcohol or smoke, and their pris-
that both sexes have very defined stereo-
By National and
tine environment is totally devoid of
typed roles. The men go out and hunt
International Events
pollutants.
while the women stay at home to harvest
According to Yost, who has studied
vegetables.
the tribe for eight years, its members
Children are indeed punished for mat-
have a great sense of unity and cohesion.
ters that endanger themselves or the com-
For Clarity and Insight
Everyone considers himself related to the
munity. Orphans often receive rough
Subscribe to
others, and there is no fighting or physical
treatment and are considered outsiders.
harm inflicted upon other "family"
Handicapped infants are tolerated but
The TFP Newsletter
members even though there may be eigh-
can become victims of infanticide.
8
FDN
September 15, 1983
Mr. John M. Fisher
President
American Security Council Foundation
499 South Capitol Sreet, S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20003
Dear Mr. Fisher:
We are greatly encouraged that you have established a Nicaraguan Freedom
Fighter Aid Fund.
I was honored to be at the August, 1983, Annual Convention of the Veterans
of Foreign Wars where they decided to raise funds for Humanitarian/Truth Aid
to Nicaraguan freedom fighters.
The VFW has asked you to receive these funds and to administer their
Humanitarian/Truth Aid.
We badly need assistance in providing food and medical aid to the 100,000
Nicaraguan refugees of all ages who fled from Communist oppression.
In the FDN, we have 10,000 freedom fighters and are now conducting
effective operations inside Nicaragua, and they also need humanitarian help.
We are especially pleased to hear that your Foundation will be raising
funds for a major truth campaign so that citizens of your country will
understand why we are fighting.
No matter what risks we take, we cannot succeed against the Soviet Union
without support from your country.
Thus, the decision as to whether or not the Soviets win in Central America
will be made in the United States. Your help will assure that the decision
will be based on true facts.
We will consider everyone who contributes to be an Honorary Nicaraguan
Freedom Fighter. I will send you regular battle reports to share with them.
Best regards,
Sincerely,
Govep Calarot
Adolfo Calero
Director
11/9/83
Morton:
FYI
FL
LT
add to C.A.
add
partat
From
Louise Tate
Mor ton BCC
UNITED STATES
DEFENSE COMMITTEE
Lieutenant General
Daniel O. Graham
United States Army, Retired
November 9, 1983
President Ronald Reagan
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Reagan:
On behalf of the more than 97,000 members of the United
States Defense Committee, I would like to express our whole-
hearted support and gratitude for your decisive action in
Grenada.
If restoration of the Monroe Doctrine wasn't enough
justification -- and we believe it was -- then surely the
expressions of joy and relief on the faces of our rescued
medical students and the Grenadian people prove the absolute
justification for the action.
Furthermore, it is the first time ever that the Brezhnev
Doctrine has been reversed. In fact, it is the first time
in recent history that a U.S. President has had the resolve
to recognize -- and stand up to -- obvious Soviet/Cuban
aggression.
Your careful handling of the entire operation, and
its success, fills those of us who oppose brutal Soviet
aggression with overwhelming pride.
Finally, under your leadership, the United States is
beginning to live up to its moral obligation to protect
its citizens and uphold American interests throughout the
world, an obligation that we have mistakenly chosen not
to undertake for the past several years.
For this, Mr. President, we thank you, for standing
up to those who insist on violating the basic human rights
guaranteed by international law, and urge you to continue
to lead the fight for a strong national defense and sound
foreign policy.
3238 Wynford Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22031
Your decision to reinstate the Monroe Doctrine, rescue
endangered American lives and prevent Grenada from becoming
another springboard from which the Soviets and Cubans intended
to launch Marxist-Leninist revolutions throughout the region
is applauded.
Mr. President, you have shown the world that the people
of this great nation have had enough, that we will not allow
the Soviets to randomly murder innocent people in their
quest for world-wide Communism.
Thank you again, Mr. President, for showing once again
that freedom can prevail when we are determined to let it.
Sincerely,
They L. Walth
Henry L. Walther
Executive Vice President
HLW/peb
This letter sent to:
James Baker
Michael Deaver
Edwin Meese
John Harrington
From
Louise Tate
Morton BCC
UNITED STATES
DEFENSE COMMITTEE
Lieutenant General
Daniel O. Graham
United States Army, Retired
November 9, 1983
Mrs. Faith Whittlesey
Ass't to the President for
Public Liaison
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mrs. Whittlesey:
As you know, a critically important position for national
security recently opened up when Larry Brady, Assistant
Secretary for Trade Administration, resigned from his post
at the Department of Commerce.
Because of the sensitive nature of this job and its
far-reaching impact on the long-term security of our country,
we feel the administration should give its utmost attention
in reviewing each candidate.
We understand that one candidate is Paul Friedenberg,
currently a Senior Economist on the Senate Banking Committee.
We strongly support Mr. Friedenberg's candidacy as he is
both suited for this job and knowledgeable in this sensitive
field.
A second candidate, George Nesterczuk, is also strongly
supported by the United States Defense Committee. Mr. Nesterczuk
has a long and distinguished background in technology trade
and international affairs.
A third candidate under consideration is Wendell Gunn.
While we understand Mr. Gunn may be personally competent,
particularly in areas of corporate concerns, we are very
concerned that he has little or no expertise in the area
of export/import controls and suggest he be placed in another
slot in the Administration.
On behalf of the more than 97,000 members of the United
3238 Wynford Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22031
States Defense Committee, I urge you to support a candidate
who can responsibly balance national security interests
with commercial interests -- like Paul Friedenberg or George
Nesterczuk -- and oppose the nomination of Wendell Gunn
for this position.
Sincerely,
54g L With
Henry L. Walther
Executive Vice President
HLW/peb
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
Summer 1983
Number 6
The War Against Nicaragua: Covert Becomes Overt
$3.00
Table of Contents
Editorial
1
"Generous in Victory":
A Conversation About Human Rights in Nicaragua
2
Women in the Guatemalan Revolution
6
Commentary on the Pope's Visit:
"Irresponsible Words Polarize Nicaragua"
8
Documents:
Farewell Speech by Daniel Ortega to Pope John Paul II
9
Christian Reflection on the Pope's Visit
9
Building Democracy From the Ruins:
An Interview About Local Government in Esteli
11
Life in a Salvadoran Liberated Zone:
An Interview with Dr. Charles Clements
14
"An Act of Solidarity":
A Discussion About Refugees in Nicaragua
19
U.S. Foreign Policy in Central America
21
Guest Commentary:
Understanding the Central American Revolution
24
Nicaragua: A Moral Force in the Non-Aligned Movement
25
Turmoil in Nicaragua's Catholic Church
27
Misa Campesina
31
Poem: I'm Going to Plant a Heart on the Earth
Back Cover
The editorial staff of NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES solicits articles and materials of relevance
to Nicaragua and to broader Latin American issues. Manuscripts, photos, and other materials should
include self-addressed, stamped envelope if return is desired.
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES is indexed in the Human Rights Internet Reporter.
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
Contributing Editors
Graphics and Design
Contributors
Typesetting
Jim Eitel
Kayin Morâd
Kris McCamant
Archetype
Eileen Callahan
Nindiri Gonzalez
Assistant Editors
Vilma Barrios
Roberto Rios
Tony Ryan
Photo Editor
Pamela Perry
Philip Farmer
Marvin Collins
Steve Ajay
and the collective effort of the staff of the Nicaraguan Information Center
with a special thanks to friends at Archetype and to our sustaining subscribers
© NICARAGUA INFORMATION CENTER P.O. Box 1004, Berkeley, CA 94704
We thank the Community Projects Office and the Publications Committee of the Associated Students of the University of California.
Photo credit for front cover: Scott Wildman
Photo credit for rear cover: Mel Rosenthal
Editorial
We are told that the U.S. is protecting fragile democracy
in Honduras, but the ongoing militarization of that country
has only strengthened the power of the military and led to
an alarming deterioration in the human rights situation.
On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Sandinista
We are told that President Rios Montt of Guatemala has
Revolution, the Nicaraguan people are preparing to cele-
"gotten a bum rap," despite documentation by human
brate the freedom they won at the cost of 50,000 lives. In
rights groups of ongoing massacres of Guatemala's Indians
just a few years, they and their government have begun the
in the government counterinsurgency program.
transformation of their society. Illiteracy has been drasti-
Repeatedly we are told that spy planes and ships are
cally reduced and school enrollments have markedly in-
searching for alleged arms transfers, but it has become
creased as the government has more than doubled the
obvious that the real purpose of increased intelligence
budget for education. Preventative health programs have
activity is to help the Salvadoran armed forces on the one
greatly decreased the incidence of polio, malaria and other
hand and the ex-National Guardsmen on the other. The
infectious diseases, thereby significantly lowering the in-
Administration says it is not trying to overthrow the
fant mortality rate. The agrarian reform has increased
present Nicaraguan government, but only trying to help the
domestic food production and given land and livelihood to
ex-National Guardsmen it supplies win their rightful place
tens of thousands of previously dispossessed campesinos.
in Nicaraguan affairs. The FDN, however, has made it
The foundation has been laid for participatory democracy
perfectly clear that its goal is the overthrow of the Sandin-
with the incorporation of previously marginalized groups
ista government and a rollback of all the revolution has
such as women, campesinos, workers and the urban poor
meant. Now that the secret war has become open, the
into the political process. The Nicaraguan people are proud
President has said that the U.S. should openly support the
of their achievements and the international community has
"freedom fighters," in blatant disregard for international
given Nicaragua deserved recognition.
law.
But as this issue goes to press, this new society being built
in Nicaragua is being threatened. Direct military inter-
vention-the final phase of U.S. destabilization-has be-
gun openly and is escalating. As yet, no U.S. troops are in
Nicaragua, but U.S. weapons are killing Nicaraguans, U.S.
spy planes are selecting targets for U.S.-trained paramili-
tary forces, and the CIA and the U.S. ambassador to
Honduras are directing this undeclared war. The so-called
"freedom fighters" utilize the same methods as the death
squads of El Salvador and Guatemala: selective assassina-
tion of the most active participants of social change in order
to immobolize and terrorize the rest.
Economic destabilization has been maintained, along
with a continuous stream of mis- and disinformation.
Inflated and distorted charges about Nicaragua's military
defenses, misrepresentation of conflict within Nicaragua's
Catholic Church as government repression, and unsub-
stantiated accusations of massive arms transfers to Salva-
doran rebels are all intended to undermine international
support for Nicaragua and justify U.S. intervention.
In the face of growing public opposition to its policy, the
Mel Rosenthal
Administration is now fighting a war for the hearts and
minds of the American people. President Reagan has
declared that all of America's pride and security depend on
a military victory in El Salvador and the removal of the
The Administration is maneuvering to impose a Pax
Sandinista government. The domino theory, the Truman
Americana in Central America, which would mean pacifica-
Doctrine of containment, the red scare, the entire cold war
tion rather than real peace with justice. Although the FDR
language of fear have been revived, to simultaneously sway
is considered to represent 80 percent of the Salvadoran
the American public and pressure Congress into support
opposition (which presently has been forced under-
for Administration policy in Central America.
ground), and despite the recognition won by the FDR in
We are told that those the U.S. supports in El Salvador,
the world community as a representative political force, the
Honduras and Guatemala are reformers, and that the
Administration has steadfastly opposed any form of negoti-
ex-National Guardsmen sowing death and destruction in
ations in El Salvador. And in spite of numerous Nicaraguan
Nicaragua are "freedom fighters." We are told that the
appeals for direct negotiations with the U.S. which have
Salvadoran government is "for freedom of religion and free
been backed by proposals by the Contadora group, the
trade unions," ignoring the murder of the four Maryknolls,
Administration has consistently avoided efforts at media-
the assassination of Archbishop Romero, and the disap-
tion. This relentless pursuit of military solutions to the
pearance and execution of hundreds of labor leaders. We
Central American crisis has brought the area to the verge of
are told that the March, 1982 Salvadoran elections meant
a regionalized war.
democracy, when actually there was a de facto government
The U.S. major media, by failing to challenge ade-
death threat against any FDR candidate and against any-
quately the misinformation and faulty assumptions used to
one refusing to vote.
justify intervention, have become accomplices of the Ad-
1
ministration. More than ever, reliable information and a
their list of crimes against Nicaragua. Recently a French
more accurate analysis are crucial. In this issue, we con-
and a German physician were killed for the crime of
tinue to examine U.S. policy and provide in depth informa-
helping Nicaragua; how long before an American teacher
tion about Nicaragua and Central America.
or health worker will be killed by a U.S.-supplied bullet?
For example, the Administration has repeatedly accused
We anticipate new episodes of misinformation to soften
Nicaragua of violating human rights. In an interview about
up public opinion for larger intervention. There will be
human rights in Nicaragua, we discover that it is the only
more "sinking ship" articles depicting a crumbling Nicara-
Latin American nation to comply with the U.N. recom-
guan government, just as there was recently a leak of a CIA
mendation that each country establish a human rights
report forecasting the imminent downfall of the Sandi-
commission. We find that Nicaragua has abolished the
nistas. Similarly, ten years ago, media campaigns allowed
death penalty, even for war criminals, has conducted
the murder of Chile's President Allende by U.S.-backed
literacy training for imprisoned ex-National Guardsmen,
plotters to be initially presented as suicide.
and has released all women from prisons.
We believe that coming months will see attempted
In an interview about refugees, we learn that Salva-
sabotage of the Nicaraguan economy, via blockade tech-
dorans are free to establish themselves in Nicaragua with-
niques such as the veto of loan requests, suspension of
out fear, unlike the U.S. where they fear deportation to a
Nicaragua's sugar quota, and para-military attacks against
near-certain death or Honduras where they dread being
infrastructure and industry. We believe there will be
kidnapped by Salvadoran or Honduran security forces. In
continuous military escalation by the U.S. supported ex-
fact, the government has set up special programs for them
National Guardsmen. The U.S. is also working behind the
so they can share in the educational and social benefits of
scenes to unite the counter-revolutionary forces in Hon-
the Nicaraguan revolution.
duras and Costa Rica. Repeatedly the Nicaraguan govern-
In the article about Estelí, we learn of the joint participa-
ment has warned that the real objective of these attacks is
tion of the Sandinistas and the private sector in the
to spark a larger war in which direct U.S. intervention
reconstruction of that city. Democracy in action, Nicara-
could be justified.
guan style, is detailed: the five leaders of the city's govern-
We are concerned about the warnings of ex-officials who
ment are selected respectively from among workers, farm-
witnessed the hidden growth of U.S. involvement in South-
ers, women, neighborhood committees and a traditional
east Asia. They predict that plans already exist for the
political party.
deployment of U.S. troops in Central America, along with
In a series of articles about religion, we see that the
contingencies for the massive use of air power. Specifically,
Catholic Church is undergoing a Reformation in Nicara-
they envision secret B-52 strikes against rebel controlled
gua. The Misa Campesina communicates a vision of Chris-
zones in El Salvador, which could be concluded before
tianity like that of the early Christians who were persecuted
Congress or public opinion could react. They also alert us
by the Romans. This same spiritual support for resistance
to a sudden, Beirut-type airstrike against Nicaragua by
sustained many Nicaraguans in the battle against Somoza
Honduras as a dangerous possibility. Honduras, with grow-
and now inspires the defense of the Revolution and the
ing numbers of U.S. and Israeli advisors, now has the most
homeland.
advanced air force in Central America.
The point is that Nicaragua is a ferment of new ideas and
But the Nicaraguan people have made it clear they will
developments, the only Central American country ad-
not surrender. They know that their historical moment has
dressing social and economic problems at their roots, and
come, and they are prepared to make whatever sacrifice is
thus widely admired throughout Europe and Latin Amer-
needed to protect their freedom and their new society. To
ica for its accomplishments. Nicaraguans have been ap-
paraphrase what Nicaraguan leaders have said, Nicaragua
pointed to leading positions in world and regional bodies in
can be destroyed, but not defeated. If Nicaragua is over-
the areas of agriculture, human rights and health care. Yet
come, the conqueror will find a country full of ashes and
this information is virtually invisible in the United States.
corpses.
The U.S. media have effectively joined the Administration
Even as we are saddened and outraged by our govern-
in portraying Nicaragua as an official enemy.
ment's actions, we draw strength from the courageous
As we go to press, Congressional opposition to interven-
example of the Nicaraguan people. The responsibility rests
tion has given way to bipartisan accomodation to the
on our shoulders to show solidarity and end the inhumane
Administration's proposals. The false assumptions under-
policies of the Reagan Administration.
lying the policy of intervention are not being adequately
We are also heartened by the response of the American
challenged. Congressional critics have vacillated because
people, who refuse to be misled by Administration prop-
of fear of being accused in the 1984 elections of being "soft
aganda. A recent ABC News-Washington Post opinion poll
on communism" or "losing El Salvador."
demonstrated overwhelming public opposition to current
We feel tremendous urgency because recent Administra-
Central America policy. We insist that Congress listen to
tion actions indicate a continuing escalation. A barrage of
the desires of the American people, who wish to turn from
verbal attacks against Cuba as the source of all of Central
the nuclear arms race and intervention in Central America
America's problems has underscored the Administration's
to the solution of the domestic problems of unemployment
intent to obscure the homegrown social and economic
and deteriorating social programs.
origins of the crisis. The sacking of Thomas Enders has
Only the American people and Congress can pull the
alarmed many observers in the U.S. and Latin America,
Administration back from the brink of a regional war. Only
because although Enders was no dove, he was one of the
if the U.S. joins in a peaceful and constructive solution to
only policy makers open to negotiations.
the problems of Central America will its honor be renewed.
We feel a sense of pain as daily the U.S.-trained ex-
If the Administration is not stopped, a tragic widening of
Guardsmen commit new atrocities, adding new murders
the conflict will occur, and we may soon be sending
of teachers, campesinos, technicians and health workers to
American troops to die in Central America.
2
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
"Generous in Victory"
This policy of respect for the human rights of all-even for
the Guard-was brought home to me by a visit to the new model
A Conversation About Human
prison "Granja Abierta" and a conversation two days later
with Sister Mary Hartman of the government's National Com-
Rights in Nicaragua
mission for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. Hart-
man is a North American who has lived for 20 years in the
country. She was a member of the well-known "University
by Tony Ryan
Community" of the Riguero neighborhood of eastern Managua
which spawned many Christian revolutionary fighters against
Somoza. An utterly frank and engaging person, she gave
numerous insights into the Nicaraguan government's position
One of the salient features of the Nicaraguan Revolution, in
and policies on human rights. What follows below is an edited
the view of this writer, is its innovative and humane treatment of
conversation dealing mostly with treatment of the ex-Guards-
its defeated enemies-the universally hated former National
men during their stay in prison.
Guard of the U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship that ruled the
What are some of the main things about the National
country for nearly 50 years until an insurrection led by the
Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human
Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) defeated it in
Rights; that is, when did it begin, what are its tasks, what is
1979.
your work, etc.?
Formed in the 1920s with the assistance and control of the
U.S. Marine Corps, the Guard acted as the physical prop of
M.H.: It started in 1980 at the suggestion of the United
what was to prove to be one of the worst and most durable
Nations, which had put forward that every nation should
dictatorships in the Americas. The dynasty of the Somozas with
have a Human Rights Commission. To date Nicaragua is
the aid of its National Guard robbed, raped, murdered and
the only Latin American country that has responded to
committed every possible atrocity upon the Nicaraguan people.
that.
With the end of such a social horror as Somocismo it was
Most of our work currently deals with the situation of the
understandable that many people would want to exact a revenge
ex-Guard prisoners. We serve as a checkup on any abuses
upon their former masters and tormentors.
that might and and sometimes do occur. This checkup role
With the triumph of the revolution, the FSLN and the new
is supported by the government. We carry out our duties
government it leads called for a policy of humane treatment of
with confidence since we knew we will be heard and taken
its ex-Guard prisoners. "As much as two years before the
seriously. We meet with the Junta and other parts of the
triumph," states Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Father Miguel
government such as the Ministry of the Interior which is
D'Escoto, "we were afraid that after Somoza there would be a
responsible for the maintenance of the prison system. We
popular reaction that we could not control and that people would
make sure that the rules are followed.
take justice in their hands, taking revenge for the many
Why are the rules sometimes not followed?
grievances they had suffered for such a prolonged time
The
Front was trying to prepare people so that they would look upon
M.H.: In many cases it is inexperience or ignorance.
generosity as a virtue. Few revolutions do that. Many would try
Young kids are often given responsibilities without the
to get people to understand why you should have mass killings
necessary parallel knowledge. We give them courses on the
or mass executions."
law and on correct ways of dealing with things. We also
Yet it was the FSLN, precisely in its role as vanguard, that
check up on how things are progressing every six weeks.
took exactly the above position which clearly called for a
We hold seminars on human rights with various individuals
rupture with past experience. "So why did we make this
and groups. We consider ourselves an action-educational
revolution," said Commander Tomás Borge, "if we are going
arm.
to do the things they used to do? If that's the way it is going to be,
One of the first things I worked at was the Women's Jail
we would be better off not having made this revolution." Borge,
in the city of Granada. We interviewed them and went over
the only surviving founder of the FSLN and one who ex-
their cases again. Based on this work we believed that they
perienced great personal loss and physical suffering, made the
were not a threat to the new society so we asked the
above statement in the early days after the triumph to a crowd of
government to grant them amnesty. They were released in
angry people who were bent on executing captured former
October of 1980.
Guardsmen.
After the triumph of the Revolution there were 7,500
The positions of people like Commander Borge or Father
National Guard who were taken prisoner. They were all
Miguel D'Escoto are still not altogether popular among many
passed through special tribunals that were established to
Nicaraguans, as I was to learn on a recent visit. The continuing
judge them. The prisoners were sentenced for anywhere
acts of terrorism, raids, murders of literacy teachers, peasants
between 3 and 30 years. As it stands now there are still
and others by ex-Guardsmen has not excactly convinced many
some 3,000 in prison. The rest are out of jail.
of the wisdom of this position. Many people held to the more
What has happened to them?
"traditional" approach of executions. Indeed, Borge said as
much when he told a human rights group, "if we had gone along
M.H.: As to checkup-there is none to speak of. We don't
with the people on this, we would have shot them all." Only the
know how many have left the country or what they are
FSLN with its overwhelming moral authority could continue to
doing. We do know that after the triumph of 1979 some
sustain such a position in the face of a people enraged at their
5,000 to 6,000 escaped to Honduras and Guatemala. We
former oppressors-some of whom still roam about in remote
also know that in some of the clashes and attacks that have
areas of the country and along its borders carrying out acts
taken place some of the counterrevolutionaries that have
against the revolutionary process.
been killed have been recognized as ex-prisoners.
3
In December of 1980 there was a Christmas amnesty of
prisoners again and review the case again from top to
503 prisoners. The majority of them were ex-National
bottom and then they report their findings and make
Guard. In December of 1981 we tried again for another
recommendations. We believe that this process will result
amnesty but it did not go through because of the "Red
in a lowering of many sentences and that in other cases
Christmas" campaign that the counterrevolutionaries were
some will be freed.
waging against the country at the time.
Recently there was supposed to be something like 350
What is the legal process?
ex-Guardia released from prison who had served their
M.H.: The lawyers study their cases and then present their
terms. That has been suspended for now due to the
findings to each other. Then the cases are completed and
continuing invasion threats and the fact that a lot of the
brought together in a collective grouping for the Junta de
ex-Guardia that have been released have gone over again to
Gobierno and the Council of State to go over. These bodies
the counterrevolution. But it's also because the people
are responsible for the final decision. We believe that
don't want them to be released. There have been several
generally whatever the lawyers find from their investiga-
demonstrations in various barrios saying that they should
tion will be accepted by the Junta and the Council.
not be released. So perhaps they are safer in jail for now
than out on the streets with a people that have not entirely
forgotten their crimes. It's important to remember just how
much the people suffered at the Guardia's hands. And the
worse the threat from the northern camps the harder it will
be to carry out the policy and to get people united on this
position of the Revolution.
In November of 1981 the Law of Grace was passed which
meant that every one of these prisoners' cases was to be
reviewed. The rationale behind it was that because of the
number of men who were tried perhaps there were judg-
ments which were in error or too hasty, or that new
evidence may have been found and needed to be taken into
account.
Margaret Dutton
'Mary Hartman and prison official
Tony Ryan
The whole point is to guarantee justice for all. It is based
on the fact that this is a just revolution. The government
prisoner at "Granja Abierta"
and the FSLN are concerned for these people. These men
were judged six months to a year after the triumph when
But in theory the Junta and Council of State could possibly
people were still very angry. It is believed that mistakes
look at every one of the cases?
were made-which indeed may have occurred. So we are
very happy that the Government has moved to present such
M.H.: Yes, but that is not likely.
an opportunity.
So the position of the FSLN about the just and humane
How does the procedure operate?
treatment of prisoners remains unchanged despite terrific
pressures internally and externally?
M.H.: The process is that the family of the prisoner comes
and requests that their relative's case be reviewed. Any
M.H.: Yes, absolutely. This is true in many ways. For
new evidence is allowed to be introduced that they might
example, the government allows prisoners to come home
have. They may call new witnesses and the lawyers here
and celebrate family events such as a child's birthday or
take all of this into account. They go out and interview the
similar things. Relatives of prisoners can ask for and get
4
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
medical attention for a relative from a doctor of their own
accomplished since the triumph. The aim was to get them
choosing. So we see that he gets a doctor or whatever else is
to think for themselves and to form their own opinions as to
needed.
what had happened in three years.
People also come to us and say they missed their visit
We are not interested in a lot of preaching; we are more
because of whatever reason, so we make sure that the
interested in acts-acts that go toward changing people, all
prisoner gets a special visit by his family. These are the
people, for the better. A prisoner is still a prisoner-he
types of things that we do.
doesn't want to be there but I think that they understand
what is happening. They are going to learn about the
I learned on my visit to the "Granja" that conjugal visits are
Revolution they fought so hard to repress and maybe some
also allowed.
will come out being supporters of it.
M.H.: Yes-that's true and it's also routine in all the
prisons-not only in the experimental "Granja."
Would you speak about the conditions in the other prisons
where the ex-Guardia are being confined? What are some of
the things that are needed there?
M.H.: Conditions are not always as good as we would
like them to be. This is due to the economic situation the
country faces and the enormous amount of things it must
fund. The government is the first to admit that conditions
are not as good as they should be but there is not a lot that
can be done right away. That is one of the reasons people
are allowed to visit the prisons-so they can understand
what the revolution is faced with and that they will support
it materially.
I would say that the best way to help would be donations
Tony Ryan
of money because it would help to buy and improve the
facilities that are needed. For example, there is a great
need for sports equipment which we really can't get; we
ex-Guardia prisoners learn new skills
have some but there is not enough. There is a need for more
Do you yourself know of ex-Guardia who have really
workshops to be built so that these men can learn a trade
changed, that is that you trust, that you know are moving in
since all they really knew before was how to use a gun. The
a better direction?
policy in the prisons is that anyone who wants to learn a
M.H.: I have a lot of faith in the group that just recently
skill-be it carpentry, TV repair, watch repair, is welcome
left the "Granja." There's going to have to be a follow-up
and encouraged to do so. But to really implement this we
which will be difficult to do, but a lot have promised to
need more workshops.
come back and visit their friends. It will be interesting to
I also understand that there is a Literacy Campaign occur-
see what occurs. It's a risk we're willing to take. The
ring in the prisons. Would you describe that a little?
follow-up is important but not top priority. More important
is the situation of those still imprisoned.
M.H.: Yes, that's another thing. Young kids-about 140
of them-are going into the prisons and jails to teach these
What about the young teenage prisoners that were in the
men how to read and write
Guardia, especially those in the elite corps that Somoza's son
commanded?
So what is the point of doing all of this? Don't some people
here feel like maybe it's a big waste of time and money to
M.H.: They were a special section of the Guardia and were
devote to these people?
kids from 12 years on up. They were trained in special
torture methods. After the triumph there were about 140 of
M.H.: The whole point of the Literacy Campaign is the
them captured. The kids were separated from the other
recognition that the prisoners are human beings and that
prisoners and were sent to a farm outside of Managua.
they too have the right to learn how to read and write and to
They were given a special rehabilitation program under the
begin to think for themselves, just as has occurred for many
guidance of a social worker and some teachers.
other people because of the Revolution. Perhaps they will
There were no uniformed Sandinista soldiers except for
begin to understand what they did and begin to change
two fellows at the entrance gate. Other than that no one
themselves just as this society is creating a new people.
else was uniformed. The people in charge had gone to
So what you are saying is that the Revolution believes that
various countries to learn about how to deal with such a
there is a chance of salvaging these people and that basic
situation but there was really no one who could help. It was
programs such as Literacy are also extended to the very
a new project and a new situation.
agents of the repression that existed before so that they
These young kids had "jobs" such as the removal of
might possibly participate in the new society?
people's eyes and other such atrocities. So we were left with
M.H.: Right. For example, recently a group of prisoners
this problem and how to deal with it. But we have
who had been jailed for three years were taken on a trip to
succeeded in the concrete sense that the last of these
Managua and were shown the new things the Revolution
youngsters were just recently sent home to their families.
had done. They saw the new highways, the parks, the
They are in school now or working in the society at large.
schools, etc. Without a lot of fanfare it was explained to
The farm where the program was carried out is now used
them that these were some of the things that had been
for common delinquents.
continued on page 10
5
Women in the
in jail by the very same body of guards of the land owners
Soon we were all being persecuted.
My mother, who served her people as a midwife since the
Guatemalan Revolution
age of 10, was a very valuable woman and much loved by the
people. She took care of them, and also explained to them
by Tita Caldwell
the cause of their troubles. If a child died in delivery, it was
not "God's will" but because of inadequate nutrition and
medical care
Most of Guatemala's 7½ million people, like those in the
My younger brother, Patrocino [age 16], was kid-
other Central American countries, live under conditions of
napped [in 1979]. The Army put out propaganda saying that
extreme poverty and deprivation. Twenty percent of the children
guerrillas were to be punished in Chajúl. My mother and I
die before reaching the age of four and 80 percent of the
went to this village and found that the Army had sur-
survivors suffer from malnutrition.
rounded it, and forced all the people to go into the town
Women in Guatemala face additional burdens simply be-
square. We were amazed to see my little brother in the
cause they are women. More than half of the families in the
group of prisoners who were being beaten as a captain read
country are headed by single mothers. In rural areas, women
a speech to the crowd. After about three hours soldiers
are often left alone with their children when their husbands
poured gasoline over the prisoners and set fire to them
Because my mother dared to embrace her burned son after
migrate to the large plantations, or industrial areas, to find
he was killed, she had to go into hiding.
work. In addition, large numbers of men are forcibly drafted
Along with our people, my father participated in the
into the army and sent to other regions of the country.
peaceful occupation of the Spanish Embassy. They were
Seeking to improve their situation, many of the Indian women
requesting the Guatemalan government to appoint a special
take their children to the cities where they often work as servants
commission to investigate the massacre of Chajúl
for $2.00 a day. Often they are forced to have sexual relations
[Although the Ambassador requested that the police not
with their bosses under the threat of being fired if they refuse.
intervene, 600 security personnel surrounded and fire-
The life of poor Ladina women in the city is also very difficult.
bombed the building. Vicente Menchú was one of 39 people
(Ladino refers to people of mixed Indian and Spanish heritage
killed.]
who make up 40 percent of the population.) Many of them are
unemployed or underemployed, working in factories and stores
where they, too, are harassed by their bosses. It is generally a
fact that women in Guatemala receive less pay than men for
equal work.
Mayan Indians, most of whom are campesinos (peasants)
living in rural areas, comprise 60 percent of the population.
Many of them, particularly the women, do not speak Spanish
and have never been to school, either because none was
available or because they were not allowed to attend. They have
maintained their 22 separate languages, their religion and
traditions since the Spanish invasion in the 16th century.
Before 1967 Indian students were forbidden by law to wear
their traditional clothes to school. That year teenage women
students staged a protest at one secondary school, wearing their
own clothes. The protest gained media attention when the
students refused to leave the gates of the school, and students in
other cities joined in support. The law was soon revoked. In the
last 10 years Indian women, in small numbers, have gained
admission to the university.
It is often the case that revolutions pit sister against
GNIB
brother, parent against child. In many of the stories of
Guatemalan women, however, entire families join the
revolutionary struggle, either one at a time or all together.
My mother was kidnapped shortly after my father's
In many cases the commitment is inspired by witnessing the
murder. She was held by the Army for 12 days, during which
time she was raped by high military officers and tortured day
murder of a close relative.
and night. Then they took her, still alive with wounds all
Rigoberta Menchú Tum, a 25-year-old Quiché Indian
over her body, and tied her under a tree. There, covered
woman, describes what happened to her family:
with flies, she died bit by bit.
My father was a Christian leader of our community. For
For me, the eldest, it was my younger sisters who
twenty-two years he struggled against large land owners,
gave me courage. They told me that the only way to
those rich people who wanted to remove us from our land.
commemorate our parents' spilled blood was by fighting and
Just for defending our land, he was accused of being a
following the path they had set for us.
guerrilla and was imprisoned two times
He was tortured
Today Rigoberta Menchú is a member of the Guatema-
lan Committee for Patriotic Unity (CGUP). As a rep-
resentative of CGUP she travels worldwide to tell what is
Tita Caldwell lived for several years in Guatemala. She worked
with the Guatemala News and Information Bureau and the
happening in Guatemala and ask for support for her people
Women's Committee on Central America. Her writings on the
and their struggle. She participated in Geneva at the U.N.
situation of women in Central America have appeared in the
Commission on Human Rights Working Group on In-
G.N.I.B. Newsletter and Plexus, a feminist journal.
digenous People and in Madrid at the People's Permanent
6
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
Tribunal. In New York she worked with the Guatemalan
Manuela Saquic, a 17-year-old Ixil Indian woman, also
Unitary Delegation of Opposition which was instrumental
travels widely to tell of the situation of her people. In an
in helping to pass a resolution at the U.N. condemning the
interview with News and Letters, she describes how women
government of General Ríos Montt for its human rights
take part in self-defense:
violations.
For example, in one town women were making explosives
The Reagan Administration, however, continues to try
out of fruit cans, with gasoline inside. When the army came
to present a picture of improved human rights in Guate-
in and saw that there were only women there, they started to
laugh-but when the women threw the explosives the
mala in order to gain legislative support for renewed
soldiers started to cry! And the women held off the army
military aid. Observers from church and human rights
long enough to allow the rest of the village to escape.
organizations, among others, estimate that from eight to
ten thousand people were murdered during Ríos Montt's
As yet there is little information available about the role
first year in power.
of women in combat. We do know, however, that women
In an effort to eliminate the revolutionary movement,
participate fully, and at every level, in all four major
the Guatemalan army has destroyed or partially destroyed
guerrilla groups, which joined together in January 1982, to
over 200 villages. Often the entire population is massacred,
form the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union
including pregnant women and infants. The testimonies of
(URNG). In 1982 there was a report of an action taken by a
survivors report how women are repeatedly raped before
squadron composed of about 50 women, members of the
being killed.
Organization of People in Arms (ORPA). Aurora, a
Some of these survivors have been forcibly relocated in
captain in ORPA, says:
government compounds modeled after Vietnam's "stra-
We all have a purpose in life and mine is to fight so other
tegic hamlets." Others have fled to Mexico where they
women's children can live in peace and freedom
For
barely survive in crowded refugee camps without enough
me, this is love. Here, we don't allow ourselves to have
food or medical care. Still others "go to the mountains" to
intimate relationships. There will be a time for that-Now I
join the growing resistance movement.
give love to the men in my patrol when I don't abandon
The participation of women in Guatemala's resistance is
them in combat, when I shout to them, "Charge!," when I
not new. María Lupe, a Ladina women, was one of the first
prepare their food, when I listen to their problems. This is
women to join the EGP in the early '70s:
my way of giving love.
Women of the middle and ruling classes are also aware of
We were one of the first families to collaborate. We raised
the grave injustices suffered by the poor people in Guate-
food and shopped for the compañeros, and later we gath-
mala, and have chosen to ally themselves with the opposi-
ered information. When the army came to the region, my
tion. They are also the targets of government repression.
husband and oldest daughter went to join the guerrillas in
the mountains. Soon it became too dangerous for me to
Rogelia Cruz, former Miss Guatemala, was a member of
remain in the village, where the army knew me
and
I
the Rebel Armed Forces (FAR) in the 1960s. An archi-
took the girls to the mountains.
tecture student from a middle-class family, she ran a
We organized the care of the five girls-the youngest was
clandestine hospital for the guerrillas in Guatemala City.
three and the oldest was 12 at that time
among the
She was murdered and her body was found hideously
compañeros. The bigger ones were already helping in the
tortured and mutilated.
meetings. They went to training with their wooden carbines.
On March 25, 1983, Yolanda Urízar Martínez de Agui-
That's what they played with. All of them learned how to
lar, a labor lawyer and advisor to Guatemala's now-under-
read and write there.
ground Worker's Congress (CNT), was kidnapped by
A lot of people say you shouldn't talk in front of children.
security forces in the south coast region of Guatemala. She
But children learn what is explained to them. We would tell
them not to talk loudly because the army would come
had just returned to the country the previous day, after
One day my six-year-old girl came to tell us that there was a
having lived in exile since 1980. According to her father, a
spy there; none of us had seen him. He had come to kill a
retired colonel, she had reentered the country to accept the
compañera.
"amnesty" offered by the Guatemalan government.
Now I have three daughters in the organization: 16, 20
She had previously been arrested in April 1979, for
and 22 years old. Another daughter is 12 and she already
distributing Year of the Child leaflets which were called
wants to join up. She says she wants to be free and to have
"subversive literature." International pressure had won
something to defend herself with.
her release.
In October of that same year, her 16-year-old daughter
In 1976 women began joining the political military
Yolanda de la Luz Aguilar had been arrested for distribut-
organizations in increasing numbers, particularly Indian
ing literature protesting the death of a trade union leader.
women, and now make up 25 percent of the guerrilla
While in police custody, she was repeatedly beaten and
forces. In an interview with Off Our Backs, Rigoberta
raped by approximately 20 police agents. Both mother and
Menchú tells how:
daughter left the country in 1980.
Silvia Solórzano Foppa, who comes from Guatemala's
At first, the Indian women attended resistance meeting
ruling class, has been a member of the EGP for 10 years. In
secretly, always running back home in time to prepare for
addition to working as a physician in the camp hospital and
dinner. But when her man left for the coast to pick cotton,
she became more involved. She even allowed her house to
training nurses, she is part of the leadership collective of
be used for a meeting place
the Ho Chi Minh Front.
Many widows went to the mountains to fight. They no
Her mother, Alaide Foppa, a feminist and journalist,
longer had any alternatives. The soldiers would come to
lived in Mexico in exile for many years. In December 1980,
town and say: "Your man isn't here
that
means
he
is
in
while visiting family in Guatemala City, she was kidnapped
the mountains fighting." They would rape and kill her. So,
in broad daylight and has not reappeared. Two of her sons,
these women too joined the struggle.
continued on page 31
7
Commentary on the
warmth and welcome for the pope. The day of his visit was
a national holiday. Roads were closed to all traffic save the
vast caravan of vehicles and people walking to the papal
Pope's Visit
masses in Leon and Managua.
Come they did, spending 10-12 hours under a March sun
"Irresponsible" Words Polarize
that is like Washington, D.C., or Kansas City in early
August. More than 600,000 attended the two masses, 25
Nicaragua
percent of the nation's people (equal to 55 million in the
U.S.). The government bore all expenses, including free
by William R. Callahan
transportation. It spent at least $7 million-$9 million in
and Dolores C. Pomerleau
funds and lost production (equal to $7 billion-$9 billion in
the 1,000 times larger U.S. economy). The government
The world press trumpeted Nicaraguan disrespect for the
distributed thousands of papal pictures and papal flags.
pope as one more sign of the "Marxist-Leninist" govern-
Everyone longed for a day of harmony and comfort that
ment's hostility to religion. Those reports, we believe, are
would highlight the deep faith of the Nicaraguan people. It
was not to be.
false. They are a fundamental misinterpretation of what
took place. The people and government of Nicaragua had
The morning mass in Leon passed smoothly. As 500,000
sought a different outcome.
gathered in the great "July 19th Plaza" in Managua for the
When John Paul II, during the March 4 papal mass in
late afternoon liturgy, they were eager to welcome the
Managua, Nicaragua, refused to speak of the peace and
pope.
justice he had preached in other Central American nations,
The beginning of the mass was subdued. The pope came
the major portion of the crowd confronted him as St. Paul
forth and began the mass with none of the warmth and
had done to the first pope.
moments of amiable interchange for which he is famous.
St. Paul (Galatians 2:5) describes how he confronted
All awaited his homily.
Peter in front of the Antioch community, because Peter
The pope began to preach with no acknowledgement of
behaved one way with Jewish Christians and a different
Nicaragua's past and current suffering, including the 17
way with gentile Christians.
university students killed by the Honduran-based Somo-
Halfway through the pope's militant and politically
cistas, buried from that same plaza only the day before.
charged Nicaraguan lecture on how Christians must live in
The crowd murmured at the omission, but was quiet as
solidarity with their bishops, it became clear that he would
the pope went on, in stern and booming terms, to insist that
not address a single sympathetic word to the sufferings of
the people the church please God only when they live and
Nicaragua.
act in unity with their bishops.
The crowd polarized. Some chanted "El Papa" and
Although he may not have realized it, the pope was
"O-ban-do" (the archbishop of Managua is Obando y
delivering a highly charged political homily.
Bravo, who heads the effort to distance the church from the
Insisting on unity with the current bishops of Nicaragua,
revolution).
especially with Archbishop Miguel Obando y Bravo of
But the cry "Queremos la paz!" (we want peace) quickly
Managua, is a political code for opposing the Nicaraguan
overrode all other chants. For the remaining 30-40 minutes
government, the revolutionary process and the Christian
of an accelerated liturgy which omitted communion except
base communities that have strongly supported the revolu-
tion. Those communities see the revolution as a social
for a few people, the chant boomed forth from tens of
thousands of Christian throats.
effort to act out Christ's command to feed, clothe, heal and
The pope, obviously nonplussed, concluded the liturgy,
empower the poor.
brushed aside an invitation to talk from the leader of the
Because the Nicaraguan people have been highly politi-
government, Daniel Ortega, and departed for Costa Rica.
cized since the revolution and strongly encouraged to speak
From the moment the papal visit was announced, both
back publicly and talk with their leaders, they did so with
government and people worked to assure the kind of
the pope.
effusive papal welcome possible for amiable, loyal Catholic
They quickly recognized the "loaded" political speech
people of deep and suffering faith. The preparation mir-
they were hearing and responded with the aforementioned
rored their desperate longing for protection from U.S.
chanting. Three times the pope tried to stifle the crowd:
economic pressures and from the deadly U.S.-supported
"Silencio" ("Silence" or "Shut up!").
The crowd would not be still. While the mothers of the
cross-border raids from Honduras that spread terror and
one to two violent deaths a day in the northern section of
young dead people held up pictures of their children
the country.
directly in front of the pope and fruitlessly sought his
The Christian base communities which support the revo-
blessing, the chant for peace continued until the pope left
lution scheduled six weeks of prayer and reflection. For
the plaza.
three weeks, the three daily papers lavished 10 percent of
A weary and saddened people began the long journey
home. A national and international debate was launched
their slim copies on the pope, his life, writings and the
hopes of the people.
about whether the Nicaraguans should have spoken out to
The Nicaraguan government went all out to assure
the pope.
To these two observers, as well as to most of the dozens
of people-Nicaraguan and foreign-with whom we have
William R. Callahan and Dolores C. Pomerleau, co-direc-
talked, the pope bears the major responsibility for what
tors of the Quixote Center in Washington, D.C., were in
happened.
Nicaragua before, during and after the Pope's visit as part of
The people came overwhelmingly ready to welcome
their work on Central America.
him. Had he uttered even a few pastoral sentences recog-
8
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
nizing the "hopes and joys, sufferings and sorrows" of the
peace, with their blood and with their lives.
people, the pope could-and at any time-have recap-
Your Holiness, today you have had the opportunity to
tured their hearts and stilled the chanting.
join with this profoundly Christian people, whose very
When the pope adamantly refused their pleas, a vulner-
Christian sentiments also lead them to love their martyrs,
able and deeply disappointed people cried out their frustra-
to venerate their heroes, to remember their fallen children,
tion in a great chant for peace. They had asked their father
brothers, parents and relatives every day with more respect.
for bread and had received a stone.
And so, this Christian people demands unity in order to
Because the pope had the freedom to choose his words
conquer peace; unity of all moral forces, of all people's
and responses, on him falls the major responsibility.
forces, the forces of religion, the forces of the Church, to
We hope Pope John Paul II can respond to the Nica-
defend peace, to attain peace.
raguan Christians as did St. Peter when confronted by St.
Holiness, today, as you depart from this land of Nica-
Paul. St. Peter acknowledged his failing and promised to
ragua, we express our confidence that Christian solidarity
change.
will favor this suffering people.
It is time for Pope John Paul to apologize, to seek
dialogue and reconciliation with the Nicaraguan
people.
Christian Reflection
This has been reprinted with the permission of the National
Catholic Reporter, P.O. Box 281, Kansas City, MO 64141.
on the Pope's Visit
by a Nicaraguan theological study group
Documents
(1) At the close of Pope John Paul II's visit to Nicaragua
Farewell Speech by Daniel Ortega
we saw the massive determined participation of the Nica-
raguan people as an experience of great value. We are
to Pope John Paul II
puzzled by the accusations of alleged obstacles that kept
some of the people from the meeting with the Pope. We
were able to verify the presence of over 700,000 people in
We, the Nicaraguan people, the Government and the
the July 19th Plaza. The people were able to express
FSLN have made great efforts to give your Holiness the
themselves in a variety of ways in order to communicate
warmest welcome possible.
with the Pope. They forcefully shouted out their anxieties
We were especially interested in the presence of your
and hopes.
Holiness in the Central American region, particularly in
It is possible that some people are not accustomed to this
Nicaragua, because we are a geographically small nation
kind of manifestation by the Nicaraguans; they may have
with a small population, under continuous attack by a
felt strange or uncomfortable. But the people of free
powerful enemy; a small nation which made great sacrifices
Nicaragua were able to express the disquieting voice of the
to gain its freedom. We are now trying to reconstruct this
oppressed people of our continent over the centuries. They
nation, both materially and spiritually.
were the voice of those who in other Latin American
We are a small country, daily subjected to attacks. Every
countries have no voice. In the outburst of the people we
day we lose children, women, elderly, practicing Chris-
Christians had the ever-renewing experience of the God of
tians, who struggled for their people's freedom and who,
the poor, who promises and announces the freedom and
because of their Christian ideals, continue to defend the
salvation of all people.
freedom they conquered.
(2) We appreciate the Pope's having referred to the
Hence when our people say "we want peace," it is born
Nicaraguan people as "vigorous and active in responding to
from a situation of pain, of tears, of permanent martyrdom.
the challenges of history and in striving to build a new
Our people are crucified everyday; they justly and right-
society according to the material needs and the transcen-
fully demand solidarity.
dent dimensions of mankind." We likewise value the
When our people say "we want peace," they say it
Pope's call for peace "to those who inside or outside-
because in this country there is such great poverty that the
wherever they are-favor in one way or another ideolog-
struggle to eat everyday is a formidable task; because the
ical, economic or military tensions which hinder the free
struggle to provide our children with shoes and provide
development of this people-lovers of peace, fraternity
schools so they do not have to work, is a formidable task,
and real human progress." What we see pointed out here is
because this is a poor country; because we have been an
United States imperialism and other enemies of this peo-
exploited country and we are still a country which is
ple-armed forces on the other side of the border, as well
victimized by an unjust international economic order.
as internal groups who create ideological tension-and
For that reason, when our people ask for peace, they
also those who manipulate religion and the Church against
want it not to enrich themselves, because we do not want to
the real process of the people.
enrich ourselves, but rather, they want peace to be able to
(3) To us the language and tone of the Pope's speeches
fulfill their basic necessities for life and subsistence.
seemed admonishing and negative, lacking any connection
When our people say "we want peace," they say it with
with the people whom he addressed. In its religious aspect
conviction; knowing that, in the final analysis, it is this
this language was political. The theological subjects dealt
suffering people, this heroic people, this Christian people
with were beyond the scope of comprehension, we believe,
of Nicaragua, that will defend their right to a dignified
of the great majority of the people. Furthermore, long
9
sentences and the emphases given by the Pope made
Human Rights: continued from page 5
assimilation of the subjects even more difficult. We have
What do you think are the basic gains that the Revolution
the impression that the great majority of the people did not
has made and what are its basic problems with respect to
experience an enlightening presence from their Pastor.
human rights?
(4) It is also our opinion that unfortunately the speeches
of John Paul II ignored values of the Sandinista Revolu-
M.H.: There needs to be a lot more education of all of
tion, such as the historic option for the poor, especially the
us-the people generally, and particularly workers in
campesinos; the endeavor to solve in a spirit of solidarity
government. We need a more collective understanding of
the problems inherent in a new model of economic de-
the issue. And we are starting from scratch since human
velopment; the sacrifices for the defense of the people; the
rights was never something that was practiced here, much
literacy campaign; the undeniable desire to overcome the
less really talked about and understood. It's a new issue for
obstacles in the way of achieving peace; in a word, every-
the revolution to speak to.
thing which at this time constitutes the principal moral
A lot needs to be changed. We have a set of laws from
wealth of the people. This omission provoked irritation and
previous times, a set of commitments which the govern-
disillusionment in many Nicaraguans.
ment has made to its people and international organiza-
(5) We confess that the Holy Father's admonitions
tions, a set of ideological perspectives which the FSLN
about unbelief and atheistic education sounded strange to
exemplifies and phenomena such as the State of Emer-
us, as we experience the presence of Christian motivation
gency which gives the state certain powers. We need to
in the revolutionary process. The Sandinista Revolution, for
systematize all this. We need to create a new legal system
the first time in the recent history of revolutions, has
that more accurately reflects the process. Some laws have
proclaimed the right to religious liberty and the freedom of
been changed but the whole thing needs to be changed. But
apostolic action by the Churches. We feel the same way
all this can't be done overnight. Serious thought is needed.
about his allusions to a division in the Church due to
In the meantime all this sabotage and invasion stuff by
theological reasons, because frictions that occur in the
the counterrevolution is going on in such a way and to such
Christian community are rooted in socio-political options.
an extent that people can't always take as much time out to
There is a constant effort not to break the Church's unity of
do all the things that need to be done. Some things are
faith. Perhaps some of us Christians committed to the
being done but much more would be if there was peace. It's
revolutionary process have not always known how to
a transitional situation. We play an important role in the
safeguard the complete identity of the faith in our temporal
present situation safeguarding and helping to develop
commitments, but we regret that the Pope has never
human rights in the new society that is being created.
referred to the brazen use that groups opposed to the
Revolution in Nicaragua have made of the faith. Tensions
Why do you think that the things we have been talking about
will continue.
are not so well-known in the U.S.?
(6) We do not understand how the struggle for justice
and the option for the poor, which is the only ecumenism
M.H.: It's part of the conscious campaign against Nicara-
that Christians practice in Nicaragua, and precisely by
gua to destabilize, to give the process a bad image in every
those who are inserted in the revolutionary process, can be
part of the world. The truth just does not come out in the
"the source of new and worse ruptures."
U.S.
(7) We realize that people distant from Nicaragua will
Human rights is not a concern or policy of the Reagan
find that the speeches of His Holiness will make it difficult
Administration-he doesn't give a darn about it. Nicara-
to discover the authentic spiritual and ethical values of the
gua, on the other hand, is very interested in human rights.
Nicaraguan Revolution. And, to be sure, the Revolution's
This interest is not an election issue-it's part of the
enemies will use the speeches to confirm their position.
perspective of the revolution. The Sandinista slogan, "Im-
placable in Combat, Generous in Victory," is not just
words-it is policy.
Reprinted from the Bulletin of the Central American
Some of the top leaders and personalities of this revolu-
Historical Institute, Apartado Postal A-194, Managua,
tion lost husbands, wives and children to the work of the
Nicaragua.
Guard. For example, Tomás Borge lost his wife shortly
before the triumph. People here hated Somocismo but it
wasn't a question of a personal grudge or something like
that. Instead they are determined that this new government
will be a government of a just society based on human
rights. That is a constant with the revolution.
Correction: The article entitled "Appropriate Technology
in Housing" in NP number 5 was incorrectly attributed to
Peter Crabtree. The actual author was Tony Ryan, who
conducted the interview in Nicaragua. Both Crabtree and
Margaret Randall
Ryan worked on the introduction. We apologize for this
omission.
demonstration of Mothers of Heroes and Martyrs
10
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
Building Democracy
Three years after the triumph of the Revolution there are
still signs of the destruction caused by the war. Could you
tell us a little of what happened here?
From the Ruins
O.P.: Estelí has a long history of opposition to Somoza.
An Interview About Local
The first union organizing drives, in the late '50s and early
'60s, directly confronted Somoza's economic interests.
Government in Estelí
Most of the educational institutions of northern Nicaragua
are located here, and this was a main base of student
opposition to Somoza. This city was the center of the
by Chip Downs
bourgeois opposition that developed in the early 1940s and
remained active afterwards. And, Estelí was also a cross-
Four years after the overturn of the Somoza dynasty local
roads and logistical base for the revolutionary opposition
governments in Nicaragua are under the authority of three or
operating out of the mountains of the north. The vast
five person councils (JMR-Juntas Municipales de Re-
majority of people here were against Somoza, and their
construcción). Most of their members are former agricultural
opposition had deep roots.
workers, peasants or urban workers who never completed
Nonetheless, the extent of active support received by the
primary school. The areas they govern have remained the same
Frente came as a surprise even to those involved. On
as those during the time of Somoza: 136 municipios (munici-
September 9, 1978, fifteen combatants of the FSLN en-
palities), similar to U.S. countries, consisting of an urban
tered the city, intending to quickly strike at the National
center surrounded by a rural area in which the majority of the
Guard and then abandon the city; similar attacks were
population resides; these 136 municipios are in turn grouped
taking place in other cities, including León, Chinandega
into 16 departamentos.
and Masaya. But the response of the population was
While the geographic subidivisions have not changed, the
overwhelming, and what had been intended to be an attack
personnel, operations and role of government have. Previously
by a small group became an insurrection of an entire city
they were for all practical purposes the province of the landed
armed with nothing more than sticks, stones, and a few
or urban elite, often the personal fief of a wealthy local
hunting rifles. The guerrillas couldn't leave the people in
landowner or businessman. Municipal office was an inter-
that situation, and the insurrection lasted ten days. In the
mediate level of patronage, providing access to a moderate
meantime the Guardia had been suppressing the rebellions
amount of power, income, and corruption for local supporters
in other cities one at a time, until only Estelí was left-and
of the regime. While not all local officials were dishonest, many
it concentrated all of its force here. Estelí was to rise up and
fled with the defeat of Somoza, often replicating on a smaller
be mercilessly bombarded three times, but the first repres-
scale the final acts of pillage of the dictator, as they looted the
sion was the most destructive. Those able to do so left the
local treasury, destroyed existing records of property and
city and stayed in the surrounding area.
population, and carried what equipment they could across the
In April 1979, one hundred guerrillas came back to the
border.
city, and the entire population rose up again. This time
Today the JMRs are composed of people who had no previous
Estelí was the only city in rebellion, but nonetheless held
experience of working in local government, and only about 5
out for a week. The Guardia set up a double circle around
percent of the JMRs' employees had worked for the old regime.
the city, but in a brilliantly executed withdrawal the trap
In fact, the only clear requirements specified for being a
was broken with minimal losses. The one hundred guer-
member of the new JMRs were:
rillas left, accompanied by 3,000 young men and women
who remained in the surrounding mountains and were
one must be over twenty-one years of age, a citizen in the full
integrated into the struggle. Once again the repression was
exercise of one's rights, of known honesty and moral character,
extreme.
be a resident of the locality, and not have had any relations with
the corruption of the previous regime. Ley Creadora de las
When the final offensive began the decision was made to
JMR, Article #5.
hold back before taking Estelí, in order to be sure this
would be the critical insurrection, because of all that the
This has created certain practical problems as people learn to
people of the city had already suffered. The struggle was
deal with new responsibilities, but it is also a clear example of
very difficult this time, too. Somoza even began aerial
the development of broader participation and democracy in
bombardment of the city. But the most important thing is
revolutionary Nicaragua. The following interview illustrating
that we finally won. The destruction was not as great in the
these changes around the country was compiled from discus-
third uprising, both because the Guardia did not have the
sions before and during May 1982, with Orlando Pineda, then
opportunity for revenge it had in the other two, and
head of the JMR of Estelí, the fourth most populous Nicaraguan
because the accumulated destruction had already been
city. Since the interview was made he was named to head the
extremely thorough. The war ended here with liberation on
new regional government office responsible for overseeing and
the 16th of July, with the city largely destroyed and a year's
supporting all the local governments in the northern Region 1.
worth of suffering and sacrifice so great it is impossible to
imagine.
Chip Downs worked in Nicaragua as a technical advisor to the
What was done immediately after the triumph?
Secretaria de Asuntos Municipales (Ministry of Local Government)
O.P.: One of the first things done was to nominate a local
for a total of 18 months in 1981 and 1982. He received his PhD in
City and Regional Planning from U.C. Berkeley. His research on
Junta to represent the new Government of National Re-
local government in Nicaragua was published at greater length in
construction, which was still in Costa Rica, and to oversee
the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, issue IV,
the immediate emergency recovery efforts. This Municipal
1982.
Junta for Reconstruction (JMR) was nominated by the
11
FSLN leaders from this area and ratified in a massive public
its candidate. The choices were made not on the basis of
assembly. It was composed of honest respected individuals
campaign promises but rather the past history, commit-
involved in the opposition to Somoza. Four of the five were
ment and work of each person. Then there were assemblies
from the middle class, and one was a worker who now
in the nine zones of the city, to consider the three candi-
heads the departmental militia. They were elected in the
dates proposed by their component barrios. These nine
first very emotional days of the revolution, and responded
candidates were finally taken before a city-wide assembly
well to the needs of the time.
of the CDSs, and I was elected.
The immediate problems they faced were to house and
There was a similar process in the CST (Central Sandi-
feed the majority of the population, bring about a sense of
nista de Trabajadores-Sandinista Workers' Federation):
security and peace, begin reconstruction and create jobs.
each union presented a candidate to a general assembly of
First there wsa the huge amount of personal suffering to
all union members, and they selected Filemon Moncada.
overcome: more than 20 percent of the city's population
Filemon is a worker of peasant family who has been a
had been killed by the National Guard, and about 60
revolutionary throughout his more than fifty years: he was
percent of the housing was largely or totally destroyed.
one of the founders of the first unions here in 1958/59, and
Less than 10 percent of normal industrial and commercial
was active both as an organizer and combatant in the
activity was taking place: of a dozen drugstores before the
liberation war. He is in charge of the finances of the JMR
war, only two remained; of seven appliance stores, one was
and, although he never had the opportunity to finish
left; of five cigar factories, one was left; none of the fifteen
primary school, he carries out the work well.
major furniture factories was operating; schools, churches,
The ATC (Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo-
theaters, and public buildings had all been heavily dam-
Farmworkers' Association) selected Alfredo Arnos, a
aged or destroyed. Finally, most of the city's streets had
younger worker/artisan from a peasant family who also
been destroyed, whether by being torn up by the people to
took part in the liberation struggle. He is twenty-eight
make barricades, or destroyed by tanks and bombardment.
years old and in charge of the work of the JMR in the rural
If in the rest of the country unemployment was about 40
areas.
percent, here it was much nearer to 90 percent.
This is one of the few cities where a political party is
In those first days of recovery, and ever since then, we
directly represented on the local Junta. Given the long
have also benefited from significant amounts of interna-
history of bourgeois opposition to Somoza based especially
tional solidarity and assistance; that has been very im-
in the Partido Liberal Independiente in Estelí, this party
portant in helping us to overcome the initial problems.
was asked to select a representative. They chose José
There were many sources of aid, but the largest were a
Simón Delgado, a doctor, in recognition of his active
donation of rice from the Swiss government and a low
participation since 1944. He does not have any administra-
interest loan for reconstruction from the World Bank. The
tive position in local government, but takes part in the
Nicaraguan government provided very liberal aid to busi-
biweekly council meetings.
ness and factory owners to get their activities underway
The fifth member of the Junta was chosen by AMNLAE
again.
(Asociación de Mujeres Nicaragüenses Luisa Amanda
Espinosa-Nicaraguan Women's Association). Mercedes
Why did the first Junta come to an end?
Rosales, in her early forties, from a middle class family of
O.P.: The first Junta was just right for the emergency
one of the other municipios of the department, began
period immediately following the war. But while the
political activities before the triumph in AMPRONAC
people were all quite honest, they were not accustomed to
(Asociación de Mujeres para el Problemática Nacional),
working in the open way based on continuous communica-
and is now a fulltime organizer for AMNLAE, attending
tion with the people that has characterized government
the biweekly meetings of the Junta.
since the Revolution. The distance between them and the
people increased, and even decisions that were correct and
done for the right reasons were sometimes questioned
because they had not been explained clearly or debated
publicly. In November 1980 the JMR was considering a
new local tax schedule which would have raised taxes on
local businesses. The business organizations were opposed
and were able to get support from the various mass
organizations of the city, and the JMR was removed. [The
law states that the JMRs can be removed and a new one
named in response to petitions by the mass organizations of
the community. It is worth noting that the JMRs in four of
the five municipios of the department of Estelí have been
replaced following this procedure.]
How was the next Junta, the one you coordinate, selected?
O.P.: When it came time to select the second JMR great
care was taken that this time the selection procedure would
guarantee greater participation and representation. I was
selected by the CDSs (Comités de Defensa Sandinista-
Tony Ryan
neighborhood-level Sandinista Defense Committees).
First, there were general assemblies of the population in
each of the 27 barrios of the city, and each barrio selected
12
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
obligations.
[Based in part on the example of the Consultative
Council of Estelí, by mid-1982 such Municipal Develop-
ment Councils were operating in nearly three-quarters of
the municipios nationally.]
Estelí is the main city of the department of the same name.
What relations do you have with the other municipios of the
area?
O.P.: There is no departmental level government, but for
about a year now the JMRs of the five municipios [plus one
more from an adjacent department whose access is through
Tony Ryan
Estelí] have been meeting once a month in an intermunicipal
assembly. We discuss shared problems and possible solu-
tions, organize our requests to the central government, and
do a certain amount of sharing of resources from the richer
to the poorer areas. It has also been very useful as a forum
I myself was born into a working class family 48 years
to deal all at one time with problems that may exist with a
ago, although I have been an office worker most of my life.
particular central government agency, as well as for reduc-
My first political activity was distributing leaflets for oppo-
ing the frequency of trips to Managua to solve problems.
sition parties when I was eight or nine. I've always been
bothered by poverty, never accepted that some people
The Reagan administration has been arguing that Nicara-
must live in misery when others by their side are living
gua is building a huge military machine which is a threat to
luxuriously, so I've been involved in opposition and anti-
its neighbors; the suggestion has even been made that it is a
Somoza activities all my life.
threat to the Mexican oil fields. What do you think of U.S.
That's who makes up the JMR elected in November
policy toward Nicaragua?
1980. It is important to note that while each of us was
O.P.: It could look as if Nicaragua has a big military, but
selected by a different organization, we try to represent all
that is because this is a revolutionary country and all its
the people and interests of the community, not just one
citizens are prepared to take up arms to defend the
sector.
Revolution. Thus, the apparently huge military presence
How did you respond to the crisis that had brought the first
one sees is because the voluntary citizens' militias are
Junta to an end?
everwhere: people are receiving basic training in every
factory and office, neighborhood and village. But if we look
O.P.: When we were elected we analyzed the conflict with
at the types of weapons we have been obliged to acquire, it
the business and other organizations of the community. We
is obvious that they are defensive, not offensive.
concluded that the real problem was not the proposed new
We have seen what war is, the destruction and sacrifice of
tax schedule, but rather the lack of communication be-
war-we lived through it here in this city. That is why we
tween the JMR and the people, who didn't feel truly
are defenders of peace. If we are obliged to arm ourselves it
represented by it. We met with the leaders of the different
is precisely in order to defend the peace we have won and
organizations to discuss the situation and our desire to
the new society we are building, not to carry war to
include all the different sectors of the population in the
neighboring countries. We are in a process of reconstruc-
reconstruction of the city. Out of these meetings came a
tion; it is ridiculous to think we might want war with other
Consultative Council that meets once a month to discuss
Central American countries-they are our brothers and
local issues. It is composed of representatives of the
we want peace, as do the people of these other countries.
different mass organizations (CDS, CST, ATC,
The most ridiculous thing of all is to think we could be a
AMNLAE, UNAG), the FSLN, the Chamber of Com-
threat to the Mexican people, when Mexico has always
merce, the Chamber of Industry, and includes a doctor and
opened its arms to us and supported us both before and
a priest as well.
since the Revolution. Nicaragua is not a threat to any
The work of this Council has had a number of benefits,
country.
such as the strong support of the Church and private sector
All we have done, as our national leaders have said, is to
during the health campaigns, as well as their general
exercise the right to arm ourselves to defend ourselves.
integration into local efforts. People now understand why
This we must do because of the real threat posed by the
certain things are done, or are impossible due to lack of
destabilization and military presence of the U.S. in Central
resources. Priorities on some projects have been changed,
America: training and arming ex-Guardia Nacional troops
such as the decision of the Council to pave the main streets
and mercenaries, developing their logistical bases in Hon-
going to the outlying poor barrios before repairing those in
duras, and supporting the most rightwing war-oriented
the central commercial area. We were happy to do that, but
wing of the Honduran military. The U.S. government
would have done the opposite without the Council's recom-
policy does not surprise me, since that government has
mendation. Finally, the greater confidence and coopera-
always felt it had the right to do as it wished with the people
tion of the private sector is seen in two further ways: first,
and governments of Central America. When it found it was
increasing local investment; and secondly, the new tax
unable to stop the Sandinista Revolution, it began taking
schedule that was supposedly the source of all the new
other measures to undermine it.
problems was adopted without opposition, and tax receipts
At the same time, it is very important to remember that
have gone up even more than anticipated as the business
the people of the U.S. have once again shown their nobility
organizations see to it that their members respect their
continued on page 29
13
spoke out about issues of justice was labeled a communist;
Life in a Salvadoran
students who spoke out were labeled communist and the
university was closed, parts of the medical profession spoke
out and were labeled communist and came under attack,
Liberated Zone
and religions workers spoke out and came under attack,
culminating in the assassination of Archbishop Romero.
An Interview with
I thought it was important that I try to work there in the
medical sector and as a witness for the American people.
Dr. Charles Clements
Sometimes it is difficult for Americans to believe people of
other races, cultures and languages as much as they can
by Jim Eitel
believe someone who has had similar experiences to their
own.
Charles Clements's father was in the Air Force, and like his
elder brother he went to the Air Force Academy. In 1967 he
graduated second in his class and went for further pilot's
training. He went to Southeast Asia, where he flew over fifty
C-130 support flights to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. He knew
of the growing U.S. involvement in Laos and Cambodia, and
when he realized that American leaders all the way up to the
President were keeping this secret from the public and Con-
gress, he became disillusioned. In 1970, with only three months
to go, he told his superiors that he would по longer fly his
missions and requested a transfer; they responded by sending
him to a psychiatric hospital for 10 months.
After he was finally discharged, he traveled widely, including
in Latin America, and decided to attend medical school. After
graduation, he did a year of residency in Salinas, California,
where many of his patients were farmworkers, and found that he
was the only physician willing to report cases of pesticide
Ron Delany
toxicity.
While in Salinas, he became acquainted with Salvadoran
refugees, and their stories led him to be concerned about
How do your beliefs as a Quaker relate to your work in El
another U.S. war closer to home. After learning that health
Salvador?
services were tremendously lacking in El Salvador, he went to
work as a physician for civilians in the rebel-controlled zone
C.C.: The Quakers have for years worked toward social
known as Guazapa. Now, after a year's work in El Salvador, he
justice, whether that was running an underground railway
has returned to share his experiences with the American people.
during and before the civil war in this country to address
This interview was recorded in San Francisco in April 1983
issues of slavery, or working with farmworkers or Quaker
and was edited by Jim Eitel.
work in the midst of armed struggle to bring about dialogue
and contribute to non-violent solutions.
How did you make your decision to go and work in El
I've been asked about the contradiction between my
Salvador?
commitment to non-violence and working in the middle of
C.C.: I relate it to three themes. One is that I was
a revolution on the side of the guerrillas. I examined this
motivated to do educational work about El Salvador when
contradiction in great depth. I work as a physician, which is
I read a report entitled "Abuses of Medical Neutrality" by
defined as neutral by the Geneva conventions, and I made
American physicians who visited El Salvador. This spoke
it clear to the guerrillas that I wished to remain a non-
about the campaign of terror directed against the health
combatant; my primary responsibility has been to a civilian
sector in El Salvador, which denied many, many people
population.
health care and was also a gross violation of all the Geneva
Out of respect for my religious beliefs and commitment to
conventions related to medical work. It told of physicians
non-violence, the guerrillas have facilitated my work in the
being killed in operating rooms, patients being dragged
Quaker tradition of promoting dialogue. They have al-
from their beds, and similar events, and it had a profound
lowed me to send uncensored letters to the U.S. reflecting
impact on me.
my observations and opinions on what is happening in El
Salvador.
A second reason was that I was working with farm-
workers in Salinas, California, and I began to see refugees
Now I'm in the U.S. to promote a peaceful solution,
from El Salvador who bore the physical and psychological
because I think the greatest obstacle to peace in Central
marks of torture; this personal contact with the refugees
America is U.S. foreign policy. I was very pleased recently
moved me.
to see the revelation of a secret National Security Council
The third reason was that I began to hear rhetoric from
document which showed that, yes, the Administration has
our State Department very similar to what I had heard in
tried to keep Congress from attaching negotiations as a
Vietnam. What I saw was that anybody in El Salvador who
condition for further military aid to Central America.
Do you think of yourself as a Marxist?
NP Editorial Board member Jim Eitel worked for six months in
Nicaragua in 1981 as a pediatrician and has made subsequent trips
C.C.: No, I don't consider myself a Marxist, but I think I
to gather new material for the magazine.
have seen in the controlled zones where I worked in El
14
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
Salvador that Marxism and Christianity coexist very com-
most; the fish caught by the fishing cooperatives go to
fortably because both are concerned with social justice.
pregnant women and wounded patients who need extra
Perhaps, because it's the scare tactic used by the Govern-
protein; and honey produced in the bee collectives is saved
ment of El Salvador and the U.S. State Department, there
as much as possible for the combatants who often need
has been an overemphasis on the Marxist element of the
quick energy food while they are on the march.
Revolution. I see Marxists as one small part of a broad
The spiritual base of the conflict is still very much alive.
coalition of the FDR (Revolutionary Democratic Front),
There is no priest in Guazapa, but the base communities
which includes Christian Democrats, Social Democrats,
continue and the delegates of the word lead worship
union leaders, lawyers, physicians, schoolteachers, campe-
services; people are still hungry for the spiritual nourish-
sinos and religious workers.
ment that they received before the open conflict began,
when there were many priests who worked in the area.
What was your work in El Salvador?
Could you describe the periodic evacuations of Guazapa
C.C.: I worked in the controlled zone known as Guazapa
which are necessitated by government sweeps?
for a year. My primary responsibility was working with the
civilian population, which included teaching health work-
C.C.: The guïnda, a Salvadoran term meaning to flee, has
ers, developing curricula for school children, coordinat-
become a way of life; there have been 12 major invasions of
ing public health works and acute medical care. I have
Guazapa in two-and-one-half years. When government
treated guerrillas and wounded government soldiers, be-
troops approach, people flee with as many of their posses-
cause I don't deny health services to anyone, but my
sions as they can carry to the more isolated areas such as
primary responsibility has been the civilian population.
wooded areas and ravines; they wait it out until the
government troops have left. The guerrillas have learned
some sophisticated means of defense, but they can't stop
the large numbers that come with these operations. Their
Children's drawings are filled with heli-
task is to slow down the entry of soldiers, to give the civilian
copters, soldiers with rifles, and images of
population time to bury foodstuffs, prepare tortillas that
will sustain them while they are in hiding, and evacuate the
dead people and children.
women, children and the elderly.
In October, the village where I was working was attacked
by a U.S.-trained battalion; a small defense force was sent
to delay their entry. Evacuations cannot occur during the
As a physician, how do you view the health of the Salva-
day because the spotter planes could call in the bombers
doran people?
which attack the fleeing civilians. That day the approaching
soldiers were held off for 12 hours; the men hid their
C.C.: I see children who look seven to eight years old who
livestock in the hills and buried some food supplies that
are actually 12; I see this reflected in the stature of
would have to last until the next harvest. The women
Salvadorans, which led me to be labeled as tall, something
prepared tortillas all day and packed whatever belongings
I've never considered myself in the U.S.
they thought they could carry; those of us in the health
There is less malnutrition, frank malnutrition in
sector prepared bandages and packed up the clinic to be
Guazapa than exists outside the front. Refugees chose to
able to carry it on our backs. The teachers packed up the
come into Guazapa and live in an area that is bombed and
few schoolbooks they had.
rocketed every day rather than live with the terrorism they
Late in the afternoon, mortar shells began to fall around
are subjected to by government troops; there is more frank
the village; the civilian population waited with great disci-
malnutrition in people entering the zone than exists inside
pline until darkness to begin the evacuation, when they led
Guazapa.
their small children away, carrying their tortillas and
How is the vision of a new society developing in the liberated
possessions. The youngest children were drugged with
zones?
Valium to keep them from crying because they evacuated
right under the nose of the government troops. We hid in
C.C.: The area I worked in reflects some of the hopes for a
the bushes for two days until the smoke and gunfire we
post-revolutionary society. Health care is free and every-
heard from the village subsided; we returned to find the
one has a similar access to it; the emphasis is on education
village almost totally destroyed.
and preventative medicine. Education is free and the
The troops had found and slaughtered most of the
emphasis has been on adult literacy.
livestock. They had basically destroyed every possession in
The cooperatives in Guazapa are a reflection of the
the village: every spoon and fork was broken, every plate
cooperatives and collectives which came out of the work of
and saucer had an M-16 bullet through it, and all the family
the Catholic church and its organizers in the 1970s; their
pictures on the walls were destroyed. What caused the
efforts have intensified since the government attacks have
greatest anguish was the desecration of the pictures of the
necessitated the creation of controlled zones. The agri-
saints and the Blessed Virgin which everybody seems to
cultural cooperatives feed the people as best as they can, in
have on the walls of their homes. The only surprise was that
addition to private farming which exists there. People
they had only burned some of the homes; usually they burn
either work half time for the cooperatives and half for
all of them to the ground in these operations.
themselves, or they work full time for the cooperatives.
That day we found upon returning to the village the body
Everyone knows that if you're hungry in Guazapa,
of one of my patients; he was a 76 year old man who had
probably everyone else is too, but there is a prioritization
bad arthritis and didn't want to be evacuated in a hammock
and distribution of foodstuffs. For instance, the milk from
and be a burden, so he had stayed behind and hidden. They
the dairy cooperatives goes to the children who need it the
had almost twisted his arms off, and that's not uncharacter-
15
istic of the signs of mutilation and torture I saw in civilians
it more frequently, but they know the reaction it provoked
caught by government soldiers.
in themselves and they are aware that they need to behave
in a very disciplined fashion.
How do you think the situation affects children psycho-
I have certainly seen the atrocities committed by govern-
logically?
ment troops; everyone in Guazapa knows what happens to
C.C.: It has to have some very profound effects on chil-
any civilians who are caught during the invasions. I don't
dren, both in the controlled zones and outside of them. I'm
think it's necessary to describe the mutilation of human
struck by the children's drawings in Guazapa when they get
bodies or the raping of women or other acts I've seen, but
a piece of paper; their drawings are filled with helicopters
they are numerous.
and aircraft that are machine-gunning, with soldiers who
have rifles, and they are filled with images of dead people
and dead children as well.
I think that what is happening in El Salva-
You mentioned that wounded and captured government
soldiers were brought to you; what has been your experience
dor is no more than a reaction to condi-
with them?
tions, to watching children starve, to not
C.C.: The FMLN gave me the responsibility of being the
being able to form unions.
liaison to the International Red Cross, to arrange the
release of prisoners of war. In that capacity, I ensured that
the Geneva conventions were complied with; I often
Both the Salvadoran government and the State Department
treated wounded soldiers or passed on letters from them to
refer to the guerrillas as terrorists. Is terror part of the
be sent to their families via the good offices of the Red
guerrilla tactic?
Cross.
C.C.: You used a very interesting word, "terrorist," and I
think that is the word used by the Administration to
Families of deserters from the Salvadoran
discredit people who are struggling in El Salvador. A
terrorist is someone who strikes fear in the population by
army are murdered as a warning to other
random acts of violence.
soldiers.
Guerrilla is a term used with pride in El Salvador because
a guerrilla is someone fighting to win the confidence of the
people they hope to govern some day. Now I know that
I've met many government soldiers and I found things in
there may be acts of violence by the guerrillas that some-
El Salvador which didn't surprise me because I had seen
times cost them popularity, but I personally haven't ob-
them in this country. When we had refugees speak in
served that. I haven't seen evaluations after any military
Salinas, several times they told us it would be better if they
action in which civilians were killed to see if there had been
were not photographed by the press or, if they did, they
poor planning or execution.
should use masks; this was because families of refugees
I just have to contrast that with the completely undisci-
were being threatened in El Salvador if the refugees spoke
plined behavior of the soldiers, because I had to deal with
out in this country.
the bodies of civilians caught in their sweep operations. I
This is a method of terrorism used to ensure discipline in
had to live with the daily bombings or rocketings or
the Salvadoran army. I met a deserter in Mexico City who
strafings that take place in Guazapa entirely without regard
described how his family was murdered after he deserted,
to civilian or military targets.
and how most of the soldiers knew that this could result if
they dared to disobey orders. When I've asked many of the
soldiers why they participated in the search and destroy
operations or why they didn't desert if they didn't want to,
The guerrillas don't want the bloodshed,
the answer is uniformly the same: they fear retribution
economic ruin and capital flight that a
against their families and cite instances of deserters' pic-
military victory would mean.
tures being posted on bulletin boards with inscriptions such
as "family killed in crossfire" as a warning to them.
The State Department likes to say that atrocities are com-
The Reagan Administration says that the conflict in El
mitted equally by both "extremes," and that the moderates
Salvador is the result of subversion by Russia, Cuba and
are caught in the middle. Have you seen atrocities by the
Nicaragua. What do you see as the origin of the conflict?
guerrillas?
C.C.: There is no sign of outside intervention by any
C.C.: Frankly, I'm surprised that there are not more
outside force that I've seen except the United States. For
atrocities committed by the guerrillas, and I've never
me the roots of the conflict are in the economic and social
personally seen any. I have seen guerrillas disciplined for
conditions that exist there: the concentration of much of
acts considered against the code of conduct. The young
the wealth in the hands of a sector not willing to share it; the
man who took me across enemy lines the first time was 12
large concentration of landholdings and the emphasis on
years old, and I asked him why he had incorporated; he told
cash crops instead of food; the inability of the government
me that he had watched his mother raped by six or eight
to develop social programs such as education and health
soldiers, and then had to watch with his brothers and sisters
care that reach the large segments of the population which
while they blew her brains out. After people experience
lie outside the cities; and very certainly the brutal repres-
that kind of violence, I'm surprised that they don't resort to
sion of the military in El Salvador.
16
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
I think that what is happening in El Salvador is no more
The Reagan Administration has announced a sophisticated
than a reaction to conditions, to watching children starve,
counterinsurgency campaign for El Salvador; based on your
or being unable to form unions, or as one of the campesinos
experience in Southeast Asia, how do you think this will
put it, to watching the landlord's children drink milk every
affect El Salvador?
day and be taken to a pediatrician when they're sick, when
his own children would die when they were sick and had
C.C.: Most of the programs which emerged in Southeast
never been able to drink milk.
Asia-whether they were called strategic hamlets prog-
During your year in El Salvador, did you see Cubans or
rams or village pacification programs-were designed to
others fighting alongside the guerrillas?
control access of the peasant leaders to their population.
Probably the most flagrant example of human rights viola-
C.C.: I never met a Cuban or Nicaraguan, and I'm sure
tions by the U.S. in Southeast Asia was the Phoenix
that even if they wanted to fight as private citizens, it
program, which was part of the CORDS program run by
wouldn't be allowed, for fear of provoking intervention by
AID. Phoenix was run by William Colby; most of the
the U.S. I have met other individuals with the guerrillas
public figures on this come from Colby's CIA confirmation
who are there out of acts of conscience like myself, but
hearings of 1974 and from a book by CIA station chief in
mostly I've seen physicians, because the Salvadoran guer-
Saigon William Snepp entitled Decent Interval; it was
rillas don't need combatants from other countries; there
estimated that about 25,000 suspected peasant sympa-
are plenty of young men waiting to take up arms. I've seen
thizers were assassinated by the CIA. I was literally
people from West Germany, France, Spain, Mexico,
shocked recently when the administration said openly-I
Colombia and other countries; but I've not met anyone
read it in the L.A. Times-that we hope to implement a
from the Eastern bloc.
Phoenix-like program as part of CORDS in El Salvador.
Do you think that the role being given to Honduras by the
The American people need to dig back in their memories to
Administration will increase the danger of a regionalized
what the Phoenix program was in Southeast Asia.
conflict?
C.C.: I think that this is very, very possible. In El Salvador
There seem to be three new alternatives to end the Salvado-
I was isolated in terms of receiving printed material or
ran conflict: a military victory by one side, negotiations, as
anything but listening to the radio, but as long as a year ago,
the FDR/FMLN has proposed, or elections; can you com-
I said that the architects of the hidden war in Cambodia
ment on this?
were Haig, Enders and Negroponte amongst others; those
C.C.: Let me give an overall answer. I've had discussions
are the same people using the neutrality of a third country
with some of the leaders of the FDR as well as guerrilla
to attack other countries which are standing in the way of
commanders in El Salvador; they have said that a military
U.S. interests. The National Security Council document I
solution is not in the best interests of the Salvadoran
referred to which said that Congress must be kept from
people. That is, they don't want the bloodshed that a
forcing negotiations is a painful example of U.S. interest in
military victory would mean, because they are losing 1,000
regionalizing the conflict.
people a month.
The effects on Cambodia were disastrous, because a
The U.S. lost 50,000 people in 10 years in Southeast
peaceful country that was not involved in the conflict was
Asia, and the American people still consider it a great
ravaged by war, including some of the heaviest bombings in
tragedy. The poulation of El Salvador is one-fortieth that
modern times, directed by the U.S. but hidden from the
of the U.S., so they're losing the equivalent of 40,000
U.S. Congress. I think that probably what is happening in
people a month, and a negotiated settlement could bring
Honduras today is similar in that the real extent of U.S.
that to an end more rapidly than a military victory.
involvement is only marginally known to the U.S. Congress
The guerrillas are very aware of the economic destruc-
and public; if we can see the tip of the iceberg, then we can
tion a military victory would mean; they have called for a
only guess at what is below the surface.
mixed economy and feel that the private sector has a lot to
contribute; they don't want the economic ruin or capital
flight that a military solution would mean.
Finally, the guerrillas are very aware that there are only
two places to turn for reconstruction aid and they don't
wish to be isolated from Western countries. The FDR has
called for a policy of non-alignment which would allow
them to turn to the West or the East. [In Nicaragua's case,
49 percent of its current foreign aid is from third world
countries, 32 percent from western industrialized states
and 18 percent from the socialist countries. If the conflict
ends in a military victory for the guerrillas, they may be
considered an enemy of the U.S., not only unable to secure
aid in reconstruction, but subject to the same kind of
economic and military subversion that is happening to
Nicaragua today.
You were in the country during the March 1982 elections.
Do you think they were truly fair, and could the presidential
elections the U.S. is pushing for be a fair solution?
17
C.C.: There was a termendous amount of disinformation
the ability of U.S. economic and security interests to
about the elections that occurred. I'm surprised that many
operate with impunity throughout much of Latin and
of the election observers did not comment on the cedulas
Central America. I think the misunderstanding of the
that are a way of life in El Salvador. Everyone has to carry
consequences of aligning ourselves with Great Britain in
this I.D. card; to be caught without it is a sign of guerrilla
the Malvinas war is a good example of the poor judgment of
sympathy. Not to have the election stamp in your cedula is
the Administration; there was no understanding of what
also considered a sign of guerrilla sympathy, and many,
that meant to the people of Latin America.
many people voted out of fear, because not to have the
stamp was a sure sign of responding to the call for an
Now that you've left El Salvador, how do you see the
situation in the U.S.?
election boycott by the guerrillas.
I knew guerrillas who go back and forth to San Salvador
C.C.: I think the people of the U.S. are beginning to see
who voted apologetically because they needed the stamp; I
through and understand the deception of the State Depart-
had government workers tell me they would not receive
ment and the Salvadoran government with regard to the
their paycheck if they didn't have the election stamp.
legitimacy of the struggle, the roots of the struggle and the
Also, three days before the election, the ARENA party
allegations of outside interference. For instance, in two
objected to allowing the number on the corner of the ballot
years, why hasn't the most sophisticated intelligence serv-
to be torn off, as this would be a mutilation of the ballot. As
ice in the world, which has pilots who say they can fly over
a result, in many precincts, voters feared that there would
El Salvador and take a picture of a pack of cigarettes and
be a written record of how they had voted, because they
read the print on it, why hasn't it come up with the evidence
had to sign their name on a list next to the ballot number.
of this massive flow of arms from the outside? My feeling is
But I think even more important is that in a country that
that it is because it doesn't exist.
has absolutely no rule of law, no due process, no freedom
of speech, assembly or press, elections are meaningless.
The U.S. is trying to isolate the guerrillas by saying that they
don't have popular support because people turned out for
The people of the U.S. are beginning to
an election, but consider the historical example of
see through and understand the deception
Zimbabwe. The government-sponsored candidate Bishop
Muzorewa received a plurality when elections were held
of the State Department and the Salva-
under circumstances very similar to El Salvador, in which
doran government.
there was no restructuring of the security forces and no real
freedom of press, assembly or speech for the opposition to
participate. After those conditions were changed with
What do you think that the U.S. people think about what is
negotiations, Bishop Muzorewa won less than 1 percent of
occurring in El Salvador and Central America?
the vote. That is why the guerrillas are insisting on negotia-
tions before elections, and why the U.S. is insisting on
C.C.: I don't think that they're aware of the extent of U.S.
elections before negotiations.
involvement there. But I think they have fears of being
engulfed in another conflict like Southeast Asia in which
What do you think would happen if the U.S. stopped
they have not given their approval of U.S. participation.
intervening in El Salvador?
For instance, of the billion dollars of military aid that
Reagan will have sent to El Salvador if he gets his latest
C.C.: I think the government would negotiate very rap-
request, 60 percent has been sent by means that bypass the
idly. Ian Smith, who led the white opposition in Zimbabwe,
U.S. Congress, by special appropriations, by reprogram-
stated that he would fight to the last man rather than
ming or other maneuvers designed to avoid approval by the
negotiate, but when he was internationally isolated, he
representatives of the U.S. people. I think within the last
negotiated very quickly and a peaceful solution was
month he clearly stated that if the Congress didn't approve
reached in short order.
of his $60 million in reprogramming, he would get the money
anyway. I think this shows his determination to perhaps
Do you think that negotiations or a military victory by the
drag the American people unwillingly into another conflict
FDR/FMLN represent a danger to the U.S.?
in which they have no business participating.
C.C.: I can see no threat to the security of the United
What has been the response from the U.S. public to your
States from a guerrilla victory or a negotiated settlement.
message?
The way U.S. economic interests can freely operate in
C.C.: I'm receiving a warm response from the American
Central and Latin America is what is being threatened by
public as a whole; there are those who are attacking me as a
the conflict in El Salvador.
guerrilla propagandist or as a communist sympathizer in
Why do you think the Administration doesn't respect the
my work here; but I'm speaking to a wide variety of
opinion of the majority of the American people?
audiences and not just those who are necessarily working
toward peace in Central America, and I've been pleased
C.C.: I think that there are those in the Administration
with the openness with which they receive my message.
who sincerely believe the rhetoric of the Administration,
I also hope to give American citizens the courage to back
who feel that there is a communist threat; I think they see
their opinions in opposing more military aid to El Salvador
the world in black and white, and do not realize that people
with more concrete actions because public opinion polls
can be struggling against oppression and not have been
show that a large majority are opposed but they don't seem
inspired by communist propaganda. I also think that others
to be able to convey that message with enough strength to
are very aware of the threat this kind of struggle means for
the U.S. Congress.
18
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
corn. The eighth campamento is composed of nearly 200
"An Act of Solidarity"
refugees from Guatemala.
What is the daily life like?
A Discussion About Refugees
M.G.: Life in the settlements continues to evolve. In
in Nicaragua
some, there are families still living in tents. However, they
by Karen Turtle
are constructing small houses and thereby improve the
conditions in which they live. Every family receives indi-
vidual help. The members organize themselves and distrib-
In September 1982 there were close to 20,000 Salvadoran
ute the work. They organize what they call a "kitchen
and 200 Guatemalan refugees in Nicaragua. At that time
collective" which consists of women in separate groups;
approximately 5,000 of these were assisted by the National
these groups form a weekly rotation cooking for the whole
Office of Refugees (ONR). They are dispersed throughout
community. In this same way they organize the cleaning of
Nicaragua, living in cities, private homes, rented houses or in
the entire camp. Vigilance committees take care of security
the settlements which were created by the ONR.
for everyone. They organize health committees which
Working with the United Nations' High Commission on
consist of health brigadiers who collaborate with the doc-
Refugees, the ONR helps the refugees solve their problems by
tor. And they organize a type of day care center for the
making available the necessary resources. A nutritionist visits
children; this enables the women to have time for other
each camp weekly, teaching the women good nutritional prac-
duties. The day care centers are staffed by the same people
tice which they hope to take back one day to El Salvador and
continuously to permit a calm, unchanging atmosphere for
Guatemala. She also meets with the women to talk about their
the children.
problems as refugees living in Nicaragua and to raise their
The settlements differ in the composition of the family
consciousness about what is happening locally and why it is
groups that comprise them. There exist settlements with
important for them.
predominantly "vulnerable" people, that is women and
Isabel Solis, a Salvadoran refugee who works with the ONR,
children. Other groups have predominantly men and so are
feels that the Sandinista government is giving much attention to
concerned mostly with agriculture.
the refugees in order to help them reconstruct their lives. She
told me, "Refugees feel safe in Nicaragua; they can walk the
What types of services does the ONR provide?
streets at night undisturbed, unlike in Costa Rica and Hon-
M.G.: With respect to these settlements, all receive the
duras. In Nicaragua the refugees live in favorable conditions;
same attention from our office. They are visited weekly by
those who live outside of the camps live the same as Nicara-
a doctor, by social workers and also by other people from
guans do. The Salvadorans see what the Sandinistas are doing
the office according to their needs.
for them as an act of solidarity."
The aid that the ONR is providing is not limited to the
Also involved with the ONR is Dr. Mauricio Gomez, a
bare essentials. There is a Department of Education which
Colombian physician, who was interviewed in September 1982
visits the camps and surveys the educational needs of the
by Karen Turtle.
adults and school-age children. Then they organize training
I interviewed Dr. Gomez during the drive from Managua to
courses for literacy workers who are taken from each
one of the refugee camps. As we turned onto the dry, dusty road
settlement. After training, these literacy workers teach
leading to the camp I saw a splash of color in the distance. We
classes to the whole camp. Professional teachers also live in
bounced over the bumpy road; the splash became a procession
the camps, developing the primary grades for the children.
of children carrying their saint." "They are from the
Although this educational program was developed in a very
campamento," said Dr. Gomez. "They pray for the end of the
short time, it is quite effective. Those refugees who arrive
drought."
having partially completed their high school studies receive
Could you describe the refugee camps?
scholarships and are brought to the cities, where they are
provided with room and board, a uniform and the neces-
M.G.: There are presently eight campamentos, or settle-
sary books and supplies. Those refugees living in or near
ments in several of Nicaragua's northwestern provinces.
the cities attend the public schools.
"Las Elicias" has a population of about 100. "Colectivo
Luciano Vilches" is composed of both Salvadorans and
What is the economic role of the camps?
Nicaraguans who are working the land; they have already
M.G.: The Department of Projects, which is in charge of
sown and harvested crops of corn and beans. "Proyecto
direct relations with the National Institute for Agrarian
Sergo Escobero" is only 3 months old, but already the men
Reform (INRA), makes the necessary studies to obtain
are building wooden houses for the 150 Salvadorans and
land and create productive settlements, whether they are
Nicaraguans who live there. They are planting and harvest-
of Salvadorans alone or integrated cooperatives of Salva-
ing sorghum, which is used for cattle and poultry feed.
dorans and Nicaraguans. In this way, the refugees, who are
Approximately 150 Nicaraguans and Salvadorans form
mostly peasants, become a vital part of the country's
"Proyecto El Yucero," which is growing and processing
production, and the campamentos become somewhat
yucca. One of the oldest settlements, "Campamento
independent.
Monseñor Arnulfo Romero," has about 350 people; since
there isn't land for production, this is considered a "transi-
What arrangements are made for health care in the camps?
tional site." The refugees remain here only until a new
M.G.: The primary emphasis is on preventative medicine,
location is found for them, generally an agricultural one.
such as vaccination and proper nutrition of children,
"Refugio Juan Chacon" shelters close to 250 people. A
pregnant women and nursing mothers. The Ministry of
new Settlement, "Proyecto Henequen," lodges 80 refu-
Health sets the standard for us, and we think of ourselves as
gees; it raises and processes henequen, as well as beans and
a team which is attempting to give better care and attention
19
to the refugees. All of the children are weighed monthly.
They are allotted a monthly ration of powdered milk; this
ration is higher for the malnourished.
The National Office's Health Workers do not limit
themselves to medical problems. They also handle other
problems of an individual or social nature. Our most recent
project is the formation of Mental Health Brigades. This
area worries us and we want to stop the continuing
deterioration of the mental health of the refugees. We are
forming therapy and support groups for all those who need
them.
Does the ONR receive any international aid?
M.G.: I want to make very clear that the attitude of the
Revolutionary Government and of all the people of Nica-
ragua is of firm support for and solidarity with the Salva-
doran and Guatemalan refugees. This is so despite the
Karen Turtle
difficult economic and political situation which we are
experiencing. We count on continued international aid
which permits us to maintain the level of care that we
We are grateful to our North American brothers and
provide each day to greater numbers of refugees. The
sisters who in friendship and solidarity contribute to the
Program for Refugees has received funds from the Com-
alleviation of the difficult situations of thousands of refu-
mission of Social Justice of the Archdiocese of San Fran-
gees who continue to pour into Nicaragua in search of the
cisco, whose director is Father Cuchlain Moriarity; we wish
peace and freedom that they do not find in their own
to thank them very much. [Ed. note: Father Moriarity,
countries. We have faith in the goodwill and conscience of
beloved for his work with Central and South American
the North American people, and we are sure that just as
refugees, died in November 1982.]
Nicaragua has won, El Salvador will win.
elime
20
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
U.S. Foreign Policy
U.S. health delegation reports on trip to El Salvador. In a
public statement, Dr. John Stanbury of Massachusetts Gen-
in Central America
eral Hospital details the stories of atrocities, torture, persecu-
tion and lack of general freedoms heard by the group,
concluding, "In the 30 years that I've been visiting developing
By late April, any remaining pretensions of secrecy
countries, I had never seen health conditions so bad outside
about Administration policy for Nicaragua had disap-
the confines of hospitals." On the same day, President
peared. The long-predicted proxy invasion from Honduras
Reagan recertifies that human rights conditions are improv-
was underway, its financing and guidance by the U.S. was
ing in El Salvador.
exposed in fine detail in the U.S. press, and the President
Two days before initiation of Big Pine maneuvers, 120
had tacitly admitted that the real goal of U.S. policy was to
ex-Guardsmen launch amphibious attack on Bismuna, only 6
overthrow the Sandinistas by calling the U.S.-supported
miles from Honduran border, and near the site of planned
ex-Guardsmen "freedom fighters" at an impromptu press
U.S.-Honduras parachute drop.
conference.
From February onward, a clear escalation of U.S. inter-
February 1983
vention was apparent. Following admissions of the failure
1600 U.S. troops and 4,000 Honduran troops participate in
of U.S. policy in El Salvador, new requests for augmented
Big Pine maneuvers. C-130 transports move $5.2 million of
military aid were made simultaneously with renewed ef-
equipment to Mocoron, 25 miles from Nicaragua's Atlantic
Coast border. U.S. press reports subsequently reveal that
forts to portray the Salvadoran revolution as a product of
these arms were transferred by Honduran army to ex-Guards-
Soviet-Cuban-Nicaraguan subversion. Added to the usual
men.
accusations that Nicaragua was totalitarian, had become a
According to a February 21 Washington Post article, "not a
Soviet outpost, and was a conduit for arms to Salvadoran
single major shipment of arms has been captured in or near El
rebels was the new charge that Nicaragua would receive
Salvador since a Costa Rican pilot was caught in 1981." One
Soviet nuclear missiles. The latter bit of disinformation was
American diplomat says that guerrillas in El Salvador have
especially cynical since it ignored the initiatives taken by
captured enough arms from the government to "sustain their
Nicaragua in calling for the establishment of a nuclear-free
needs."
zone in Latin America.
U.S. officials begin diplomatic offensive. Thomas Enders
The new propaganda campaign against Nicaragua shifted
visits Spain, seeking endorsement of the U.S. inspired
attention from the sorry military and human rights situa-
"Forum for Peace and Democracy." Jeane Kirkpatrick visits
tion in El Salvador, and attempted to justify the no longer
Central America and Venezuela; latter country declines
secret war against Nicaragua. It also allowed the Adminis-
participation in the "Forum."
tration to buy time and pressure Congress into approving
Seventeen members of Sandinista Youth militia contingent
increased military aid to the region. The formulation of the
killed in ambush by ex-Guardsmen while protecting coffee
Central American crisis as a security matter of highest
pickers near Matagalpa. 50,000 Nicaraguans attend memorial
priority established the widening conflict as a central 1984
service in Managua two days later.
campaign issue, with neither Democrats nor Republicans
March 1983
wishing to be blamed for "losing El Salvador."
Pope visits Central America. During massive outdoor Mass in
The following chronology provides a basis for under-
Managua, mothers of 17 murdered students ask Pope to pray
standing the present situation.
for their dead; crowd spontaneously begins chant "We want
Peace." U.S. press condemns event as orchestrated provoca-
Important Events:
tion.
Administration officials admit deteriorating military situation
December 1982-May 1983
in El Salvador. President Reagan requests $110 million in new
December, 1982
military aid.
Boland amendment passes House 411-0. This forbids the use
Major invasion of Nicaragua begins by 1200 ex-Guardsmen
who have infiltrated from Honduras in "Task Forces" of
of "military equipment, military training or advice, or other
support for military activities
for the purpose of over-
200-300 men. Initial press reports quote exaggerated claims
throwing the Government of Nicaragua or provoking a
from counter-revolutionary Radio September 15. Heavy
military exchange between Nicaragua and Honduras."
casualties suffered by invaders as Sandinista army disperses
their forces. A French physician studying mountain leprosy
January, 1983
(cutaneous leishmaniasis) is killed when scattered Guards-
Terrorist attacks against Nicaraguan civilian population in-
men attack Rancho Grande. Minister of Defense Humberto
crease; on January 16, 60 ex-Guardsmen armed with rifles,
Ortega says that ex-Guardsmen are not a serious threat, but
mortars and grenade launchers attack 200 coffee pickers at
that the real danger is the attempt to provoke war with
Namasli, 24 kilometers from Honduras.
Honduras. Nicaragua reports several episodes of artillery fire
Foreign Ministers of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and
by Honduran army against border posts.
Panama meet on Contadora Island in Panama to expand on
Nicaragua denounces invasion as U.S. supported in UN
previous Mexican and Mexican-Venezuelan initiatives for
Security Council. U.S. representative Jeane Kirkpatrick says
peace in Central America. Their proposal, which is dis-
that fighting is an internal Nicaraguan problem. 55 nations
tributed to the U.N. General Assembly, calls for dialogue
support Nicaragua's position; only El Salvador and Honduras
and comprehensive negotiations, identifies the risk of war
side with the U.S.
between Nicaragua and Honduras as the problem of im-
April 1983
mediate priority and stresses that the Central American crisis
originates from domestic economic, social and political fac-
An April 6 New York Times article discusses leaked National
tors rather than from the East-West conflict.
Security Planning Group document from April 1982 detailing
Central America policy projections. Provisions include ef-
Throughout January, the FMLN maintains a successful mili-
forts to counteract Social Democrat and Mexican opposition
tary offensive on several fronts.
to U.S. policy, propaganda and economic pressures against
21
Cuba, continuation of covert activities against Nicaragua,
by West Germany is destroyed in the Rio San Juan. Three
attempts to stir "factional strife" among Salvadoran left, and
West Germans traveling on river to photograph ruined boat
avoidance of congressionally mandated negotiations.
are attacked; one is killed and two are kidnapped. ARDE
In the wake of the March invasion, U.S. major media expose
announces capture of two "East German military advisors."
in detail U.S. role in covert war. April 4 Time magazine places
U.S. press features articles sympathetic to ex-Guardsmen
top direction of operation with CIA and U.S. army in
and Pastora during second half of May.
Panama, who relay instructions to Honduran high command
CIA study predicting fall of Sandinistas leaked to press. One
via U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte. They in turn direct
American military official comments that the predictions
FDN general staff composed of former National Guard
were "terribly premature" and based on "highly questionable
officers. According to April 18 Time, U.S. aid to FDN
assumptions."
includes "supplying training, arms and intelligence on troop
movements in Nicaragua's northern provinces gathered by
U.S. military trainer Lt. Commander Albert Schaufelberger
spy plane."
killed in San Salvador. FPL claims responsibility in radio
message.
Jack Anderson reveals U.S.-Israeli development plan along
Costa Rica's Northern border with Nicaragua, which includes
Administration announces plans to send 100 Green Berets to
road building and the establishment of new settlements.
Honduras to train 2,000 Salvadoran troops. U.S. will also
Costa Rican opposition alleges that project is part of plan to
man new radar station near Tegucigalpa.
destabilize Nicaragua.
Lt. General Wallace Nutting, head of U.S. Southern Com-
House Intelligence Committee calls for end to covert aid to
mand in Panama, says that an open-ended increase in U.S.
ex-National Guardsmen. Numerous congressmen declare
involvement is needed to "stop Marxist expansion."
that covert aid is in clear violation of Boland amendment.
A Dark Tunnel of Endless Intervention?
President Reagan addresses joint session of Congress; he
By early June, the Reagan Administration had left no
declares that "The national security of the Americas is at
doubt that its chief goals in Central America were a military
stake in Central America." Nicaragua, Cuba and the Soviet
victory in El Salvador and the overthrow of the Sandinistas.
Union are accused of exporting revolution. President denies
U.S. is attempting to overthrow the Sandinistas and draws
The dismissal of Assistant Secretary of State Thomas
standing ovation for saying "there is no thought for sending
Enders was one indication of the Administration's disdain
U.S. combat troops to Central America."
for dialogue as a solution to the regional crisis. As colum-
In Democratic rebuttal of Reagan's speech, Senator Dodd
nist Mary McGrory observed, "The offense that Enders
states that "the Administration fundamentally misunder-
committed was to express the belief that negotiation is
stands the causes of the conflict in Central America
this
not necessarily a bad thing." She went on to note that "the
Administration has turned to massive military buildups
President has learned to say that he, too, is for negotia-
its policy is ever-increasing military assistance
it only
tion
When Reagan says he's for talks, he doesn't
leads to a dark tunnel of endless intervention."
mean with the other side of a serious or bloody dispute. He
Ex-Guardsmen launch new attack from Honduras two days
means with the opposition in Congress
the President
after speech. Thirteen civilians, including two nurses and a
knows how easy it is to divest the Democrats of their
West German physician are killed in cold blood at a road-
differences with him." McGrory adds the thought that the
block. West German internationalists in Nicaragua occupy
their embassy, asking that their government protest U.S.
support of ex-Guardsmen.
Nicaraguan Losses from
May 1983
the 'Secret War'
April 29 Harris poll released, which shows U.S. public is
against U.S. policy by two to one. Harris describes the results
as "a solid rejection" of a policy which is perceived as
Casualties
militarist and lacking any possibility of success.
Nicaragua again requests that UN Security Council act
civilians, technicians, teachers,
500
against the U.S.-backed invasion. Secretary General Cuellar
health workers and armed forces.
calls for mediation by the UN and the Contadora group.
Material Damages
U.S. announces that Nicaragua's sugar quota to U.S. will be
machinery, schools, health care
$11.34 million
reduced from over 58,000 to 6,000 tons. Private growers, who
produce over 50% of sugar, ask U.S. to reconsider as it may
Losses Due to Delays
bankrupt the sugar industry. Nicaragua obtains new markets
delays in hydroelectric projects,
$11.98 million
for sugar within seven days.
road construction, productive
House subcommittees vote 9-5 to prohibit covert aid against
and agrarian reform projects; set-
Nicaragua; simultaneously approves $80 million in overt aid
backs in adult education and
to "friendly countries" for arms interdiction. Senate votes to
continue covert aid until October 1983, with provision re-
health campaigns.
questing Presidential consultation.
Damage to Production
House subcommittees approve $65 million in military aid to
forest fires, destruction of infra-
$24.42 million
El Salvador; Senate committee approves $75 million for fiscal
1984.
structure, and export crops such
as coffee, tobacco and cattle.
Costa Rica and Nicaragua conclude months of high-level
meetings with creation of bilateral commission to mediate
Lost Export Earnings
conflicts and establish joint patrolling of common border.
unfulfilled export agreements
$10.40 million
Armed attacks from Costa Rica are begun. Eleven campesinos
Total
are murdered by Eden Pastora's group ARDE near San
$58.14 million
Carlos; other families are threatened with death if they refuse
Source: Barricada
to join or assist ARDE. A ferry boat which had been donated
22
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
on Congress and in opinion polls. As both the peace
movement and the non-intervention movement see their
demands thwarted by an intransigent Administration and
betrayed by an evasive Congress, a convergence of their
growing forces may become a key element in the 1984
elections.
The other factor restraining unlimited U.S. intervention
has been the solid international opposition which has been
manifested in the UN Security Council, by European
Social Democracy, and in Latin America by the Contadora
group. Proposals by the latter group seem the best prospect
for a peaceful solution to the conflict. The composition of
the group, with countries seen as reasonably trustworthy by
the key parties, the U.S. and Nicaragua, should allow a
dialogue that could defuse the crisis. The presence of
Mexico and Venezuela should reassure the Sandinistas,
who have feared being isolated and attacked in either the
OAS or such U.S. created forums as the Central American
Democratic Community. Likewise, the presence of
Colombia, which had supported Washington before the
Malvinas war, should allow the U.S. to participate without
the fear of being totally isolated as it has been in the UN.
TONY Ryan
The governments of El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica
have no meaningful independence from the U.S. and are
unlikely to change their positions as long as Washington
remains obstinate.
worker defends factory from sabotage
One thing is sure: while the stalemate continues, many
more lives will be lost and more war damages will occur in
El Salvador and Nicaragua. The time to begin negotiations
Administration believes that all it needs is a better public
is already long overdue. J.E., T.R., P.C.
relations effort for its policy, and that this explains the
removal of Deane Hinton as Ambassador to El Salvador.
Hinton once contradicted the President's portrayal of the
Salvadoran government as courageous crusaders for de-
Letter From a Nicaraguan
mocracy by commenting that "the right wing thugs we are
Reservist to an
supporting are part of the problem."
The sacking of career diplomats Enders and Hinton,
American Friend
neither of them moderate, alarmed numerous observers in
Washington and Latin America and indicated that the
I send you a warm Sandinista greeting, a brother's
President has chosen to surround himself with loyal ideo-
greeting, a greeting for all the things we are to each
logues who share his East-West view of the problem. One
other. I'm grateful to be living in and writing you from
of them, Jeane Kirkpatrick, seems to have a personal
the land of Sandino. I've received your letters and I'm
vendetta against Nicaragua not unlike that held against
pleased to know that you are well and working for our
Guatemala by then Secretary of State John Foster Dulles
brothers and sisters, the courageous people of El Salva-
thirty years ago. Another, Lt. General Wallace Nutting,
dor, and for Sandinista Nicaragua.
I was in la montaña a month and a half ago, and next
has called for increased U.S. military involvement, and has
week I leave for the border area for another three
hinted that if combat troops are needed, other considera-
tions should not prevent their deployment.
months. Compañera, I feel both excited and anxious
Counterposed to this seemingly unchangeable position
about leaving again. I'm going to a difficult area where
in Washington stand two hard realities: first, that in spite of
the fighting is intense, but I know we'll defeat the
the extensive aid given to the ex-Guardsmen by the U.S.
enemy. If I should die, the U.S. government will be to
and Honduras, the Sandinista government has strong
blame. But my life doesn't matter; be happy that if I die
internal support and cannot be defeated militarily without
you had a brother, a friend, a compañero who died for the
massive outside involvement. Likewise, few observers
just cause of a people who never again will submit to an
believe that more military aid to the Salvadoran regime will
empire, to slavery and torture. Don't cry for me, but
enable it to overcome the FMLN/FDR. Thus, for the
rather follow my example, strengthening your solidarity
Administration to continue its policy goals unrestrained
with all people struggling for their freedom. Continue
virtually guarantees a regionalized war which would dan-
onward, the struggle is just and Nicaragua will win.
gerously heighten world tensions and require the use of
Keep writing; I'll write even while at the front. If
U.S. combat troops.
something happens to me, mamá will write to you. She
In two hopeful trends reside the remaining hope of
sends hugs and kisses and the compañeros say hello. Take
avoiding such a war. First, the U.S. non-intervention
care of yourself and I'll do the same; I hope I'll return.
Until next time
movement, although not presently visible in the streets, has
Free Homeland or Death!
achieved a major impact across broad sectors of U.S.
society, and has made its influence known through pressure
23
Guest Commentary
the army and the wealthy, and construct a new society that
is pluralistic, maintains a mixed economy, and has a central
Understanding the Central
government devoted to addressing the needs of the im-
poverished majority. In Nicaragua, this has meant the
American Revolution
incorporation of previously marginalized campesinos and
workers into the political process, the reorientation of the
by Sandy Darlington
mixed economy (70 percent of agriculture and industry
remain in private hands) towards the integration of agri-
This is dedicated to our children
culture with light industry, and social programs such as the
in the hope that they may live through
literacy crusade and mass immunization campaigns.
the present era of extreme crisis.
Why does liberation in Central America frighten the
U.S. government and many of our people so much?
Many people of good will are saying that the U.S.
Primarily because it seeks to change the social structure,
government should stop sending aid to El Salvador and
and this will no doubt lead to the emergence of new ruling
should quit trying to overthrow the government of
groups who do not automatically serve U.S. interests. This
Nicaragua.
has already happened in Nicaragua.
However, as the situation worsens, and the propaganda,
The process of becoming an independent nation is a
fear and confusion increase, some of us believe we must go
normal part of our era. Unfortunately this has often been
one step further. We must not only stop what we are doing;
overlooked in the United States. Our government and
we must begin a new and positive approach. We believe the
press label the process communistic and socialistic from the
American people and the U.S. government should accept
onset, and once that happens we tend to lose sight of what is
the nationalist revolutions in Central America and begin
really going on. One of the major tasks for those of us who
the complex process of learning to live with them.
accept the process is to remove the frightening labels.
It is a big leap from the first idea of stopping aid to the
The reality is that the nations of Central America have
second of accepting the process of nationalism, and many
been in effect U.S. colonies, and now they are seeking their
people in this country are afraid even to consider it. They
independence. This means that relations between them
see the world as necessarily divided into sides, and they
and the United States will be less predictable than for-
tend to believe that social revolutions are always on the
merly. There will be uncertainty and confusion-even
other side. This fear is well-stated by Tip O'Neill when he
conflicts of interest.
says, "We don't want to give more military aid to El
This kind of change naturally scares any establishment.
Salvador, but we don't want another Marxist takeover
Why then should the U.S. people want liberation to
either."
succeed? For a series of very good reasons, at once
In the face of such established fear and intransigence, it is
idealistic and practical. Because it is in keeping with the
necessary that those of us who do accept the process of
American ideal. Because we should end the crime of
nationalist revolutions speak out and tell our fellow citizens
oppressing and exploiting Central America. Because there
why we feel the process is constructive. Further, we must
is a lot to gain by sharing and developing mutual respect.
articulate our view as a practical and human way to deal
And because prosperity and peace require that we all do
with the situation, rather than as the triumph or defeat of
well, that we accept each other, that we co-exist.
one set of ideologies or movements.
THE AMERICAN IDEAL. We were raised to believe
What is really at stake? What are the "sides?" All people
that all people are equal and have a right to life, liberty and
of good will recognize the poverty and oppression that are
the pursuit of happiness. We are also a nation made of
endemic throughout Latin America. The question is: how
many races and national groups. Although we have often
to achieve real progress?
ignored our stated beliefs and practiced discrimination, the
In our times there are two basic answers: development or
fact that we are a multi-ethnic people with democratic
liberation. Liberals and conservatives alike usually advo-
ideals is the basis for the respect we have been given in the
cate variants of the mode generally called "development,"
world in the past. For example, even the Vietnamese under
which means: Give money and advice to the existing social
Ho Chi Minh, when they broke with the French in 1945,
structures, and oppose basic social change. Support the
quoted our Declaration of Independence in their
modern managerial class and the multinationals in their
constitution.
supposed efforts to set up the same kind of society and
Of course this attitude has traditionally been limited to
economy we have. Meanwhile train and aid the army so
cover only the people within our national borders. But we
they can stamp out rebels who interfere with this process.
are an empire. Our actual economic "nation" or system
"Development" has been basic U.S. policy beginning
extends throughout the hemisphere. "We The People" in
with Kennedy's Alliance for Progress. It hasn't worked.
reality includes Latin Americans. By continuing to deny
Latin America is deeply in debt, having to repay $34 billion
this, we continue to stifle our own growth and hurt our own
a year to international lending institutions in interest and
well-being.
principal payments. According to a recent U.N. study, the
AN END TO DOMINATION. As an empire nation, we
poorest 40 percent of the population receive only 5.4
have exploited Latin Americans, and we still do. Even
percent of national income, less than in 1960.
while we deny this, we also act as if it was our right. Even
The other major path, that of liberation, calls for social
during recent debates about El Salvador, many Congres-
revolution, a change in the basic social structure of the
sional leaders still spoke as if Central America were "ours"
country, and the emergence of leadership that is truly
to lose.
dedicated to improving the lot of the people. As practiced
This attitude is mistaken for two reasons. First of all it is
in Nicaragua and advocated by the FMLN/FDR in El
wrong to exploit people. Second, exploitation is never free;
Salvador, this means: oust the most oppressive elements of
it also hurts the exploiters. To believe otherwise is to
24
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
continue the same tragic thinking that got us into Vietnam.
There we fought a fruitless and devastating war, and then
Nicaragua: A Moral
failed to comprehend its lessons: that we lost to a people
who fought for and won the independence all nations
Force in the Non-Aligned
deserve. When Reagan sums up our loss in Vietnam as due
merely to a failure of will, he is leading us into a similar
Movement
disaster in Central America.
MUTUAL RESPECT. Once we quit thinking of the
conflict in Central America as merely a threat and begin to
by Stephanie Groebel
look for what we might gain, we will see that we are being
given the opportunity to end our role as patriarch and to
develop ways of being equal and friendly. It is natural that
"Internationally, Nicaragua has adopted a policy of non-
newly independent nations will have systems that are not
alignment. We don't have any illusions about converting
the same as ours. We should welcome that, because people
Nicaragua into a superpower of any kind, either politically or
on this planet need some new social ideas. The alternative
militarily. Our goal is to establish respected relations with all
to a world of two sides, of the U.S. versus the Soviet Union,
nations. The fundamental political, social and economic
is a world of many sides, many nations.
changes which we are making in our country will in fact form
In such a condition, the United States would still be the
the basis for a more mutually respectful relationship in the
major political, economic and social force in our hemis-
future between the United States and Nicaragua."
phere, by reason of its size and might. Even if the social
revolutions succeed in Guatemala and El Salvador as the
Jaime Wheelock
revolution has in Nicaragua, they and the United States will
Commander of the Revolution
have much to gain by having stable relations.
Minister of Agrarian Reform
We need each other. The newly emerging nations want
non-intervention and access to trade and technology. They
No Separation of Policies
need to concentrate on building their societies rather than
Nicaragua's foreign policy of non-alignment cannot be
wasting their energy and labor fighting against U.S. de-
divorced from its domestic policies. The preservation of
stabilization. Real economic growth in Central America
national sovereignty, the mixed economy, the achievement
would provide new markets for the United States.
of a more equitable distribution of wealth, and the guaran-
Nicaragua did not turn away from the United States after
teeing of popular participation each has its corresponding
the revolution took power. On the contrary, it asked for
reflection in the realm of foreign policy. In the light of
help and friendly relations based on mutual respect. We
present U.S. destabilization efforts, the preservation of
need to recognize that the Nicaraguan model is more
national sovereignty has necessitated increased spending
relevant for Central America than the systems we are
for military and defense matters. The mixed economy
trying to impose.
necessitates constant efforts to develop new foreign mar-
PROSPERITY AND PEACE THROUGH CO-EXIS-
kets by both the private and state sectors. Political plural-
TENCE. Any serious look at Central America will show
ism means the growth of dialogue with the political parties
that the nationalist movements are not caused by Russia or
and social forces of the country and the world. According
Cuba, but by the people rising up after years of U.S.-
to Aldo Diaz, head of bilateral relations in the Foreign
supported oppression. We cannot expect to remain at
Ministry, "Nicaragua's foreign policy is a faithful reflection
peace and be prosperous in a hemisphere where 200 million
of our domestic objectives. This is seen, on the one hand, in
North Americans prosper and 600 million Latin Americans
defense within the country and, on the other, with diplo-
are hungry. The only possible long-term peace is through
matic efforts outside the country."
working out ways in which we all do well.
Nicaragua no longer has the narrowly pro-American
This does not mean that the newly independent countries
foreign policy of the Somoza years, in which it regularly
are going to become Soviet colonies. Those Central Ameri-
echoed U.S. positions at the U.N., and allowed its territory
can nationalists are not struggling to gain independence
to be used for CIA operations against Guatemala in 1954
from us in order to acquire new masters. Nicaragua re-
and Cuba in 1961. Now it consciously considers each
ceives twice as much foreign aid from Western industrial
decision in terms of its own interests, something especially
nations as it does from the Eastern bloc. To paraphrase one
remarkable for a young nation being subjected to a preci-
Nicaraguan leader, "We are not Marxists or Communists,
sion-targeted destabilization operation by the U.S. and its
we are 100 percent Sandinistas"; that is, the strength of the
allies in the Central American region.
Sandinista Revolution has been its ability to find pragmatic
and creative solutions to Nicaraguan problems.
International Recognition and Achievements
As we the North American people come to realize how
The support and respect given to Nicaragua in the
desirable this social transformation is, we will side with the
international community in barely four years has been
aspirations of our Latin American neighbors and develop
impressive. In September 1979, Nicaragua applied for and
ways to co-exist. It is true that if we accept this process of
received full membership status in the Non-Aligned Move-
change, we are also accepting some conflict and uncer-
ment. Since then it has taken clear positions in the interna-
tainty, as in life itself. That is deplorable to those who want
tional field in favor of the defense of human rights, in
everything to be neat. But it is the path of life and it is far
support of national liberation movements and against the
better than the continued violence and destruction the U.S.
spiraling arms race. It has supported the call for the
is causing with its policy of limited development and
creation of more equitable economic relations between
expanded military aid.
industrialized nations and less developed countries.
25
What Is the
Among Nicaragua's initiatives was the wideranging pro-
posal it presented to the U.N. Security Council in March,
Non-Aligned Movement?
1982. This reaffirmed the joint French and Mexican pro-
posal calling for a political solution to the Salvadoran
The Non-Aligned Movement is a movement of coun-
conflict.
tries, most of which have recently emerged from colonial
At the seventh Summit Meeting of the Non-Aligned
or neo-colonial domination. It represents nearly 100
Movement held in New Delhi in March of this year,
countries-more than two-thirds belonging to the
Commander Daniel Ortega, coordinator of the Govern-
United Nations and thus a large proportion of the
ment of National Reconstruction, gave an important ad-
so-called "Third World." There are 36 countries in the
dress. This proposed the development of a common strat-
Coordinating Bureau. Other nations and national lib-
egy of the debtor nations towards the developed capitalist
eration movements may, and do, attend the functions
nations, and for a solution to the sad state of affairs in the
and meetings.
international banking system. The joining of debtor coun-
The Movement's precursors go back to the first dec-
tries, in Ortega's view, "would make it possible for us to
ades of this century with such gatherings as the Nagasaki
introduce reforms in the International Monetary Fund and
Conference which was held in 1926, which addressed
the World Bank within the framework of the United
such topics as the question of independence for then-
Nations." Such an arrangement does not now exist and as a
colonial nations such as Persia (Iran) and the struggle to
result, the indebtedness of developing nations grows every
remove the feudal Sultan of Turkey.
day.
But the movement is more than a series of meetings or
A clear recognition of these and other activities by
conferences. Today, nearly 23 years after its initial
Nicaragua on the international level was made in October,
formation, it is a major factor to be properly reckoned
1982, when Nicaragua was elected to represent the Central
with in international relations.
American region in the U.N. Security Council. This his-
The Non-Aligned Movement developed coinciden-
toric victory was achieved despite strong opposition and
tally with the end of formal, direct colonialism in most of
intense lobbying by the U.S. delegation.
the world and is now involved in the struggle to develop
Nicaragua's accomplishments have also been acknowl-
and defend the sovereignty of the newly-independent
edged by appointments of Nicaraguans to regional and
nations of the "Third World." Heading its list of prior-
international bodies. Lea Guido, Minister of Social Wel-
ities is the battle for the "new international economic
fare, was named president of the Latin American section of
order." This term signifies a series of proposals, strate-
the World Health Organization. Antonio Jarquin was
gies, and agreements (which Nicaragua has been a party
named Moderator of the Non-Aligned Movement's Com-
to in large measure) made by the members of the
mission for a New International Order, one of the Move-
Movement toward the creation and implementation of
ment's central projects.
more just, responsible and equitable socio-economic
development strategies. These would set the stage for
Also very significant for Nicaragua was the decision of
the elimination of the current unequal terms of exchange
the Non-Aligned Movement to hold an extraordinary
between overdeveloped market-economy countries
meeting of the Foreign ministers of the Coordinating
such as the United States and the lesser developed or
Bureau in Managua from January 10 through 14 of 1983.
underdeveloped countries that the Movement
This was the first ministerial-level meeting of the Non-
Aligned in Latin America, and the first meeting of the
represents.
In addition to working for a new international eco-
Non-Aligned with the problems of a region being its central
nomic order, the Movement also works for cultural and
theme. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the
economic exchange among its members, supports inter-
situation facing Central America and the Caribbean, join
in the search for viable solutions to the serious conflicts and
national peace initiatives, has called for better media
representation of the "Third World," worked to end
tensions in the region, and work for peace and stability in
Apartheid in Southern Africa, tried to prevent war
the area. A total of 116 delegates were present, including
between its members and has fought for literacy in the
special guests from Latin America and several European
developing world.
countries, the U.N., and representatives of national libera-
Some observers, especially many in the economically
tion movements. It was the largest attendance to date at
"advanced" capitalist countries, have attempted to pin a
such a meeting. That it took place in Managua was of
"communist" label on the Movement. However, even a
tremendous importance for Nicaragua, because it enabled
casual examination of the Movement's membership and
the many government delegations to see for themselves the
a cursory knowledge of its most basic principles show it
objective situation of the country.
not to be a product of the "East-West" conflict. The
For the Nicaraguan people, the meeting was an im-
Movement is widely varied in terms of cultures, lan-
portant event. The atmosphere of Managua at the time was
guages and social systems. Countries as dissimilar as
one of euphoria, and there was a great, almost contagious
India, Morocco, Zaire, Cuba, Colombia and Nicaragua
sense of pride among the people. Over 100,000 gathered in
are all members. What unites them is their refusal to be
the Plaza of the Revolution in the early evening of January
part of any power-bloc and to that end they are not party
12 to welcome their honored guests, demonstrate their
to military alliances with either bloc-be it "East" or
solidarity with the Movement, and celebrate the unity it has
"West."
achieved. Musical and cultural groups from across the
nation participated in the festivities, which included a
The Non-Aligned Movement is an important factor in
spectacular display of fireworks from the roof of the
international relations today and needs to be better
National Palace, which spelled out "Bienvenidos NO-AL"
understood in the United States.
or "Welcome Non-Aligned Movement."
26
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
Turmoil in Nicaragua's
authority and initiative for the campaigns rested with the
State. The Archbishop of Managua, Obando y Bravo,
Catholic Church
claimed that this resulted in a conflict of allegiances for
certain priests: would they be obedient to the government
or to the Church hierarchy? Since the middle of 1981, the
by Peter Downs
Archbishop has demanded that priests leave the govern-
ment and no longer take leading roles in government-
supported programs. Many Catholics argue, however, that
The Central American Catholic Church is in turmoil.
the work of priests in government is consistent with the
Nowhere is this more evident than in Nicaragua, where the
Gospel message to serve the poor and that the priests' work
Catholic Church teeters on the edge of a Reformation.
would be less effective outside of the government.
Two separate but mutually reinforcing movements are
Many of those Catholics actively supporting the Sandi-
undermining the authority of the Nicaraguan Catholic
nista government are members of Christian Base Com-
hierarchy. On the one hand, the new Sandinista state has
munities (CBCs), which are fruits of the work begun by the
moved to fill many of the social needs formerly filled by the
Medellín Bishops Conference in 1968. That conference
Church. On the other hand, movements spawned by the
called on the Church to renew its commitment to the poor
Latin American Bishops Conference at Medellín in 1968
and the marginalized sectors of society. In Nicaragua, it
have begun to question the traditional roles of lay Cath-
spurred on work among the poor peasants. But priests are
olics, priests, and the hierarchy.
scarce in rural Nicaragua. According to Justinian Liebl,
Under the rule of Somoza, the State became mainly a
most rural parishes may see a priest only once in two or
vehicle for his personal aggrandizement and abandoned
three months. One solution to that problem was to train
functions that served the people. Somoza seized farms to
peasants to hold services and interpret the Bible them-
add to his private estate and added to his personal fortune
selves. Individuals specially trained to lead services and to
by selling state licenses and offices. His government did
help groups interpret the Bible became known as Dele-
very little to meet such social needs as education, health
gates of the Word. The groups, which set themselves the
care, roads and food. At the time of his overthrow, 50
goals of understanding and living the Bible, became known
percent of Nicaraguans were illiterate and the life ex-
as Christian Base Communities. Services performed with-
pectancy of 54 years was third lowest in Latin America.
out a priest did not include the Eucharist, but they did serve
Only in Bolivia and Haiti was it lower.
a real need in peasants' lives. Somoza, however, sought to
The Catholic Church worked to fill the vacuum left by
repress such groups and to execute those Delegates of the
Somoza and provided much of what schooling and health
Word captured by his National Guard. Each increase of
care there was. In many areas, priests became the de facto
such repression deepened the activity against Somoza's
civil administration, according to Justinian Liebl, a former
rule. The Delegates of the Word began to organize directly
Capuchin missionary who worked on Nicaragua's Atlantic
against the dictatorship and some even joined the guer-
Coast for 28 years. The only de jure government officials
rillas. Many of the current leaders of the Farmers' Union
that many people knew, he said, were members of the
and the Farmworkers' Union reportedly began their ac-
feared National Guard. After the revolution, that all
tivist careers as Delegates of the Word.
changed.
As peasants gained confidence in their own abilities to
The Sandinista government began major programs in
organize and to interpret the Bible, they dispensed more
education, health care, social security and food distribu-
often with the use of priests. They began to hold weddings,
tion. It disbanded the National Guard and established civil
funerals, memorial services, and baptisms on their own.
administrations throughout the country. The Literacy Cru-
That threatens the structural organization of the Church.
sade of 1980 brought the rate of illiteracy down to 12.9
Priests in Nicaragua, and most of Latin America, according
percent and adult education continues in the Popular
to Liebl, "have had to live off their priestly functions. In
Education Collectives, of which there are nearly 19,000.
other words, they live off the baptisms, masses, weddings
The Ministry of Education has constructed over 2,600 new
and other special functions that people pay them for. A
portion of their fees goes in turn to support the bishop. The
schools to more than double the number operating in the
Christian Community operates on the idea that the Gospel
country. Most of the new schools are outside of the urban
areas, which have been the traditional centers of educa-
is ours; we get together, we read it and meditate on it and
tion. The government has also built five new hospitals, 16
share it in dialogue, we sing it and pray it and that's it.
new health centers with beds, and 110 new clinics, and it has
There's no real priestly function or sacramental function
that they have to pay for. Then the priest no longer has a big
coordinated three national vaccination drives: for polio,
income, a lot of work, but very little income. This is very
tetanus and diphtheria, and measles.
demanding. It demands a real conversion on the part of the
These government initiatives, coming in areas tradition-
priest or bishop who wants to work with Christian Com-
ally served by the Church, have weakened the Church's
munities. The whole economic source of their life and their
authority. They give people an alternative source of help
identity as the people who run the sacraments now is being
and an alternative strategy for improving their lives. Many
questioned
On the Atlantic Coast, in the last town
priests and nuns participated in those campaigns, but the
where I worked as a priest, over one-half of the baptisms
are now performed without a priest. They are performed in
Christian Communities by Delegates of the Word."
Peter Downs traveled in Nicaragua and Costa Rica for three
Justinian Liebl estimates that there are 800-900 CBCs on
months in 1982. He has studied science and the humanities; his
the Atlantic Coast and many more on the Pacific. The
writings on agriculture, technology in the workplace and other
Atlantic Coast is home for approximately 10 percent of
issues have appeared in Commonweal and Science for the People.
Nicaragua's population. The weakest CBCs, said Liebl, are
27
in the cities, and especially Managua, where they suffer
line between political and religious matters that would
from "sacerdotal paternalism: there are too many priests
reduce the authority of the Church.
and the priests are doing things that the people could do" so
Yet, there is a religious motivation to the politics of the
that lay Catholics have no real reason to demand a greater
CBCs. Many members claimed that their politics follow the
role for themselves. The youth of a CBC in barrio La
Gospel's admonition to end injustice and oppression. As
Reynaga in Managua indirectly confirmed Liebl's view
one Salvadoran women who had fled from the repression
when they stated that all CBCs are started by parish priests
the Salvadoran military directed at her base community
and that it is impossible for a CBC to be in opposition to the
told me:
priest.
Faith should be transformed in the reality. For the Christian
Archbishop Obando y Bravo may also share that view.
Community to make its faith concrete implies participation
Over the last two years he has transferred many priests
in the reality lived by the people and from there to the
working with CBCs and replaced them with more con-
transformation of this reality. It is not an abstract faith, as
servative priests. Liebl named half a dozen such instances
many Christians believe, a faith of mere rites and customs
within the last year. Many nuns and priests charged that the
without relation to the reality of the people. That kind of
Archbishop has pursued a conscious policy of trying to
Christianity is not the right kind.
weaken the CBCs and support for the Revolution. The
Archbishop denied that and claims that the transfers were
The nuns and priests working with the CBCs continually
routine.
stressed that the tension between them and the Archbishop
Last summer the issue came to a head when the Ar-
is political, not theological. They continue, they said, to be
chbishop transferred Monsignor Arias Caldera, known as
obedient to the Pope and their superiors in the Catholic
the Monsignor of the Poor, out of the parish of Santa Rosa
Church in matters of religion. The issue is not even
where he had been working for almost ten years. Caldera
involvement in political affairs, they claimed, but what
had not organized a CBC, but he was an outspoken
politics one expresses. Priests served in the civil administra-
supporter of the Revolution. When they heard of his
tion under Somoza, but now the Archbishop wants priests
transfer, parishioners requested an audience with the
to stay out of government. The CBCs expressed the same
Archbishop, but their request was refused. They then
viewpoint in their response to the Pope's letter.
occupied their church in protest. Archbishop Obando y
Bravo sent one of his assistants to remove the Holy
Sacrament from the church, claiming that those occuping
CRISTIANISMO y REVOLUCION
the building were committing sacrilegious acts. The parish-
ioners prevented the assistant, Monsignor Bosco Vivas,
NO HAY CONTRADICCION
CRISTIANOS
FOR LA
from taking the Sacrament and Obando y Bravo responded
REVOLUCION
by excommunicating all those involved in the occupation.
The parishioners refused to give up the church and the new
priest had to find another building in which to hold services.
The removal of sympathetic priests from base com-
munities is forcing the CBCs of Managua to develop their
own leadership. They hold monthly delegate assemblies to
plan activities and on a few occasions, particularly with the
issue of priests, in government, they have issued public
statements opposing the position of the Archbishop. They
have not yet, however, organized themselves to the same
Mel Rosenthal
extent as the CBCs around Somotillo, in the north of
Nicaragua. There, according to Liebl, 120 base commu-
nities, called the Bloc of Christian Communities, have
"Christianity and Religion: There is по Contradiction."
governed themselves for almost three years. Occasionally
they invite a priest to come and give Communion, but for
On June 29, 1982, Pope John Paul II sent a letter to the
the most part they perform all religious services themselves.
Nicaraguan bishops in which he cautioned against disunity
Christian Base Communities across the country also
and called on Nicaraguans to be united in faith around their
work together through CEPA (Educational Center for
bishops and reject that which is contrary to unity. He
Agricultural Promotion) to organize classes, prepare edu-
criticized the "charismatic," "new," "alternative," or
cational materials, and in general develop their leadership.
"Popular Church" as a threat to the above unity.
They are aided in this task by ex-priests, such as Justinian
The base communities in Nicaragua responded that they
Liebl, who now work directly for the base communities.
too reject the name "Popular Church" and that they are
Other nuns and priests in Managua have opted to remain in
united in faith with the bishops. They elaborated some of
orders but continue to oppose the wishes of Obando y
the problems faced in reconstructing the country and the
Bravo and work with the CBCs.
threat of a U.S.-backed invasion from Honduras and stated
The Sandinistas and the CBCs both espouse democratic
that such questions, not theological ones, were the ones
self-government and serving the poor. Both the CBCs and
that preoccupied Nicaraguans.
the Sandinista government have encroached on areas
The question for the Pope and the bishops is whether to
traditionally the preserve of Church functionaries. In ef-
accept the new delineation between political and religious
fect, they are questioning the traditional roles of the
affairs. In other words, to accept a reformation in Central
Church hierarchy. That may be why they have earned the
America. To accept it, would mean accepting a loss of
opposition of such conservatives as Archbishop Obando y
political power while also permitting priests and nuns to be
Bravo. Both Sandinistas and CBC members draw a new
more active politically. To reject it and demand that priests
28
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
retreat from involvement in political issues, will probably
mutual respect, recognizing that Nicaragua has won the
not salvage the secular power of the Church, but it may well
right to sovereignty and independence.
cost the Church its moral authority, as the Church will
What impact does the international situation have on you
appear to be retreating from the problems of the world.
here in Estelí?
That issue concerns more than just Nicaragua, for the
same tensions divide the Catholic Church in El Salvador
O.P.: The national situation is largely determined by the
and Guatemala and they are beginning to appear in Costa
international one. Continuing threats and pressure mean
Rica. Furthermore, the Church is truly an international
that reconstruction goes more slowly: the U.S. government
organization. Many priests and nuns supporting the CBCs,
cut off its aid program to Nicaragua in 1981, and it has acted
and the Capuchins and Maryknolls have been notable in
in international financial institutions to veto loans. We
this regard, are from outside of Central America. Many
already find that it is impossible to import certain necessary
feel like the French nun who, when asked what she would
materials and often difficult to get spare parts. The constant
do if the bishops and the Pope do not accept the new
threat of aggression means that many resources that would
division between political and religious matters and gave
otherwise go to social and reconstruction programs must be
her a 'political' command, sadly replied that she would be
put into defense. All of this slows down the reconstruction
forced to leave religious orders.
effort and is a direct result of U.S. policy.
There is another even more painful effect produced by
the frequent border incursions supported by the U.S. and
Esteli: continued from page 13
by part of the Honduran military: they often steal cattle
by disagreeing with a U.S. policy of interfering in the affairs
here, and not long ago, in one of the other municipios of the
of other countries, as they did in the times of Sandino and
department, they killed an entire family. But we don't only
even William Walker, and of course during the months
feel the attacks that are within the department. Since the
leading up to the revolutionary triumph of the Nicaraguan
people of Estelí are especially inclined by their past suffer-
people in 1979. The policy we would like to see is one of
ing to defend peace and the Revolution, they can be found
in all parts of the frontier. And each time there is a battle
along the border there is a funeral in Estelí. U.S. policy and
the aggression it supports reach us very directly.
You, like many Nicaraguans, have family living in the U.S.
Are you still in touch with them? What do they think of what
is going on here?
O.P.: Yes, I have family in Los Angeles; they've been
there about 25 years and we stay in touch regularly through
letters or telephone calls. A lot of people who have gone
over the years to the U.S. seeking a better way of life did so
without realizing that they were actually exiled by the lack
of opportunities for decent work and a decent life here in
Nicaragua during the previous regime. You couldn't really
say they're worried about what is going on in Nicaragua;
they're like many Latinos who live there and are not aware
of what is going on in Latin America. They're quite
alienated from their country and accept what they hear as
true, that Nicaragua is "an enemy of the U.S." and the
"Revolution is socialist, communist, or at least something
horrible." If they are concerned, it is not for what may
happen to the country, but rather for a family member who
is here.
Should they be worried about your future here?
O.P.: Of course not. They are worried because of the news
they get there. I've never been more relaxed nor felt better
than now since the triumph of the Revolution. There really
is no reason to be worried. It is all because of the rumors
they hear that make them think there could be some danger
here. If they ask if we are having difficulties, yes, we
recognize that we are, and that is normal for a country in a
phase of reconstruction. But we have the most important
thing: we are free and sharing all the basic necessities with
our fellow Nicaraguans. And if they ask if we are working
Scott Wildman
hard in order that things change so that all Nicaraguans can
benefit from what we have, so that our production in the
cities and countryside shall contribute to reconstruct our
homeland, the answer is, "Yes." Now more than ever
before it is worth living in Nicaragua, now that it is really
street procession in Esteli
ours.
29
Attempts to Sabotage Meeting
aggression against Nicaragua, the financing of undercover
actions, the use of U.S. territory and that of Nicaragua's
The fact that the meeting even took place is of great
neighbors for training counter-revolutionary forces and the
significance. Archie Singham, a noted scholar and com-
violation of Nicaragua's airspace and territorial waters by
mentator on the Non-Aligned Movement pointed out in a
U.S. planes and ships. The document welcomed Nicara-
recent interview that there "had been a great fear that the
gua's firm desire for peace and reiterated the Movement's
meeting would be destabilized. Some people believed that
solidarity with the government and people of Nicaragua.
certain countries would utilize the opportunity, just before
the meeting, to carry out an invasion or to create an
U.S. Media Coverage
atmosphere of a Managua besieged, a city under military
control Such an image was deliberately created,
Given the nature and significance of the Managua meet-
according to Singham, to attempt to scare off possible
ing, it is enlightening to examine the press coverage it was
participants thus making the meeting less significant in the
given in the U.S. What little coverage was to be found was a
struggle against intervention in the region.
few sparse articles in a small number of major dailies. Not
It is no surprise that the Reagan Administration worked
only were the articles barren, but their content was often
hard to undermine the meeting. Beginning months prior to
questionable. Typical headlines were: "Strong Nicaraguan
the meeting it utilized its U.N. delegation and the State
Stand Reported Rejected" (NY Times, 1/16/83), "Castro
department, through U.S. embassies abroad, to attempt to
Pushes for Non-Aligned Anti-U.S. Stance" (LA Times,
dissuade certain member countries from attending, since
1/14/83), and "Non-Aligned Meeting: Limited Victory for
the impact of a meeting is measured in part by the number
Castro" (Christian Science Monitor, 1/17/83). According to
of delegations attending. Washington then circulated a
some of the delegates, they encountered no U.S. reporters
"position paper" among selected countries concerning the
among the hundreds present from all over the world.
problems to be discussed at the meeting. The document
Unfortunately, this lack of coverage is typical of how the
tried to justify Washington's destabilization activities
U.S. media selectively deal with events in the world in
against Nicaragua and Grenada, the blockade against
general and Central America specifically. The U.S. public
Cuba, its involvement in El Salvador, and the US position
thus often remains unaware of the breadth of opposition to
in the Malvinas conflict. When the paper was reproduced
U.S. policies elsewhere in the world.
and distributed to all delegations present, at the initiative
of one of the participants, the U.S. embassy denied any
Repercussions of the Managua Meeting
responsibility.
In Managua, U.S. foreign policy for Central America
Alarmed at the large attendance, UN ambassador Jeane
received a significant setback in the world community, and
Kirkpatrick sent two aides to "cover" the meeting, while
the Non-Aligned Movement emerged as a stronger and
the embassy staff in Managua worked feverishly behind the
more unified force with increasing power. Thus, in the
scenes. Washington let it be known among its allies that the
Organization of American States, once the rubber stamp of
U.S. was distressed by their position. During the previous
U.S. policies, the U.S. can no longer be sure of uncondi-
U.N. General Assembly, Kirkpatrick had informed vari-
tional support; Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Venezuela
ous ambassadors that their votes were being watched by
all attended the meeting and are sympathetic to the Non-
Washington, and that they would either be rewarded or
Aligned position. Furthermore, the East-West notion of
punished accordingly.
the Reagan Administration as the source of all conflict in
Central America was undercut and discredited in Mana-
The Managua Communiqué
gua.
In late March of this year, Nicaragua went to the U.N.
Despite the Reagan administration's efforts, U.S. policy
Security Council to denounce the escalating aggression
was strongly criticized by the Movement and a victory was
against it by the U.S.-backed ex-National Guardsmen from
won in the "Third World" bloc in the name of unity against
Honduras. It received an unprecedented show of support;
foreign intervention and domination, and for independ-
some 55 nations asked to speak on behalf of Nicaragua's
ence and national sovereignty.
position, including Spain, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Zim-
The meeting concluded with the unanimous passage of a
babwe, Panama, Tanzania, Mexico and China. Only El
statement called the Managua Communiqué. The docu-
Salvador and Honduras sided with the U.S.
ment reaffirmed the basic principles of the Movement
Conclusion: Small Becomes Big
which include "the struggle against colonialism, neocoloni-
alism, hegemonism, apartheid, and racism and all forms of
Archie Singham also noted that "everybody likes to
foreign domination; full respect for sovereignty, territorial
think that there are powers in the Non-Aligned Movement:
integrity and political independence of states; self-deter-
Yugoslavia, India, Cuba. But the Non-Aligned is really a
mination, non-intervention and non-interference in the
movement that permits a small country to be a big power.
internal and external affairs of states: peaceful coexistence
For example, Nicaragua is a small country with 2½ million
and the non-use of force." It stated that Central America
inhabitants; now it is a moral power in world politics."
"was faced with a serious political, social and economic
It is doubtful whether the Reagan Administration's
crisis caused by the traditional repressive power structures
policy of intervention in Central America will attract new
and by national economic structures that produce poverty,
support in the world. Meanwhile, all signs are that Nicara-
inequality and misery and aggravated by the intervention
gua will continue to gain respect in the international
and the interference to which its countries have been
community. In this lies one of the best guarantees for the
subjected." And further, that this "could not be attributed
development of the Nicaraguan revolution and the
to, or explained by, an East-West ideological confronta-
achievement of a peaceful solution for the Central Ameri-
tion." The Ministers "denounced the threats and acts of
can crisis.
30
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
Contemala: continued from page 7
Misa Campesina
by Sylvia Mullally and Tony Ryan
We are pleased to present below portions of Nicaragua's
"Misa Campesina," or "Peasant Mass."
The "Misa" has many influences, authors, and con-
tributors but one fundamental source is the experience of
the famous Christian base community on the island of
Solentiname, which is situated in the middle of Lake
Nicaragua. The community was created by Ernesto Carde-
nal along with the campesinos and fishermen of the island.
Father Cardenal, poet, theologian and presently Minister
of Culture, wanted to participate in the creation of a
community that would go toward the realization of a "New
Jerusalem" on earth. They wanted to engender a new
feeling of pride in the Nicaraguan people who had been
subjected to oppressive conditions, a loss of creativity and a
repressed spirituality. From Solentiname, a stream of
poetry, painting, music and handicrafts was born.
The community lasted between the years 1965 and 1977
when it was leveled to the ground by the National Guard
Mario and Juan Pablo, died fighting with the guerrillas in
under orders from the then-dictator Anastasio Somoza.
Guatemala.
The Misa Campesina is a fundamental result of this
Alaide Foppa's "Los dedos de mi mano" (The Fingers of
period. It is a vibrant adaptation of the traditional Catholic
my Hand) was published in 1958:
Mass into ecumenical terms, that is, into a language
understood by the people. In this sense it is closely related
I have five children,
to similar masses and liturgical changes of the period such
five open roads,
as the Misa Luba from Africa. It demystifies the seemingly
five youths,
five blossomings,
impenetrable secrets of the liturgy and shows Christ to be a
and although I bear the pain
palpable man, without ever being irreverant. No longer is
of five wounds
the Messiah an inaccessible, supernatural being shrouded
and the threat
in mystery (and therefore distant from mere mortals) but is
of five deaths,
instead a man steeped in his people's struggles, a being who
my life grows
toils and sacrifices alongside the farmers in their fields and
everyday.
the workers in their factories.
G.N.I.B. produces a bi-monthly newsletter available from
The Misa is a joyous event to the extent that it reflects the
G.N.I.B., P.O. Box 4126, Berkeley, CA 94704. The Women's
faith and joy of the Nicaraguan people who are in the vast
Committee on Central America can be contacted at 433
majority a Catholic people. It is a living example of the
Dolores, San Francisco, CA 94110.
profound role Christian revolutionaries are playing in
Nicaragua today.
Sources:
A Saint of the Catholic Church once remarked that "the
Plexus; Off Our Backs; Guatemala!; News from Guatemala; Amnesty
Glory of God is a living man." The martyred Archbishop of
International; Guatemala History Told by Its Women, (People's
Permanent Tribunal); El Salvador Bulletin; testimonies of Rigo-
El Salvador Monsignor Romero once said that God's glory
berta Menchú Tum and Maria Lupe.
was with the poor. The Misa is a reflection of the formal
commitment made by the Church in recent times summed
up as the "preferential option for the poor."
One finds in the Misa no threats of fire and brimstone for
the unworthy. Instead it is an experience of intense happi-
ness and celebration for the "God of the Poor," the "God
who sweats in the street." It stresses the joyous aspects of
being a Christian individual in a community of fellows
united to change the conditions that limit humankind from
their real destiny.
The version we have utilized in our translation is the Misa
Campesina Nicaragüense published by the Nicaraguan Min-
istry of Culture in 1981. The music for the Misa, which we
unfortunately cannot reproduce, was written by Carlos
Mejía Godoy. We hope the selections printed below will
convey the spirit of love and resistance of Nicaragua's
Christians who are actively involved in the creative trans-
formation of their country. A complete, bilingual version
with the music will be available soon. Write to this maga-
zine for details.
31
Entrance Song
Stanza 3
Glory to those who follow the light of the Gospel
denouncing injustice without fear
You are the God of the poor
Glory to those who suffer prison and exile
the human and simple God
and give their lives fighting the oppressor
the God that sweats in the street
the God with the weathered face
Stanza 4
that is why I speak to you
Today we glorify you Lord, with marimbas
like my people speak
with ñambar violins, bells and atabal drums
because you are the laborer God
with chirimillas, quijongos and zambumbias
the worker Christ
with the Indian dances of Subtiava and Monimbó
Stanza 1
Hand in hand you walk with my people
you struggle in the fields and the city
Credo
you stand in line at the camp
in order to be paid your day's wages
Stanza 1
you eat there in the park
I firmly believe, Lord
with Eusebio, Pancho and Juan Jose
that from your fertile thought
and you even complain about the syrup
this whole world was born;
when there's not enough honey in it.
that from your artist's hand,
like a primativist painter,
Stanza 2
all beauty flourished:
I have seen you at the corner store
the stars and the moon
parked on a bench
the little houses, lagoons,
I have seen you selling lottery tickets
the little boats floating
without being ashamed of that role
down the river to the sea,
I have seen you in the gas stations
the immense coffee plantations,
changing the tires on a truck
the white cotton fields
and even working on the highways
and the forests mutilated
with leather gloves in the sizzling sun.
by the criminal axe.
Chorus
Kyrie
I believe in you
Christ, Jesus Christ
architect, engineer,
be one with us
artisan, carpenter,
Lord, Lord my God
bricklayer and shipbuilder
be one with us
I believe in you
Christ, Jesus Christ
creator of thought
of music and the winds
be in solidarity with us
not with the oppressor class
of peace and love
that squeezes and devours
Stanza 2
the community
I believe in you, worker Christ
with the oppressed
light of light and true
with my people
only begotten son of God
thirsting for peace
who became flesh
in Mary's humble and pure womb
Gloria
to save the world.
I believe that you were beaten
Stanza 1
with jeers, tortured,
With the most jubilant song of my people
martyred on the cross
I've come to sing
when Pontius Pilate,
this Glory to Christ
the hideous and soulless
*
Roman imperialist
I want to sing to Jesus
tried to erase the mistake
the leader of truth
by washing his hands of all blame
with the overwhelming joy
Stanza 3
and explosiveness of the rockets
I believe in you, Compañero
that light up our skies
human Christ, worker Christ
in the people's fiesta
conqueror of death
Stanza 2
by your immense sacrifice
Glory to God in Siuna, Jalapa and Cosigüina
you have begotten the new human
in Solentiname, Dirioma and Ticuantepe
who is destined for liberation
Glory to God in Tisma, Waslala and Yalagüina
You are alive in every arm
in Totogalpa, Moyogalpa and Santa Cruz
that raises itself to defend the people
32
NICARAGUAN PERSPECTIVES
from the exploiter's rule;
in my time of prayer
because you are alive in the ranch
in the hustle and bustle of each day
in the factory, in the school
all the energy
I believe in your struggle without truce
that comes from my sweat
I believe in your resurrection.
I offer you, Lord
my whole work
Offering
the sinews of my arms
Stanza 1
and the living enthusiasm
We the workers and campesinos
of my heart.
offer you
bread and wine today
Stanza 2
the chilincocos and the almond trees
The working class
that our earth brought forth
that searches for work
from the inland mountain
from daybreak
Los caimitos bien morados
sings to you from their plows
the mangos painted
from each scaffold
by the moon and the sea
and every tractor
the pipianes, the ayotes
bricklayers, carpenters
the jicote skin
tailors, day-laborers
the chiche-coyol
everyone the same
ironworkers and longshoremen
Chorus
and the shoeshiners
I offer you, Lord
from the Central Park.
BIENVENIDOS A
MONIMBO
CUNA DEL FOLKLORE
NICARAGUENSE
Tony Ryan
I'm Going to Plant a Heart on the Earth
I'm going to cast a heart over the earth
a conversation of anguish and hope
above all a heart without ties or timetables
I grow like a plant
without cufflinks or valises or numbers
without remorse and without stupidity
a heart that will not learn
toward the hours loosened from the day
equations or deviations
pure and secure as a plant
atomic theory or relativity
without crucifixion
that knows nothing of nuts and bolts, that is not
toward the hours loosened from the night
acquainted with watches
A. Cesaire
a heart that uses no credit cards
that hangs no diplomas
I'm going to plant a heart in the earth
that attends no cocktail parties or banquets
water it with love from a vein
an open heart that will never have doors
I'm going to praise it with the push of muscle
I'm going to write a heart that knows no arithmetic
that won't leave some to one side
and care for it in the sound of all dimensions.
and others on the floor in fractions
I'm going to leave a heart in the earth
so it may grow and flower
that suffers only childbirth and feigned illness
a heart that throbs with longing
I'm going to fly a heart like a comet
one of blood and cosmic dust
that adores everything green
that will be strength and nourishment for birds
a mixing of earth with stars
that will be the sap of plants and mountains.
a heart that has no country
that knows no borders
I'm going to spit a heart into the earth
a heart that will never be fired
with all miseries and rebellions
a heart that procures galaxies
that has never signed a single check
that belches drums of all tongues
that has never had a strongbox
a garden of botanical lights
a heart unnerving, unnameable
like a mirror turning toward the sun.
something simple and sweet
a heart that has loved.
I'm going to feel a heart in the earth
above the black white and yellow earth
Rosario Murillo
above flesh of all colors.
Translation by: Barbara Paschke
JEFF
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The Central
American War:
A Guide to
the U.S.
Military
Buildup
Revised April 1983
NARMIC/national action/research on the military industrial complex
PREFACE
warn-against spiralling U.S. involvement
in this guide are aimed at exposing the
in Indochina in 1954 now leads us to
futility of trying to solve with weapons
The American Friends Service Com-
witness against our government's search
problems that are deeply rooted in
mittee (AFSC) is an agency seeking to
for a military solution to the problems
political, economic and social oppres-
make a Quaker witness in troubled
of Central America.
sion, and encouraging policies that
times. We work for the recognition of
Our grave concern for the worsening
speak to the real sources of the conflict.
human rights, the achievement of social
situation in Central America is born of
We therefore commend this guide to
justice, and the assurance of equal
direct experience: The AFSC has had
the reader's thoughtful attention. We
opportunity for all because we believe
staff in the region since the early '60s.
hope it will contribute to a re-evaluation
these values are the basis-and the only
We have participated in fact-finding
of our disastrous course in Central
basis-on which a peaceful world can
missions and spoken with high govern-
America and lead U.S. citizens to press
be built. Their achievement will require
ment and military officials as well as
for justice and a reconciling spirit in our
major social changes, which we pro-
leaders of the popular organizations.
country's foreign policy.
mote through the same method that
We have supported local self-help
William Penn identified three centuries
projects, provided direct grants for
Stephen G. Cary
ago when he founded his colony of
emergency relief and worked with
Chairperson, Board of Directors,
American Friends Service Committee
Pennsylvania: to see what love can do.
refugees and other victims of repres-
The same religious conviction which
sion and violence.
moved the AFSC Board of Directors to
The facts and perspectives provided
The Central American War
At a press conference organized by the Salvadoran Human
Rights Commission in early September of 1982 three women
refugees described the massacre in August of 300 others, mostly
women and children, by Salvadoran troops and planes. "The
people tried to leave through the valleys and they cornered them.
They killed a mountain of people-children, old people and
women," one woman said. "Many people threw themselves off
158
cliffs At night they bombed with lights so they could see the
people, and where they saw them they shot them."
The Salvadoran military is armed with U.S. automatic rifles,
grenades and mortars; the troops and their equipment are
transported by U.S.-made helicopters, trucks and jeeps. U.S.-
trained battalions led the August operation, backed by U.S.-
supplied attack aircraft. Since the arrival of the U.S.-made A-37
"Dragonfly" bombers in June 1982, the danger of civilian casualties
has intensified. In February 1983, following an attack by the
Salvadoran armed forces on the city of Berlin, Acting Archbishop of
San Salvador Arturo Rivera y Damas charged the government with
"indiscriminate bombing."
The September report of the Salvadoran women and the
February bombing of Berlin recall the Vietnam-era tactic of turning
whole areas into free fire zones, killing anyone unlucky enough to
be caught there, and leveling towns and villages, generating
widespread dislocation. It illustrates the growing U.S. involvement
with the military forces of the region, including:
Strengthening the military forces of several nations. U.S. military
El Salvador. Governments in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras govern at
advisors are in El Salvador and Honduras; arms sales and military
gunpoint while ignoring the basic needs of their people.
training are being stepped up. The Administration has resumed
military assistance to Guatemala and is proposing to resume
and Guatemala and encouraging military, police and intel-
ligence training by Argentina, Chile and Venezuela. Pentagon
military training.
planners have declared the need to reaffirm military cooper-
Financing governments of political or strategic interest to the
ation among Latin American nations, while secret C.I.A. plans
United States which are in danger of economic collapse. Nearly
leaked to the press show the groundwork being laid for an
a third of President Reagan's FY (fiscal year) 1982 $350 million
armed Pan-American counterrevolutionary force.
Caribbean Basin Initiative was for El Salvador and Honduras,
while other nations in need of economic assistance were
Increasing U.S. military activity in the Caribbean, particularly at
Key West, in Puerto Rico and Panama and enhancing the
excluded.
capacity for armed U.S. intervention through large scale military
Legitimizing military dictatorships by promoting elections in El
maneuvers and exercises.
Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala which did not in fact reduce
the effective power of their respective armed forces.
Militarizing the politics of the region by discounting proposals
for negotiated political settlements, even those of close U.S.
Unifying the military regimes of Central America, sponsoring
allies such as Mexico, France, Venezuela, Colombia and
cooperation among the military forces of El Salvador, Honduras
Panama.
page 2
Target: Nicaragua
increased and the area of subsistence crops declined. Worsening
conditions led to the growth of peasant organizations, trade unions,
professional and student groups, and organizations rooted in the
In July, 1979 the Sandinistas, joined by almost the entire Nicara-
Catholic church, which tried to mitigate the effects of social
guan population, ousted one of the most oppressive Central
dislocation and rising poverty. As the peasantry organized and
American dictatorships, that of the Somoza family of Nicaragua. In
urban popular movements gathered strength, the large landowners,
the weeks immediately following tens of thousands of Nicaraguans
the military and conservative political forces met them with
returned from neighboring countries where they had sought refuge
systematic repression.
from the massacres of Somoza's National Guard. They found:
The crisis has been worsened by the world recession, which has
of a population of 2.5 million, 40,000 had been killed; 100,000
particularly affected the developing nations. In Central America the
wounded; 40,000 children orphaned; 200,000 families left home-
rising cost of such crucial imports as fuel and fluctuating prices for
less; and 750,000 dependent on food assistance;
their primary exports are contributing to the fragility of the
economies of the region. The war in El Salvador, the repression in
crop cycles disrupted, industrial areas systematically destroyed;
Guatemala and the threat of a regional war drawing in Nicaragua
and Honduras combine with the economic crisis to push national
economies toward bankruptcy. The wealthy, uneasy under these
one of the highest per capital foreign debts in the world; foreign
circumstances, have taken their money out of the region; without
exchange reserves exhausted.
local investment Central America grows increasingly dependent on
international aid.
In an effort to salvage the economy and minimize suffering, the
Sandinista government embarked on a revolutionary program of
The New Age of Skyscrapers
social reconstruction and a foreign policy independent of both
Moscow and Washington. Rather than encouraging these develop-
ments, the Reagan Administration's Central American strategy aims
to cripple-or overthrow-Nicaragua's revolutionary government.
Newsweek
In mid 1981 the Administration cut off assistance to the Sandinista
November 8. $1.50
government, and in December approved a National Security
An Exclusive Report
Council plan for a secret war against Nicaragua. The plan featured a
proposal to create a Latin commando force and included sabotage
of strategic installations and raids inside Nicaragua by counter-
America's
revolutionaries based in Honduras. In Fall 1982 the counter-
revolutionaries were attacking and kidnapping peasants in an
Secret
attempt: to sabotage the harvest of coffee, Nicaragua's second most
important export. In 1982 alone more than 400 Nicaraguans were
killed in over 500 attacks inside the country, according to the
War
Sandinista government.
Targe
Vicaragua
The United States permits training camps for ex-Somoza
Guardsmen in Florida and California. The headquarters for the
armed counterrevolutionaries is in Miami. The counterrevolution-
aries operating out of Honduras are armed with U.S.-made
weapons.
The U.S. Congress has begun to grow wary of U.S. activities to
overthrow the Sandinista government and late in 1982 passed a
American,
Adviser
resolution intended to limit U.S. covert operations. In February
With Honduran
1983, however, CIA director William J. Casey asked Congress to
Troops
continue funding U.S. covert activities in 1984, including aid to anti-
Sandinista forces.
The C.I.A. plan is similar to other U.S. destabilization efforts,
Newsweek exposed details of the CIA plan to undermine the Sandinista government
including those used against Cuba and the Allende government in
in Nicaragua and revealed the key role the U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, John D.
Chile. The pressure of the U.S.-backed military and economic siege
Negroponte, is playing. According to U.S. officials 125-150 CIA personnel are in
is diverting resources from the tasks of reconstruction. In response
Honduras.
to the siege the Sandinistas have maintained a state of military alert
The U.S. government has been reluctant to acknowledge the
and curtailed some civil and political rights; as the tension mounts,
indigenous roots of the conflict in Central America. While admitting
numbers of Nicaraguans are growing critical of these restrictions.
the need for land reform in El Salvador, for example, the Reagan
Administration claims that the insurgency is primarily the result of
arms and guidance flowing from Nicaragua, Cuba, and ultimately
Deep-Seated Conflicts
the Soviet Union. A U.S. "white paper" issued early in 1981
attempting to document this contention was quickly shown by the
Wall Street Journal to contain fabrications and inaccuracies. Wayne
S. Smith, a State Department representative in Havana from 1979
The conditions which led to the massive insurrection in Nicaragua
until July, 1982, has noted: "U.S. evidence of arms shipments-
are similar to those existing in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
especially during the period of Cuban peace overtures-has never
For centuries poverty and suffering have been the fate of the
been solid. While some arms have been sent from Cuba to El
peasant majority. Most of the region's arable land has been
Salvador, the quantities are almost certainly far less than alleged."
controlled by a handful of large landowners. During the 1970s, while
The Intelligence Committee of the House of Representatives made
the statistics show overall economic growth, the living conditions of
a similar criticism of the intelligence basis of the Administration's
the majority worsened as the proportion of landless peasants
position in a report issued September 22, 1982.
Page 3
Trends in U.S. Assistance
Recent trends in U.S. assistance are good
such as the World Bank, the Inter-American
loans or grants through the Foreign Military
indicators of U.S. policy in Central America.
Development Bank, and the International
Sales finance program, Military Assistance
Following the collapse of the Somoza
Monetary Fund, in which the United States
Program and the International Military
dictatorship in 1979, the United States
has great influence, lend money for
Education and Training program, for the
stepped up assistance to El Salvador and
development projects and for paying debts.
purchase of weapons, military equipment
Honduras in the hope of quickly reestab-
Through these institutions multi-million-
and training. Economic support funds are
lishing its influence in the region and
dollar aid packages are being prepared for
monies deposited in the national treasuries
putting an end to the mounting insurgency
El Salvador and Guatemala. At the same
of governments of special political or
in El Salvador. Simultaneously, the Adminis-
time, the United States is using its influence
security interest to the United States to assist
tration took steps to reopen the way for
to prevent Nicaragua from receiving loans
in the payment of deficits. ECONOMIC
military aid to Guatemala and suspended all
from the World Bank.
ASSISTANCE includes development assist-
aid to Nicaragua's Sandinista government.
U.S. government assistance includes
ance and PL 480 Food for Peace. Develop-
The graphs below represent U.S. govern-
SECURITY ASSISTANCE and ECONOMIC
ment assistance is being increasingly di-
ment assistance to El Salvador, Honduras
ASSISTANCE. The U.S. government defines
verted from projects designed to satisfy
and Guatemala. Direct assistance, however,
SECURITY ASSISTANCE as military assist-
basic human needs and toward the private
is not the only source of U.S. aid to the
ance and economic support funds. Military
sector. Food for Peace programs provide
region. International financial institutions,
assistance is government-to-government
food for domestic resale.
$400 Millions of Dollars
EL SALVADOR
I
El Salvador
ECO Assistance
- additional
requests
ECO Support Funds
$300
$312
The graph shows security assistance-military assistance and economic
Military Assistance
Proposed
$276.3
support funds-spiraling upward between FY 1980 and FY 1982. Congress is still
-
$253.4
debating Administration requests for FY 1983 and FY 1984. If Congress approves
$200
approved by
the additional funds requested by the Administration in FY 1983 total U.S.
Congress
$181.1
assistance to El Salvador will be greater than $300 million-U.S. policy would be
actual
costing taxpayers close to one million dollars a day. Since actual spending within
$130.5
each fiscal year since 1980 has outstripped the Administration's original request, it
$100
is impossible to know what the true cost of U.S. policy in El Salvador will be in FY
actual
$50
$61.4
1984.
$6.9
actual
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
Honduras
Millions Dollars
HONDURAS
$150
ECO Assistance
apploved
plus additional
The graph shows levels of U.S. assistance to Honduras; security assistance
ECO Support Funds
administration
requests
jumped dramatically in FY 1982. The enormous increase in FY 1982 was
$133.5
Airstrip Improvements
actual
simultaneous with the first joint Honduran-Salvadoran military actions against the
$120
$124.6
proposed
Military Assistance
$119
guerillas inside El Salvador, and with a Honduran military buildup on its border
with Nicaragua.
$90
Military aid to Honduras in FY 1982 was augmented by U.S. funds for improving
-
airstrips in Honduras. In FY 1982 Honduras received $13 million of a total $21
Congress
$74.4
million for upgrading the airstrip at Comayagua. According to Representative
$60
Tom Harkin (D-lowa), "The danger is real of war between Honduras and
actual
Nicaragua. They (the United States and Honduras) want places to unload
$51.7
actual
$45.3
supplies, places to deploy American troops. Let us not have any illusions about
$30
kw
what the $21 million is for. It is for pushing the Honduran military, with our active
$26.3
assistance, into a regional war." The Administration is requesting the rest of the
$21 million, $8 million more, in FY 1983.
1978
-
1961
1062
1983
1984
Guatemala
Because of its record of violations of human rights, Guatemala did not receive
Millions of Dollars
U.S. military assistance from FY 1979 to FY 1982. The Reagan Administration
$80
looked to elections in March 1982 to improve Guatemala's image by establishing a
civilian government. However, the elections were fraudulent and precipitated a
GUATEMALA
proposed
SCO Assistance
$70.2
military coup. The Administration quickly indicated its support of the
ECO Support Funds
government established by the military coup and headed by General Rios Montt;
see
steps were taken to reopen the way for U.S. military assistance.
Military Amistance
The graph shows that in FY 1983 the Administration is renewing funds for
military assistance to Guatemala through its request for $220,000 for U.S. military
training for Guatemalan military personnel. Previously, substantial amounts of
$40
military-related equipment had been sold to Guatemala through the U.S.
approved
plus additional
Commerce Department. In early 1983 the Administration approved one of the
administration
requests
most controversial of these sales-a $6 million sale of helicopter spare parts and
approved
$29.25
actual
by
$25.1
Congress
communications equipment to the Guatemalan air force. The resumption of
$20
$23.05
military assistance is in spite of reports by Amnesty International and other human
actual
$17.4
rights and church-related organizations that human rights abuses in Guatemala
$10
actual
actual
continue as they had under previous governments. For FY 1984 the
$7.8
$9.1
Administration is proposing $10,250,000 more in military assistance-$10 million
for weapons and military equipment and $250,000 for military training.
1979
1980
1981
1982
1963
1984
Page 4
Military Training
violation of rules forbidding their presence in combat areas. Aware
of public concern and Congressional wariness about the role of the
U.S. advisors, the Administration is proposing that further training
Since 1950 nearly 18,000 military personnel from Central America
of the Salvadoran armed forces be done in the United States, or in a
have been trained under U.S. aid programs. The primary purpose
third country-most likely Honduras.
of this training is teaching foreign troops how to use U.S. weapons,
strategy and tactics. Training is also important in creating support
Honduras: In requesting funds for Honduran military assistance
for U.S. foreign policy goals and in establishing ongoing personal
for FY 1979 the Pentagon noted that the Honduran military "as a
contact between the U.S. military and foreign military officers.
group has historically been friendly to the United States." Since
Training programs for Guatemala and El Salvador were ended in
1980 Mobile Training Teams have instructed the Honduran military
1977 by President Carter's human rights program.
in urban counterinsurgency, communications, intelligence, heli-
copter maintenance and parachuting. Green Berets have been
U.S. training programs include:
sighted in the militarily sensitive border region between Honduras
and El Salvador. On Honduras' volatile border with Nicaragua, U.S.
military personnel and U.S. transport planes helped to establish a
International Military Education and Training Program, a form
Honduran base in July 1982. In the same area, in February 1983 the
of military grant aid that brings foreign military personnel to any
United States and Honduras conducted the largest joint military
of the more than 100 training institutions in the United States
maneuvers involving those two countries.
and the Panama Canal Zone;
Guatemala: The United States trained more than 3300 Guate-
Foreign Military Sales, forty percent of which are now for
malan military personnel between 1950 and 1977. Early in 1982 the
training, managerial and technological assistance and other
Reagan Administration requested funds to train 190 Guatemalans
"military technical services;"
in 1983, declaring that a "Cuban-supported Marxist insurgency"
faces Guatemala. The Administration claimed this training would
"enable us to increase the Guatemalan military's sensitivity to the
Military Assistance Advisory Groups, attached to U.S. embassies
control of abuses of the civilian population by the armed forces."
all over the world, to advise foreign governments on their
Yet U.S. training had not deterred twenty-nine years of repression
military programs;
by the Guatemalan armed forces.
Mobile Training Teams, U.S. advisers, often Green Berets, who
teach specific skills such as intelligence and the use, main-
tenance and protection of U.S. equipment and weapons.
B Salvador: Nearly 200 Salvadoran military personnel received
U.S. training between 1950 and the cut-off in 1977. In FY 1980 the
Administration resumed training and has trained at least 2000 more.
In March 1983 the Pentagon announced its plan to train a full half of
the 22,000-member Salvadoran armed forces. U.S. military training
by U.S. military advisors has taken place at bases in the United
States, in Panama and in El Salvador. The number of U.S. military
personnel in El Salvador is being maintained close to the upper
limit, 55, allowed by the Administration's regulations. The activities
of the U.S. advisors have been controversial, raising fears of
deepening U.S. participation in the war. Press photos of U.S.
advisors carrying combat weapons, and a U.S. General Accounting
Office report later revealing that all advisors in El Salvador draw
combat pay, contributed to the controversy. In February 1983 an
U.S. troops participated in joint maneuvers with the Honduran armed forces in
Summer, 1982 near the Nicaraguan border. They helped to build a Honduran base at
advisor was injured and three were subsequently suspended for
Mocoron.
El Salvador's Army Goes to School-In the U.S.A.
In December, 1981 the Pentagon brought
60 machine guns, M-79 grenade launchers,
tain the support of the populace through
the newly-formed Ramon Belloso Quick
and 90mm recoilless rifles. They were also
respect for basic human rights and the
Reaction Battalion to Fort Bragg, North
taught counterinsurgency tactics, and how
promotion of a close working relationship
Carolina. The home of the Army's Special
to take advantage of the mobility offered by
with the people."
Warfare Center, Fort Bragg specializes in
the "Huey" helicopters and numerous trucks
counterinsurgency. An additional 477 Sal-
sent by the U.S. government. Coordination
Within the first weeks after their return to
vadoran officer candidates were sent for
and communication among units were also
El Salvador the Belloso Battalion was
training to Fort Benning, Georgia.
part of the curriculum, as were such "les-
deployed in a large search-and-destroy
sons of Vietnam" as using small patrols,
operation in northern Chalatenango. In
The two three-month courses cost the
avoiding ambush, night combat, and estab-
spite of the training they had just received
United States $14 million. Both the officers
lishing fire bases. The courses included 39
in the United States, they killed 600
and the 957-man Belloso Battalion were
hours of instruction in "civil-military rela-
unarmed refugees during this operation.
taught how to use the U.S. weapons being
tions," designed to teach the Salvadorans
introduced into El Salvador: M-16 rifles, M-
"a well-defined sense of the need to main-
Page 5
The U.S. Military Presence: A Ring of Terror
U.S. military force rings Central America. U.S. military presence is
In the Air: Claiming that airfields in Puerto Rico and the Canal
on the rise and threatens the area with U.S. ground, air and naval
Zone may be insufficient and that the Navy is too overextended to
forces.
supply an adequate number of aircraft carriers to the region, the
On the Seas: The Naval installation at KEY WEST at the tip of
United States has negotiated the improvement of an airstrip in
Florida, virtually abandoned since 1974, is being renovated in
Honduras, at COMAYAGUA, that will be capable of servicing and
response to the increased U.S. naval presence in the area. It is being
refueling tactical warplanes such as the Air Force's F-14 and F-15
turned into a "forward operating base" capable of receiving U.S.
fighter bombers.
destroyers and warships, as well as gathering and analyzing
Beginning in February 1983 AWACs, sophisticated U.S. spy
intelligence data. Its functions were further augmented in
planes, have been flying over the Caribbean under the rationale of
December 1981 when the Caribbean Defense Command was
tracking down the flow of arms to and from Nicaragua.
relocated from Puerto Rico to Key West. Key West coordinates all
RAMEY AIR BASE in Puerto Rico, a strategic air command until
U.S. naval activities in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and
seven years ago when it was shut down, is being used again by the
those portions of the Pacific Ocean that border Central America,
U.S. Air Force for periodic training missions. The Administration
including U.S. war exercises held in the Caribbean. It would direct
plans to upgrade Ramey and for the Air Force to use it on a more
BERMUDA
FLORIDA
GULF OF MEXICO
KEY
U.S. MILITARY
BAHAMAS
INSTALLATIONS
Key West
CAPITAL
STRAITS OF FLORIDA
CITIES
Andros
Island
NAVAL
MANEUVERS
UPGRADED
AIRSTRIPS
RADAR
INSTALLATION
CUBA
Guatanamo
PUERTO RICO
Air
Fomm
-
Roosevelt Roade
ATLANTIC FLEET WEAPONS
BELIZE
TESTING FACILITY
MEXICO
Antigua
PUERTO
CORTES
GUATEMALA
HONDURAS
Mocoron
QUATEMALACITY
Comeyagua
Tegucigalpa
North
EL
America
SALVADOR?
Choluteca
CARIBBEAN SEA
PACIFIC OCEAN
NICARAGUA
U.S.
Ampala
GULF OF
Sen Andres
Managua
FONSECA
Chaletango Province
Cabanas Morazan
EL
SALVADOR
*
COSTA RICA
Southern Command
San Salvador
$m,Jose
*
Canal Zone
RING
South
America
Panama
San Vicente
Usulutan
PANAMA
COLOMBIA
Navy participation in any regional military intervention.
permanent basis.
Other U.S. naval installations in the area include: BERMUDA;
On the Ground: The U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND (SOUTH-
ANDROS ISLAND, in the Bahamas; GUANTANAMO, on Cuba's
COM) in Panama coordinates U.S. military activities in the
eastern shore; ROOSEVELT ROADS, at Ceiba, Puerto Rico, one of
Caribbean, Central and South America. Southcom administers the
the largest naval facilities in the world; ANTIGUA, in the Antilles;
growing U.S. military aid programs in the region and is responsible
and the CANAL ZONE, in Panama. The regular U.S. naval presence
for U.S. training teams operating in 14 Latin American countries,
in the Caribbean is now 20 ships.
including Green Berets in El Salvador and Honduras. Southcom
U.S. destroyers carrying advanced electronic surveillance
manages three training schools for the Latin American armed
equipment continuously patrol the GULF OF FONSECA, shared by
forces where courses are taught in "U.S. Military Doctrine," "U.S.
Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras. Andres Alvarado, former
Government and History," "Low Intensity Warfare," "Internal
foreign minister of Honduras, has charged the United States with
Defense and Development," "Internal War/Revolution" and "The
converting AMPALA, on the Isle del Tigre in the Gulf, into a
Problem of Development From a Military Perspective." Instructors
"Guantanamo-type military base."
at Southcom include Argentines, Chileans and Uruguayans.
The United States and Colombia have discussed the use of the
Southcom also sponsors conferences and workshops on subjects of
Colombian naval facility on the island of SAN ANDRES, off the
mutual military interest with Latin and Caribbean countries
coast of Nicaragua. Although there is no agreement for U.S. use of
receiving U.S. military assistance and training. The relocation of
this base, U.S. military technicians visited San Andres in April, 1982
Southcom is under consideration; either Honduras or Puerto Rico
to take measurements of its port.
may be the new location.
Page 6
U.S. War Games
"All We Got There
in the Caribbean
Was Death"
Dress Rehearsals for U.S.
EL SALVADOR
Military Intervention?
The government offensive in Summer 1982 against the guerillas in
the provinces of Chalatenango and Morazan, situated along the
August-October 1981, OPERATION OCEAN VENTURE: An
Honduran border, was a grim forecast of the changes in the war in
exercise involving 120,000 troops, 240 ships and 1000 aircraft
El Salvador. 5000 Salvadoran troops, including two 1000-man U.S.
from the NATO nations and Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay
trained battalions, were deployed. Fighting alongside the Sal-
and Colombia, including a mock invasion at Vieques, Puerto
vadoran armed forces were 3000 Hondurans. The combined armies
Rico, called "Amber in the Amberdines," regarded as a thinly
were bogged down by guerilla forces until U.S.-supplied A-37
veiled reference to Grenada and the Grenadines.
Dragonfly aircraft bombed the area. Hundreds of unarmed civilians
October 1981, OPERATION FALCON'S EYE: Joint U.S.-
were killed in the fighting and by the bombing.
Honduran naval maneuvers involving 260 troops, six ships and
This offensive marked the first open collaboration between
several planes near Puerto Cortes, Honduras.
Honduran and Salvadoran troops inside El Salvador; increased
ground and air support for Salvadoran troops from U.S.-supplied
February-March 1982: Thirteen ships from the United States and
trucks and helicopters; the first combat experience of Salvadoran
Canada conducted maneuvers in the Gulf of Mexico and the
troops recently trained in the United States; and an extended test
Straits of Florida.
of U.S.-advocated military strategy, using small commando squads
March 1982, OPERATION SAFE PASS: NATO exercises originally
in conjunction with conventional 40-man platoons.
scheduled to take place off Canada were relocated to the Gulf
When we were trying to get out of there we had to go right
of Mexico. The exercise included 28 ships and 80 aircraft from six
past the Army. They shot at us with mortars and they threw
NATO nations. Mexico characterized the maneuvers as
grenades at us from all directions We were trying to escape with
provocative.
our children When we had gotten out, a helicopter went over us.
April 1982, OPERATION READEX: 39 U.S. warships, including
Then when we were trying to get down the hill, they had us
two aircraft carriers and some 200 aircraft, conducted
surrounded and blocked; they had us ambushed We were there
maneuvers and practiced an amphibious assault on a "hostile
for quite a while, and all we got was death, death which got us.
island" at Vieques, Puerto Rico.
-Refugee account of the Chalatenango offensive
April-May 1982, OPERATION OCEAN VENTURE: A multi-
The capabilities of the Salvadoran Air Force were greatly
service training maneuver in the Caribbean and the Gulf of
increased with the delivery of U.S.-made A37 bombers, helicopters
Mexico involving 45,000 servicemen, 350 airplanes and 60 ships,
and other aircraft in June 1982. Military officials now report that the
including two carrier battle groups. It simulated the invasion of a
Air Force flies more than 30 sorties a day and that of those half a
"hostile" country at Vieques, Puerto Rico, and included an
dozen are made by the A37s, subsonic jets that can carry 500 lb.
evacuation drill for families at Guantanamo. Rear Admiral
bombs or 2.75 inch rockets in four pods fixed under the wings. A
MacKenzie, commanding the maneuvers, said they were
government attack accompanied by heavy bombing of the city of
designed to "send a signal to those people who are friends and
Berlin left a dozen buildings in its central square flattened.
those who would oppose us in this part of the world.
Salvadorans from all parts of El Salvador speak of their fears of
July-November 1982, OPERATION UNITAS: Caribbean exer-
bombings.
cises involving the United States, Chile and Colombia. These
Since October 1979 the human rights office of the Archdiocese of
manuevers, conducted annually since 1959, were boycotted this
San Salvador contends that 38,000 Salvadorans have been killed or
year by other Latin nations because of the Falklands/Malvinas
have disappeared. Most were civilian victims of government forces
war. Six U.S. Navy ships and 20,000 men were involved in this
and right-wing death squads. United Nations figures show that in
exercise.
addition more than 800,000 people, about 20% of the population,
August 1982: Joint U.S.-Honduras military exercises involving
have been displaced from their homes.
Army and Air Force units from Panama. The United States
supplied C-130 transport planes and "Huey" and Chinook
helicopters, and assisted the Hondurans in establishing a base at
Mocoron 25 miles from the Nicarguan border.
February 1, 1983, BIG PINE: Joint U.S.-Honduran military
exercises costing $5.2 million in the Honduran border region
with Nicaragua near Fort Mocoron involving 1600 U.S. and 4000
Honduran military personnel, and 211 members of the Puerto
Rican National Guard (PRNG), the first in which the PRNG
participated. The exercises simulated an invasion of Honduras
by a hypothetical country, "Corinto," which happens to be the
name of a Nicaraguan port on the Atlantic.
February 11-17, 1983, KINDLE LIBERTY: Joint U.S.-Panama
National Guard ground and naval maneuvers held in Panama
Canal area. Virtually all of the U.S. Southcom's Panama based
forces participated as well as 3000 other U.S. military personnel
coming from their home bases in the United States.
March 10-April 2, 1983: Month-long naval exercises conducted
off the coast of Puerto Rico involving 70 ships of the Second
Fleet, 8 British and one Dutch ship and 400 aircraft. The Second
Drawing by a Salvadoran refugee child. In March 1981 the child who drew this picture
Fleet's basic aircraft, the F-14 "Tomcat" fighter, has a range of
and many others fled from a government attack in Cabañas province in northern El
1000 miles.
Salvador, across the Lempa River into Honduras. The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees estimates that there are as many as 26,000 Salvadorans in
Honduras.
Page 7
THE HONDURAN CONNECTION: The location of Honduras is
With its armed forces mobilized on two borders, Honduras has
highly strategic, bordering El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
abruptly stopped progress toward democratization. Despite
The war in El Salvador and government repression in Guatemala
elections in November, 1981-the first in 18 years-conservative
have driven tens of thousands of refugees into Honduras. In
elements have consolidated within the armed forces and tightened
addition, thousands of ex-members of Somoza's National Guard
their grip on the country, cracking down on Honduran peasant,
are based in a dozen camps along the Honduran-Nicaraguan
union and student leaders as well as members of the Salvadoran
border.
and Guatemalan exile communities. Even a top-ranking member
On Honduras' border with El Salvador there has been growing
of the Honduran armed forces has protested the repression; in late
collaboration between the Salvadoran and Honduran armed
August, 1982, Colonel Torres Arias, head of military intelligence
forces. Honduran ground troops have joined the Salvadoran
from 1976 until January 1982, condemned the disappearances and
armed forces during military confrontations in the border region
political murders occurring. It is a tragic irony that just as the
and the Honduran air force has flown fighter jets in support
Honduran people thought they had won social and political
missions for the Salvadoran armed forces. Ex-Somoza Guardsmen
liberalization at the polls they find themselves threatened by
based in Honduras near the Nicaraguan border launch armed
regional war and suffering increasing domestic repression.
attacks into Nicaragua almost daily. Hundreds of Nicaraguans have
been killed and attempts to rebuild the society disrupted.
GUATEMALA: In 1954 a C.I.A. covert operation overthrew a
Nicaragua's Miskito Indians, who live along the Atlantic coast of
democratically elected reform government and ushered in the
Nicaragua, have been drawn into the conflict. Separated from the
present era of repressive military rule in Guatemala. In the ensuing
rest of Nicaragua by geography, language and culture, the Miskitos
29 years the Guatemalan armed forces have conducted a systematic
resisted the often insensitive attempts of the Sandinista govern-
campaign of murder and terror against all opposition, but have
ment to include them in their reconstruction efforts. Following
failed to stamp it out.
cross-border raids into Nicaragua and the discovery of "Operation
Following the March 1982 coup of General Rios Montt there was
Red Christmas"-an attempt to seize several Nicaraguan towns
a reduction of violence in Guatemala's cities simultaneous with the
scheduled for late 1981-Miskito villages were forcibly relocated.
unleashing of a ruthless campaign of terror and mass killing in the
In response many Miskitos fled to Honduras where some have
highland region. Indians make up 60% of the total Guatemalan
joined the Somoza supporters.
population and the highlands are the home of the majority. As a
As a result of the continuous conflict on this border, Honduran
result of the campaign of terror thousands of Indians have fled their
troops have come into direct confrontation with Sandinista
villages, fleeing to Mexico or retreating further into the highlands.
soldiers. A new Honduran military base has been established with
Separated from their farms those seeking safety in the remote
U.S. assistance and Honduras is building an airstrip near the Miskito
highlands frequently face starvation. On their return the Army
refugee camps in Honduras. The United States is installing a $5
forces many into government controlled areas and demands their
million radar system near Choluteca in the border region capable
participation in the army's civil patrols. As one Guatemalan military
of tracking planes within 250 miles-a range covering most of
commander described the government's "beans and bullets"
Nicaraguan and Salvadoran air space. The radar system is the first of
program: "If you're with us we'll feed you, if not we'll kill you."
its kind to be installed in Honduras; 50 U.S. Air Force personnel will
operate the system under Honduran security beginning in Spring
First they came in helicopters and gathered the people together.
1983.
Then, one by one they took them away and killed them and after
they killed the people they chopped them up and picked at them
with machetes My home was burned to ashes. We were in town
then if we had still been home when the army came, we'd be
ashes by now.
-Refugee account
Church sources state that the military campaign against
Guatemala's indigenous population has killed thousands, dis-
placed more than a million people, and driven more than 100,000
into Mexico and other Central American countries to seek refuge.
The United States government regards the Rios Montt-directed
campaign against the population in the rural highlands as a
successful counterinsurgency effort. In Fall 1982 it announced that
the human rights situation in Guatemala had improved, claiming a
reduction in the absolute number of summary executions of
civilians by the Guatemalan forces. Despite the controversy this
assertion aroused, and contrary evidence produced by Amnesty
International and other human rights groups, the Administration
Militarization of the border region between El Salvador and Honduras endangers
rushed $6 million in military assistance to Guatemala.
both those seeking escape from the fighting in El Salvador and Hondurans living in
the area. In order to militarize the area refugees who had settled near the border in
Honduras were forcibly relocated to the Honduran interior. Many local Hondurans
have fled from the area in fear.
The increasing U.S. presence in Honduras points to the
importance of that country for U.S. regional strategy and the
dangerous situation into which U.S. policies are leading Honduras.
Approximately 100 U.S. military advisors are in Honduras as well as
over 100 CIA operatives. The U.S. diplomatic mission numbers 147,
the largest in Central America. It is headed by John Negroponte,
who was a Vietnam-era diplomat in Saigon between 1964 and 1968,
the years of the U.S. military buildup; Negroponte is reported to be
directing the secret CIA-sponsored war against Nicaragua. Since
Fall 1981 there have been three major joint U.S.-Honduran military
maneuvers including the largest military exercise ever to take place
The massacres of the Indians and the dislocation of Indian villages are threatening the
in the region.
survival of indigenous cultures in Guatemala.
Page 8
A Catalogue of U.S. Military Equipment in El Salvador,
Honduras and Guatemala*
8 Salvador: U.S. assistance virtually feeds, clothes, equips and trains the
ground coordination and the armed forces' ability to move large numbers
Salvadoran armed forces. U.S. weapons and equipment are greatly
of troops and equipment around the country rapidly.
increasing the fire power, troop mobility and communications among
U.S. military assistance is also to enhance the small Salvadoran navy and
combat units. For example, in late 1980 a $250,000 contract was signed for a
includes ship spare parts and upgrading vessels.
U.S. Technical Field Team "to implement an effective and supportable
According to the Pentagon, nearly 90 percent ot the Salvadoran junta's FY
logistical, signal and motor maintenance/support." Early in 1982 U.S.
1983 request is for "expendable" or "sustaining" items ammunition,
assistance was proposed to establish an intelligence school and system,
boots and other personal equipment, vehicular transportation and
improve ground force capabilities, improve command and control through
communications gear. In its proposals for additional military assistance in FY
installation of a nationwide radio and teletype, provide aircraft, spare parts,
1983 and for FY 1984 the Administration is emphasizing the need to provide
and funds to cover logistics advice and administrative costs.
more military training to the Salvadoran armed forces.
U.S. aircraft arriving in El Salvador in mid-1982 signaled a change in the
Western European countries, particularly France, and Israel have also
war in El Salvador. The aircraft greatly increased bombing capability, air-to-
exported weapons to El Salvador.
Quantity
Item/Manufacturer
Description/Date of delivery
(where
(where known)
(where known)
known)
20
UH-1H Iroquois helicopter
"Huey," widely used in Vietnam: scout vehicle, transports up to 15 troops or 5000 lbs. of external ordnance (rockets, machine
Bell Helicopter, the largest division
guns, grenade launchers). Its slim fuselage makes it hard to hit. Hopes to increase to 24 1981-1982.
of Textron, Inc., Fort Worth, TX
1
FH-1100 commercial observation
Adaptable for military use: 5 passengers or 1000 lbs., 348 mile range.
helicopter / Fairchild-Hiller,
Farmingdale, Long Island, NY
6
A-37B Dragonfly jet attack aircraft
Used against ground targets: highly accurate, maneuverable, can take off and land in a short space, ideal for rough terrain;
Cessna, Wichita, KS
carries nearly 5000 lbs. of externally mounted bombs and air munitions; heavily used in Vietnam to carry bombs, rockets, white
phosphorous and cluster bombs; fixed armament a minigun which can fire up to 6000 rounds per minute / 1982.
4
O-2 Skymaster spotter aircraft
For visual reconnaissance, target identification, target marking, ground-to-air coordination and damage assessment; used in
Cessna, Wichita, KS
Vietnam, often as an attack bomber; can carry rockets and flares; easy to maintain and fly; can stay aloft a long time / 1982.
2
C-123 Provider jet transport
58 troops or 54,000 lbs. of cargo; in Vietnam a few modified as gunships, others fitted with defoliation equipment / 1982.
Fairchild-Hiller Corp., Farmingdale,
Long Island, NY
1
C-47 Skytrain transport
Carries 74 troops; modified versions used in Vietnam; five destroyed January 1982.
Douglas Aircraft Co., a division of
McDonnell Douglas Corp., Long
Beach, CA
6
T-41 Mescalero trainer aircraft
900 lbs. of ordnance underwing.
Cessna, Wichita, KS
3
T-34A Mentor trainer aircraft
Can be used as an attack bomber.
Beech Aircraft Corp., Wichità, KS
6-10
T-6 Texans trainer aircraftNorth
1500 lbs. of rockets and gun pods.
American (now part of Rockwell
International) El Segundo, CA
10
M-113A1 armored personnel carrier
Carries 13 combat troops; Browning M-2.50 cal. machinegun with 2000 rounds of ammunition. (1000 lost in combat in South-
Food Machinery Corp. (FMC),
east Asia.)
San Jose, CA
75
Miscellaneous Vehicles
Ford 22' diesel trucks with seats; cargo trucks; tank trailers / 1980.
4
M-23 Armament Systems
Includes two M-60D 7.6 mm machine guns, one for each helicopter door; 600 rounds per gun at rate of fire of 550-600 rpm.
30
M-101A1 105mm howitzer / Rock
World War II era weapon; weighs 2.5 tons; towed by light truck or jeep, or lifted by helicopter; fires up to 100 rounds per hour;
Island Arsenal, Rock Island, IL
maximum range 7.8 miles.
36
M-67 90 mm recollless rifle
Fires a high explosive round up to 560 yards / 1981.
M-18A1 57 mm recoilless rifle
Fires a high explosive round more than a mile, a white phosphorous shell up to 3 miles.
30
M-1 81 mm mortar
World War II era weapon mounted on halftrack weapons carrier; fires 30 rpm, sending a high explosive or white phosphorous
shells more than a mile / 1981.
20
M-19 60 mm mortar
Fires high explosive and white phosphorous shells more than a mile / 1981.
208
M-79 40 mm grenade launcher
Fires a grenade accurately up to 180 yards 1981.
4000
M-16 A1 rifle
Lightweight; the weapon of Vietnam; unlike standard rifles, which spin the bullet, the M-16A1 "tumbles" the bullet, giving it a
shorter range but causing it to make a gaping wound / 1981.
222
MK82 500 lb. bomb
Makes a crater approximately 10 feet deep, 30 feet across 1981.
Small Firearms / Smith and Wesson,
Pistols, shotguns, rifles.
Springfield, MA; Colt,
Hartford, CT; and others.
52,010
M-67 fragmentation hand grenade
Sends lethal fragments to a radius of 20 yards 1981.
10,000
Riot Control Equipment
40 mm CS gas grenade, nausea-causing anti-riot agent. Tear gas grenade launcher; protective masks / since 1980.
Ammunition
Artillery, rifle and pistol; smoke grenades; fuses.
Image intensifier
Used at night to improve contrast of objects against background; widely used in Vietnam 1980.
Night vision device
PVS-2B electro-optic devices for observation and nighttime weapons targeting; used in Vietnam / 1980.
Communications Equipment
250 AN/PRC manpack radio set with five mile range / 1980. AN/VRC and AN/ARC radio set 1980. RC-292 antenna system /
1980. 30 KW generator 1981. Thousands of batteries / since 1980.
Medical Equipment
27 ambulances / 1960. 10,000 first aid dressings / 1980. Medical and dental supplies 1980.
Personal Items
Boots, mess kits, compasses, C-rations, helmets, flak jackets.
*These lists are necessarily an understatement of the actual U.S. weapons in the arsenals of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala as it is impossible to compile accurately a total
figure for small items sold by the U.S. and because all major items appearing are either verified by The Military Balance 1982-83 or appear in at least two other sources.
Page 9
Honduras: Honduras has the largest, most sophisticated air force in Central
Honduran request for military assistance is for expendable items that keep
America. Although the majority of aircraft listed below were exported to
the military going. The Administration is proposing $41 million in military
Honduras prior to the current military buildup, in FY 1980 the United States
assistance for FY 1984, double its FY 1983 request. It includes transport
lent Honduras ten "Huey" helicopters; Honduras has acquired an
aircraft, a nationwide communications system, training and helicopters.
additional six since then. The United States has contracted for the repair of
The United States helped create the Honduran navy in 1975-77; it
Honduran aircraft and for aircraft engines. Aircraft equipment is
currently includes 5-7 Swift patrol craft made by SWIFTSHIPS, INC., Morgan
overhauled and re-calibrated at HOWARD AIR FORCE BASE, in the Canal
City, Louisiana.
Zone in Panama.
Israel is also a significant supplier of weapons, aircraft and military
The United States provides spare parts, ammunition and repair
equipment to Honduras. A visit to Honduras in Fall 1982 by then Israeli
equipment for Honduras' basic weapons systems. In 1981 a Honduran team
Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and his subsequent statement to the press
came to the Defense Institute for Security Assistance Management,
that Israel would cooperate with Honduras in military and security matters
WRIGHT PATTERSON AIR BASE, Dayton, Ohio to learn to handle the influx
prompted speculation that Israel and Honduras would soon announce a
of U.S. military assistance. According to the Pentagon 75% of the FY 1983
major arms deal.
Quantity
Item/Manufacturer
Description/Date of delivery
(where
(where known)
(where known)
known)
14-20
UH-1H helicopter
See El Salvador / since 1980.
2-3
UH-19D Chickasaw helicopter
Multi-purpose transport and utility.
Sikorsky Aircraft, division of United
Technologies, Stratford, CT
6-8
A-37B attack aircraft
See El Salvador / 1975.
3
RT 33-A reconnaissance aircraft
Lockheed, Burbank, CA
2
C-54 Skymaster transport aircraft
Carries 50 troops.
Douglas Aircraft, division of
McDonnell Douglas, Long Beach, CA
1-5
C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft
Most widely used military transport in history; carries 74 combat troops; modified version used in Vietnam.
Douglas Aircraft.
2
C-45 transport aircraft
Beech Aircraft Corporation
(subsidiary of Raytheon Company),
Wichita, KS
2
CE-180 Skywagon commercial
Used abroad for military transport and reconnaissance / 1959.
aircraft / Cessna, Wichita, KS
2-3
CE-185 Skywagon utility aircraft
Many have been modified for military use / 1961.
Cessna, Wichita, KS
6
T-6 Texan
See El Salvador
24
T-28D Trojan trainer aircraft
Carries 4000 lbs. of ordnance underwing; early versions used in Vietnam and the Congo.
North American, now Rockwell
International, El Segundo, CA
5
T-41 Mescalero trainer aircraft
See El Salvador / 1973-75.
Armored Personnel Carriers
and Fighting Vehicles
15 M-3A1 White
World War II eΓa vehicle; fourwheeled armored car weighing 6.5 tons; speed 55 mph; carries .50 cal. and .30 cal. machine guns
/ 1951.
15 M-6 Staghound
World War = era / 1951.
10 M-24 Chaffee
World War = era / 1954-55.
Trucks and other vehicles
Enhance mobility of troops and equipment.
12
M-116 75 mm howitzer
8-12
M-101 105 mm howitzer
See El Salvador.
12
M-102 105 mm howitzer
Light weight; towed by truck or jeep; can fire 3 rpm up to 9 miles.
M-67 90 mm recoilless rifle
See El Salvador.
M40A2 106 mm recoilless rifle
Often mounted on a jeep, fires high explosive round up to 5 miles.
M-18A1 57 mm recollless rifle
81 mm mortar
120 mm mortar
106
M16 A1 rifles, spare parts
See El Salvador / 1980.
and accessories.
433
M14 rifles, spare parts
1980.
and accessories.
102
machine guns
1979.
5000
carbines
1979.
Small arms
Grenades, submachine guns, 164 bayonets, revolvers, pistols, mines.
Personal equipment
Boots, canteens, uniforms; C-rations, 20,000 helmets.
Medical equipment
U.S. technical team to survey for 150-bed hospital.
40
Night vision sight, MK 505
See El Salvador.
11
Laser range finder
1981.
AN/PRC-77 field radio
Increase coordination capabilities among units.
Sentinel Electronics
Bristol, PA
Riot control equipment
Unidentified riot control agent; safety masks accompanied by Army Field Manuals on chemical and biological agents; riot
control gun.
Page 10
Guatemala: In 1977 Guatemala refused to comply with U.S. human rights
discussed with their U.S. instructors plans for arming their Bell helicopters
criteria and rejected U.S. military assistance. Though military assistance was
with machine guns.
technically cut off deliveries of U.S. weapons and military equipment
On January 7, 1983 the Reagan Administration announced its decision to
already in the pipeline continued, as well as some FMS Cash Sales and
resume official military ties with the Guatemalan government of General
Commercial Sales. Since mid-1981 the Guatemalan government has also
Rios Montt; it authorized $6 million in helicopter spare parts and
purchased significant quantities of items which, though officially
communications gear to the Guatemalan air force. In FY 1984 the
designated as "non-military," are used by the armed forces for military
Administration is proposing $10.2 million in military assistance to include
purposes. Examples of such items are: shotguns, crime investigation
engineering, medical and communications equipment, training and spare
equipment, handcuffs, a surveillance camera, a psychological stress
parts for planes and helicopters.
analyzer, truck and truck parts. Through commercial sales Guatemala also
Over two-thirds of Guatemala's 15 naval vessels were built by the U.S.
acquired Bell helicopters, civilian variants of Bell's military model;
companies HALTER MARINE SERVICES, INC., New Orleans, LA and
eyewitness accounts reveal Guatemalan air force raids using these Bell
SEWART SEACRAFT, Berwick, LA and commissioned between 1972-1977.
aircraft. It was also in this way that Bell Helicopter Company brought at least
Over the past decade Western European countries, as well as Israel, Brazil,
twenty Guatemalan air force officers to its Fort Worth, Texas facility for
Taiwan and Yugoslavia, have exported arms and military-related equipment
training during 1982. At the time of their training the Guatemalans candidly
to Guatemala.
Quantity
Item/Manufacturer
Description/Date of delivery
(where
(where known)
(where known)
4
Bell UH-1H helicopter
3
Bell 212 helicopter
purchased through the U.S. Department of Commerce 1980-82;
6
Bell 412 helicopter
civilian helicopters identified as fitted with machine guns
8
Bell 206 B helicopter
by the Guatemalan armed forces
6
Bell 206L-1 helicopter
Bell Helicopter, Textron, Inc.
Fort Worth TX
10-11
A-37B Dragonfly attack aircraft
See El Salvador / 1971-75.
9-10
C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft
See El Salvador / 1976.
1
DC-6B commercial aircraft / Douglas
Version of C-54 Skymaster (See Honduras).
Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas,
Long Beach, CA
2-3
CE-180 Skywagon utility aircraft
See Honduras 1961.
6-12
CE-172 Skyhawk trainer aircraft
Carries 900 lbs. of ordnance.
Cessna, Wichita, KS
2-4
U-206C Stationair commercial
Seats 4 to 10; modified for military use.
plane / Cessna, Wichita, KS
12
T-41 Mescalero trainer aircraft
See El Salvador.
7-25
M-3A1 Stuart light tank
World War II era with 37 mm gun 1950.
10
M-113A1 armored personnel carrier
See El Salvador / 1972-73.
15
M-8 Greyhound armored car
World War = era; speed 55 mph; with 37 mm gun; .30 cal. machine gun with 1500 rounds; and 50cal. anti-aircraft gun with 1000
rounds.
7
V-150 Commando armored car
Carries 12 combat troops and generally 2 machine guns.
Cadillac Gage, subsidiary
Ex-Cell-O, Warren, MI
6
M-3 armored personnel carrier
World II era; normally carries 2 machine guns and 10 troops.
50
trucks
Purchased through the Commerce Department 1981.
100
jeeps
Purchased through the Commerce Department / 1981.
12-36
M-101A1 105 mm howitzer
See El Salvador.
M-1 mm mortar
See El Salvador.
12
4.2" mortar
M-329A2 4.2" mortar
Fires high explosive projectile up to 3 miles.
Chamberlin
Manufacturing Corp., Elmhurst, IL
12
M-2 mm mortar
See Honduras.
M-20A1 3.5" rocket launcher
Korean War era; one man weapon-updated version of World War = era bazooka; maximum range 140 yards.
10,000
M-16A1 5.56 mm rifle
See El Salvador / 1977.
Browning .30 caliber machine gun
World War II era.
M-3A1 .45 caliber submachine gun
World War II era; fires 450 rpm with a range of 250 yards.
Firearms
M-1 Garand .30 caliber rifle; M-1A1 .30 caliber carbine; rockets; shotgun and shotgun parts; pistols, revolvers.
Ammunition
1,060,000 cartridges up through 20 mm./ 1978, ammunition raw materials/1978, 1979; .45 cal. cartridges; 1,028,000 cartridges
Day and Zimmerman, Philadelphia,
up through 20 mm./1980.
PA; Hercules, Inc., Wilmington, DE;
ICI Americas, Inc., Wilmington, DE;
Olin Corp., Winchester Group, East
Alton, IL; Remington Arms Co.,
Bridgeport, CT.
Riot control agent/herbicide
1978.
22
TF-76 Taser and taser spares
Anti-personnel weapon now outlawed in Canada; looks like a flashlight, fires two short-range darts connected to wires into
victim, then fires high voltage low current charge of electricity, causing instant incapacitation.
Communications equipment
Radios; P-11 speech scramblers.
Personnel equipment
Armored vests, other protective equipment.
Page 11
The President, Congress and the media must hear the resolve of U.S. citizens for an end to U.S.
support for repression and military terror and for help for the development of democratic
alternatives and a peaceful process for solving the many complex problems of Central America.
You can join a growing movement seeking:
an end to U.S. military support
withdrawal of U.S. military advisors
an end to covert activities
a negotiated political settlement involving all parties to the conflict in El Salvador; a
negotiated end to hostilities with Nicaragua, and between Nicaragua and Honduras
an end to support for the repressive Guatemalan government
support for organizations providing humanitarian assistance to victims of violence
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Human Rights/
New York, NY 10003: 15 Rutherford Place
Global Justice Program, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA
Pasadena, CA 91103: 980 N. Fair Oaks Avenue
19102, (215-241-7165)
San Francisco, CA 94121: 2160 Lake Street
Seattle, WA 98105: 814 N.E. 40th Street
Washington, D.C. 20009: 1822 R Street NW
AFSC Regional Offices:
Atlanta, GA 30303: 92 Piedmont Avenue, NE
Available from AFSC Latin America Program, 1501 Cherry
Austin, TX 78703: 1022 West 6th Street
Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215-241-7146): Central
Baltimore, MD 21218: 317 E. 25th Street
America: The Roots of the Crisis, a 30-minute slideshow
Cambridge, MA 02140: 2161 Massachusetts Avenue
(1982, $50); Guatemala: A People Beseiged (1978, $50);
Chicago, IL 60605: 407 S. Dearborn Street, Suite 370
speakers; and information about the AFSC Central America
Dayton, OH 45406: 915 Salem Avenue
Assistance Fund.
Des Moines, IA 50312: 4211 Grand Avenue
most
The following organizations can help you learn more about Central America, help you organize activities in your community,
these
place of worship, school or union, and put you in touch with others in your area with similar concerns.
Americas Watch, 705 G Street SE, Washington, DC 20003; Amnesty International, 705 G Street SE, Washington, DC 20003; CISPES
(Coalition in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador) 930 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004; Center for International Policy,
120 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002; Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy, 120 Maryland Avenue NE,
can
Washington, DC 20002; CAMINO, 1151 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138; Denver Justice and Peace, 2840 Lawrence
Street, Denver, CO 80205; EPICA (Ecumenical Program for International Communication and Action) 1470 Irving Street NW,
Washington, DC 20010; ICCHRLA (Interchurch Committee on Human Rights in Latin America) 40 St. Clair Avenue E, Toronto,
disetly Contrat we
Ontario M4T 1M9; Institute for Policy Studies, 1901 Q Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; Interreligious Task Force on B Salvador,
475 Riverside Drive, M. 1020, New York, NY 10115; LAWG (Latin America Working Group) Box 2207, Station P, Toronto, Ontario
M5S 2T2; NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America) 151 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011; NISGUA (National
Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala) 930 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004; Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 930
F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004; OXFAM-America, 115 Broadway, Boston, MA 02116; Religious Task Force on El Salvador,
any
1747 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009; Religious Task Force, 407 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60605; Unitarian
Universalist Service Committee, 78 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108; WOLA (Washington Office on Latin America) 110 Maryland
Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002.
there groups this
Many thanks to numerous groups and individuals whose research and publication of resources on Central America were helpful in the preparation of
pamphlet; to Frank Brodhead for research and writing assistance; and to Cynthia Washington of the Coalition for a New Foreign and Military
Policy for design. Cover Photo: Harry Mattison, Gamma-Liaison, Helicopter gunship over El Salvador.
NARMIC Staff: Thomas Conrad, Eva Gold (project coordinator), David Goodman, Mary Morrell, and Methodist mission intern Marilyn Wood.
Price: $1 each; $15/50; $25/100; $115/500. Make checks payable to AFSC/NARMIC. NARMIC pays postage on prepaid orders. Copyright April, 1983.
Contributions to NARMIC are tax-deductible.
narmic
National Action/Research on the Military Industrial Complex
A project of the American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102
(215) 241-7175
Spanish language version also available from NARMIC.
Page 12
Canadian Policy: Variations on the U.S. Theme, pg. 34.
Vol. IV No. 6
JUNE 1983
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
25
83
COMMON
CONCERNS
U.S. HARDSELLS HARDLINE
$2.00
Now that the Reagan administration's hardliners have taken com-
Court stated that the legislative veto had unconstitutionally usurp-
plete control of the Central American policy apparatus with the
ed the President's executive power. While the legal battle continues,
dismissals of Thomas Enders and Deane Hinton, only one obstacle
Congress is considering other legislative means of controlling
remains: selling U.S. intervention in Central America to the Ameri-
covert action and limiting military aid to El Salvador, two of the
can public.
most immediate issues affected by the new ruling.
In April, President Reagan began the hardsell with his address
Military Escalation
to the joint session of Congress:
Pending public support for major U.S. involvement, Washington
The national security of all the Americas is at stake in Cen-
is continuing to implement a series of mini-escalations. The train-
tral America. If we cannot defend ourselves there, we can-
ing of Salvadorean officers has been stepped up in Fort Benning
not expect to prevail elsewhere. Our credibility would
and in Honduras, while AP reports that U.S. officials "are now
collapse, our alliances would crumble and the safety of our
homeland would be put in jeopardy.
running the war" (see El Salvador article). The U.S. has also estab-
lished a training base and a radar installation in Honduras (see
However, at the same time Reagan promised not to commit Ameri-
Honduras article).
can combat troops. But if Central America is so important, why
American covert operatives continue to direct the contras' war
doesn't President Reagan send in the Marines? Because U.S. popu-
against Nicaragua. With an over-confidence suggesting massive
lar opinion remains overwhelmingly opposed to escalating Ameri-
American armaments and logistic support, C.I.A. Director William
can military involvement in the region (see pg 36).
Casey has predicted the Sandinistas' downfall by year's end.
The lack of public consensus to back open-ended U.S. involve-
ment has led the Pentagon to conclude that American public opin-
Military Solutions Undermine Peace Talks
ion must change before it becomes viable to commit U.S. troops.
Although the Contadora Group (Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Edward Meyer says it would be
and Panama) continues to press for negotiated resolutions to the
wrong to have "soldiers at the end of the string without having
regional crisis, U.S. opposition has stymied every attempt. At
the support of the American people." Ideally U.S. military in-
Washington's suggestion, Honduras, for example, refuses to con-
volvement in El Salvador, says Gen. Meyers, should not have a
sider bilateral talks with Nicaragua. Before the late May Contadora
limit on the number of military advisors. Questioned about send-
meeting the foreign ministers of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras
ing combat troops, Meyers says "There should be no uncertainty
and Costa Rica caucused in San Salvador before joining Nicaragua
in the minds of those involved that whatever is necessary, if that
and the Contadora four in Panama.
poses a threat to us, we are willing to do."
Describing Washington's involvement in the Central American
The Washington Front
conflicts as "fundamentally harmful", Spanish Prime Minister
From Washington, officials have followed Reagan's lead in launch-
Felipe Gonzalez endorsed the Contadora initiative. Other endorsa-
ing the rhetorical counter-offensive in search for greater public
tions during May came from Canada, Brazil, Peru, the UN Security
support for the Central American war. New arguments are made
Council and the EED.
that the U.S. involvement in Central America can be expected to
Washington's counter-move, the appointment of Richard Stone
be commensurate with its involvement with Israel (price tag: $3-
as roving ambassador, is an almost grotesque gesture given Stone's
$4 billion per year). A new "White Paper" has been produced pur-
role as a paid lobbyist ($110,000 in 11 months) for the previous
portedly showing Nicaraguan involvement in El Salvador and
Lucas Garcia regime in Guatemala. Despite that the FDR-FMLN
Communist subversion throughout the isthmus. Reagan now refers
responded with a willingness to meet with Stone in Washington
to the ex-Somocista contras as "freedom fighters." And human
on the condition that mutually accepted Congresspeople serve as
rights issues are being dismissed from the public debate. As Henry
witnesses. The FDR-FMLN has also stated that political nego-
Kissinger asserts, "It is time we stopped arguing only about how
tiations should be tri-partite, involving the governments of El Sal-
much democracy there is in El Salvador and began to understand
vador and the U.S., and the FDR-FMLN.
America's strategic interests are at stake." The U.S. public is being
Upon returning from his whirlwind tour of Central America,
asked to accept the rhetoric of "evolutionary" even "generational"
Richard Stone offered rhetorical support for the efforts of the
changes in the despotic Salvadorean military instead of expect-
Contadora Group. The New York Times reported that Reagan
ing the oft-promised social and economic reforms.
had authorized Stone to "explore the possibility of meeting with
Congressional Opposition
Salvadorean guerrilla leaders to discuss ways of getting the insur-
So effectively has the "red menace" been invoked that congres-
gents to participate in elections". But with no prospect of a mili-
sional opponents to escalation are fearful of standing up against
tary victory for the Salvadorean Army or the Nicaraguan contras,
the administration lest they be accused of "losing Central America"
and with insufficient support at home, the Reagan administration
on the eve of their 1984 re-election.
will have to go beyond lip-service to the question of political solu-
While the Senate and House Intelligence sub-committees con-
tions to salvage its failing Central America policy. Otherwise, as
tinued to block White House demands, they were willing to con-
former Vice-President Walter Mondale recently pointed out, "It
cede funding if they received an unprecedented veto over future
is inevitable that American troops will be sent into Central Ameri-
covert operations. However, in a late June ruling, the Supreme
ca."
34
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
CANADIAN POLICY: VARIATIONS ON THE U.S. THEME
The policy of the Canadian government toward Central America
suspending military aid, Ottawa was forced in late April to cancel
remains cautious and contradictory. While External Affairs pays
the sale of military STOL aircraft said to be worth $30 million.
lip service to the social and economic causes underlining the
This embarassing about-face came only three months after the
current Central American crisis, it accepts Washington's con-
Secretary of State for International Trade defended the lucrative
tention of international communist subversion. At the same
contract stating that "Honduran government representatives have
time as making criticisms of foreign intervention from whatever
provided assurances that these aircraft will be used in the carrying
quarter, Canada accepts that the region is "of strategic importance
out of important civilian tasks.
to U.S. interests." It also turns a blind eye to Honduran interven-
Guatemala
tion in both Nicaragua and El Salvador.
At the peak of the military slaughter of highland peasants, mid-
Canada urges "political dialogue" for El Salvador but in the
1982, the Canadian government seemed to reward General Rios
next breath backs the rightist government and condemns the op-
Montt by upgrading the Canadian embassy in Guatemala City with
position. Throughout all of this, Canadian aid dollars flow to Gua-
a full-time ambassador. The human rights situation has not put a
temala, El Salvador and Honduras. In the three years from FY
damper on promoting trade and in 1982 the amount of Canadian
80/81 to FY 82/83 Canadian aid to those three countries totalled
exports insured and guaranteed by the EDC was $6,348,000, the
$58.8 million. In the same period Nicaragua received $6.8 million,
highest in Central America. Canadian salesmanship has been so
$4.2 of which was in-kind food aid (surplus wheat). The Export
successful in Guatemala that for the first time in years Canada
Development Corporation (EDC), a crown corporation, continues
boasted a trade surplus, $11 million in 1982.
to facilitate trade with the dictatorships of El Salvador and Gua-
Last March, Canada co-sponsored a UN resolution criticizing
temala.
the violation of human rights and calling on the Guatemalan go-
The gaping breach between Canadian rhetoric and actions is
vernment to ensure that "the security forces fully respect the
slowly eroding whatever credibility and potential peace-promoting
human rights and fundamental freedoms of its citizens." But ac-
leverage Canada has.
cording to a Financial Post article published the same month, "the
Nicaragua
Canadian embassy in Guatemala City was approached by Guate-
malan Air Force officials, who were reportedly 'very impressed'
Canada accepts U.S. allegations that Nicaragua is supplying
arms to El Salvador and increasingly criticizes what it describes as
by the Twin Otter built by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd."
"authoritarianism" inside the country. Since the country's devas-
Policy in Search of Peace
tating civil war Canada's direct bilateral contribution to re-con-
"The fundamental problems of Central America," said Secre-
struction totals a paltry $43,000. Food, institutional and industrial
tary of State Allan MacEachen on June 3, "are the result of a long
aid add up to an additional $6 million. This compares extremely
history of political, economic and social repression. Stability can-
badly to most Western European countries or even Canada's re-
not be restored until the forces for change have been accom-
sponse to another regional catastrophe, Guatemala's 1976 earth-
modated. Despite this realistic appraisal of Central America's
quake (which by comparison elicited over $14 million in aid for a
crisis, Ottawa often effectively acts on the side of the U.S., the re-
much lesser disaster to infrastructure and industrial capacity.)
gional hegemonic power which has historically intervened to sup-
Canada has committed itself in principle to a new line of credit
press change. If Canada is to help avoid the impending regional
(for agricultural goods and services) totalling approximately $18
war that threatens Central America it needs to clearly articulate
million. However, despite CIDA's willingness to go ahead, External
an independent policy consistent with its liberal analysis of trun-
Affairs has allowed negotiations to drag on as a way of effectively
cated social development. That policy should include:
freezing the money.
1. Vocal support for Nicaragua's right to self-determination and
El Salvador
non-intervention. Ottawa must clearly demonstrate to both Wash-
Canadian criticisms of the "legitimate" government are prac-
ington and Tegucigalpa its opposition to activities which violate
tically non-existent while Ottawa's wrath is saved for "leftwing
and demean international law. In the context of military and eco-
guerrillas" "bent" on destruction "to achieve their political ends".
nomic destabilization, Canada should not only release current aid
Although Canada "suspended" aid in 1981 for new projects,
allocations but also act to compensate for the Reagan administra-
disbursements of previously approved aid meant that 225% more
tion's cutoff of Nicaragua's sugar quota.
Canadian aid reached El Salvador in FY 81/82 than it had the pre-
vious year. In the midst of the civil war, Canadian dollars are finan-
2. Consistent backing of political and not military solutions in El
cing a strategic hydro-electric transmission line (total cost $10.3
Salvador. At the same time as publicly supporting the Contadora
million.) The EDC also insures and guarantees Canadian exports,
Group's mediation efforts, Canada refuses to deal evenhandedly
$2,531,000 worth in 1982 alone.
with both sides in the civil war. Inexplicably Canada is preparing
to support upcoming elections without participation by the FDR-
Honduras
FMLN. Canada must oppose U.S. military escalation and join the
Honduras has become the geopolitical platform from which
broad international call for political negotiations to precede elec-
the U.S. is launching its covert war against Nicaragua and bolster-
tions.
ing the Salvadorean army against the FDR-FMLN. Coincidentally
it is also the focus of Canadian aid to Central America. Canada
3. Revamping aid policies. No Canadian aid should go to countries
boasts being the fourth largest bilateral donor and in the past three
where there is a systematic violation of human rights. This would
years Canadian approved aid totals $43.7 million. Honduras, Can-
exclude Guatemala and El Salvador for both bilateral and multi-
adian aid officials say, might receive an additional $70 million over
lateral aid since no development can take place until post-war re-
the next five years despite its blatant intervention in Nicaragua.
construction. In the case of Honduras, growing human rights viola-
However, the growing militarization and deteriorating human
tions and disregard for neutrality make a mockery of it being Can-
rights situation is beginning to create problems for this key com-
ada's aid priority. Nicaragua, Central America's only country to
ponent of Canadian policy toward the region. Succumbing to
have a demonstrable record for land reform and social develop-
pressure from Latin states and following West Germany's lead in
ment programming, should be Canada's priority.
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
35
GUATEMALA
OPPOSITION MOUNTS TO RIOS MONTT
In his regular Sunday "homily" to the nation, on June 6, General
place the power of the traditional elite which is extremely critical
Rios Montt admitted for the first time publicly that in Guatemala
of his rule.
"subversion is strong - it is strong because of our weakness". This
Economic Crisis Creates Divisions
reversal of the earlier claim that the armed opposition movement
While the holding of elections is the key political issue confront-
had been destroyed comes as a result of recently increased military
ing the regime, a proposed tax package favouring the agricultural
activity by the U.R.N.G. following a short tactical retreat. Politi-
sector over industrial and commercial elites is adding further fuel
cally, however, the admission comes at a time when Rios Montt
to the fire. The proposed reform, one of several I.M.F. conditions,
faces his strongest challenge on three institutional fronts - Gua-
would include a value-added tax on non-essential items and possib-
temala's right-wing political parties, the business elite, and the
ly replace current export, income and property taxes. While the
Catholic Church.
proposals remain vague, the Committee of Industrial, Financial
Political Power Plays
and Commercial Associations (C.A.C.I.F.), an umbrella organiza-
The most contentious issue, which has won Rios Montt the wrath
tion, has virtually split over the proposals.
of mainline parties from the center to the extreme right (D.C.,
Industrialists fear the value-added tax inclusion while agricul-
C.A.N., P.N.R., and M.L.N.), is his failure to set a clear timetable
turalists would benefit from the suspension of current export
for elections. In a critical move on June 5, senior army official
taxes. The private sector rallied to Montt's call last December to
General Mario Echeverria Vielman issued a public challenge to the
make the war their own by paying a "war tax". The commercial
regime to return the army to the barracks and to call elections as
sector, which contributed the most then, has been most vocifer-
originally promised after the March 23, 1982 coup. He also asserted
ous in its criticisms of Montt recently. Given the critical nature of
that civil defense patrols, participation in which is mandatory and
the economic crisis, Montt seems determined to do whatever is ne-
which affect primarily the rural indigenous population, have in-
cessary to maintain IMF support. By supporting the agricultural
hibited economic production, while secret military tribunals have
sector at the expense of other sectors, Montt appears to be deep-
damaged Guatemala's ability to capture new international econo-
ening the divisions between his opponents, and building a base of
mic aid.
support for himself with the most reactionary sector of Guatemala's
Following his televised speech, Vielman was forcibly retired
elite - the large agricultural landowners.
from the army by Rios Montt. Vielman has been associated with
Bishops Challenge Montt
the party most critical of the regime, the extreme right-wing
This latest and toughest round of criticism of the Montt regime
M.L.N., which is thought most likely to win elections if these take
was spurred on by a public letter published in May by Guatemala's
place soon. In an attempt to clamp down on further political dis-
bishops. In part designed to gain ground for the Catholic church
sent from traditional sectors, the leader of the P.N.R. was jailed
in the face of increasingly aggressive evangelical sects, the state-
for a few days for criticizing Rios Montt's use of political power
ment criticized the continuing massacres in the countryside, the
to aid his evangelical church. Following the visit of Reagan's spe-
secret military tribunals and the growing numbers of disappeared
cial envoy Richard Stone in early June, Rios Montt announced
persons.
that he will schedule voting for the second half of 1984 to choose
With the naming of moderate Monsignor Ramiro Pellecer as
a constituent assembly similar to that of El Salvador. However, it
acting Archbishop of Guatemala following the mid-June death of
is widely believed that Rios Montt is stalling elections as long as
Mario Cardinal Casariego, it is expected the church criticism of
possible in order that new political parties might emerge to dis-
the current regime will increase.
HONDURAS
U.S. MILITARY SETS UP SHOP
As a major staging area for U.S. military strategies in Central
duran observers predict that the present tent-city Puerto Castilla
America, Honduras is preparing to take yet another step towards
installations will soon be a permanent base.
the regionalization of the war in El Salvador and a declaration of
Honduras' much declared "neutrality" in the internal problems
war against Nicaragua. A U.S. military training school has been es-
of its Central American neighbours has been further compromised
tablished at Puerto Castilla on Honduras' Caribbean Coast, with
by the installation of a U.S.-operated $5 million radar base just
an advance team of Green Berets already on-site.
south of the capital, Tegucigalpa. This equipment covers a radius
This clearly indicates the political weakness of the Honduran
of more than 230 miles and is capable of monitoring activities in
Legislative Assembly, which had declared the establishment of the
both Nicaragua and El Salvador. Approximately 50 additional
training base to be illegal. The base's mandate was agreed on dur-
U.S. military personnel are involved in operating the radar instal-
ing an unpublicized visit to Washington by General Alvarez in late
lation. The U.S. is also spending another $13 million on the up-
May. The school plans to train the first 1,000 man Salvadorean
grading of three small Honduran airports, on the extension of their
Quick Action Batallion by the end of June, followed by an ad-
runways for larger cargo planes and for stepped-up reconnaisance
ditional four Light Infantry Batallions of approximately 350 men
flights.
each and will also be used by other unidentified Central Americans
Honduras' acquiescence to U.S. strategy underlines the fact
as well. About 100 U.S. military trainers will be stationed at the
that the most powerful men in the country are General Gustavo
school.
Alvarez Martinez, head of the Honduran Armed Forces, and U.S.
The base is extremely important for the U.S. because of the
Ambassador John D. Negroponte. Roberto Suazo, the elected
increasing difficulty of operating from Panama where public pro-
president, runs a poor third. A Canadian journalist in Honduras
test has placed the Panamanian Government in an embarrassing
recently asked a government official if he felt that General Alvarez
position. The U.S. did not expect the agreement permitting the
would run in the next Presidential elections. Not likely, was the
Southern Command School at Fort Gulick to be renewed. Hon.
reply, "why should he be demoted!"
36
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
EL SALVADOR
U.S PRESSING HARD
U.S. Military Aid Upped
government officials, with rope suspension walkways. At the end of
Several recent measures demonstrate the U.S. government's contin-
June, the bridge located some 20 km. northeast of the capital lead-
uing commitment to a military solution in El Salvador. 525 Salvador-
ing to the Cerron Grande dam, was destroyed. The hydro-electric
ean officers are currently in Fort Benning, Georgia for anti-guerrilla
dam is the largest in the country.
training while an old World War II base at Puerto Castilla in Hondur-
Military advances in May include the temporary occupation of
as has been refurbished to train 2400 soldiers in the Salvadorean
Santa Rosa de Lima in La Union which is said to be of comparable
army. The June arrival of 100 Green Berets in Honduras to conduct
significance to the capture of Berlin last February. The most impor-
the training has tripled the number of Green Berets there.
tant advance in strategic terms as well as psychological impact was
The U.S. has also stepped up its intelligence capacity in El Salva-
the May 31st capture of the Salvadorean army communications center
dor through a new wide-radius radar installation in Honduras and
and garrison in Cacahuatique, Morazan.
through nightly reconnaissance missions conducted over guerrilla-held
In May, as well, the first general assembly of FMLN local govern-
territory by AC130 military planes from the U.S. base in Panama.
ment juntas was held in Chalatenango. Representing the two thirds
The planes' infra-red and low-level TV sensors are specifically design-
of that department under FMLN jurisdiction, the convening of this
ed to detect movements in the dark. In addition, a secret Pentagon
popular congress was considered by local analysts another step for-
unit, the Army Intelligence Support Activity has been operating
ward in the opposition's administrative consolidation over large parts
with an unknown number of agents in El Salvador. There has been
of the country it already controls.
press speculation that since the AISA uses service men that the Penta-
Amnesty Maneuver
gon is actually exceeding the 55-man limit by covert means. (When it
Confronted with the need to increase its credibility before the
was first established, the AISA was clearly operating outside the
U.S. government in July can legally allow more military aid, the
law.)
Magana regime has resorted to a limited amnesty program for politi-
In a further move that apparently does not conflict legally with
cal prisoners in El Salvador. The political maneuver is also viewed as
the 55-man limit on U.S. military advisers, the U.S. has sent 25 doc-
part of a strategy to win international support for presidential elec-
tors and medical specialists to serve the Salvadorean army despite
tions to be held at the end of this year. The FDR has rejected the
the drastic and far greater need evident in the civilian sector.
amnesty offer.
Negative Impact
Between January and April of this year, 1,526 civilians have been
Despite such increased strategic and material support, however,
killed and 114 have disappeared. Of the approx. 700 persons known
U.S. military strategy continues to have an adverse impact on the
to be political prisoners in two San Salvador prisons, 349 have been
Salvadorean army. Both the Salvadorean High Command and combat
released. Eight of those released have been found dead.
field officers consult U.S. advisors before taking action, according to
Col. Domingo Monterrosa and as another Salvadorean army official
WASHINGTON POST/ABC
explained, soldiers remain resentful: "The Americans are saying
'You're using our money, therefore, you have to fight the war our
NEWS POLL
May, 1983
way because if you don't, you'll screw up!' It's arousing nationalistic
PUBLIC IS CONCERNED OVER COMMUNIST THREAT IN
pride and people resent the American presence even if they are against
CENTRAL AMERICA BUT A MAJORITY CONSIDERS U.S.
the leftists."
ENTANGLEMENT A GREATER DANGER
Following demands by U.S. strategists, Defence Minister Gen.
Q. Which would you say is a greater danger to the United States:
Vides Casanova has shuffled military commands in the FMLN-domi-
A) The spread of communism in Central America because the
nated areas of San Vincente and Chalatenango. He has hedged, how-
U.S. doesn't do enough to stop it, or
34%
ever, on full adoption of the U.S. "cazodores" strategy (see CAU,
B) The United States becoming too entangled in internal
Central American problems as a result of trying to stop
April 1983): "When they speak of small patrols, they are thinking of
the spread of communism.
55
the Green Berets. When our troops go on small patrols, one soldier
No opinion
11
sees a girl and falls in love. Another has a few beers and gets drunk."
Q Which do you think is the greater cause of unrest in Central America
Recently released Pentagon statistics appear to support Vides
today: subversion from Cuba, Nicaragua and the Soviet Union, or poverty
Casanova's doubts on the effectiveness of the U.S. strategy. The study
and the lack of human rights in the area?
found that only 15% of the Salvadorean soldiers trained by the U.S.
Subversion from Cuba, Nicaragua, Soviet Union
22%
two years ago are still in the army and nearly half of those trained
Poverty/lack of human rights
57
last year are already gone.
Both about the same
8
FMLN Advances
No opinion
13
In addition to rapidly losing U.S.-trained men, the Salvadorean
Q Do you think the United States should secretly try to overthrow the
army has had difficulty retaining U.S.-made arms. Former U.S. Am-
government of Nicaragua, or not?
bassador to El Salvador, Robert White said recently that officers are
Yes, should
13%
selling guns to the other side before the crates are even opened. FDR
No, should not
78
president Guillermo Ungo informed congresspersons in Washington
No opinion
9
last month that the FMLN had captured over 1,000 rifles from the
Q. Do you think there are circumstances under which the United States
Salvadorean army in 1982 and, in effect, had received 30¢ of every
should secretly get involved in overthrowing a Latin American
U.S. aid dollar going to El Salvador.
government?
The FMLN's economic warfare has accelerated in the past months.
Yes, there are such circumstances
24%
In Usulutan, the coffee plantation run by the father-in-law of De-
No, there are not such circumstances
63
fense Minister Vides Casanova was overrun. Strategic bridges connect-
No opionion
13
ing El Salvador and Guatemala and Honduras were destroyed in late
Figures are from a Washington-Post-ABC news telephone poll of 1,501 people nationwide
from May 11 to May 15, 1983.
April and early May and were to be replaced at best, according to
job!
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
37
NICARAGUA
AGGRESSIONS CONTINUE
Throughout the months of May and June, Nicaragua continued to
ern borders, it remains unclear whether there is official agreement
sustain aggression on three fronts: economic, diplomatic, and military.
between the groups. Fernando "Negro" Chamorro, head of the Costa
On the economic front, the U.S. government announced on May
Rican based Nicaraguan Democratic Union (UDN) said that discus-
10 that Nicaragua's quota for sugar exports to the U.S. would be cut
sions over alliance, which took place in May in San Jose (Costa Rica),
by 90%. The move was designed to exacerbate Nicaragua's foreign
Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Miami and Washington, D.C. have led to
exchange shortage. However, Algeria and Iran have offered to buy
"substantial agreement" on unifying the forces. The four groups said
Nicaraguan sugar at the price previously paid by the U.S.
to be involved are: the Honduran-based Nicaraguan Democratic Front
Attempt at Diplomatic Isolation
(FDN), which is the principal US-backed guerrilla organization;
On June 7, the Reagan administration expelled 21 Nicaraguan diplo-
MISURA, the Miskito Indian organization led by Steadman Fagoth,
mats and ordered the closure of all of Nicaragua's consulates. Only
which operates in Nicaragua's northern Atlantic coast region; ARDE,
the embassy in Washington remains open. The move was ostensibly a
the Costa Rica-based Democratic Revolutionary Alliance led by Eden
response to the Nicaraguan government's expulsion of 3 U.S. diplo-
Pastora and Alfonso Robelo; and the UDN.
mats, accused of being C.I.A. agents and of plotting to assassinate
Chamorro, acknowledging what he called "ideological differences"
Foreign Minister Miguel D'Escoto. In a press conference, a foreign
among the insurgent factions, said the move toward unity "is based
ministry employee, Marlene Moncada, stated that she had worked as
on putting aside our political differences, and uniting a common
a Nicaraguan double agent and that she had been offered $5,000 by
military strategy". These differences centre on the participation of
the U.S. diplomats to give D'Escoto poisoned brandy.
the deposed Somoza's National Guard in the insurgent movement.
But the severity of the U.S. response indicates that the expulsion
Alfonso Robelo, ARDE's political leader, has ruled out the exis-
of the Nicaraguan diplomats was more than "tit for tat". Obser-
tence of any agreement with the FDN as long as its leadership is made
vers suggested that the real motive was to weaken the direct links be-
up of ex-National Guard. Lenin Cerna, Head of Nicaragua's General
tween the U.S. and Nicaraguan peoples, and thus to strengthen the
Direction of State Security pointed out that the leaders of ARDE
official Washington view of Nicaragua. The wave of expulsions also
are well aware that any direct ties to the Somocista guards would bury
served to hinder U.S.-Nicaraguan trade.
them politically forever.
Journalists' Deaths
The June 21 deaths of two U.S. journalists somewhere around the
Honduran-Nicaraguan border was also used to darken Nicaragua's
image in the U.S. Honduran and U.S. officials claimed that the jour-
nalists were killed by a grenade fired into Honduras from Nicaraguan
territory. Nicaragua denied the charges, and Foreign Minister Miguel
D'Escoto argued that the two journalists had been sympathetic to
the Sandinistas.
The Military Situation
It was the military situation, however, that continued to concern
Nicaraguans. Regular T.V. announcements showing how to build
trenches and bomb shelters illustrated the country's mood of pre-
paredness.
In the north, the U.S.-backed F.D.N. continued to attack across
Cordelia Dilg
the Honduran border. The guerrilla forces, forming a "corridor" in-
to Nicaraguan territory through which supplies were introduced and
Trenches in the frontier region with Honduras.
their wounded returned to Honduras for treatment, have been backed
Special Tribunals
by a barrage of artillery fire from the Honduran military on several
In a domestic response to the military aggression, the Nicaraguan
occasions. Recent intense fighting left El Porvenir, a farm less than 2
government in April decreed the formation of special Tribunals which,
kilometres from the border, in the hands of the contras. Said Lieu-
according to Supreme Court President Roberto Arguello, "will con-
tenant Jose Talavera in Jalapa, "We didn't lose anything by giving it
sider cases of those accused of concrete and specific acts related to
up. If we try to retake it, we risk firing into Honduran territory, and
sabotage and to violent actions of armed bands". Arguello stated that
we don't want to create any problems".
the tribunals "have been created to bring to trial in a rapid and effec-
Nicaragua continues to maintain that the true danger of the Som-
tive way the numerous war prisoners who are now causing a backlog
ocista invasions lies not in the counterrevolutionary attacks them-
in the normal judicial system".
F.S.L.N. Position
selves, but in the possibility of war with Honduras.
The F.S.L.N.'s basic position on the current escalation of aggres-
In the south, the Costa Rican-based Democratic Revolutionary
Alliance (A.R.D.E.) has not been making military progress, despite
sion was articulated by Commander Bayardo Arce in a May Day
address.
articles in the Costa Rican press proclaiming an imminent A.R.D.E.
Arce identified the unconditional retreat of invading troops and
offensive. A.R.D.E. military leader Eden Pastora complained that his
the cessation of border attacks as absolute prerequisites to any solu-
group has had to use hit and run tactics due to a lack of rifles and
tion of Nicaraguan problems, and called for an end to the violation
ammunition. "International forces and reactionary organizations give
of Nicaraguan waters and airspace by U.S. warships and spy planes,
the Somoza guards lavish help", Pastora complained, "but we are
and for an end to C.I.A. involvement in covert and overt plans against
kept on a short string in the south". On May 1, the first day of
Nicaragua. He asked for proof of the supposed arms flow to El Sal-
Pastora's self-proclaimed liberation struggle, A.R.D.E. forces murder-
vador, and expressed the Nicaraguan disposition to discuss the mat-
ed 13 campesinos and 2 government officials in the Rio San Juan area.
ter with the U.S. He identified the Contadora Group as "the most
Relations Among the Contras
important regional effort for contributing to peace in Central Ameri-
As different counterrevolutionary forces continue to violate Nicara-
ca, and said Nicaragua would continue to support this initiative in its
guan territory by launching invasions across the northern and south-
search for peace.
38
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
SOLIDARITY COAST TO COAST
Southern Ontario Tour
Nicaragua. The play is sponsored by Oxfam Canada, CUSO
Between June 5 and June 19, 17 unionists, educators and
and the Arusha Centre in Calgary. Ten Days for World De-
community organizers from Southern Ontario visited Nic-
velopment, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Devel-
aragua on a solidarity tour. The major thrust of the tour
opment and Peace and the Calgary Inter-Church Committee
was to visit workers and unions in Nicaragua, with the aim
for Human Rights in Latin America are contributing to the
of building greater solidarity between the Canadian and
costs of taking the production to Calgary. The play has also
Nicaraguan peoples. The tour met with unions, AMNLAE,
toured Winnipeg, Medecine Hat, Edmonton, Saskatoon and
State Council officials, the Mothers of the Heroes and Mar-
Regina. It will play Ottawa in early July, and an eastern tour
tyrs, human rights workers, church, and a wide range of
is being planned for the fall.
Nicaraguans working at all levels - government, mass or-
U.S. Doctor Behind the Lines in El Salvador
ganizations and individuals. Commandante Tomas Borge
Dr. Charlie Clements, the former Viet Nam war pilot
met with the group for more than an hour at the termination
who became doctor to 10,000 Salvadoreans in the FMLN
of their visit and gave them an overview of the political and
zone of Guazapa, visited Toronto and Ottawa early in June,
military situation in the country. "The situation has never
talking to physicians, the media, MPs, non-governmental or-
been more critical in this country," Borge stated. "I am not
ganizations and solidarity groups.
at all optimistic about peace
but I am very optimistic
Seriously troubled about possibilities of U.S. escalation
about victory."
of the war in Central America, especially of large-scale
The South Ontario delegation was made up primarily of
bombing strikes, he has already testified to Congress and
individuals from Toronto and Kitchener/Waterloo Among
expects to do so again shortly, recounting his personal ex-
the tour participants were: Jim O'Neil, representing the
periences both as a doctor and as liaison between the FMLN
United Autoworkers, John Donaldson, vice-president of the
and the International Red Cross for the exchange of prisoners.
OFL and president of the Ironworkers' Local in Toronto, as
He found 15-year-old regular army soldiers who had been
well as Terry O'Connor from CUPE and president of the
taught to kill children. He treated napalm and white phos-
Toronto Archdiocese organizations of Development and
phorus burns, but commented to a Toronto audience, "most
Peace. The delegation returned to Canada committed to
people would rather die by napalm than by the usual atro-
describing the situation in Nicaragua at this time and seek-
cities performed by the soldiers or national guard."
ing every means at their disposal to find a peaceful and ne-
Clements talked specifically to Canadian doctors about
gotiated settlement to the crisis.
organizing medical support for those in the FMLN zones,
Sandinista!
advising contributions through the New Life for El Salvador
The Great Canadian Theatre Company has created a play
First Aid and Medical projects organized by the Central
entitled Sandinista! It was developed from 30 hours of inter-
American Solidarity Network (Canada).
views which were taped when company members spent two
In related U.S. solidarity events, a $100/plate benefit in
weeks as guests of the Ministry of Culture in Nicaragua. The
May in New York netted over $20,000 for medical aid to El
play covers about 2½ years and the two main female char-
Salvador. Dr. Clements was one of several people who spoke
acters are taken directly from Sandino's Daughters, a book
at the event, which was co-sponsored by CISPES and Medi-
about women's contribution to the revolutionary process in
cal Aid to El Salvador.
News Briefs
stop issuing foreign exchange to import raw
materials and machinery for local industries.
The IMF agreed to a $125 million line of credit
for Guatemala over 18 months.
Members of Previous Government Living Peace-
NICARAGUA
fully at Home. The government of Gen. Romeo
GUATEMALA
Lucas Garcia has been recently described by the
Southern Pacific Coast Gets Fishing Port. The
Chairman of the Council of State, Jorge Serrano
Soviet Union is building a fishing port in the
Campesinos Affected by the Chixoy Dam Voice
Elias, as the "bloodiest in Guatemalan history".
Southern Pacific Coast of Nicaragua, at San Juan
Complaints. The Guatemalan government has
However, he failed to mention the fact that the
del Sur, which will be used by the Soviet tuna
transferred its 91.7% shares from the Guatema-
former chiefs of police and security are living
fishing fleet. The port should be finished in three
lan Electric Company (EEGSA) to the National
peacefully at home. The ex-president is living
months, and will consist of a 7,000-ton Soviet
Institute of Electrification (INDE). The move is
quietly on his cattle ranch in El Sebol, while his
drylock and a 60-foot long floating pier. Some
intended to guarantee INDE's control of service,
brother Gen. Benedicto Lucas, former chief of
years ago, the Soviet Union built similar facili-
policy, and planning.
staff, lives in Poptun, El Peten, taking care of
ties in Peru.
The newly powerful INDE is faced with hav-
his large collection of Mayan ceramics.
ing to respond to the May 20 public complaint
Death of Internationalist Protested. Protestors
of thousands of villagers whose lives have been
occupied the Federal Republic of Germany's
dramatically changed by the construction of
HONDURAS
embassy in Managua for 7 hours in early May to
the Chixoy hydroelectric dam. Some villagers
demand an investigation into the death of devel-
are totally cut off by lakes and rivers, planting
President Suazo Cordova Attacks Nicaraguan
opment assistant Dr. Albrecht Pflaum. The Ger-
has been severely disrupted and traditional water
Government. Even though Honduras welcomed
man physician was shot during the ambush of a
supplies have been contaminated, as evidenced
the role the Contadora Group can play in a nego-
bus by Somocista forces. The 25 demonstrators,
by increasing sicknesses. Villagers have told the
tiated settlement in the region's conflicts, Presi-
who included development workers and other
government they will not accept expropriated
dent Suazo accused Nicaragua of destabilizing
Germans living in the country, also demanded
land as compensation for the land they have lost
the military balance in Central America by
that the Federal Republic officially condemn
as a result of the dam construction. They will
"mobilizing an army greater than all of the
"American intervention against the peoples of
accept only that land that has been duly pur-
region's armies put together, including Belize
Nicaragua and El Salvador", and increase its aid
chased by the government.
and Panama". He mentioned that the Nicaraguan
to Nicaragua." About 70 other development
Army has 119,000 effectives, "with 17,000
workers who did not take part in the occupation
Guatemala Seeks Assistance from IMF. Guate-
foreign advisers working in Nicaragua's defense,
called for a reassessment of West German policy
mala joined the parade of Latin American nations
public health, and educational activities". The
toward Central America saying it was inadequate
seeking emergency assistance from the Interna-
U.S., on the other hand, estimates that the San-
to simply echo Pres. Reagan's concerns for the
tional Monetary Fund (IMF) in April, the same
dinista Army has no more than 23,000 to 25,000
region.
month the nation's Central Bank was forced to
moderately well-armed people.
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
39
Revolutionary Movement Unites. The National
the doomed ship afloat. As the IMF recently
were sent to the United States' Army School of
United Directorate of the Revolutionary Move-
admitted in a staff document, "no recovery in
the Americas in Panama. Of these, 10 are in a
ment of Honduras (DNUH) was formed recently.
output (in El Salvador) is now anticipated for
course that includes instruction in basic infantry
It brings together six guerrilla groups: the Hon-
1983, while the balance of external accounts
weapons, and the other 20 received a two-week
duran Communist Party (PCH); the Popular
will critically depend on continuation of a high
course on patrolling borders in mountain and
Liberation Movement (MPL-Chinchoneros); the
level of external assistance mainly from the
jungle areas.
Popular Revolutionary Forces (FPR Lorenzo
United States."
Zelaya); the Revolutionary Party of Central
Inter-American Bank May Build Second Stra-
REGION
American Workers (PRTCH); and the Unified
tegic Bridge in El Salvador. The Inter-American
Revolutionary Movement (MUR). The coordina-
Development Bank is now considering building
Sugar Import Quotas Increased by U.S. As a re-
tor of the DNUH is Manuel Federico, Secretary-
two bridges to span the Lempa River in El Sal-
sult of the 90% cut in sugar import quota from
General of the PRTCH.
vador. Both bridges make strategic connections
Nicaragua, the countries of Honduras, El Salva-
The DNUH has announced that it will lead
between guerrilla occupied territories and gov-
dor and Costa Rica have been awarded 52%, 18%
the struggle against the government who they
ernment occupied territories. Building these
and 30% increases respectively by the Reagan
say is responsible for the disappearances, tor-
bridges would throw the bank squarely into
Administration. Sugar authorities in these coun-
ture and murder of popular leaders, and against
El Salvador's civil war.
tries have said they would be able to meet these
the Somocistas operating from Honduran ter-
The Center for International Policy reported
increases since they contend there will be sur-
ritory.
on Dec. 9, 1981 that the IDB was proposing to
pluses of sugar this year. El Salvador has been
rebuild the Golden Bridge. The second bridge
getting a preferential price of 20¢/lb of raw
Union Leaders Killed. On March 20th, four trade
now being proposed is for Route CA-3 in nor-
sugar, while the international market price is
union leaders were shot and killed by soldiers
thern El Salvador bordering Cuscatlan and Cha-
only 7¢/lb. This increase makes El Salvador the
assigned to guard the Sula Agricultural and
Cattle Company installations. The government
latenango provinces. This route is the only
second largest sugar export country in Central
has denied responsibility claiming that the sol-
major connection between the strategic cities of
America, after Guatemala.
San Pablo Tacachico and Nueva Concepcion.
It was also announced by the office of the
diers acted independently. However, conflicting
reports have quoted the soldiers as saying that
Most of Chalatenango province is guerrilla con-
U.S. Trade Representative that Guatemala,
trolled, and the rest of Chalatenango province
Panama, Argentina, Colombia, the Philippines
they were following orders and that the workers
and much of Cuscatlan province is contested by
and Swaziland have been added to the list of
were "a bunch of communists."
the guerrillas. Building a bridge in this area of
eligible duty-free countries for sugar imports,
The Moonies and Alvarez. The normally conser-
the country can only be considered a military
starting on the 31st of March, 1983.
vative Honduran Catholic Church is up in arms
project and cannot be done without risking loss
of life.
Stone Has Record of Lobbying for Guatemala.
over the emergence in Honduras of Sun Myung
Earlier IDB projects also with strategic im-
Richard Stone, new special ambassador for Cen-
Moon's CAUSA International. Although formal-
plications include a July, 1982 $66 million loan
tral America has had close relations with pre-
ly established in January with a membership of
to complete the San Lorenzo Dam and a Novem-
vious Guatemalan governments, and also with
150, it is widely believed that the sect has ex-
isted in Honduras for the past few years.
ber, 1981 $31 million loan for rural roads in
Taiwan. For US$10,000 a month, between Feb-
northwest El Salvador, primarily Chalatenango
ruary, 1981 and March, 1982, Stone agreed to
Bo Hi Pak, Moon's second in charge, was pre-
sent for the public debut of the sect. Pak has
province.
lobby in Washington on behalf of the govern-
The loan from the IDB is for nine million
ment of Gen. Lucas Garcia. At the time he was
been a heavy donator to APROH, General Alvar-
ez's newly formed association of Honduran
dollars and may be approved as early as this
hired by the Guatemalan government, he was
instructed to concentrate on three specific mis-
capitalists which had in turn invited CAUSA to
summer.
Honduras. The links between the two organi-
By financing militarily related projects in El
sions: to promote negotiations between Guate-
Salvador, the IDB is adopting a political role in
mala and Belize; to improve relations between
zations are undoubtedly strong and in the en-
that country's civil war. Loans such as these re-
the Guatemalan and American governments in
suing furor which surrounded the Honduran
present a retreat from the Bank's charter which
order to restore U.S. assistance; and to include
Bishops scathing denunciation of CAUSA and
stipulates that it is a neutral, nonpolitical agency
Guatemala in regional U.S. economic assistance
Moon's Unification Church, the silence of Alvar-
ez and Roberto Suazo was not unnoticed.
devoted to peaceful economic development.
planning. He wasn't very successful in any of
the missions and he said that "after a year we
The penetration of fundamentalist Christian
Salvador Troops Not Re-enlisting. Only 15% of
couldn't make any progress, and I resigned",
churches and other sects has increased expo-
the Salvadorean soldiers trained by the U.S.
but Guatemalan sources say that his stipend
nentially in Central America in the past five
two years ago are still in the army and nearly
was cut the day Gen. Rios Montt came to power.
years. In Honduras they are active in regions of
half of those trained last year are already gone,
the country where peasants are working collec-
according to the Pentagon. Representative Clar-
UN Gives Support to Contadora Group. The
tively lands obtained through the Agrarian Re-
ence Long (D. MD.) chairman of the House Ap-
form program. In strongly-Catholic Honduras
United Nations Security Council voted unani-
propriations subcommittee on foreign opera-
these groups have the tendency to divide com-
mously to support the four-nation Contadora
tions, said many are not re-enlisting after 2-year
munities and divert social action for change.
Group to continue its peace-making efforts in
compulsory tours because they are paid only $25
The basis of their theology and ideology is to
Central America, which can be seen as a commit-
a month and face heavy casualties. He said that
legitimize the status quo, and combat com-
ment to a negotiated settlement of the various
the $9,000 the U.S. spends to train each sol-
munism.
conflicts in the region. The final document
dier is often "a waste of money."
stated that the nations in Central America have
EL SALVADOR
British Soldiers Accompany U.S. Military Advi-
the right to live in peace and security free from
sers. A British election candidate has stated that
external interference. At the same time the U.S.
IMF Gives Seal of Approval at Mid-Term Review.
British soldiers regularly accompany U.S. mili-
was successful in erasing the suggestion that the
The IMF has approved a $17m loan to El Sal-
tary advisers on missions in El Salvador. The
Reagan Administration was responsible for the
vador despite the assessment by its own staff
charge, made 2 days before Britain's general
aggressions against the Nicaraguan government.
that "contrary to program expectations, the
election, was immediately denied by the for-
The resolution urges the Central American coun-
economic situation has considerably worsened
tries to give full support to the Contadora Group
in the past year as a result of the internal civil
eign office.
James Walsh, Liberal Party candidate, said
countries (Mexico, Venezuela, Panama and Co-
war." The loan was the last tranche to be releas-
the British troops were from the elite Special
lombia).
ed of the $48.4m standby credit approved in
Air Service, based in the former British colony
July, 1982. The loan followed a May mid-term
of Belize.
review by the IMF of El Salvador's economic
LABOUR BRIEFS
performance. The loan is supposed to help the
Canada to Provide Aid to Displaced Persons.
Magana government maintain 1982 production
Canada will provide $975,00 in humanitarian
AFL-CIO Questions Legitimacy of Unions. On
rates and avoid further drops in GNP, which has
assistance to the victims of the civil war in El
March 24, AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland
fallen drastically since 1980.
Salvador according to Allan MacEacen, Secre-
wrote a letter to presidents of international
Coming at a time of escalating violence and
tary of State for External Affairs.
unions, as well as to state and local labour coun-
civil war, the loan underlines the determination
The grant is in response to appeals from the
cil officials informing them that they should
of the Reagan administration to prevent a total
International Committee for the Red Cross
check with the AFL-CIO's International Depart-
collapse of its Central American ally. Yet U.S.
(ICRC) and will be provided through the Inter-
ment before inviting speakers from El Salvador,
corporations in El Salvador are clearing out.
national Humanitarian Assistance (IHA) program
Chile or South Africa. This note came after for-
According to the Financial Times, "direct for-
of the Canadian International Development
mer organizational secretary of FENASTRAS,
eign investment has virtually dried up." Capital
Agency (CIDA).
Alejandro Molina Lara, spoke at various union
flight, according to U.S. government estimates,
gatherings. FENASTRAS is EI Salvador's largest
has been $1 billion in the last three years.
COSTA RICA
union federation and is part of the coalition
Confronted with considerable difficulty in
fighting the Salvadoran government. Kirkland's
approving bilateral aid in Congress, the U.S. ad-
Civil Guards Trained by the U.S. Following an
letter talks of an "individual claiming to speak
ministration has increased pressure in the multi-
increasing trend, 70 Costa Rican civil guards will
for the Salvadorean people" who has "addressed
lateral institutions to bail out the sinking Sal-
be trained in Fort Gulick, formerly the Panama
some trade union meetings, presenting a position
vadorean government. Such "political" capital,
Canal Zone, in 1983. In 1982, 32 were trained
or policy contrary to that adopted by the AFL-
however, appears to be the only thing keeping
and 20 in 1981. At the end of May, 30 guards
CIO Convention". According to Molina Lara,
40
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
who lives in exile, the AFL-CIO's criticism of
EI Salvador Elections
Protestant Penetration in Honduras
FENASTRAS refers to the fact that it has ties
Jack Spence, writing in the March/April 1983
Last March the Honduran Documentation Centre
outside El Salvador, and indicated that the un-
issue of Socialist Review, has provided a devastat-
(CEDOH) published a special document entitled
ions favoured by the AFL-CIO neither support
ing critique of U.S. media coverage of El Sal-
La Penetracion Protestante en Honduras. Writ-
the government nor the opposition. He empha-
vador's March 1982 elections. Spence's 28-page
ten in Spanish, this analytical piece provides
sized that FENASTRAS supports unity of all
article shows how superficial and misleading re-
background information, plus up-to-date activi-
labour groups in El Salvador, including those
porting played right into the strategy of the
ties of the numerous fundamentalist sects which
with ties to the AFL-CIO. "The problem", indi-
Reagan administration. The report, "Media
have sprung up in the last ten years, developing
cated one of the unionists that heard Molina
Coverage of El Salvador's Election", is required
what is called the Theology of Repressiion. This
speak, "is that the AFL-CIO seems to be defin-
reading for people preparing to be swamped with
special issue was published as part of CEDOH's
ing any foreign union that disagrees with its
news on both El Salvador's and Guatemala's up-
monthly Boletin Informativo, which concen-
policies as "illegitimate".
coming "elections". Socialist Review, Center
trates on Honduran social, economical and politi-
U.S. Trade Unionists Visit EI Salvador. At the
for Social Research and Education, 4228 Tele-
cal realities. A year (12 issues) subscription costs
beginning of June, a delegation of U.S. trade
graph Avenue, Oakland, CA. 94609.
US$9. For copies of the special document and
unionists visited El Salvador for an intensive, on
The New El Salvador
subscriptions write to CEDOH, Apartado Postal
site study of the situation in the country. The
This 36 pg. book presents a vivid picture of new
1882, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
delegation visited trade unionists in prison,
lives and social relationships as they take root
leaders of the democratic unions, U.S. embassy
in El Salvador's FMLN liberated zones. In words
Coyuntura Costarricense
officials, human rights organizations, refugees,
and photographs the organization of Local
Panorama Internacional
government officials and Mothers of the Disap-
People's Governments and the development of
This publication, published monthly in Spanish,
peared.
new forms of education, production and health
offers a synthesis of the issues that effect Costa
In a press release issued June 14, the delega-
care are presented. US$1.50; order from Solidar-
Rica at an international level. Coyuntura covers
tion reported: "Nothing we have seen or heard
ity Publications, P.O. Box 40874, San Francisco,
the news that is printed in the three major Costa
suggests that there has been any change in El
CA., 94140.
Rican newspapers regarding its international
Salvador that would call for different policies
political and economic activities. The informa-
from those adopted when the Labor Committee
Counterinsurgency in Central America
tion deals with Foreign Policy, Relations with
was founded two years ago:
Published by LASSU, this booklet encompasses
Central and Latin America. the United States.
1) opposition to U.S. military aid and interven-
six aspects of U.S. counterinsurgency in Central
Canada and Europe, as well as relations with
tion in El Salvador;
America. Selling price: CDN$2.00; for solidarity
International Organizations. For subscription
2) support for free trade unions in El Salvador;
groups: $1.00/copy plus 10% to cover mailing
rates and copies write to CIDES/CENTRO
3) affirmation of basic human rights in El Sal-
costs; order from Latin American Studies Stu-
AMERICA, Apartado Postal 413, Guadalupe,
vador;
dent Union, c/o Student Society, Simon Fraser
San Jose, Costa Rica.
4) encouragement of a negotiated settlement
Univ., Burnaby, B.C., V5A 1S6.
to the conflict."
Threatened With Resurrection
Nicaragua: Dream of Sandino
Julia Esquivel, a Guatemalan exile, has written
This new documentary film is available from
UPDATE! GUATEMALA. Gen. Rios Montt de-
a book of prayers and poems in English and
DEC Films, 427 Bloor St. W., Toronto; 50 min.;
clared a "state of alert" June 29, suspending
Spanish. As a theologian and author, Esquivel
16 mm.; in colour; Cdn:$60 rental for commun-
most civil liberties throughout Guatemala.
describes the hard struggle and hope for a new
ity groups; $90 institutions; video available at
Following an interview with former junta mem-
life of her people. "When dawn breaks every-
$45 for community groups and $75 for institu-
ber Col. Francisco Gordillo where he stated his
thing will be different". This collection of pray-
tions.
intention to overthrow the Montt regime, Rios
ers and poems is available from Brethren Press,
Montt revoked the right of free assembly, free-
Central America: The Financial War
1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin IL 60120, for US$5.
dom of expression and movement, and the in-
This document, published by the International
Policy Report in March, 1983, analyzes the be-
Detroit Sanctuary Project
violability of mail.
The move came only 3 months after Gen.
haviour of the international financial institutions
The Michigan Interchurch Committee on Cen-
Rios Montt lifted a state of siege under which
in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicar-
tral American Human Rights (MICAH) launched
all civil rights were suspended, all political acti-
agua, starting in 1980. It shows how the Reagan
the Detroit Sanctuary Project in March '83. It
vity banned and news was channelled through
Administration has successfully implemented
is part of a national movement of people of faith
the government information service.
its policies within these institutions by cutting
who are actively challenging the U.S. govern-
loans to Nicaragua and multiplying aid to the
ment's policy of deporting tens of thousands of
other countries. This report is available from
Salvadorean and Guatemalan refugees, despite
NISGUA, 930 F St. N.W., Room 720, Washing-
the fact that very many of them are killed upon
For Your
ton, D.C. 20004, for US$0.75/copy.
return. Forty congregations in twenty cities
across the U.S. have declared themselves to be
Information
Update on Guatemala
sanctuaries to protect those fleeing persecution
in El Salvador and Guatemala. Hundreds of other
This is a weekly news sheet that contains up-to-
date information on Guatemala or of policies
churches, synagogues and national religious
that will affect that country. The newsletter can
bodies have gone on public record endorsing
EI Salvador: War and Health
be ordered from the Committee of Solidarity
the movement. If you or your organization are
El Salvador: War and Health the consequences
with the People of Guatemala, P.O. Box 270,
interested in endorsing/supporting this effort,
of the war on the health of the Salvadorean peo-
Wyckoff Heights Station, Brooklyn, NY 11237.
write to: MICAH, 4220 W. Vernor, Detroit, MI
ple, was prepared by the Committee for Profes-
48209.
sional Health Workers (COPROSAL). This book,
Church Packet
the first comprehensive account of the health
NISGUA has available what they call Church
BELIEVE IT OR NOT
situation in El Salvador, deals with the general
Packet / and 11. The first packet has materials
A week after North American TV carried pic-
effects of the war on the health of the popula-
relevant to the history of the Church in Guate-
tures of an "eyewitness" to the deaths of two
tion and also looks critically at the existing health
mala. The second packet focuses more on the
U.S. journalists, a week after Time magazine
care delivery structure. It also describes and
Church in Central America, its characteristics,
reported that "The killings could hardly have
evaluates the health system set up by the guer-
its trends and how the Guatemalan Church fits
been an accident, the attackers probably shot
rilla forces in the liberated zones. LAWG has a
into this changing structure; this packet puts
from no more than 150 to 300 yards away",
few copies available at $6.00 each. P.O. Box
light on liberation theology, the Church's
the Honduran military admitted on June 29 that
2207, Station "P", Toronto, M5S 2T2.
"option for the poor" and basic Christian com-
the two journalists had not been killed by a gre-
munities. Each packet costs US$5 plus postage,
nade after all, but by a land mine. The military
Press Coverage Analyzed
and can be ordered from NISGUA, 930 F St.
alleged that the mine had been planted in Hon-
The Center for Media Studies in Los Angeles is
N.W., Room 720, Washington, D.C. 20004.
duran territory, under the noses of the Honduran
undertaking a major survey of U.S. media cover-
army, by the Sandinistas.
age of Mexico and Central America in 138 daily
Roots of the Crisis
In explaining the change of story, the Hon-
publications. The first part of the study, focus-
"Central America: Roots of the Crisis" slide/
duran military report said that they had had to
ing on Guatemala (April-Dec., 1982) is now
tape presentation. Overview of Central America
wait a week before examining the car, because
ready as a research tool (including bibliography
conflicts and U.S. policy. 125 slides, script, 28
the explosion "hurled the car off the road and
of headlines, complete text with CMS comments,
minute cassette, background materials included.
threw it into Nicaraguan territory". Apparently,
a cross index and excerpts from Human Rights
$60 purchase, $15 rent. Contact: Latin America
the bodies of the two journalists stayed on the
reports). Cost is $69.95, Center for Media Stud-
Program, American Friends Service Committee,
Honduran side of the border, as they were re-
ies, P.O. Box 90159, Los Angeles, CA., 90009.
1501 Cherry St., Phila., PA 19102.
covered shortly after.
Central America Update incorporating Nicaragua Update) is a public ation initiated jointly by the
(individuals). Outside of Canada, add $4 for air mail costs. Please make cheques or money orders
atin American Working Group (LAWG) and the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice both of
out to "Central America Update" All ription and editorial correspondence should be
Toronte. The opinions expressed by Central America Update do not necessarily represent those of
directed to Central America Update, Box 2207. Station P. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. M5S 2T2
the publication sponsoring organizations A six issue mail subsc ription IS $25 (institutions), $11