Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
323152439
label
Council of the Americas 5/2/89 [OA 6263] [1]
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
323152439
contentType
document
title
Council of the Americas 5/2/89 [OA 6263] [1]
citationUrl
identifierLocal
13666-006
collections
Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Backup Chronological Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
323152439
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
b3b2484b506b37f0
ocrText
Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Backup Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13666
Folder ID Number:
13666-006
Folder Title:
Council of the Americas, 5/2/89 [OA 6263] [1]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
26
18
7
7
REMARKS: COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS
DOOLEY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MAY 2, 1989
THANK YOU, JIM, FOR YOUR KIND INTRODUCTION, AND FOR
TAKING THE TIME THIS MORNING TO ACCOMPANY ME.
- 2 -
I'M PLEASED TO FIND MYSELF IN SUCH PLEASANT AND
HIGH-POWERED COMPANY: MY GOOD FRIEND, CHAIRMAN OF THE
COUNCIL DAVID ROCKEFELLER; AMBASSADOR LANDAU AND LUDLOW
FLOWER; AND BERNARD ARONSON, MY CHOICE FOR THE
IMPORTANT INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS POST AT STATE.
LOOKING AROUND THE WORLD TODAY, IN THE DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES AND EVEN IN THE COMMUNIST BLOC, WE SEE THE
TRIUMPH OF TWO GREAT IDEAS: THE IDEA OF FREE
GOVERNMENT, AND THE IDEA OF FREE ENTERPRISE.
- 3 -
CERTAINLY, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ARE
PROVING FERTILE GROUND FOR THESE IDEAS. DEMOCRACY -- A
DECADE AGO THE EXCEPTION -- IS TODAY THE RULE. THE
SYMBOL OF THIS NEW BREEZE IS THE BALLOT BOX. BY YEAR'S
END, 14 NATIONAL ELECTIONS WILL HAVE BEEN HELD ACROSS
THE AMERICAS.
AND LET'S REMEMBER WHAT IT MEANS TO VOTE WHEN
DEMOCRACY ITSELF IS AT STAKE.
- 4 -
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO MAY STAY HOME FROM
THE POLLS BECAUSE IT'S RAINING, OR RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC IS
HEAVY. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE RISKING THEIR LIVES
TO EXERCISE THEIR DEMOCRATIC RIGHT.
LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF A SALVADORAN MAN, ON THE EVE
OF LAST MONTH'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN THAT
COUNTRY -- ELECTIONS GUERILLA FORCES VOWED To DISRUPT:
- 5 -
"OF COURSE I'M GOING To VOTE, ALTHOUGH I HAVE TO
ADMIT IT'S VERY SCARY
HERE, GOING TO THE GROCERY
STORE CAN BE DANGEROUS -- BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT. AND
YOU HAVE TO VOTE, TOO. WE JUST CAN'T ROLL OVER AND
PLAY DEAD EACH TIME WE'RE THREATENED."
THAT'S THE VOICE OF DEMOCRACY SPEAKING -- AND IT'S
THE VOICE OF COURAGE AND HOPE.
- 6 -
ECONOMICALLY, ALTHOUGH THERE IS CONCERN ABOUT
INTERNATIONAL DEBT, THERE ARE ENCOURAGING SIGNS AS
WELL. MEXICO HAS JOINED GATT, AND IS MOVING TOWARD A
MORE OPEN AND INTERNATIONALLY-ORIENTED ECONOMY. IN
COSTA RICA, BRAZIL AND VENEZUELA NEW VENTURES ARE
CREATING EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES THAT PROMISE A BROADER
ECONOMIC BASE. You IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY ARE AMONG
THE PIONEERS AND PARTNERS IN THESE CHANGES.
377-5264
- 7 -
You ARE CONTRIBUTING TO LATIN AMERICA'S INCREASED
PRODUCTIVITY -- YOU ARE HELPING THE REGION TO FULFILL
ITS POTENTIAL FOR PROGRESS.
THE HISTORIC SHIFT IN POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
THINKING NOW UNDERWAY IN LATIN AMERICA IS GOOD NEWS FOR
US ALL.
- 8 -
OUR TASK IS CLEAR: TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE NEW
OPPORTUNITIES OPEN TO US, WE MUST IMPROVE OUR WORKING
PARTNERSHIPS IN THIS HEMISPHERE -- BETWEEN COUNTRIES
NORTH AND SOUTH, BETWEEN GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS AND
LABOR, AND, IN THE U.S., BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES
OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WE SHARE COMMON INTERESTS
-- WE MUST WORK TOWARDS A COMMON AIM.
- 9 -
MY ADMINISTRATION WILL WORK To BUILD A NEW
PARTNERSHIP FOR THE AMERICAS -- A PARTNERSHIP BUILT ON
MUTUAL RESPECT, AND MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITIES.
WE SEEK A PARTNERSHIP ROOTED IN A COMMON COMMITMENT
TO DEMOCRATIC RULE.
THE BATTLE FOR DEMOCRACY IS FAR FROM OVER. THE
INSTITUTIONS OF FREE GOVERNMENT ARE STILL FRAGILE, AND
IN NEED OF SUPPORT.
- 10 -
OUR BATTLEFIELD IS THE BROAD MIDDLE GROUND OF DEMOCRACY
AND POPULAR GOVERNMENT -- OUR FIGHT AGAINST THE ENEMIES
OF FREEDOM ON THE EXTREME RIGHT AND THE EXTREME LEFT.
As A RESULT OF THE RECENT BIPARTISAN ACCORD ON
CENTRAL AMERICA, THE UNITED STATES IS SPEAKING WITH ONE
VOICE ON A MATTER OF CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE TO PEACE IN
CENTRAL AMERICA: BRINGING DEMOCRACY TO NICARAGUA, AND
PEACE TO THE REGION.
- 11 -
LET ME TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SEVERAL
OBSERVATIONS ON STEPS THAT ARE VITAL TO PEACE, SECURITY
AND DEMOCRACY IN CENTRAL AMERICA:
FIRST, NICARAGUA'S EFFORT TO EXPORT VIOLENT
REVOLUTION MUST STOP. WE CANNOT TOLERATE SANDINISTA
SUPPORT -- WHICH CONTINUES TODAY -- FOR INSURGENCIES IN
EL SALVADOR AND GUATEMALA, AND TERRORISM IN HONDURAS.
PEACE IN THE REGION CANNOT CO-EXIST WITH ATTEMPTS TO
UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY.
- 12 -
SECOND, WE CALL UPON THE SOVIET UNION TO END SOVIET
BLOC SUPPORT FOR THE NICARAGUAN ASSAULT ON REGIONAL
DEMOCRACY. THE UNITED STATES ENDED MILITARY AID TO THE
NICARAGUAN RESISTANCE TWO YEARS AGO, YET SINCE THAT
TIME, THE SOVIETS CONTINUE TO FUNNEL ABOUT HALF A
BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF MILITARY ASSISTANCE A YEAR TO
THE SANDINISTA REGIME -- ABOUT THE SAME RATE AS BEFORE
WE STOPPED OUR MILITARY AID TO THE CONTRAS.
- 13 -
FURTHERMORE, CUBA AND NICARAGUA, SUPPLIED BY $7 BILLION
IN SOVIET BLOC AID, HAVE STEPPED UP THE ARMS FLOW TO
THE SALVADORAN GUERILLAS. THAT AID MUST STOP,
THE SOVIET UNION MUST UNDERSTAND THAT WE HOLD IT
ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ITS INTERVENTION IN
THIS HEMISPHERE -- AND FOR PROGRESS TOWARDS PEACE IN
THE REGION AND DEMOCRACY IN NICARAGUA.
- 14 -
As THE BIPARTISAN ACCORD MAKES CLEAR, CONTINUED SOVIET
SUPPORT OF VIOLENCE AND SUBVERSION IN CENTRAL AMERICA
IS IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE ESQUIPULAS AGREEMENT
CONCLUDED BY THE NATIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA A YEAR AND
A HALF AGO.
- 15 -
FINALLY, WITHIN NICARAGUA, WE WANT TO SEE A PROMISE
KEPT --THE PROMISE OF DEMOCRACY, WITHHELD BY THE
SANDINISTA REGIME FOR NEARLY A DECADE. To THIS END, THE
U.S. WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPLY HUMANITARIAN AID TO THE
NICARAGUAN RESISTANCE THROUGH THE ELECTIONS SCHEDULED
IN NICARAGUA FOR FEBRUARY 1990. THE CONDUCT AND THE
OUTCOME OF THOSE ELECTIONS WILL DEMONSTRATE TO
NICARAGUA'S NEIGHBORS AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
WHETHER IT MEANS TO DELIVER ON DEMOCRACY.
- 16 -
BUT THE SANDINISTAS' RECENT ACTIONS ARE OMINOUS.
APRIL 25TH WAS THE BENCHMARK DATE FOR NICARAGUA TO HAVE
IN PLACE ELECTORAL LAWS CONSISTENT WITH FREE AND FAIR
ELECTIONS. INSTEAD, RESTRICTIVE NEW ELECTION AND PRESS
LAWS HAVE BEEN PUSHED THROUGH THE SANDINISTA-CONTROLLED
LEGISLATURE. THESE LAWS HAVE BEEN UNILATERALLY IMPOSED
AND THE PROPOSALS OF NICARAGUA'S OPPOSITION PARTIES
HAVE BEEN IGNORED. THE RESULT IS A STACKED DECK
AGAINST THE OPPOSITION AND STACKED RULES OF THE GAME.
- 17 -
THE ELECTION LAW MANDATES UNILATERALLY THAT HALF OF
ALL FOREIGN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS GO TO THE SUPREME
ELECTORAL COUNCIL, WHICH REMAINS UNDER SANDINISTA
CONTROL -- AND IGNORES PROPOSALS PUT FORWARD BY THE
OPPOSITION TO PROVIDE FOR UNLIMITED FREEDOM OF ACCESS
FOR INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVERS. IN EFFECT THAT'S
A STACKED DECK AGAINST FREEDOM.
- 18 -
THE NEW LAW GOVERNING PRESS CONDUCT GIVES EXCESSIVE
CONTROLS TO THE INTERIOR MINISTRY To POLICE VIOLATIONS
AGAINST "NATIONAL INTEGRITY," AND CONTINUES THE
PROHIBITION OF PRIVATE-SECTOR OWNERSHIP OF TELEVISION
STATIONS.
IF THERE IS TO BE PEACE IN NICARAGUA, THE
SANDINISTA REGIME MUST WORK WITH THE OPPOSITION --
INCLUDING THE NICARAGUAN RESISTANCE -- TO PUT IN PLACE
ELECTION AND PRESS LAWS THAT ARE TRULY FREE AND FAIR.
- 19 -
THAT MEANS TO HAVE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS WITH
OUTSIDE OBSERVERS GIVEN UNFETTERED ACCESS TO ALL
ELECTION PLACES AND TO ALL PROCEEDINGS. IT MEANS A
SECRET BALLOT ON ELECTION DAY, THE FREEDOM TO CAMPAIGN,
TO ORGANIZE, HOLD RALLIES -- AND TO POLL PUBLIC
OPINION, TO OPERATE INDEPENDENT RADIO AND TELEVISION
STATIONS.
- 20 -
IT MEANS THE ABSENSE OF INTIMIDATION EITHER FROM A
POLITICIZED SANDINISTA MILITARY OR POLICE, OR FROM THE
NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK COMMITTEES THAT CONTROL PEOPLE'S
RATION CARDS. IT MEANS AN END TO THE ARRESTS AND
BULLYING OF OPPOSITION LEADERS. IT MEANS FREEING ALL
POLITICAL PRISONERS JAILED UNDER SANDINISTA RULE, NOT
JUST FORMER SOMOZA SOLDIERS.
- 21 -
IF THE SANDINISTAS FAIL THIS TEST, IT WILL BE A
TRAGIC SETBACK -- AND A DANGEROUS ONE. THE CONSOLATION
OF TYRANNY WILL NOT BE PEACE; IT WILL BE A CRISIS
WAITING TO HAPPEN.
I WANT TO MENTION SEVERAL OTHER LATIN NATIONS WHERE
ELECTIONS CAN SIGNAL POSITIVE CHANGE:
IN EL SALVADOR, LAST MONTH'S FREE AND FAIR
ELECTIONS PROVED ANOTHER RINGING AFFIRMATION OF THAT
NATION'S COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY.
- 22 -
WE EXPECT ARENA TO EXERCISE ITS POLITICAL POWER
RESPONSIBLY. I HAVE CONVEYED TO PRESIDENT-ELECT
CRISTIANI OUR COMMITMENT TO HUMAN RIGHTS IN EL
SALVADOR. HE SHARES MY CONCERNS; HE DESERVES A CHANCE;
AND HE HAS OUR SUPPORT.
- 23 -
IN PARAGUAY, THE ONLY COUNTRY WHOSE DICTATOR HAD
HELD POWER LONGER THAN FIDEL CASTRO, ELECTIONS HAVE
JUST TAKEN PLACE -- THE FIRST HOPEFUL SIGN THAT
PARAGUAY IS ON ITS WAY TO JOINING THE DEMOCRATIC
MAINSTREAM. THAT DEMOCRATIC OPENING MUST CONTINUE.
IN PANAMA, HOWEVER, THE FORECAST FOR FREEDOM IS
LESS CLEAR.
- 24 -
A FREE AND FAIR VOTE IN THE ELECTIONS SCHEDULED FOR
THIS SUNDAY WOULD ENABLE PANAMA TO TAKE A SIGNIFICANT
STEP TOWARDS ENDING THE INTERNATIONAL ISOLATION AND
INTERNAL ECONOMIC CRISIS BROUGHT ON BY THE NORIEGA
REGIME. AND IN SPITE OF INTIMIDATION FROM THE
AUTHORITIES, PANAMA'S OPPOSITION PARTIES HAVE -- WITH
GREAT COURAGE -- TAKEN THEIR CAMPAIGN TO THE PANAMANIAN
PEOPLE. THE NORIEGA REGIME'S CANDIDATES ARE TRAILING
IN POLLS BY A MARGIN OF 2 TO 1.
- 25 -
UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS EVIDENT THAT THE REGIME IS
READY TO RESORT TO MASSIVE ELECTION FRAUD IN ORDER TO
REMAIN IN POWER. THE NORIEGA REGIME CONTINUES TO
THREATEN AND INTIMIDATE PANAMANIANS WHO BELIEVE IN
DEMOCRACY. IT IS ALSO ATTEMPTING TO LIMIT THE PRESENCE
AND FREEDOM OF ACTION OF INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS, AND
TO PREVENT JOURNALISTS FROM REPORTING ON THE ELECTION
PROCESS IN PANAMA.
- 26 -
LET ME BE CLEAR: THE UNITED STATES WILL NOT
RECOGNIZE THE RESULTS OF A FRAUDULENT ELECTION
ENGINEERED TO KEEP NORIEGA IN POWER.
ALL NATIONS THAT VALUE DEMOCRACY -- THAT UNDERSTAND
FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS ARE THE VERY HEART OF THEIR
DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM -- SHOULD SPEAK OUT AGAINST ELECTION
FRAUD IN PANAMA.
- 27 -
THAT MEANS THE DEMOCRACIES OF EUROPE, AS WELL AS
NATIONS IN THIS HEMISPHERE STRUGGLING TO PRESERVE THE
DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS THEY'VE FOUGHT so HARD To PUT IN
PLACE.
IT'S TIME FOR THE PLAIN TRUTH: THE DAY OF THE
DICTATOR IS OVER. THE PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO DEMOCRACY MUST
NOT BE DENIED. [PAUSE]
- 28 -
A COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY IS ONLY ONE ELEMENT IN
THE NEW PARTNERSHIP I ENVISION FOR THE NATIONS OF THE
AMERICAS. THIS NEW PARTNERSHIP MUST ALSO AIM AT
ENSURING THAT THE MARKET ECONOMIES SURVIVE, PROSPER AND
PREVAIL.
THE PRINCIPALS OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM HAVE NOT BEEN
APPLIED AS FULLY AS THE PRINCIPAL OF DEMOCRACY.
- 29 -
WHILE THE POVERTY OF STATISM AND PROTECTIONISM IS
MORE EVIDENT THAN EVER, STATIST ECONOMIES REMAIN IN
PLACE, STIFLING GROWTH, IN MANY LATIN NATIONS.
THAT IS WHY THE U.S. HAS MADE A NEW INITIATIVE TO
REDUCE THE WEIGHT OF DEBT, AS LATIN GOVERNMENTS AND
LEADERS TAKE THE DIFFICULT STEPS TO RESTRUCTURE THEIR
ECONOMIES.
- 30 -
ECONOMIC GROWTH REQUIRES POLICIES THAT CREATE A
CLIMATE FOR INVESTMENT -- ONE THAT WILL ATTRACT NEW
CAPITAL, AND REVERSE THE FLIGHT OF CAPITAL OUT OF THE
REGION.
WE WELCOME THE BROAD INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
EXPRESSED FOR OUR IDEAS TO STRENGTHEN THE DEBT
STRATEGY.
- 31 -
WE URGE THE PARTIES INVOLVED -- THE INTERNATIONAL
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, DEBTOR COUNTRIES, AND
COMMERCIAL BANKS -- TO MAKE A SUSTAINED EFFORT To MOVE
THIS PROCESS FORWARD. WE RECOGNIZE THE COMPETING
CLAIMS DEBTOR GOVERNMENTS MUST TRY TO SATISFY AS THEY
WORK TO ADVANCE ECONOMIC REFORM, SERVICE THEIR DEBT,
AND RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF THEIR CITIZENS.
- 32 -
HOWEVER, WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT PROGRESS CAN BE AN
INCREMENTAL PROCESS -- CASE-BY-CASE, STEP-BY-STEP --
PROVIDED THERE IS A CLEAR COMMITMENT To ECONOMIC
REFORM.
FINALLY, OUR COMMON PARTNERSHIP MUST CONFRONT A
COMMON ENEMY: INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKERS.
DRUGS THREATEN CITIZENS AND CIVIL SOCIETY
THROUGHOUT OUR HEMISPHERE. JOINING FORCES IN THE WAR
ON DRUGS IS CRUCIAL.
- 33 -
THERE IS NOTHING GAINED BY TRYING TO LAY BLAME AND MAKE
RECRIMINATIONS. DRUG ABUSE IS A PROBLEM OF BOTH SUPPLY
AND DEMAND -- AND ATTACKING BOTH IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN
DEFEAT THE DRUG MENACE. [PAUSE]
THERE IS A PLACE IN THIS NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR YOU IN
THE COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS. THOMAS PAINE SAID THAT
"THE PROSPERITY OF ANY COMMERCIAL NATION IS REGULATED
BY THE PROSPERITY OF THE REST."
- 34 -
YOUR EFFORTS CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY TO THE GREATER
PROSPERITY OF ALL THE NATIONS OF THE AMERICAS.
THE CHALLENGES I'VE SPOKEN OF TODAY WON'T BE EASY.
BUT ALL OF US -- NORTH AND SOUTH, IN GOVERNMENT AND IN
THE PRIVATE SECTOR -- CAN WORK TOGETHER TO MEET THE
CHALLENGES, AND MASTER THEM.
- 35 -
WE'VE GOT WORK To DO -- WORK THAT WON'T WAIT -- To
ENSURE THAT ALL THE AMERICAS ENJOY THE PEACE, FREEDOM
AND PROSPERITY THAT WE CHERISH.
THANK YOU.
###
reaching ant theme
3860
- democracy Centrl America of Panama
Rn.392
- economic debt
W4916
- drugs
0900 Apr 27
DENNIS Scocz
647-9193
The Secretary's remarks to the Council of the Americas
David PACCELT
May 1, 1989
If you look around the world today, from the Communist bloc
to the developing areas, you will see evidence of the triumph
of two great ideas: the idea of a free government society and the idea of
a free economy.
The two ideas are really one, joined in a single vision, a
vision of democracy. Abroad, it is a vision that causes
ordinary people to rejoice and dictators to tremble. Here at
home, it is a vision which all Americans should applaud, for
freedom is quintessentially our founding vision, the vision of
the New World.
A free society and a free economy are now also becoming the
models for the rest of the New World that Columbus discovered
almost 500 years ago -- the countries of Latin America and the
Caribbean. Across this hemisphere, the ld barriers of
dictatorship and state control are being dismantled.
a decade
Democracy -- 10 years ago the exception -- is today the
rule. The ballot box is the concrete symbol of a decade of
- 2 -
political progress in Latin America and the Caribbean. By
year's end, 14 national elections will have been held this year
alone. And most of them will have offered real choices with
real consequences.
Economically, also, there are encouraging signs. Mexico
has joined GATT and is making profound changes toward a more
open and outward-oriented economy. Costa Rica is exporting
cellular phones to third world customers; Brazil is to supply
automated supermarket systems to Portugal: and Venezuela is
mixing water and oil in a new substance called orimulsion which
it is marketing for power plants in Japan.
You in the business community are among the pioneers and
partners in these changes. You are contributing to Latin
America's productivity and capacity for progress. You have
greatly increased the region's potential for success.
These hopeful changes in Latin America, and the historic
shift in political and economic thinking now underway, are good
news for us all. Once democratic habits have become
established, they give people both a stake in their future and
mechanisms for change that are less violent and disruptive than
the abrupt swings Latin American countries have often known in
the past. There is fundamental value, even strategic advantage
for the United States, in the stability that comes from
- 3 -
America's economies fuels trade and jobs for the citizens of
the United States.
4:339 TJon Democracy
Saul K
1816
Padover
-To Ticknor
Thomas Jefferson said that "It is a kind of law of nature
that every nation prospers by the prosperity of others."
Today, the stake we have in the prosperity of our neighbors is
greater than ever. Their growth will restore vigor to U.S.
trade with Latin America and the Caribbean. Growth will win
the approval of the voters in the Latin democracies who are
looking to their elected leaders to "deliver the goods." And
because it brings diversification, growth is also the key to a
new and meaningful kind of independence -- not being dependent
on one or two commodities; the independence that comes from
having options and freedom to maneuver.
Which brings me to my central point today: to make the
most of the new opportunities in the hemisphere, we must
improve our working partnerships --- between countries north and
south, between the different branches of government, and
between government and business. We are all in this together.
We must all work together.
We in the Administration intend to reach out to Latin
America as never before to build a new partnership for the
Americas -- a partnership built on mutual respect and mutual
responsibility.
- 4 -
We seek a partnership based on support for democratic forms
of government. The battle for democracy is by no means won; in
many nations the struggle continues or has only just begun.
But it is clear on which side of the battle line we stand:
This Administration stands with the people of Latin America in
the cause of democracy and against the enemies of freedom on
the extreme left and on the extreme right.
On Central America, we have already made a new approach
toward partnership with the democratic leaders of this
hemisphere. With the full bipartisan support of Congress we
have joined together to support the promises of democracy,
security, and peace contained in the Agreement signed almost
two years ago at Esquipulas by the five Central American
(Insent)
Presidents.
-security Threat
-Soricts must
cooperate
- Sandinistas lack
Achieving these goals will not be easy. But if the U.S. of compliance
Congress and the Administration and the democratic governments election on
law t
inside the hemisphere and out work together, we have the best meha
law
chance of turning the promises of Esquipulas into concrete
(see state
realities on the ground.
Dept sheet)
In Paraguay, the only country with a dictator who had been
in power longer than Fidel Castro, elections are taking place
(mAY)
yesterday today under freer and fairer conditions that give hope that
Paraguay is on its way to joining the hemisphere's mainstream.
- 5 -
In Panama, free and fair elections this coming Sunday would
end that nation's political and economic crisis and its
international isolation as well. Despite coercion and
intimidation and the regime's tight control of the media,
Panamanians have mounted an effective campaign for democracy.
The regime's candidates are trailing in polls by a margin over
2 to 1. Unfortunately the Noriega regime's response has been
5
to prepare for a massive fraud and to retrict the presence of
international observers and press.
If democracy is to continue to develop in this hemisphere,
such practices cannot be tolerated. The position of the United
States is clear: There can be and there will be no
amit
accomodation with a Noriega-dominated regime. There is still take from
draft
time for the Panamanians to save their country from the
presidented
increasing destruction wrought by the Noriega dictatorship.
statent
The key is in the hands of the Defense Forces. They can
fulfill their constitutional duty as professional soldiers and
allow the elections to proceed freely and fairly. or they can
face the consequences of the path on which General Noriega has
placed them. The days of dictatorship in Latin America are
over. They must end in Panama as well.
A second element of the new partnership we seek should
reflect a common committment to helping new market oriented
economies survive, prosper, and prevail. Thus far, economic
- 6 -
freedom has not moved as far along or as fast as political
freedom. The economic case for statism and protectionism has
never been weaker and the advocates of these regressive
policies have never been so few in number, yet statist
regulations and entrenched bureaucracies remain largely intact
in many nations in the Americas.
That is why this Administration has made a new commitment,
through the Brady proposals, to reach out to help reduce the
weight of debt -- as Latin governments and leaders take the
important. but difficult steps to restructure their economies.
And that is the key point: debt reduction is necessary,
but it is not by itself sufficient to generate the needed
growth. To grow, Latin America must create a climate for
9
invetment -- a climate that will bring flight capital back to
the region and that will attract new capital flows. Debt is a
problem, but it is really also a symptom of, sometimes, a
greater problem. If there were a magical solution that did not
require structural economic reform, then those nations which
have declared a moratorium on debt would be growing well today,
but that simply is not the case. Instead, they are in deeper
economic crisis. Today the democratic governments must try to
reform bloated state economies, service their debt and, at the
same time, satisfy the real needs of their citizens. We
understand that facing this challenge alone is a nearly
impossible ingoling ant
- 7 -
We recognize that individual debtor economies are
different. Their problems are different. Election schedules
do not always match ideal timetables for economic initiatives.
But, the Brady approach is not an "all or nothing," "now or
never" option. Progress will likely come incrementally,
case-by-case and step-by-step. No country is precluded from
participation so long as a clear commitment is made to needed
reforms.
Our common interest in growth demands that each do his part
and that all work together: debtor countries, commercial
banks, creditor countries, and the international financial
institutions. We must be able to count on the full and
meaningful participation of all.
Third, our new partnership seeks a common commitment to
free and open trade. If we ask Latin America to strip away the
layers of protection that shield their economies from the free
flow of trade in goods and services, then we in the United
States, too, must confront protectionism and steadily reduce
the barriers to products. We are deeply engaged in the Uruguay
Round in an effort to dismantle remaining tariff barriers and
to grapple with the many nontariff barriers that have sprung up
to impede trade. Already making good on the promise of freer
and expanded trade, the Caribbean Basin Initiative can go still
- 8 -
further. We welcome proposals in the Congress to enhance
opportunities under the Initiative.
Finally, we seek a partnership based on a common commitment
to face our common enemies, none more then narcotics
traffickers. We all have a responsibility and a part to play.
Drugs threaten our citizens and civil society on both sides of
the Rio Grande and all shores of the Caribbean. We and the
people of Latin America must face this common menace together
as full partners instead of wasting time and precious energy in
the endless game of mutual blame and recrimination. For the
plain truth is that drugs is both a problem of demand and of
supply and if we do not tackle both heads of this two headed
monster, it will devour us all.
You in Council of Americas have long propounded a vision of
cooperation and partnership with Latin America. Your
commitment is important as never before. The potential is
great, but there are also dangers. The countries which have
not yet summoned political will to make needed economic reforms
need our encouragement and assistance. They must know that if
they are willing to walk down same path as Mexico, Costa Rica,
Bolivia, Chile, the financial business community will help them
take the next step with debt reduction and new investment.
In conclusion, if I were to summarize our approach, I would
say that progress in Latin America towards democracy and the
- 9 -
economic freedom that goes with it makes possible greater
cooperation that ever. Democracy within nations makes it
easier to practice democracy among nations. We recognize that
our dialogue will move at different speeds and follow a
somewhat different course for nations like Mexico and
Venezuela, which have just installed new governments, than with
nations like Argentina and Brazil, which are preparing for
elections. But we are prepared to move ahead in partnership
with any nation that is ready to make a serious effort. And we
intend to use the OAS to help define and support partnership on
a regional basis as well.
I do not underestimate the problems, risks, and threats
that challenge and assail us. There is no guarantee that all
will work out for the best -- the problems are daunting, even
for a Texan. But I believe that all of us -- North and South,
in government and in the private sector -- can indeed work to
meet the challenges of change head on and together. And I
believe that if we do, then the Americas will indeed enter the
next century living up to its enormous potential.
McGroarty/Dooley
April 28, 1989
11:45 am
Draft 2
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MAY 2, 1989
[Introductory remarks, acknowledgements
]
Looking around the world today, in the developing world and
even in the communist bloc, we see the triumph of two great
ideas: the idea of free government, and the idea of free
enterprise.
Certainly, Latin America is proving fertile ground for these
ideas. Democracy -- a decade ago the exception -- is today the
rule. The symbol of this new breeze is the ballot box. By
state tRunanks year's end, 14 national elections will have been held across
Latin America and the Caribbean.
And let's remember what it means to vote when democracy
itself is at stake. We're not talking about people who may stay
home from the polls because it's raining, or rush hour traffic is
heavy. We're talking about people risking their lives to
exercise their democratic right.
Listen to the words of a Salvadoran man, on the eve of of the
+
+
last month's presidential elections in that country -- elections
UPJ
guerilla forces vowed to disrupt:
3/18/89
"Of course I'm going to votè, although I have to admit it's
X
very scary
Here, going to the grocery store can be dangerous
2
but you have to do it. And you have to vote, too. We just
can't roll over and play dead each time we're threatened."
That's the voice of democracy speaking -- and it's the voice
of courage and hope.
Economically, there are encouraging signs as well. Mexico
has joined GATT, and is moving toward a more open and
internationally-oriented economy. In Costa Rica, Brazil and
state
Draft
Venezuela new ventures are creating export opportunities that
promise a broader economic base. You in the business community
P.2
are among the pioneers and partners in these changes. You are
contributing to Latin America's increased productivity -- you are
helping the region to fulfill its potential for progress.
The historic shift in political and economic thinking now
underway in Latin America is good news for us all. Our task is
clear: to make the most of the new opportunities open to us, we
must improve our working partnerships in this hemisphere --
between countries north and south, between government and
business, and, in the U.S., between the different branches of the
federal government. We share common interests -- we must work
towards a common aim.
The U.S. can lead the way. My Administration will work to
State
Draft
build a new partnership for the Americas -- a partnership built
P.3
on mutual respect, and mutual responsibilities.
We seek a partnership rooted in a common commitment to
democratic rule.
3
The battle for democracy is far from over. The institutions
of free government are still fragile, and in need of support.
Our battlefield is the broad middle ground of democracy and
popular government -- our fight against the enemies of freedom on
the extreme right and the extreme left.
As a result of the recent Bipartisan Accord on Central
America, the United States is speaking with one voice on a matter
Accoved P.I
of crucial importance to peace in Central America: bringing
democracy to Nicaragua, and peace to the region.
Let me take this opportunity to make several observations on
steps that are vital to peace, security and democracy in Central
America:
First, Nicaraqua's effort to export violent revolution must
stop. We cannot tolerate Sandinista support -- which continues
nse Draft
today -- for insurgencies in El Salvador and Guatemala, and
terrorism in Honduras. Peace in the region cannot co-exist with
attempts to undermine democracy.
Draft
Second, we call upon the Soviet Union to end Soviet bloc
support for the anti-democratic activities of Cuba and Nicaragua.
While the U.S. has not provided military aid to the Nicaraguan
Resistance for the past 18 months, the Soviets continue to funnel
David
$500 million dollars worth of military assistance a year -- well
Pacelli
over a million dollars in military aid each day -- to the
NSC
Sandinista regime. That aid must stop.
The Soviet Union must understand that we hold it accountable
for the consequences of its intervention in this hemisphere --
4
and for progress towards peace in the region and democracy in
Nicaragua. As the Bipartisan Accord makes clear, continued
nscropt
nse
Soviet support of violence and subversion in Central America is
in direct violation of the Esquipulas Agreement concluded by the
nations of Central America a year and a half ago.
Finally, within Nicaragua, we want to see a promise kept --
the promise of democracy, withheld by the Sandinista regime for
nearly a decade. To this end, the U.S. will continue to supply
Bepartison
humanitarian aid to the Nicaraguan resistance through the
accord
elections scheduled in Nicaragua for February 1990. The conduct
and the outcome of those elections will demonstrate to
Nicaragua's neighbors and the international community whether it
means to deliver on democracy.
But the Sandinistas' recent actions cause us concern. April
25th was the benchmark date for Nicaragua to have in place
Press
Jaturite Briefing
electoral laws consistent with free and fair elections. Instead,
restrictive new election and press laws have been pushed through
selt
the Sandinista-controlled legislature -- over the objections of
Nicaragua's opposition parties.
The election law mandates that one-half of all foreign
political contributions go to the Sandinista-controlled Supreme
Electoral Council -- and ignores proposals put forward by the
Nicaraguan opposition to provide for unlimited freedom of access
for international election observers. The new law governing
press conduct authorizes the Interior Ministry to police
5
violations against "national integrity," and to close down news
operations found to cross this arbitrary line for four days
The Sandinista regime must work with the Nicaraguan
opposition -- including the Nicaraguan Resistance -- to put in
place election and press laws that are truly free and fair.
We know what it means to have free and fair elections. It
means freedom for every citizen to cast a secret ballot on
election day -- but it also means much more than that. It means
the freedom to campaign, to organize, hold rallies -- to use the
media and poll public opinion, to operate independent radio and
television stations. It means the absense of intimidation --- an
end to the arrests and bullying of opposition leaders by
Sandinista security forces. It means freeing all political
prisoners jailed under Sandinista rule.
The people of Nicaragua have waited long enough. It's time
for the Sandinistas to deliver the democracy they promised.
I want to mention several other Latin nations where
elections can signal positive change:
In El Salvador, last month's elections proved another
ringing affirmation of that nation's commitment to democracy. We
expect ARENA to exercise its political power responsibly. I have
conveyed to President Christiani our concerns about human rights
in El Salvador. He shares my concerns, and he's off to a good
start.
stab
In Paraguay, the only country whose dictator had held power
Deaft
longer than Fidel Castro, elections have just taken plàce -- the
6
first hopeful sign that Paraguay is on its way to joining the
democratic mainstream.
In Panama, however, the forecast for freedom is less clear.
A free and fair vote in the elections scheduled for this Sunday
would enable Panama to take a significant step towards ending the
state
international isolation and internal economic crisis brought on
by the Noriega regime. And in spite of intimidation from the
authorities, Panama's opposition parties have -- with great
courage -- taken their campaign to the Panamanian people. The
Noriega regime's candidates are trailing in polls by a margin of
2 to 1.
Unfortunately, it is evident that the regime is ready to
resort to massive election fraud in order to remain in of power. +
The Noriega regime continues to threaten and intimidate
stab
Draft
Panamanians who believe in democracy. It is also attempting to
P.S
limit the presence and freedom of action of international
Presedent's
observèrs, and to prevent journalists from reporting on the
statement
election process in Panama.
4
Let me be clear: the United States will not recognize the
results of a fraudulent election engineered to keep Norieqa in
power.
It's time for the plain truth: The day of the dictator is
over. The people's right to democracy must not be denied. [pause]
Our new partnership must also aim at ensuring that the
market economies survive, prosper and prevail.
7
So far, economic freedom has not kept pace with its
political counterpart. While the poverty of statism and
protectionism is more evident than ever, statist economies remain
in place, stifling growth, in many Latin nations.
That is why the U.S. has made a new commitment to reduce the
states
weight of debt, as Latin governments and leaders take the
26
difficult steps to restructure their economies.
The key point should be clear: debt reduction is a
necessary step, but not sufficient in itself to generate growth.
Growth requires creation of a climate for investment -- one that
will attract new capital, and stem and reverse the flight of
capital out of the region.
We recognize that individual debtor economies are different
-- and that election schedules do not always match the ideal pace
for economic reform. We recognize the competing claims
governments must try to satisfy as they work to advance economic
reform, service their debt, and respond to the needs of their
citizens. But our plan isn't a "now or never" approach.
Progress can be an incremental process -- case-by-case, step-by-
step -- provided there is a clear commitment to economic reform.
Finally, our common partnership must confront a common
enemy: internationál drug traffickers.
Drugs threaten citizens and civil society throughout our
hemisphere. Joining forces in the war on drugs is crucial.
There is nothing gained by trying to lay blame and make
recriminations. Drug abuse is a problem of both supply and
8
demand -- and attacking both is the only way we can defeat the
drug menace. [pause]
There is a place in this new partnership for you in the
Council of the Americas. Thomas Jefferson said that "it is a
kind of law of nature that every nation prospers by the
prosperity of others.' Your efforts contribute directly to the
greater prosperity of all nations of the Americas.
The challenges I've spoken of today won't be easy. But all
of us -- North and South, in government and in the private sector
-- can work together to meet the challenges, and master them.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- to ensure
that all the Americas enjoy the peace, freedom and prosperity
that we cherish.
Thank you.
see attached
PN6081
M4
WHRC
A New
DICTIONARY OF
QUOTATIONS
ON HISTORICAL PRINCIPLES
FROM
ANCIENT AND MODERN SOURCES
Selected and Edited by
H. L. MENCKEN
NEW YORK : ALFRED A. KNOPF : 1976
New
Prose
986
Prosperity
Prostitute
The laws of propriety have the least force be-
In prosperity there is never any dearth of
hind them but they are the best obeyed.
friends.
EURIPIDES: Hecuba, c. 426 B.C.
The slogan of progress is changi
LA ROCHEFOUCAULD: Maxims, 1665
full dinner pail to the full garage
In prosperity let us particularly avoid pride,
HERBERT HOOVER: Speech i
not proper to be related by a female pen.
disdain, and arrogance.
(
SARAH KEMBLE KNIGHT: Diary, 1704
CICERO: De officiis, I, 78 B.C.
Man can bear all things except go
The perfect hostess will see to it that the works
So long as a man enjoys prosperity, he cares
DU
of male and female authors be properly sepa-
not whether he is beloved.
Good times make bad people.
rated on her book shelves. Their proximity,
LUCAN: Pharsalia, VII, 65
GERN
unless they happen to be married, should not
be tolerated.
The remembrance of past wants makes present
The prosperity of this world is lik
LADY GOUGH: Etiquette, 1863
prosperity more pleasant.
water.
HI
[See also Fashion.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM: Homilies, XIII,
In prosperous times no altars smol
c. 388
ITAL
Prose
Prosperity doth bewitch men, seeming clear;
In prosperity be cautious; in adver
For more than forty years I have been speak-
As seas do laugh, show white, when rocks are
PORTUGU
ing prose without knowing it.
near.
J. B. MOLIÈRE: Le bourgeois gentilhomme,
JOHN WEBSTER: The White Devil, v,
[See also Adversity, Chicken, Fri
II, 1670
c. 1608
ship, Greatness, Happiness, Pro
I might have been a poet if I had given up my
Prosperity's the very bond of love.
Prostitute
mind to it. In prose I found more room.
SHAKESPEARE: The Winter's Tale, IV,
W. S. LANDOR: Letter to Robert Browning,
A prostitute is a furnace of love, b
c. 1611
Nov. 12, 1845
and money.
Prosperity lets go the bridle.
BHARTRIHARI: The Sringa S
When the brain gets as dry as an empty nut,
GEORGE HERBERT: Outlandish Proverbs,
When the reason stands on its squarest toes,
No woman is worth money th
1640
When the mind (like a beard) has a formal
money.
cut, -
Prosperity makes very few friends.
JOHN VANBRUGH: The Rel
There is place and enough for the pains of
LUC DE VAUVENARGUES: Réflexions, 1746
Nor are the nymphs that brea
prose.
air
AUSTIN DOBSON: The Ballad of Prose and
The prosperity of any commercial nation is
Rhyme, 1873
regulated by the prosperity of the rest. If they
So fair as Cynthia, nor so chaste
These to the town afford each fres
are poor, she cannot be rich; and her con-
Order, precision, directness are the radical mer-
And the clown's trull receives tl
dition, be it what it may, is an index of the
its of prose thought, and it is more than
height of the commercial tide in other na-
brace;
merely legitimate that they should form the
tions.
From whom, should chance agai
criterion of prose style.
down,
WALTER PATER: English Literature, 1886
THOMAS PAINE: The Rights of Man, п,
The peer's disease in turn attack
1791
(London Guardian, Feb. 17)
GEORGE CRABBE: The Vi
A perfect prose is the last word in literature,
Prosperity is the surest breeder of insolence I
Prostitutes
trample on virgi
since it contains every kind of rhythm to be
know.
with a sort of bravado, and,
found in verse, and other rhythms as well,
S. L. CLEMENS (MARK TWAIN): Letter from
their shame, become more aud
and all in such a rich variety and seeming
New York to the Alta Californian (San
than men, however depraved.
irregularity that while no rhythm is insistent
Francisco), Feb. 23, 1867
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT: A
every rhythm is heard.
the Rights of Wor
A. R. ORAGE: Selected Essays, 1935
There are those who believe that, if you will
only legislate to make the well-to-do pros-
A devoted part of the sex de
[See also Metaphor, Poetry and Prose.
perous, their prosperity will leak through to
salvation of the rest.
those below. The Democratic idea, however,
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT: A
Proselyte
has been that if you legislate to make the
the Rights 0
masses prosperous, their prosperity will find
A man is glad to gain numbers on his side, as
Prostitutes are a necessity. Witho
they serve to strengthen him in his private
its way up through every class which rests
upon them.
would attack respectable W
opinions. Every proselyte is like a new argu-
W. J. BRYAN: Speech at the Democratic
streets.
ment for the establishment of the faith.
NAPOLEON I: To Gaspar
JOSEPH ADDISON: The Spectator, Oct. 2,
National Convention, Chicago, July 8,
St. Helen:
1896
1711
[See also Convert.
The life of a fille de joie is as ba
If we are brought face to face with the naked
is of honor.
issue of either keeping or totally destroying
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUEF
Prosperity
a prosperity in which the majority share, but
Parali
The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a pros-
in which some share improperly, why, as
perous man.
GENESIS XXXIX, 2, c. 700 B.C.
sensible men, we must decide that it is a
The prostitute draggles her sha
great deal better that some people should
bobs on her tipsy and pimpled
A state that is prosperous always honors the
prosper too much than that no one should
The crowd laugh at her blackg
gods.
prosper enough.
men jeer and wink to each ot
ASCHYLUS: The Seven Against Thebes,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT: Speech in Fitch-
(Miserable! I do not laugh at y
c. 490 B.C.
burg, Mass., Sept. 2, 1902
jeer you).
WALT WHITMAN: Walt
VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT
TO
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
TUESDAY, MAY 2, 1989
EVENT:
Address to the Council of the Americas
DATE:
May 2, 1989
TIME:
10:55 am - 11:35 am
LOCATION:
The Loy Henderson Auditorium
ATTENDEES:
380
PRESS:
Open
SCENARIO:
THE PRESIDENT arrives State Department and is
greeted by The Hon. James A. Baker, III, Secretary
of State. Secretary Baker will escort THE PRESIDENT
to the Holding Room where he will be greeted by: Mr. David
Rockefeller, Chairman of the Council of the Americas; and
Ambassador Joseph V. Reed, Chief of Protocol, Department of
State. THE PRESIDENT, accompanied by Secretary Baker, then
proceeds to Off-Stage Announcement Area. THE PRESIDENT and
Secretary Baker are announced onto stage by an Off-Stage
Announcement and proceed to seats on Dais. THE PRESIDENT will
join: Mr. LudlowFlower, III, Director of the Washington Office,
Council of the Americas; Mr. Bernard Aronson, Assistant Secretary
Designate for Inter-American Affairs; Former Ambassador George W.
Landau, President of the Council of the Americas; and Mr. David
Rockefeller, Chairman of the Board, Council of the Americas, who
are already on stage. THE PRESIDENT is introduced for Remarks by
Secretary Baker. The podium is offset stage right and there is a
banner with the Council of the Americas logo located to the left
of the podium in front of the other participants. THE PRESIDENT
gives Remarks. THE PRESIDENT concludes Remarks and, accompanied
by Secretary Baker, departs the Dais and proceeds to Motorcade.
647-0202
The Council of the Americas corporate membership is comprised of
some 200 major U.S. firms doing business in Latin America. Its
Washington Conference, held May 1 - 2, 1989, is an annual
meeting. Board Chairman David Rockefeller has personally invited
THE PRESIDENT to attend. THE PRESIDENT has participated in this
Conference before as Vice President.
Page Two
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
April 28, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM: DANIEL McGROARTY
SUBJECT: COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS SPEECH
I. SUMMARY
The attached draft has been prepared for your address to the
Council of the Americas association, Tuesday morning, May 2,
1989, at the Department of State. The audience will be
approximately 380 business executives with business
interests in Latin America. Council of the Americas is
chaired by David Rockefeller.
II. DISCUSSION
This speech provides an opportunity to speak about
democratic dévelopments in Latin America, with special
emphasis on the changes we seek in Nicaragua. The speech
also focuses on debt relief and economic reform, issues
that should be of particular interest to this audience.
McGroarty/Dooley
April 28, 1989
9:35 p.m.
Draft 3
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MAY 2, 1989
[Introductory remarks, acknowledgements
]
Looking around the world today, in the developing world and
even in the communist bloc, we see the triumph of two great
ideas: the idea of free government, and the idea of free
enterprise.
Certainly, Latin America and the Caribbean are proving
fertile ground for these ideas. Democracy -- a decade ago the
exception -- is today the rule. The symbol of this new breeze is
the ballot box. By year's end, 14 national elections will have
been held across the Americas.
And let's remember what it means to vote when democracy
itself is at stake. We're not talking about people who may stay
home from the polls because it's raining, or rush hour traffic is
heavy. We're talking about people risking their lives to
exercise their democratic right.
Listen to the words of a Salvadoran man, on the eve of last
month's presidential elections in that country -- elections
guerilla forces vowed to disrupt:
"Of course I'm going to vote, although I have to admit it's
very scary
Here, going to the grocery store can be dangerous
2
-- but you have to do it. And you have to vote, too. We just
can't roll over and play dead each time we're threatened."
That's the voice of democracy speaking -- and it's the voice
of courage and hope.
Economically, although there is concern about international
debt, there are encouraging signs as well. Mexico has joined
GATT, and is moving toward a more open and internationally-
oriented economy. In Costa Rica, Brazil and Venezuela new
ventures are creating export opportunities that promise a broader
economic base. You in the business community are among the
pioneers and partners in these changes. You are contributing to
Latin America's increased productivity -- you are helping the
region to fulfill its potential for progress.
The historic shift in political and economic thinking now
underway in Latin America is good news for us all. Our task is
clear: to make the most of the new opportunities open to us, we
must improve our working partnerships in this hemisphere --
between countries north and south, between government, business
and labor, and, in the U.S., between the different branches of
the federal government. We share common interests -- we must
work towards a common aim.
My Administration will work to build a new partnership for
the Americas -- a partnership built on mutual respect, and mutual
responsibilities.
We seek a partnership rooted in a common commitment to
democratic rule.
3
The battle for democracy is far from over. The institutions
of free government are still fragile, and in need of support.
Our battlefield is the broad middle ground of democracy and
popular government -- our fight against the enemies of freedom on
the extreme right and the extreme left.
As a result of the recent Bipartisan Accord on Central
America, the United States is speaking with one voice on a matter
of crucial importance to peace in Central America: bringing
democracy to Nicaragua, and peace to the region.
Let me take this opportunity to make several observations on
steps that are vital to peace, security and democracy in Central
America:
First, Nicaragua's effort to export violent revolution must
stop. We cannot tolerate Sandinista support -- which continues
today -- for insurgencies in El Salvador and Guatemala, and
terrorism in Honduras. Peace in the region cannot co-exist with
attempts to undermine democracy.
Second, we call upon the Soviet Union to end Soviet bloc
support for the Nicaraguan assault on regional democracy. The
United States ended military aid to the Nicaraguan Resistance two
years ago, yet since that time, the Soviets continue to funnel
about half a billion dollars worth of military assistance a year
to the Sandinista regime. Furthermore, Cuba and Nicaragua,
supplied by $7 billion in Soviet bloc aid, have stepped up arms
flow to the Salvadoran guerillas. That aid must stop.
4
The Soviet Union must understand that we hold it accountable
for the consequences of its intervention in this hemisphere --
and for progress towards peace in the region and democracy in
Nicaragua. As the Bipartisan Accord makes clear, continued
Soviet support of violence and subversion in Central America is
in direct violation of the Esquipulas Agreement concluded by the
nations of Central America a year and a half ago.
Finally, within Nicaragua, we want to see a promise kept --
the promise of democracy, withheld by the Sandinista regime for
nearly a decade. To this end, the U.S. will continue to supply
humanitarian aid to the Nicaraguan resistance through the
elections scheduled in Nicaragua for February 1990. The conduct
and the outcome of those elections will demonstrate to
Nicaragua's neighbors and the international community whether it
means to deliver on democracy.
But the Sandinistas' recent actions are ominous. April 25th
was the benchmark date for Nicaragua to have in place electoral
laws consistent with free and fair elections. Instead,
restrictive new election and press laws have been pushed through
the Sandinista-controlled legislature. These laws have been
unilaterally imposed and the proposals of Nicaragua's opposition
parties have been ignored. The result is a stacked deck against
the opposition and stacked rules of the game.
The election law mandates unilaterally that half of all
foreign political contributions go to the Supreme Electoral
Council, which remains under Sandinista control -- and ignores
5
proposals put forward by the opposition. In effect that's a
stacked deck against freedom. The new law governing press
conduct gives excessive controls to the Interior Ministry to
police violations against "national integrity," and continues the
prohibition of private-sector ownership of television stations.
If there is to be peace in Nicaragua, the Sandinista regime
must work with the opposition -- including the Nicaraguan
Resistance -- to put in place election and press laws that are
truly free and fair.
That means to have free and fair elections. It means a
secret ballot on election day, the freedom to campaign, to
organize, hold rallies -- to use the media and poll public
opinion, to operate independent radio and television stations.
It means the absense of intimidation either from a politicized
Sandinista military or police, or from the neighborhood block
committees that control people's ration cards. It means an end
to the arrests and bullying of opposition leaders. It means
freeing all political prisoners jailed under Sandinista rule, not
just former Somoza soldiers.
If the Sandinistas fail this test, it will be a tragic
setback -- and a dangerous one. The consolation of tyranny will
not be peace; it will be a crisis waiting to happen.
I want to mention several other Latin nations where
elections can signal positive change:
In El Salvador, last month's elections proved another
ringing affirmation of that nation's commitment to democracy. We
6
expect ARENA to exercise its political power responsibly. I have
conveyed to President-Elect Cristiani our commitment to human
rights in El Salvador. He shares my concerns, and he's deserves
a chance.
In Paraguay, the only country whose dictator had held power
longer than Fidel Castro, elections have just taken place -- the
first hopeful sign that Paraguay is on its way to joining the
democratic mainstream. That Democratic opening must continue.
In Panama, however, the forecast for freedom is less clear.
A free and fair vote in the elections scheduled for this Sunday
would enable Panama to take a significant step towards ending the
international isolation and internal economic crisis brought on
by the Noriega regime. And in spite of intimidation from the
authorities, Panama's opposition parties have -- with great
courage -- taken their campaign to the Panamanian people. The
Noriega regime's candidates are trailing in polls by a margin of
2 to 1.
Unfortunately, it is evident that the regime is ready to
resort to massive election fraud in order to remain in power.
The Noriega regime continues to threaten and intimidate
Panamanians who believe in democracy. It is also attempting to
limit the presence and freedom of action of international
observers, and to prevent journalists from reporting on the
election process in Panama.
7
Let me be clear: the United States will not recognize the
results of a fraudulent election engineered to keep Noriega in
power.
It's time for the plain truth: The day of the dictator is
over. The people's right to democracy must not be denied. [pause]
Our new partnership must also aim at ensuring that the
market economies survive, prosper and prevail.
The principals of economic freedom have not been applied as
fully as the principal of democracy. While the poverty of
statism and protectionism is more evident than ever, statist
economies remain in place, stifling growth, in many Latin
nations.
That is why the U.S. has made a new initiative to reduce the
weight of debt, as Latin governments and leaders take the
difficult steps to restructure their economies.
Economic growth requires policies that create a climate for
investment -- one that will attract new capital, and reverse the
flight of capital out of the region.
We welcome the broad international support expressed for our
ideas to strengthen the debt strategy. We urge the parties
involved -- the international financial institutions, debtor
countries, and commercial banks -- to make a sustained effort to
move this process forward. We recognize the competing claims
debtor governments must try to satisfy as they work to advance
economic reform, service their debt, and respond to the needs of
their citizens. However, we also understand that progress can be
8
an incremental process -- case-by-case, step-by-step -- provided
there is a clear commitment to economic reform.
Finally, our common partnership must confront a common
enemy: international drug traffickers.
Drugs threaten citizens and civil society throughout our
hemisphere. Joining forces in the war on drugs is crucial.
There is nothing gained by trying to lay blame and make
recriminations. Drug abuse is a problem of both supply and
demand -- and attacking both is the only way we can defeat the
drug menace. [pause]
There is a place in this new partnership for you in the
Council of the Americas. Thomas Paine said that "the prosperity
of any commercial nation is regulated by the prosperity of the
rest." Your efforts contribute directly to the greater
prosperity of all the nations of the Americas.
The challenges I've spoken of today won't be easy. But all
of us -- North and South, in government and in the private sector
-- can work together to meet the challenges, and master them.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- to ensure
that all the Americas enjoy the peace, freedom and prosperity
that we cherish.
Thank you.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
April 28, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM: DANIEL McGROARTY
SUBJECT: COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS SPEECH
I. SUMMARY
The attached draft has been prepared for your address to the
Council of the Americas association, Tuesday morning, May 2,
1989, at the Department of State. The audience will be
approximately 380 business executives with business
interests in Latin America. Council of the Americas is
chaired by David Rockefeller.
II. DISCUSSION
This speech provides an opportunity to speak about
democratic developments in Latin America, with special
emphasis on the changes we seek in Nicaragua. The speech
also focuses on debt relief and economic reform, issues
that should be of particular interest to this audience.
McGroarty/Dooley
April 28, 1989
9:35 p.m.
Draft 3
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MAY 2, 1989
[Introductory remarks, acknowledgements
]
Looking around the world today, in the developing world and
even in the communist bloc, we see the triumph of two great
ideas: the idea of free government, and the idea of free
enterprise.
Certainly, Latin America and the Caribbean are proving
fertile ground for these ideas. Democracy -- a decade ago the
exception -- is today the rule. The symbol of this new breeze is
the ballot box. By year's end, 14 national elections will have
been held across the Americas.
And let's remember what it means to vote when democracy
itself is at stake. We're not talking about people who may stay
home from the polls because it's raining, or rush hour traffic is
heavy. We're talking about people risking their lives to
exercise their democratic right.
Listen to the words of a Salvadoran man, on the eve of last
month's presidential elections in that country -- elections
guerilla forces vowed to disrupt:
"Of course I'm going to vote, although I have to admit it's
very scary
Here, going to the grocery store can be dangerous
2
-- but you have to do it. And you have to vote, too. We just
can't roll over and play dead each time we're threatened."
That's the voice of democracy speaking -- and it's the voice
of courage and hope.
Economically, although there is concern about international
debt, there are encouraging signs as well. Mexico has joined
GATT, and is moving toward a more open and internationally-
oriented economy. In Costa Rica, Brazil and Venezuela new
ventures are creating export opportunities that promise a broader
economic base. You in the business community are among the
pioneers and partners in these changes. You are contributing to
Latin America's increased productivity -- you are helping the
region to fulfill its potential for progress.
The historic shift in political and economic thinking now
underway in Latin America is good news for us all. Our task is
clear: to make the most of the new opportunities open to us, we
must improve our working partnerships in this hemisphere --
between countries north and south, between government, business
and labor, and, in the U.S., between the different branches of
the federal government. We share common interests -- we must
work towards a common aim.
My Administration will work to build a new partnership for
the Americas -- a partnership built on mutual respect, and mutual
responsibilities.
We seek a partnership rooted in a common commitment to
democratic rule.
3
The battle for democracy is far from over. The institutions
of free government are still fragile, and in need of support.
Our battlefield is the broad middle ground of democracy and
popular government -- our fight against the enemies of freedom on
the extreme right and the extreme left.
As a result of the recent Bipartisan Accord on Central
America, the United States is speaking with one voice on a matter
of crucial importance to peace in Central America: bringing
democracy to Nicaragua, and peace to the region.
Let me take this opportunity to make several observations on
steps that are vital to peace, security and democracy in Central
America:
First, Nicaragua's effort to export violent revolution must
stop. We cannot tolerate Sandinista support -- which continues
today -- for insurgencies in El Salvador and Guatemala, and
terrorism in Honduras. Peace in the region cannot co-exist with
attempts to undermine democracy.
Second, we call upon the Soviet Union to end Soviet bloc
support for the Nicaraguan assault on regional democracy. The
United States ended military aid to the Nicaraguan Resistance two
years ago, yet since that time, the Soviets continue to funnel
about half a billion dollars worth of military assistance a year
to the Sandinista regime. Furthermore, Cuba and Nicaragua,
supplied by $7 billion in Soviet bloc aid, have stepped up arms
flow to the Salvadoran guerillas. That aid must stop.
4
The Soviet Union must understand that we hold it accountable
for the consequences of its intervention in this hemisphere --
and for progress towards peace in the region and democracy in
Nicaragua. As the Bipartisan Accord makes clear, continued
Soviet support of violence and subversion in Central America is
in direct violation of the Esquipulas Agreement concluded by the
nations of Central America a year and a half ago.
Finally, within Nicaragua, we want to see a promise kept --
the promise of democracy, withheld by the Sandinista regime for
nearly a decade. To this end, the U.S. will continue to supply
humanitarian aid to the Nicaraguan resistance through the
elections scheduled in Nicaragua for February 1990. The conduct
and the outcome of those elections will demonstrate to
Nicaragua's neighbors and the international community whether it
means to deliver on democracy.
But the Sandinistas' recent actions are ominous. April 25th
was the benchmark date for Nicaragua to have in place electoral
laws consistent with free and fair elections. Instead,
restrictive new election and press laws have been pushed through
the Sandinista-controlled legislature. These laws have been
unilaterally imposed and the proposals of Nicaragua's opposition
parties have been ignored. The result is a stacked deck against
the opposition and stacked rules of the game.
The election law mandates unilaterally that half of all
foreign political contributions go to the Supreme Electoral
Council, which remains under Sandinista control -- and ignores
5
proposals put forward by the opposition. In effect that's a
stacked deck against freedom. The new law governing press
conduct gives excessive controls to the Interior Ministry to
police violations against "national integrity," and continues the
prohibition of private-sector ownership of television stations.
If there is to be peace in Nicaragua, the Sandinista regime
must work with the opposition -- including the Nicaraguan
Resistance -- to put in place election and press laws that are
truly free and fair.
That means to have free and fair elections. It means a
secret ballot on election day, the freedom to campaign, to
organize, hold rallies -- to use the media and poll public
opinion, to operate independent radio and television stations.
It means the absense of intimidation either from a politicized
Sandinista military or police, or from the neighborhood block
committees that control people's ration cards. It means an end
to the arrests and bullying of opposition leaders. It means
freeing all political prisoners jailed under Sandinista rule, not
just former Somoza soldiers.
If the Sandinistas fail this test, it will be a tragic
setback -- and a dangerous one. The consolation of tyranny will
not be peace; it will be a crisis waiting to happen.
I want to mention several other Latin nations where
elections can signal positive change:
In El Salvador, last month's elections proved another
ringing affirmation of that nation's commitment to democracy. We
6
expect ARENA to exercise its political power responsibly. I have
conveyed to President-Elect Cristiani our commitment to human
rights in El Salvador. He shares my concerns, and he's deserves
a chance.
In Paraguay, the only country whose dictator had held power
longer than Fidel Castro, elections have just taken place -- the
first hopeful sign that Paraguay is on its way to joining the
democratic mainstream. That Democratic opening must continue.
In Panama, however, the forecast for freedom is less clear.
A free and fair vote in the elections scheduled for this Sunday
would enable Panama to take a significant step towards ending the
international isolation and internal economic crisis brought on
by the Noriega regime. And in spite of intimidation from the
authorities, Panama's opposition parties have -- with great
courage -- taken their campaign to the Panamanian people. The
Noriega regime's candidates are trailing in polls by a margin of
2 to 1.
Unfortunately, it is evident that the regime is ready to
resort to massive election fraud in order to remain in power.
The Noriega regime continues to threaten and intimidate
Panamanians who believe in democracy. It is also attempting to
limit the presence and freedom of action of international
observers, and to prevent journalists from reporting on the
election process in Panama.
7
Let me be clear: the United States will not recognize the
results of a fraudulent election engineered to keep Noriega in
power.
It's time for the plain truth: The day of the dictator is
over. The people's right to democracy must not be denied. [pause]
Our new partnership must also aim at ensuring that the
market economies survive, prosper and prevail.
The principals of economic freedom have not been applied as
fully as the principal of democracy. While the poverty of
statism and protectionism is more evident than ever, statist
economies remain in place, stifling growth, in many Latin
nations.
That is why the U.S. has made a new initiative to reduce the
weight of debt, as Latin governments and leaders take the
difficult steps to restructure their economies.
Economic growth requires policies that create a climate for
investment -- one that will attract new capital, and reverse the
flight of capital out of the region.
We welcome the broad international support expressed for our
ideas to strengthen the debt strategy. We urge the parties
involved -- the international financial institutions, debtor
countries, and commercial banks -- to make a sustained effort to
move this process forward. We recognize the competing claims
debtor governments must try to satisfy as they work to advance
economic reform, service their debt, and respond to the needs of
their citizens. However, we also understand that progress can be
8
an incremental process -- case-by-case, step-by-step -- provided
there is a clear commitment to economic reform.
Finally, our common partnership must confront a common
enemy: international drug traffickers.
Drugs threaten citizens and civil society throughout our
hemisphere. Joining forces in the war on drugs is crucial.
There is nothing gained by trying to lay blame and make
recriminations. Drug abuse is a problem of both supply and
demand -- and attacking both is the only way we can defeat the
drug menace. [pause]
There is a place in this new partnership for you in the
Council of the Americas. Thomas Paine said that "the prosperity
of any commercial nation is regulated by the prosperity of the
rest." Your efforts contribute directly to the greater
prosperity of all the nations of the Americas.
The challenges I've spoken of today won't be easy. But all
of us -- North and South, in government and in the private sector
-- can work together to meet the challenges, and master them.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- to ensure
that all the Americas enjoy the peace, freedom and prosperity
that we cherish.
Thank you.
March 19
1
McGroarty/Dooley
April 27, 1989
4:00 pm
Draft 1
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MAY 2, 1989
?:00 a.m.
[Introductory remarks, acknowledgements.... ]
Looking around the world today, in the developing world and
even in the communist bloc, we see the triumph of two great
ideas: the idea of free government, and the idea of free
enterprise.
Certainly, Latin America is proving fertile ground for these
ideas.
Democracy -- a decade ago the exception -- is today the
rule. The symbol of this new breeze is the ballot box. By
year's end, 14 national elections will have been held across
Latin America and the Caribbean.
anecdote
Economically, there are encouraging signs as well. Mexico
from
El
Sahudor
has joined GATT, and is moving toward a more open and
(?)
internationally-oriented economy. In Costa Rica, Brazil and
Nexis.
Venezuela new ventures are creating export opportunities that
promise a broader economic base.
You in the business community are among the pioneers and
partners in these changes. You are contributing to Latin
2
America's increased productivity -- you are helping the region to
fulfill its tremendous potential for progress.
The historic shift in political and economic thinking now
underway in Latin America is good news for us all. Democracy
opens a path towards progress, peace and prosperity -- in sharp
contrast to the dictatorships of right and left that have plagued
Latin America in the past.
Our task is clear: to make the most of the new
opportunities open to us, we must improve our working
partnerships in this hemisphere -- between countries north and
south, between government and business, and between the different
branches of government themselves. We share common interests --
we must work towards a common aim.
The U.S. can lead the way. My Administration will work to
build a new partnership for the Americas -- a partnership built
on mutual respect and mutual responsibilities.
We seek a partnership rooted in a common commitment to
democratic rule.
The battle for democracy is far from over. The institutions
of free government are still fragile, and in need of support.
Our battlefield is the broad middle ground of democracy and
popular government -- our fight against the enemies of freedom on
the extreme right and the extreme left.
As a result of the recent Bipartisan Accord on Central
America, the United States is speaking with one voice on a matter
3
of crucial importance to peace in Central America: bringing
democracy to Nicaragua, and peace to the region.
Let me take this opportunity to make several observations on
steps that are vital to peace, security and democracy in Central
America:
actions to
First, Nicaragua's effort to export violent revolution must
We cannot tolerafe
stop. This means an end to Sandinista support -- which continues
today -- for insurgencies in El Salvador and Guatemala, and
terrorism in Honduras. Peace in the region cannot co-exist with
attempts to undermine democracy.
Second, we look to the Soviet Union to end Soviet bloc
we callupos
support for the anti-democratic activities of Cuba and Nicaragua.
a
While the U.S. has not provided military aid to the Nicraguan
Resistance for the past 18 months, the Soviets continue to funnel
well over a
$500 million dollars worth of military assistance a year to the million
There is simply no
dollars
Sandinista regime an amount far in excess of legitimate
an
defense need that justifies military and of the magnitude@ military each
All told, the Soviet Bloc has poured at least $50 billion in day.
into Cuba and Nicaragua in the past decade. A continuation of
this policy raises serious questions about Soviet intentions in
Central America, and towards the United States.
Finally, within Nicaragua, we want to see a promise kept
power
the promise of democracy, withheld by the Sandinista regime for
a promise given its by Sandmitas seeling
tothe
nearly a decade. To this end, the U.S. will continue to supply
OAS,
humanitarian aid to the Nicaraguan resistance through the
elections scheduled in Nicaragua for February 1990. The conduct
4
demonotrate to
and the outcome of those elections will tell Nicaragua's
neighbors and the international community whether it means to
deliver on democracy.
But the Sandinistas' recent actions are troubling.
Restrictive new election and press laws have been pushed through
the Sandinista-controlled legislature -- over the objections of
Nicaragua's opposition parties. We urge the Sandinista regime to
work with Nicaraguan opposition parties to put in place election
and press laws that are truly free and fair.
The people of Nicaragua have waited long enough. It's time
for the Sandinistas to deliver the democracy they promised.
I want to mention two other Latin nations where elections
can signal positive change:
In Paraguay, the only country whose dictator had held power
longer than Fidel Castro, elections have just taken place -- the
first hopeful sign that Paraguay is on its way to joining the
democratic mainstream.
In Panama, however, the forecast for freedom is less clear.
A free and fair vote in the elections scheduled for this Sunday
would enable Panama to take a significant step towards ending the
international isolation and internal economic crisis brought on
by the Noriega regime. And in spite of intimidation from the
authorities, Panama's opposition parties have taken their
with great
campaign to the Panamanian people. The Noriega regime's
courage-
candidates are trailing in polls by a margin of 2 to 1.
Unfortunately, there are signs that the regime intends to
5
restrict international election observers, and will resort to
massive election fraud in order to remain in power.
Let me be clear:
The United States will not recognize the results of a
fraudulent election engineered to keep Noriega in power.
It's time for the plain truth: The day of the dictator is
over. The people's right to democracy must not be denied. [pause]
Our new partnership must also aim at ensuring that the
market economies survive, prosper and prevail.
So far, economic freedom has not kept pace with its
political counterpart. While the poverty of statism and
protectionism is more evident than ever, statist economies remain
in place, stifling growth, in many Latin nations.
That is why the U.S. has made a new commitment to reduce the
weight of debt, as Latin governments and leaders take the
difficult steps to restructure their economies.
The key point should be clear: debt reduction is a
necessary step, but not sufficient in itself to generate growth.
Growth requires creation of a climate for investment -- one that
will attract new capital, and stem and reverse the flight of
capital out of the region.
We recognize that individual debtor economies are different
-- and that election schedules do not always match the ideal pace
for economic reform. We recognize the competing claims
governments must try to satisfy as they work to advance economic
reform, service their debt, and respond to the needs of their
citizens. But our plan isn't a "now or never" approach.
6
Progress can be an incremental process -- case-by-case, step-by-
step -- provided there is a clear commitment to economic reform.
In addition to nurturing market economies, our new
partnership seeks to advance free and open trade.
If we ask Latin America to strip away the protectionist
barriers that shield their economies, we owe them something in
return -- a commitment to free and open trade on our own part.
We are deeply involved in the Uruguay Round to dismantle
remaining tariff barriers -- and to remove non-tariff impediments
to trade. We will also work to further expand the Caribbean
Basin Initiative, and build on the beginning it has made in
fostering free trade.
Finally, our common partnership must confront a common
enemy: international drug traffickers.
Drugs threaten citizens and civil society throughout our
hemisphere. Joining forces in the war on drugs is crucial.
There is nothing gained by trying to lay blame and make
recriminations. Drug abuse is a problem of both supply and
demand -- and attacking both is the only way we can defeat the
drug menace. [pause]
There is a place in this new partnership for you in the
Council of the Americas. Thomas Jefferson said that "it is a
kind of law of nature that every nation prospers by the
prosperity of others." Your efforts contribute directly to the
greater prosperity of all nations of the Americas.
7
The challenges I've spoken of today won't be easy. But all
of us -- North and South, in government and in the private sector
-- can work together to meet the challenges, and master them.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- to ensure
that all the Americas enjoy the peace, freedom and prosperity
that we cherish.
Thank you.
unecdole. - rished lives to
vote.
# 20
4:00
548-9821
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
April 28, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM: DANIEL McGROARTY
SUBJECT: COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS SPEECH
I. SUMMARY
The attached draft has been prepared for your address to the
Council of the Americas association, Tuesday morning, May 2,
1989, at the Department of State. The audience will be
approximately 380 business executives with business
interests in Latin America. Council of the Americas is
chaired by David Rockefeller.
II. DISCUSSION
This speech provides an opportunity to speak about
democratic developments in Latin America, with special
emphasis on the changes we seek in Nicaragua. The speech
also focuses on debt relief and economic reform, issues
that should be of particular interest to this audience.
McGroarty/Dooley
April 28, 1989
9:35 p.m.
Draft 3
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MAY 2, 1989
[Introductory remarks, acknowledgements....]
Looking around the world today, in the developing world and
even in the communist bloc, we see the triumph of two great
ideas: the idea of free government, and the idea of free
enterprise.
Certainly, Latin America and the Caribbean are proving
fertile ground for these ideas. Democracy -- a decade ago the
exception -- is today the rule. The symbol of this new breeze is
the ballot box. By year's end, 14 national elections will have
been held across the Americas.
And let's remember what it means to vote when democracy
itself is at stake. We're not talking about people who may stay
home from the polls because it's raining, or rush hour traffic is
heavy. We're talking about people risking their lives to
exercise their democratic right.
Listen to the words of a Salvadoran man, on the eve of last
month's presidential elections in that country -- elections
guerilla forces vowed to disrupt:
"Of course I'm going to vote, although I have to admit it's
very scary
Here, going to the grocery store can be dangerous
2
-- but you have to do it. And you have to vote, too. We just
can't roll over and play dead each time we're threatened."
That's the voice of democracy speaking -- and it's the voice
of courage and hope.
Economically, although there is concern about international
debt, there are encouraging signs as well. Mexico has joined
GATT, and is moving toward a more open and internationally-
oriented economy. In Costa Rica, Brazil and Venezuela new
ventures are creating export opportunities that promise a broader
economic base. You in the business community are among the
pioneers and partners in these changes. You are contributing to
Latin America's increased productivity -- you are helping the
region to fulfill its potential for progress.
The historic shift in political and economic thinking now
underway in Latin America is good news for us all. Our task is
clear: to make the most of the new opportunities open to us, we
must improve our working partnerships in this hemisphere --
between countries north and south, between government, business
and labor, and, in the U.S., between the different branches of
the federal government. We share common interests -- we must
work towards a common aim.
My Administration will work to build a new partnership for
the Americas -- a partnership built on mutual respect, and mutual
responsibilities.
We seek a partnership rooted in a common commitment to
democratic rule.
3
The battle for democracy is far from over. The institutions
of free government are still fragile, and in need of support.
Our battlefield is the broad middle ground of democracy and
popular government -- our fight against the enemies of freedom on
the extreme right and the extreme left.
As a result of the recent Bipartisan Accord on Central
America, the United States is speaking with one voice on a matter
of crucial importance to peace in Central America: bringing
democracy to Nicaragua, and peace to the region.
Let me take this opportunity to make several observations on
steps that are vital to peace, security and democracy in Central
America:
First, Nicaragua's effort to export violent revolution must
stop. We cannot tolerate Sandinista support -- which continues
today -- for insurgencies in El Salvador and Guatemala, and
terrorism in Honduras. Peace in the region cannot co-exist with
attempts to undermine democracy.
Second, we call upon the Soviet Union to end Soviet bloc
support for the Nicaraguan assault on regional democracy. The
United States ended military aid to the Nicaraguan Resistance two
years ago, yet since that time, the Soviets continue to funnel
about half a billion dollars worth of military assistance a year
to the Sandinista regime. Furthermore, Cuba and Nicaragua,
supplied by $7 billion in Soviet bloc aid, have stepped up arms
flow to the Salvadoran guerillas. That aid must stop.
4
The Soviet Union must understand that we hold it accountable
for the consequences of its intervention in this hemisphere --
and for progress towards peace in the region and democracy in
Nicaragua. As the Bipartisan Accord makes clear, continued
Soviet support of violence and subversion in Central America is
in direct violation of the Esquipulas Agreement concluded by the
nations of Central America a year and a half ago.
Finally, within Nicaragua, we want to see a promise kept --
the promise of democracy, withheld by the Sandinista regime for
nearly a decade. To this end, the U.S. will continue to supply
humanitarian aid to the Nicaraguan resistance through the
elections scheduled in Nicaragua for February 1990. The conduct
and the outcome of those elections will demonstrate to
Nicaragua's neighbors and the international community whether it
means to deliver on democracy.
But the Sandinistas' recent actions are ominous. April 25th
was the benchmark date for Nicaragua to have in place electoral
laws consistent with free and fair elections. Instead,
restrictive new election and press laws have been pushed through
the Sandinista-controlled legislature. These laws have been
unilaterally imposed and the proposals of Nicaragua's opposition
parties have been ignored. The result is a stacked deck against
the opposition and stacked rules of the game.
The election law mandates unilaterally that half of all
foreign political contributions go to the Supreme Electoral
Council, which remains under Sandinista control -- and ignores
5
proposals put forward by the opposition. In effect that's a
stacked deck against freedom. The new law governing press
conduct gives excessive controls to the Interior Ministry to
police violations against "national integrity," and continues the
prohibition of private-sector ownership of television stations.
If there is to be peace in Nicaragua, the Sandinista regime
must work with the opposition -- including the Nicaraguan
Resistance -- to put in place election and press laws that are
truly free and fair.
That means to have free and fair elections. It means a
secret ballot on election day, the freedom to campaign, to
organize, hold rallies -- to use the media and poll public
opinion, to operate independent radio and television stations.
It means the absense of intimidation either from a politicized
Sandinista military or police, or from the neighborhood block
committees that control people's ration cards. It means an end
to the arrests and bullying of opposition leaders. It means
freeing all political prisoners jailed under Sandinista rule, not
just former Somoza soldiers.
If the Sandinistas fail this test, it will be a tragic
setback -- and a dangerous one. The consolation of tyranny will
not be peace; it will be a crisis waiting to happen.
I want to mention several other Latin nations where
elections can signal positive change:
In El Salvador, last month's elections proved another
ringing affirmation of that nation's commitment to democracy. We
6
expect ARENA to exercise its political power responsibly. I have
conveyed to President-Elect Cristiani our commitment to human
rights in El Salvador. He shares my concerns, and he's deserves
a chance.
In Paraguay, the only country whose dictator had held power
longer than Fidel Castro, elections have just taken place -- the
first hopeful sign that Paraguay is on its way to joining the
democratic mainstream. That Democratic opening must continue.
In Panama, however, the forecast for freedom is less clear.
A free and fair vote in the elections scheduled for this Sunday
would enable Panama to take a significant step towards ending the
international isolation and internal economic crisis brought on
by the Noriega regime. And in spite of intimidation from the
authorities, Panama's opposition parties have -- with great
courage -- taken their campaign to the Panamanian people. The
Noriega regime's candidates are trailing in polls by a margin of
2 to 1.
Unfortunately, it is evident that the regime is ready to
resort to massive election fraud in order to remain in power.
The Noriega regime continues to threaten and intimidate
Panamanians who believe in democracy. It is also attempting to
limit the presence and freedom of action of international
observers, and to prevent journalists from reporting on the
election process in Panama.
7
Let me be clear: the United States will not recognize the
results of a fraudulent election engineered to keep Noriega in
power.
It's time for the plain truth: The day of the dictator is
over. The people's right to democracy must not be denied. [pause]
Our new partnership must also aim at ensuring that the
market economies survive, prosper and prevail.
The principals of economic freedom have not been applied as
fully as the principal of democracy. While the poverty of
statism and protectionism is more evident than ever, statist
economies remain in place, stifling growth, in many Latin
nations.
That is why the U.S. has made a new initiative to reduce the
weight of debt, as Latin governments and leaders take the
difficult steps to restructure their economies.
Economic growth requires policies that create a climate for
investment -- one that will attract new capital, and reverse the
flight of capital out of the region.
We welcome the broad international support expressed for our
ideas to strengthen the debt strategy. We urge the parties
involved -- the international financial institutions, debtor
countries, and commercial banks -- to make a sustained effort to
move this process forward. We recognize the competing claims
debtor governments must try to satisfy as they work to advance
economic reform, service their debt, and respond to the needs of
their citizens. However, we also understand that progress can be
8
an incremental process -- case-by-case, step-by-step -- provided
there is a clear commitment to economic reform.
Finally, our common partnership must confront a common
enemy: international drug traffickers.
Drugs threaten citizens and civil society throughout our
hemisphere. Joining forces in the war on drugs is crucial.
There is nothing gained by trying to lay blame and make
recriminations. Drug abuse is a problem of both supply and
demand -- and attacking both is the only way we can defeat the
drug menace. [pause]
There is a place in this new partnership for you in the
Council of the Americas. Thomas Paine said that "the prosperity
of any commercial nation is regulated by the prosperity of the
rest." Your efforts contribute directly to the greater
prosperity of all the nations of the Americas.
The challenges I've spoken of today won't be easy. But all
of us -- North and South, in government and in the private sector
-- can work together to meet the challenges, and master them.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- to ensure
that all the Americas enjoy the peace, freedom and prosperity
that we cherish.
Thank you.
NSC 4/03 draft
Central America Speech
When I took the oath of this office ten weeks ago, I reached out
vice
-- to the people, and to the Congress -- to join me in rebuilding
one
a bipartisan foreign policy based on trust and common purpose. I
am pleased, and proud, that the new breeze of cooperation has
brought us a great achievement -- the Bipartisan Accord on
Central America.
That Accord permits continued humanitarian aid to the Nicaraguan
Democratic Resistance while we redouble our efforts for a
democratic, diplomatic solution. It is a great tribute to
political statesmanship by both branches of our government; it's
the kind of problem-solving -- and leadership -- that the
American people expect from us. I intend to proceed in that same
spirit of cooperation, in full partnership with Congress.
But every achievement is also a beginning: The Accord
strengthens our hand as we face the main issue now in Central
America -- democracy and freedom for the people of Nicaragua, and
all of Central America, a region vital to our security.
Let there be no mistake about what the urgent problem in Central
America is: It's Nicaragua's effort to consolidate its tyranny
at home and destabilize its neighbors. In signing the Esquipulas
2
Accord a year and a half ago, President Arias of Costa Rica said:
"Without democracy, there can be no peace in Central America." "
He's right. All of Nicaragua's neighbors enjoy democratically
elected governments; Nicaragua is the one, glaring, ominous
exception.
Since Congress last year ended our military support for the
Nicaraguan Resistance, the dangers in the region have grown. The
Communist war against El Salvador has intensified -- even though
the brave Salvadoran people have once again shown, by turning out
to vote in the face of guerrilla violence, how deeply they
cherish democracy. And the fate of democracy inside Nicaragua --
the fate of the Church, of a free press, of free political
parties and labor unions -- now hangs in the balance.
Thus it was crucial that Congress and the President join together
to make clear to the Sandinistas and their patrons
that there are
7
limits.
First of all, there can be no doubt of this Nation's reaction to
any attempt by Nicaragua to establish a Soviet or Soviet-bloc
military base, or to import advanced combat aircraft. And the
export of violent revolution must stop: This means an end to
Nicaraguan support -- which is continuing -- for insurgencies in
El Salvador and Guatemala and terrorism in Honduras.
3
Second, the Bipartisan Accord is aimed at the goal of genuinely
free national elections in Nicaragua in February of next year, as
now scheduled. The whole world knows what a free election means:
It means not only a secret ballot on election day; it means the
freedom to organize, to campaign, to hold rallies, to use the
media, to take public opinion polls. It means fair competition
on a level playing field. It means -- as the opposition parties
updake?
have now demanded -- major changes in oppressive laws on
elections, media freedom, and other basic rights.
A truly free election campaign means, for example, full, equal
and non-discriminatory access to the media for all political
parties, and the right of private citizens to operate a
television station. It means the absence of intimidation, either
from the politicized Sandinista military or police or from the
neighborhood block committees that control people's ration cards.
It means an end to the Sandinista habit of arresting or bullying
opposition political leaders. It means full restoration of
habeas corpus and the release, not just of former Somocista
soldiers but of the thousands of remaining political prisoners.
It means a genuine dialogue between the Sandinistas and the
opposition -- including the Resistance -- on all these issues of
fair procedure and genuine reform. It means international
monitoring of the electoral process -- and not just by those
observers whom the Sandinistas might invite.
4
The world's media should shine the spotlight on Nicaragua --
starting now -- and hold them to the standards of real democracy.
Democracy means pluralism. It means economic rights as well as
political rights, including the right to strike. It means
recurring contested elections, with the losers -- even if they
are the incumbent government -- bowing to the will of the
majority.
Third, the United States pledges its commitment to democracy and
progress in all of the region. I call upon Congress to expand
its aid to the Central American democracies, including both
development and security assistance. These democracies have
proven their courage and their dynamism. Their diplomatic
efforts for peace are justly applauded by the world. They
deserve our help, and that of all the industrial democracies.
Fourth, the Soviet Union should understand that we hold it
accountable for the consequences of its intervention in this
hemisphere. As the Bipartisan Accord states, continued Soviet
aid and support of violence and subversion in Central America is
in direct violation of the Esquipulas Agreement. It's not just a
matter of eliminating arms supplies, which is long overdue. It's
a question of a Nicaraguan war machine that is already grossly
out of proportion to any defensive needs. It's a question of
Soviet responsibility to help ensure a democratic outcome of the
5
political process now underway in Nicaragua, as well as an end to
Nicaraguan subversion.
Fifth, Cuba, too, should understand its responsibility to halt
its aid to tyranny and subversion. We welcome Cuba's
constructive role in the Angola/Namibia accords, but our broader
relations with Cuba will depend on a change -- of which we yet
see no sign -- in its totalitarian policies closer to home.
But today -- I want to emphasize -- is really a moment of hope.
These problems go to the heart of regional security, but there is
a precious opportunity here for a political solution. It may be
the last opportunity.
A democratic outcome in Nicaragua will mean true peace in the
region. It will mean a major breakthrough in U.S. -Soviet
relations, and solid evidence of positive change in Soviet
foreign policy. Economic relations in the region, and with us,
will flourish. It will be a triumph of bipartisan collaboration
in our own government. It will give hope to the world.
If this political experiment fails, it will be a tragic setback
-- and a dangerous one. The consolidation of Sandinista
repression is not peace; it is a crisis waiting to happen.
6
The long-suffering peoples of Central America deserve better than
that. They deserve democracy -- that vital political freedom
that ensures human rights and the rule of law, the freedom that
is the precondition of economic advance and social progress. We
see a trend of democracy around the world, and -- most
dramatically of all -- in this hemisphere. We in the United
States have a special responsibility, which we dare not fritter
away. The Bipartisan Accord shows us meeting that
responsibility.
In close cooperation with Congress, and with the support of my
fellow citizens, I pledge an all-out effort, with all the energy
and determination at my command: Together, we can help bring
true peace, with freedom and security, to Central America.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 7, 1989
STATEMENT BY MARLIN FITZWATER
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND PRESS SECRETARY
President Bush met with Salvadoran President-elect Alfredo
Cristiani and Vice President-elect Francisco Merino in the Oval
Office for 30 minutes today. The President again congratulated
Mr. Cristiani for his first-round electoral victory on March 19.
The President said he looked forward to establishing the same
sort of working relationship that he and President Reagan had
with President Duarte. In furtherance of that goal, the
President issued an invitation to Mr. Cristiani to come to
Washington in late summer for an official working visit. Mr.
Cristiani accepted the President's offer and expressed his hope
of enhancing our mutual cooperation.
The President stated in strongest terms his commitment to support
Salvadoran democracy and his admiration of the commitment of the
Salvadoran people who risked death or injury by guerrilla threats
to interrupt the vote. A U.S. observer team from both political
parties, as well as electoral observers from other countries,
have
have certified the election as free and fair. The President
noted that El Salvador's democratic institutions stand in marked
contrast to those of Nicaragua. The Salvadoran press is free;
political groups mount demonstrations without government
Converyed
interference; and the government has granted a total amnesty.
For the past eight years, our commitment to El Salvador has
reflected a bipartisan consensus. Nevertheless, there have been
toes our
some voices that have prejudged Mr. Cristiani and who are
pessimistic about the future. The President stated his view that
Mr. Cristiani should be given the chance to prove his dedication
to democracy, peace, and human rights. Mr. Cristiani has already
proven his ability to run a fair campaign, which inspires our
confidence about the future.
&
The President and Mr. Cristiani noted the importance of human
rights in El Salvador. The President noted with satisfaction Mr.
Cristiani's role in helping to overturn the decision of a judge
who released rightwing elements accused of involvement in
kidnappings. The President offered continued U.S. assistance to
improve Salvadoran judicial institutions.
Mr. Cristiani warmly endorsed the Bipartisan Accord on Central
America as a contribution to peace and said that the focus must
remain on Nicaraguan democratization. The President indicated
that we would consult El Salvador, as well as the other Central
American democracies, on peace issues.
# # #
ROV DI легох relecopier 7020 , 4-27-08 , 5.05PM ,
2020470244
45077391# 1
Attn: Peggy Dooley
FRom: Dand Holt
State Dept PA/PRS
647-2492
7 pages to follow
KCV т.легох Telecopier 1020 , 4-24-03 , 3.10PM
400770010 -
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPC #71
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1989, 12:39 P. M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MS. TUTWILER: Good morning. How are you all? I have
a brief -- not brief, but I have a statement. Are we ready?
Q
Yes, ma'am.
A
Today, April 25, marks the date by which the
Government of Nicaragua is obligated under the Tesoro Beach
agreement to have in place electoral laws conducive to free and
fair elections scheduled to take place in February of 1990.
The Government of Nicaragua has recently put into
effect new laws governing electoral procedures and the press.
80th the substance of these laws and the manner in which they
have been put into effect is troubling.
The electoral law was not the result of good-faith
bargaining between the Government of Nicaragua and the internal
opposition groups and was unilaterally imposed after being
passed by the Sandinista-dominated legislature. This law
includes a provision requiring that the Supreme Electoral
Council, of which the Sandinistas maintain control, receive
one-half of any foreign political contributions. It ignores
proposals made by the internal opposition for absentee
balloting and procedures for ensuring the presence and
unlimited access of international election observers.
A new law governing press conduct includes penalties
for disseminating information which the Interior Ministry
determines to be a violation of national integrity and allows
the Interior Ministry to order closures of up to four days.
This media law has also been passed by the Sandinista
Legislature without genuine dialogue with the internal
opposition, which depends upon freedom of expression, or with
the independent media in Nicaragua.
It is still not too late for dialogue and for the
necessary compromises by all sides which alone can create
conditions of trust in which free elections can go forward. We
urge the Government of Nicaragua to engage in the necessary
dialogue to revise its electoral and press laws.
RCV BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 4-27-89 ; 3:11PM :
2026470244-
4567739:# 5
-2-
Tuesday, 4/25/89
Q
Can we get & copy of that?
A
Sure.
Q
Margaret, is the conclusion of the
Administration, therefore, to offer carrots or sticks or
nothing at all in response to what has happened in Nicaragua?
A
I'm not sure I understand what you're asking me.
or
Well, the Secretary of State told Congress that
he would have --
A
I know about that.
Q
-- this whole collection of incentives or
disincentives. Now the Sandinista Government has done some
things, as you just outlined them, so what is the response?
Does the United States -- do you want to ask for sticks or are
you going to offer carrots?
A
The United States is asking for free, fair and
honest elections.
Q
But, for example, relations with the Sandinistas
are still at a very low level. There's no Ambassador in either
capital.
A
Ambassador -- what?
Q
There's no Ambassador in either capital.
A
That's correct. And that particular point is
under review.
Q
what does that mean?
3
Does that mean he's under review?
Q
We're now considering --
a
The reinstituting of an Ambassador there and an
Ambassador here is currently under review.
Q
That's been under review since the Administration
took office.
A
That's true. It's still under review, as of
today. (Laughter) I asked.
RCV BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 4-27-89 ; 3:12PM ;
2026470244-
4567739;# 5
-3-
Tuesday, 4/25/89
Q
I think what Roy is asking, if I -- what happens
-- I mean, we're calling on them, we're saying there's still
time to make these changes which we have outlined. What if
they don't?
A
That's something that I'm not prepared to answer
today.
Q
What 1f they do?
A
That would be very encouraging.
Q
No. But I think what Roy was trying to get at is
--
A
I know.
Q
--- there was this set of carrots and sticks, and
this is one of the deadlines of which one would have expected
some sort of an official U.S. response -- either a carrot or &
stick or nothing.
A
But I think that I just did make an official
United States response to -- today is April 25 - and to point
out our disappointment that genuine consultation has not taken
place with all the opposition groups. I'd point out, which I
think you all would have an interest in, that the media laws
that they have passed -- I'd hate to think what it would be
like in many countries in the world, including our own, if We
said we were going to disband the media for four minutes, much
less four days.
So, I mean, there is definitely room for improvement
here.
Q
Do you see anything positive in the steps that
have been taken?
A
I've characterized the steps that have been
taken, as I characterized them in the statement.
or
I mean, for example, they used to be able to shut
down the media indefinitely, and so they are claiming that
limiting themselves to four days is an advance. Now, for us
it's certainly not. But do you see any advance in that?
A
I wouldn't call that an advance, just as you said
you wouldn't.
observations Q about Japan's political problems? Mr. Takeshita,
Is the State Department prepared to have some
who was unceasingly described by the White House as President
Reagan's best friend, apparently is on the way out, and I
wondered if relations with Japan will take a dip because of all
this.
RCV BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 4-27-89 ; 3:09PM ;
2026470244-
45677391# 2
&
-7-
Thursday, 4/20/89
A
-- that there be no discrimination
Q
But go ahead and list all the other appointments
he's made, and it doesn't come out looking that good. SO --
A
Well, the whole process is not finished yet, I'm
sure. But in any case, he's very firmly committed to this.
There was an announcement he issued on, I think it was February
22nd, about equal opportunity within the Department, and it's a
matter of great importance to him, and I'm sure he will carry
it out fully.
o
New subject.
A
All right.
or
Does the United States Government intend to ask
the Mexican Government to extradite Ramon Salcido?
A
We've been in touch with Mexican authorities on
the matter, but I don't have anything particular for you now on
extradition.
Q
Do you expect any particular difficulties with
the treaty with Mexico in this situation? Does the situation
present any obvious difficulties in achieving an extradition'
A
They're not obvious to me. I don't really have
any knowledge of it. It. is a legal matter. It's under
review. It's being looked at here and at the Department of
Justice, and we just don't have any conclusions or statements
now.
or
Richard, Iraq has called for declaring the Middle
East a zone free of nuclear and chemical weapons. Do you ha
any comment on that?
A
I don't have any comment on that. I'm sorry.
or
Will you look at that? Will you have any commo
A
I think our position on nuclear-free weapon
zones, nuclear-free areas, chemical-free areas and that sort
thing has been stated many times.
Q
Yes, but this time it is coming From Iraq.
A
I don't think I have anything new on this. I',.
look into it and see if there is anything specific to [raq,
I must say right now that 1 doubt it.
Q
on Nicaragua --
RCV BY:Xerox lelecopier 7020 ; 4-27-89 ; 3:10PM ;
2026470244-
45677391# 3
-9-
Thursday, 4/20/89
0
Specifically, what do you find objectionable?
You've been speaking in general terms. You haven't given
specifics as to what's wrong with the process.
A Well, what's wrong with the process is a lot of
things. I'd say the basic step that's been taken so far
regards the structure of the electoral council. That council,
in order to achieve legitimacy, has to fairly represent the
people of Nicaragua. The structure that's been passed in this
legislation is not one that can lead, then, to further steps
that would ensure the legitimacy of the elections.
We've also, I think, spoken before about access to the
media and other things. These are things the opposition groups
have highlighted in their statements. They have listed a whole
bunch of specific steps that should be taken in order for there
to be fair and free elections.
Back to your statement on Panama for just one more
question. Are there any consequences to U.5.-Panamaniar
relations from the announcement that you reported today about
the change of visa requirements and travel requirements, and 50
on? Are there any consequences with regard to the election
process that you foresee to U.S. -Panamanian relations?
A
I'm not exactly sure what kind of consequences
you're looking for. There's a consequence to American
travelers, first of all. We, as the United States Government
are very concerned about that. There's a consequence to the
ability of --
Q
Can you do anything about that -- about your
concern?
A
Well, we've made it clear. What we've said is
that there can be no normal relations -- what the Secretary
said -- "No normal relations as long as Noriega is in power
This kind of thing shows why.
Q
But you don't meet with -- you don't send anybi :-
to meet with the Noriega government to resolve this little
issue of visa -- or travel restrictions?
A
Nothing that I'm aware of.
Q
Do you do anything about trying to influence h.
setting up of the election procedures?
A
As we said, we've made public calls for the
ability of outside observers to monitor a free and fair
election. We have supported the efforts of various groups to
try to get in there and monitor elections. We're calling
attention to the fact Noriega has made that impossible. That
what we're doing.
RCV BY:Xerox lelecopier 7020 ; 4-27-89 ; 3:12PM i
2026470244-
45677391# 'I
-11-
Tuesday, 4/25/89
G
But isn't there a difference because those were
changes in parties?
A
There is a difference overall, no matter who had
won this election, in standards. And there is a difference ------
what in the first term of the Reagan Administration, I can't
speak to the Carter Administration -- an initial FBI, what we
call "name check," "overnight name check," which in the first
term of the Reagan Administration took approximately 24 hours
to 3 to 5 days, which is what I have been told. Today that
same process can take anywhere up to three weeks or longer, so
there is a difference in process, yes.
Q
You just mentioned "standards." What do you mean
by standards?
A
I mean there is a different standard based on -
after eight years of an administration we're all under much
more difficult scrutiny; I believe there are more forms to fill
out; there are different questions we are asked, in reaction to
things that happened over the last eight or 10 years. And so
it definitely takes longer.
In fact, you can talk to some people who served in the
Ford Administration who are now serving in this administration;
you can talk to people who served in the first term of the
Reagan Administration -- it just takes longer. There are a
combination of reasons, and it just does.
But as far as where we are and who all's been
confirmed, how many Assistant Secretaries have been officially
nominated by the President and announced from the White House,
I don't keep a list. I can try to get it for you. I just
don't have it.
Q
Do you have any comment on, or can you tell us
something about the two Soviets who allegedly defected up
around Alaska? What happened to these people?
A
We don't comment, Don, as you know, on whether or
not individuals have made requests for asylum. The Immigration
and Naturalization Service decides all requests for asylum,
with the State Department serving in an advisory role.
Q
Margaret, I want to go back to -- unless you have
a follow-up on that, Don? Go ahead.
A
We have not received a request from the Soviets
to meet with the two journalists. That's all I have.
in the context Q of the Bipartisan Accord, and relaying in any
On Nicaragua, is the Secretary going to Congress
way the information that you have laid out here this morning.
that clearly the Nicaraguans have not passed this first
deadline, or hurdle, that we had set, for them for their
reforms?
RCV BY-Xerox lelecopier 7020 ; 4-27-89 ; 3:13PM ;
2026470244->
4567739;# 8
-12-
Tuesday, 4/25/89
A
He does not have a scheduled meeting on the Hill
that I am aware of.
G
May I ask, what are the implications? I mean,
April 25 was the date.
A
That's correct.
Q
It's now passed.
A
And the last paragraph of my statement said
something to the effect of -- I'll get it literally -- that it
still is not too late.
Q Right.
A
It is still not too late for dialogue and for the
necessary compromises by all sides, which alone can create
conditions of trust in which free elections can go forward.
My understanding of that is that we are asking people
to still, sincerely and genuinely, negotiate and discuss and
talk to try to ensure free, fair, and honest elections in
Nicaragua.
or
Has the Secretary given that message to the
Sandinistas in some form other than through the public podium
here?
A
I don't have a literal answer for you to that.
but my instincts would tell me there are officials in this
building who certainly are.
&
In other words, this has been transmitted already
to the Nicaraguan Government?
A
I haven't asked that specific question.
Q
Also, there's a group of Resistance, internal
opposition people, and Contra leaders in town. Is the
Secretary seeing them?
A
Not that I'm aware of. But I'd want to check
that for you. I know it's not on his schedule for today, to my
knowledge, unless they added it this morning or something ---
or
I understand Mr. Delvalle is in town and is
requesting meetings with people in the State Department. Has
his request been granted?
A
I became sware that he has requested this morning
to see Secretary Baker. I do not know if it was added to his
schedule. I believe the request was for today.
Ponta
too
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
The people of Panama clearly yearn for a free and fair
election on May 7th so that their country can take its rightful
place in this hemisphere's community of democratic nations. Only
the threat of violence and massive fraud by the Noriega regime
will keep the Panamanian people from realizing that aspiration
for democracy.
Free and fair elections on May 7th, and respect for the
results, can produce a legitimate government in Panama which will
end that nation's political and economic crisis and international
isolation. That is clearly what the people of Panama deserve and
desire.
The Noriega regime promised that free and fair elections
would in fact take place May 7th, and that international
observers would be permitted to observe them. In recent weeks
the Noriega regime has taken steps to commit systematic fraud.
Through violence and coercion, it threatens and intimidates
Panamanian citizens who believe in democracy. It is attempting
to limit and obstruct the presence of observers from around the
world and the ability of journalists to report freely on the
election.
Nevertheless, many observers intend to travel to Panama to
shine the spotlight of world opinion on the Panamanian elections
just as they did previously in nations like the Philippines and
El Salvador. We admire their commitment to deomocracy and their
courage and will fully support their efforts.
The days of rule by dictatorship in Latin America are over.
They must end in Panama as well. There is still time for Panama
to resolve its current crisis through free and fair elections.
The people and Government of the United States will not recognize
fraudulent election results engineered by Noriega. The
aspirations of the people of Panama for democracy must not be
denied.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPC #71
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1989, 12:39 P. M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MS. TUTWILER: Good morning. How are you all? I have
a brief -- not brief, but I have a statement. Are we ready?
Q
Yes, ma'am.
A
Today, April 25, marks the date by which the
Government of Nicaragua is obligated under the Tesoro Beach
agreement to have in place electoral laws conducive to free and
fair elections scheduled to take place in February of 1990.
The Government of Nicaragua has recently put into
effect new laws governing electoral procedures and the press.
Both the substance of these laws and the manner in which they
have been put into effect is troubling.
The electoral law was not the result of good-faith
bargaining between the Government of Nicaragua and the internal
opposition groups and was unilaterally imposed after being
passed by the Sandinista-dominated legislature. This law
includes a provision requiring that the Supreme Electoral
Council, of which the Sandinistas maintain control, receive
one-half of any foreign political contributions. It ignores
proposals made by the internal opposition for absentee
balloting and procedures for ensuring the presence and
unlimited access of international election observers.
A new law governing press conduct includes penalties
for disseminating information which the Interior Ministry
determines to be a violation of national integrity and allow
the Interior Ministry to order losures of up to four days.
This media law has also been passed by the Sandinista
Legislature without genuine dialogue with the internal
opposition, which depends upon freedom of expression, or with
the independent media in Nicaragua.
It is still not too late for dialogue and for the
necessary compromises by all sides which alone can create
conditions of trust in which free elections can go forward
urge the Government of Nicaragua to engage in the necessary
dialogue to revise its electoral and press laws.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 24, 1989
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
The President of a Central American democracy was asked recently
what is the most important step the United States can take. He
said, "Speak with one voice." Today, for the first time in many
years, the President and Congress, the Democratic and Republican
leadership in the House and Senate, are speaking with one voice
about Central America.
In my inaugural address I reached out my hand to the leadership
of Congress in both parties asking them to join with me to
rebuild a bipartisan foreign policy based on trust and common
purpose. Today, I am gratified that the Speaker and the Majority
and Minority Leaders of the Senate and House have extended their
hands back to me.
We have signed today together a Bipartisan Accord on Central
America. It sets out the broad outlines of U.S. policy towards
that troubled region and commits both the Executive and Congress
to work together to achieve it.
The goals we seek are the goals which the people of Central
America yearns for: democracy, security, and peace. Those are
the pledges made by the Central American Presidents in the
Esquipulas II Accord. That agreement is an integrated whole:
all of its provisions must move forward together if any of them
are to be fulfilled. Our challenge now is to turn those promises
into concrete realities on the ground.
The only way we can meet that challenge is if Latin democratic
leaders and the United States work together, with the support of
our European friends and allies, as true partners with candor and
mutual respect. I believe Latin leaders are asking for that kind
of relationship as we confront together the many challenges facing
our hemisphere. As President, I pledge the United States is
ready to respond.
Under this Central America agreement, insurgent forces have the
right to re-integrate into their homeland under safe, democratic
conditions with full civil and political rights. That is the
desire of the Nicaraguan Resistance. It is what they are
fighting for. We hope and believe it can be achieved through a
concerted diplomatic effort to enforce this regional agreement.
- more -
- 2 -
To achieve these goals the bipartisan leadership of Congress has
agreed to support my request for continued humanitarian
assistance to the Nicaraguan Resistance through the elections
scheduled in Nicaragua for February 28, 1990.
There will be extensive consultations and review with respect to
these funds effective November 30, 1989 by the bipartisan
leadership and relevant committees. However, I have been assured
that the leadership in both Houses supports the extension of this
assistance through the Nicaraguan elections barring unforeseen
circumstances.
There is no shortcut to democracy; no quick fix. The next weeks
and months will demand patience and perseverance by the
democratic community and the hard, technical work of ensuring
compliance with the Esquipulas Accord. The United States will
work in good faith to support that kind of diplomatic effort, but
we will not support a paper agreement that sells out the
Nicaraguan people's right to be free.
We do not claim the right to order the politics of that country.
That is for the people of Nicaragua to decide. We support what
the Esquipulas Accord requires: free, open, political processes
in which all groups can fairly and safely compete for political
leadership. That means the playing field must be level; all,
including the current government must respect the majority's
decision in the end, and the losers much also retain the
political rights to operate as a legal opposition and contest
again for political authority in the next recurring election
contest.
The burden of proof is on the Sandinista government to do
something it has steadfastly refused to do from 1979 to 1989: to
keep its promises to the Nicaraguan people to permit real
democracy; keep its promises to its neighbors not to support
subversion in Central America; and keep its obligation to this
hemisphere not to permit the establishment of Soviet bloc bases
in Central America. If those promises are kept we have an
opportunity to start a new day in Central America; but if those
p elges continue to be violated, we hope and expect that other
nations will find ways to join us to condemn those actions and
reverse those processes.
The Soviet Union also has an obligation and an opportunity: to
demonstrate that its proclaimed commitment to "new thinking" is
more than a tactical response to temporary setbacks, but
represents instead a new principled approach to foreign policy.
- more -
- 3 -
In other regional conflicts around the world the Soviet Union has
adopted a welcome new approach that has helped resolve
long-standing problems in constructive ways. In Central America
what we have seen from the Soviet Union and Cuba can only be
described as "old thinking."
In the last decade, the Soviet bloc has poured at least $50
billion in aid into Cuba and Nicaragua. Soviet and Cuban aid is
building in Nicaragua a military machine larger than all the
armies of the other Central American nations combined and
continues to finance violence, revolution, and destruction
against the democratically elected government of El Salvador.
Indeed, Soviet bloc military support for the Marxist guerrillas
has increased since the United States ended military support for
the Nicaraguan Resistance and Soviet military aid to the
government of Nicaragua continues at levels wholly uncalled for
by any legitimate defensive needs. The continuation of these
levels of Soviet bloc aid into Central America raises serious
questions about Soviet attitudes and intentions towards the
United States.
The Soviet Union has no legitimate security interest in Central
America; and the United States has many. We reject any doctrine
of equivalence of interest in this region as a basis for
negotiations. Instead, the Soviet Union and Cuba have an
obligation to the leaders of Central America to stop violating
the provisions of the Esquipulas Accord which the Soviet Union
and Cuba both pledged to uphold. The time to begin is now.
In signing the Esquipulas Accord, President Oscar Arias of Costa
Rica said: "Without democracy, there can be no peace in Central
America." He is right. But with democracy and peace in Central
America can come new hope for economic development in which all
of the people of the region can share. One can look at the
terrible violence ravaging Central America and despair, but I
have a different vision of its future.
I can see a democratic Central America in which all of the
nations of the region live in peace with each other; where the
citizens of the region are safe from the violence of the state or
from revolutionary guerrillas; where resources now devoted to
military defense could be channeled to build hospitals, homes,
and schools. That is not a dream if all the people and nations
of the Americas will it to be true. I hope the Esquipulas Accord
and perhaps, also, the Bipartisan Accord, will someday be seen as
the first step toward its fulfillment.
# # #
NSC 4/03 draft
Central America Speech
When I took the oath of this office ten weeks ago, I reached out
vice
-- to the people, and to the Congress -- to join me in rebuilding
one
a bipartisan foreign policy based on trust and common purpose. I
am pleased, and proud, that the new breeze of cooperation has
brought us a great achievement -- the Bipartisan Accord on
Central America.
That Accord permits continued humanitarian aid to the Nicaraguan
Democratic Resistance while we redouble our efforts for a
democratic, diplomatic solution. It is a great tribute to
political statesmanship by both branches of our government; it's
the kind of problem-solving -- and leadership -- that the
American people expect from us. I intend to proceed in that same
spirit of cooperation, in full partnership with Congress.
But every achievement is also a beginning: The Accord
strengthens our hand as we face the main issue now in Central
America -- democracy and freedom for the people of Nicaragua, and
all of Central America, a region vital to our security.
it's
Let there be no mistake about what the urgent problem in Central
dame
America is: It's Nicaragua's effort to consolidate its tyranny
at home and destabilize its neighbors. In signing the Esquipulas
Lemocan
Sandinity gave this
please 10 yrs. ago
2
Accord a year and a half ago, President Arias of Costa Rica said:
"Without democracy, there can be no peace in Central America."
He's right. All of Nicaragua's neighbors enjoy democratically
elected governments; Nicaragua is the one, glaring, ominous
exception.
Since Congress last year ended our military support for the
Nicaraguan Resistance, the dangers in the region have grown. The
Communist war against El Salvador has intensified -- even though
the brave Salvadoran people have once again shown, by turning out
to vote in the face of guerrilla violence, how deeply they
cherish democracy. And the fate of democracy inside Nicaragua --
the fate of the Church, of a free press, of free political
parties and labor unions -- now hangs in the balance.
Thus it was crucial that Congress and the President join together
to make clear to the Sandinistas and their patrons
that there are
limits
?
J
First of all, there can be no doubt of this Nation's reaction to
any attempt by Nicaragua to establish a Soviet or Soviet-bloc
military base, or to import advanced combat aircraft. And the
export of violent revolution must stop: This means an end to
Nicaraguan support -- which is continuing -- for insurgencies in
El Salvador and Guatemala and terrorism in Honduras.
3
Second, the Bipartisan Accord is aimed at the goal of genuinely
free national elections in Nicaragua in February of next year, as
now scheduled. The whole world knows what a free election means:
It means not only a secret ballot on election day; it means the
freedom to organize, to campaign, to hold rallies, to use the
media, to take public opinion polls. It means fair competition
on a level playing field. It means -- as the opposition parties
update?
have now demanded -- major changes in oppressive laws on
elections, media freedom, and other basic rights.
A truly free election campaign means, for example, full, equal
and non-discriminatory access to the media for all political
parties, and the right of private citizens to operate a
television station. It means the absence of intimidation, either
from the politicized Sandinista military or police or from the
neighborhood block committees that control people's ration cards.
It means an end to the Sandinista habit of arresting or bullying
opposition political leaders. It means full restoration of
habeas corpus and the release, not just of former Somocista
soldiers but of the thousands of remaining the political prisoners.
jaile duing
It means a genuine dialogue between the Sandinistas and the
that
Sandwist
opposition -- including the Resistance -- on all these issues of
rule.
fair procedure and genuine reform. It means international
monitoring of the electoral process -- and not just by those
observers whom the Sandinistas might invite.
4
The world's media should shine the spotlight on Nicaragua --
starting now -- and hold them to the standards of real democracy.
Democracy means pluralism. It means economic rights as well as
political rights, including the right to strike. It means
recurring contested elections, with the losers -- even if they
are the incumbent government -- bowing to the will of the
majority.
Third, the United States pledges its commitment to democracy and
progress in all of the region. I call upon Congress to expand
Selgroup.,
its aid to the Central American democracies, including both
development and security assistance. These democracies have
proven their courage and their dynamism. Their diplomatic
efforts for peace are justly applauded by the world. They
deserve our help, and that of all the industrial democracies.
Fourth, the Soviet Union should understand that we hold it
Arm m, more in oos oost
accountable for the consequences of its intervention in this
hemisphere. As the Bipartisan Accord states, continued Soviet
aid and support of violence and subversion in Central America is
in direct violation of the Esquipulas Agreement. It's not just a
matter of eliminating arms supplies, which is long overdue It's
a question of a Nicaraguan war machine that is already grossly
out of proportion to any defensive needs. It's a question of
Soviet responsibility to help ensure a democratic outcome of the
80,
000
meannes
5
political process now underway in Nicaragua, as well as an end to
Nicaraguan subversion.
Fifth, Cuba, too, should understand its responsibility to halt
its aid to tyranny and subversion. We welcome Cuba's
constructive role in the Angola/Namibia accords, but our broader
relations with Cuba will depend on a change -- of which we yet
see no sign -- in its totalitarian policies closer to home.
But today -- I want to emphasize -- is really a moment of hope.
cond.
These problems go to the heart of regional security, but there is
a precious opportunity here for a political solution. It may be
the last opportunity.
A democratic outcome in Nicaragua will mean true peace in the
region. It will mean a major breakthrough in U.S. -Soviet
relations, and solid evidence of positive change in Soviet
foreign policy. Economic relations in the region, and with us,
will flourish. It will be a triumph of bipartisan collaboration
in our own government. It will give hope to the world.
If this political experiment fails, it will be a tragic setback
-- and a dangerous one. The consolidation of Sandinista
repression is not peace; it is a crisis waiting to happen.
O
6
The long-suffering peoples of Central America deserve better than
that. They deserve democracy -- that vital political freedom
that ensures human rights and the rule of law, the freedom that
is the precondition of economic advance and social progress. We
see a trend of democracy around the world, and -- most
dramatically of all -- in this hemisphere. We in the United
States have a special responsibility, which we dare not fritter
away. The Bipartisan Accord shows us meeting that
is C Sign that to
responsibility.
it.
In close cooperation with Congress, and with the support of my
fellow citizens, I pledge an all-out effort, with all the energy
and determination at my command: Together, we can help bring
true peace, with freedom and security, to Central America.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 24,
1989
Bipartisan Accord on Central America
The Executive and the Congress are united today in support
of democracy, peace, and security in Central America. The
United States supports the peace and democratization process
and the goals of the Central American Presidents embodied in
the Esquipulas Accord. The United States is committed to
working in good faith with the democratic leaders of Central
America and Latin America to translate the bright promises of
Esquipulas II into concrete realities on the ground.
With regard to Nicaragua, the United States is united in
its goals: democratization; an end to subversion and
destabilization of its neighbors; an end to Soviet bloc
military ties that threaten U.S. and regional security.
Today the Executive and the Congress are united on a policy
to achieve those goals.
To be successful the Central American peace process cannot
be based on promises alone. It must be based on credible
standards of compliance, strict timetables for enforcement,
and effective on-going means to verify both the democratic and
security requirements of those agreements. We support the use
of incentives and disincentives to achieve U.S. policy
objectives.
We also endorse an open, consultative process with
bipartisanship as the watchword for the development and
success of a unified policy towards Central America. The
Congress recognizes the need for consistency and continuity in
policy and the responsibility of the Executive to administer
and carry out that policy, the programs based upon it, and to
conduct American diplomacy in the region. The Executive will
consult regularly and report to the Congress on progress in
meeting the goals of the peace and democratization process,
including the use of assistance as outlined in this Accord.
Under Esquipulas II and the El Salvador Accord, insurgent
forces are supposed to voluntarily reintegrate into their
homeland under safe, democratic conditions. The United States
shall encourage the Government of Nicaragua and the Nicaraguan
Resistance to continue the cessation of hostilities currently
in effect.
To implement our purposes, the Executive will propose and the
bipartisan leadership of the Congress will act promptly after
the Easter Recess to extend humanitarian assistance at current
levels to the Resistance through February 28, 1990, noting
that the Government of Nicaragua has agreed to hold new
elections under international supervision just prior to that
date. Those funds shall also be available to support
voluntary reintegration or voluntary regional relocation by
the Nicaraguan Resistance. Such voluntary reintegration or
more
2
voluntary regional relocation assistance shall be provided in
a manner supportive of the goals of the Central American
nations, as expressed in the Esquipulas II agreement and the
El Salvador Accord, including the goal of democratization
within Nicaragua, and the reintegration plan to be developed
pursuant to those accords.
We believe that democratization should continue throughout
Central America in those nations in which it is not yet
complete with progress towards strengthening of civilian
leadership, the defense of human rights, the rule of law and
functioning judicial systems, and consolidation of free, open,
safe, political processes in which all groups and individuals
can fairly compete for political leadership. We believe that
democracy and peace in Central America can create the
conditions for economic integration and development that can
benefit all the people of the region and pledge ourselves to
examine new ideas to further those worthy goals.
While the Soviet Union and Cuba both publicly endorsed the
Esquipulas Agreement, their continued aid and support of
violence and subversion in Central America is in direct
violation of that regional agreement. The United States
believes that President Gorbachev's impending visit to Cuba
represents an important opportunity for both the Soviet Union
and Cuba to end all aid that supports subversion and
destabilization in Central America as President Arias has
requested and as the Central American peace process demands.
The United States Government retains ultimate responsibility
to define its national interests and foreign policy, and
nothing in this Accord shall be interpreted to infringe on
that responsibility. The United States need not spell out in
advance the nature or type of action that would be undertaken
in response to threats to U.S. national security interests.
Rather it should be sufficient to simply make clear that such
threats will be met by any appropriate Constitutional means.
The spirit of trust, bipartisanship, and common purpose
expressed in this Accord between the Executive and the
Congress shall continue to be the foundation for its full
implementation and the achievement of democracy, security, and
peace in Central America.
George Bush
President of the United States
James C. Wright, Jr.
Robert Dole
Speaker of the House
Senate Republican Leader
George J. Mitchell
Robert H. Michel
Senate Majority Leader
House Republican Leader
Thomas S. Foley
House Majority Leader
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 24, 1989.
# # #