White House Denounces Move But Won't Seek New Arms Aid
By John M. Goshko and Ann Devroy
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 7, 1989
9:02 AM
The Bush administration yesterday condemned Nicaragua's renunciation of the cease-fire with the contra rebels as "an affront to the hemisphere," but it sought to avoid possible pressure from Republican conservatives to seek renewed military aid for the contras.
Statements by the White House and State Department were aimed at "sending a strong signal that the United States is committed to the process of free and fair elections rather than civil war," a senior administration official declared.
The administration hopes to make clear to other governments, the official added, that any disruption of the balloting scheduled for Feb. 25 would be the fault of President Daniel Ortega and his Marxist-led Sandinista government.
White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater in a written statement called Ortega's abrogation of the 19-month cease-fire "an affront to the hemisphere and the democratic traditions we hold important." The statement added: "The Sandinistas' unwillingness to negotiate with the democratic opposition, its military harassment in the country, and now, its unilateral breaking of the cease-fire, confirms President Ortega's desire to maintain power at all costs."
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "We hope the government of Nicaragua will reconsider this regrettable decision which raises serious questions about its commitment to the process of elections."
Boucher also rejected Ortega's claim that his actions were dictated by a need to defend against continuing attacks from the approximately 10,000 contra guerrillas encamped in neighboring Honduras and Costa Rica. Boucher said:
"The Sandinista army has violated the cease-fire from the day it was imposed. It has conducted regular offensive sweeps against the resistance, resulting in over 100 killed in the last five months . . . . We want to see the cease-fire continued. We will cut off humanitarian assistance to resistance forces who engage in offensive operations. This policy has been reiterated in clear and compelling terms to the resistance in recent days."
Members of Congress also reacted angrily to the Ortega announcement, but leaders of the House and Senate cautioned against changing Bush's deal with Congress to limit the contras to nonlethal, humanitarian aid and to pursue political solutions in Central America until after the February elections. Even many conservative Republicans said military aid should be held in reserve as a way of deterring the Sandinistas from attacking contra camps in Honduras or calling off the elections.
"I cannot conceive of the House moving now toward providing military assistance," House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) said. House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) also cautioned, "To inject a military component at this juncture, I'd want to think very carefully about that."
Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.), recalling that the Senate voted 95 to 0 on Tuesday to warn Ortega against canceling the cease-fire, said Congress should "signal our feelings" by inviting Violetta Chamorro, Ortega's opponent for president, to address a joint session of Congress when she visits here next week.
Among the few in Congress calling for tougher action was Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Recalling Bush's statement Tuesday that he would reconsider military aid "in a minute" if the Sandinistas resume the war, McCain said the United States must "make clear that, this time, their broken promises, infidelity and brazen lies will not go unanswered."
However, the senior administration official, who asked not to be identified, said the administration believes that any moves now to resume contra aid would only trigger an acrimonious new controversy with Congress and dilute the anger now being directed at the Sandinistas by democratic governments in Latin America and Western Europe.
The administration's wisest course, the official said, is to let international pressure on Ortega continue to build, while making clear to the world that the United States fully supports a peaceful, democratic solution in Nicaragua.
In the U.S. view, the official continued, Ortega's action was impelled by increasing concern that the Sandinistas would lose a genuinely free election. "By creating a national security crisis, they have a great excuse to tighten up internally and use their mobs and security apparatus to intimidate voters and do other things that work against a free election," he said.
In addition, the official said, the Sandinistas don't want the contras and their dependents, estimated at perhaps 14,000 people, to return to Nicaragua. "So by threatening military action, Ortega apparently hoped to create a situation that would force Honduras to disarm the contras and scatter them through the other countries of Central America," he said.
Staff writer Don Phillips contributed to this report.
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