8 Latin Democracies Announce Drive to Promote Peace in Central America

The foreign ministers of eight Latin American democracies, including Brazil and Argentina, announced an action program Sunday to promote a prompt peace and security agreement in strife-torn Central America.

The foreign ministers, whose countries represent 85% of Latin America’s population, agreed to carry their drive for a Central American peace pact to Washington and Havana, as well as to put pressure on the five Central American countries that have been stalling on an agreement.

It was a rare development, because in recent years the Latin American countries, divided among military dictatorships and weak democracies, have not been able to cooperate among themselves on regional security issues.

‘Extraordinarily Important’

The decisions made during a two-day meeting here were described as “extraordinarily important” by Enrique Iglesias, foreign minister of Uruguay, because of the extent of agreement to cooperate among the participants.

For the Reagan Administration, and supporters in the United States of a continuation of military action against the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua through the rebels known as contras, the Latin American diplomatic initiative presents a strongly backed alternative to further Central American conflict.

For the Sandinista regime, where a large military buildup combined with support for Marxist guerrillas in El Salvador appear as a threat to Central American stability, the concerted Latin American effort will bring new pressure to refrain from regional subversion and accept peacekeeping verification by Latin American governments over border conflicts with Costa Rica and Honduras.

No Peacekeeping Force

Because of resistance from Foreign Minister Olavo Setubal of Brazil, the meeting was unable to reach agreement on a proposal that a military peacekeeping force be constituted for duty in Central America, but the foreign ministers reached full agreement on diplomatic initiatives.

The meeting here was called by President Belisario Betancur of Colombia in an attempt to broaden active support for the so-called Contadora Group that has been trying to mediate a peace agreement in Central America for 2 1/2 years.

The Contadora Group, named for a Panamanian resort island where it held its first meeting in January, 1983, is made up of Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Panama, all of which have close regional ties to the five key Central American nations--Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Disagreements Persist

The efforts of the mediators have produced a peace treaty draft. But disagreement over major issues such as the balance of military forces in the region and questions over when a number of the provisions should take effect have blocked acceptance of the proposed treaty by the countries involved.

Also, a succession of controversies among the Central American countries, some of them having roots in the last century, and the action of the U.S.-backed contras against Nicaragua from bases in Honduras and Costa Rica have hampered progress toward conclusion of a treaty.

The foreign ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay came here to give the Contadora Group expanded backing.

For Brazil, Latin America’s largest country, with an industrialized economy that is a major market for U.S. trade and investments, giving active support to the so-called Contadora process is a new foreign policy line, adopted by the democratic government of President Jose Sarney, which took office in March.

Were Run by Military

The armed forces were running Brazil’s government, as well as those in Argentina and Uruguay, until recently. The new foreign policy in all three countries is based on a belief that reduction of military conflicts in Latin America, and particularly in Central America, is necessary to reduce militarist tendencies in the region and consolidate democratic regimes.

“If a peaceful and negotiated solution is not found for the Central American conflict, this will affect the political and social stability of all Latin America,” said a final declaration issued in a joint press conference by the eight foreign ministers at the conclusion of their meeting.

The four ministers of the Contadora “support group” announced that they will begin joint action with the Central American governments and “governments with links and interests to the region” to try to achieve a prompt signing of a Central American peace accord.

They called for resumption of direct negotiations between the Reagan Administration and Nicaragua, which were held periodically in the Mexican port city of Manzanillo during the last half of 1984 but which were ended in January by the United States, which accused Nicaragua of using them solely for propaganda purposes.

Border Conflict Verification

The final declaration here said that bilateral talks and agreements between Costa Rica and Nicaragua on verification of causes of border conflicts would contribute to averting the outbreak of a “generalized conflict.”

But the foreign ministers said privately that the Marxist-led regime in Nicaragua will also have to show that the Sandinistas want a “Latin American solution” to the conflict with its neighbors while reducing its dependence on Cuban and Soviet military and economic aid.

To keep the regional conflict from becoming part of the East-West confrontation, the foreign ministers said that countries “with interests” in the region--meaning the United States and Cuba--will “have to make a genuine contribution to overcome problems that have kept this region in convulsion.”

The eight foreign ministers said they will initiate contacts with the “countries with interests” and with the Central Americans.