70 Veterans Protest at Reagan Ranch

A group of 70 veterans marched up the mountain to the gate of President Reagan’s ranch early Monday to present a petition asking that he withdraw all U.S. support from the Nicaraguan rebels, known as contras, and put his support behind a negotiated settlement to the Central American conflict.

The veterans were denied entry to the ranch and told they should speak to White House officials headquartered in a Santa Barbara hotel.

But when Eduardo Cohen, a Vietnam veteran, attempted to deliver the petition in the midst of a press briefing, White House spokesman Larry Speakes refused to take it.

“I’m not going to participate in any stunt like that,” Speakes said, reminding photographers that traditional briefing rules prohibited them from taking pictures of the encounter.

Cohen said the group had sent a telegram to Reagan requesting he meet with a small delegation of veterans who have visited Central America and who feel his request for contra aid “raises grave moral questions and serious dangers” for a U.S. combat role in Nicaragua.

The group planted 100 crosses around the entrance to Reagan’s mountaintop ranch to represent Nicaraguan civilians killed by the contras and to symbolize future deaths of both Americans and Nicaraguans if the U.S. continues its involvement in the conflict.