New Effort for Peace

A new peace plan designed to end the conflict in Central America has been proposed by the president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias. While distinct from the years-old peacemaking effort of the so-called Contadora Group, the Costa Rican proposal appears to be sincere and deserves serious consideration by all nations in the region--particularly Nicaragua.

Arias is calling for an end to all military aid to insurgent forces in Central America--not just the U.S.-funded contras fighting to overthrow the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, but also the leftist rebels in El Salvador and Guatemala and a budding guerrilla movement in Honduras. That would be followed by a cease-fire throughout the region, and negotiations between the five governments and their dissident forces.

The Nicaraguans are understandably suspicious of Arias’ peace plan. Past governments of Costa Rica have allowed their territory to be used as a base by rebel groups fighting to overthrow the Sandinistas. Arias has, by most accounts, put a stop to that cynical activity since taking office last year, and has also put some distance between his government and the Reagan Administration, which persists in waging its dirty little war against Managua. That is probably why Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega agreed to discuss Arias’ peace plan at a summit meeting of Central American presidents to be held in Guatemala in the next few weeks.

The most important thing about Arias’ peace plan is that it comes at a time when President Reagan’s simplistic and heavy-handed policies in the region are in disarray because of the Iranian arms scandal and its links to the covert war against Nicaragua. New peace talks might also help revive the Contadora process, which has been moribund lately because of the hostility and resistance of the United States.

The Costa Rican proposal differs in detail from the 21-point peace plan drafted almost four years ago by the Contadora Group (Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Panama). It is more specific than Contadora in demanding internal “democratization” in the five countries of the region, but it does not go as far as Contadora in requiring a reduction in military forces and arms acquisitions by the region’s governments. Still, its fundamental goal--to find a political solution to a worsening crisis that cannot be solved by military means--is the same. And, as the Arias proposal is tested as the basis for renewed peace talks, nowhere is the goal more cherished than in Central America.