Habib Quits Central America Post

Philip C. Habib, presidential envoy to Central America, announced his resignation today, as the State Department unveiled a new series of consultations designed to bring a negotiated end to the fighting in Central America.

Habib, who had already left his office at the State Department when the announcement of his retirement was made, was quoted by State Department spokesman Charles E. Redman as saying he is leaving at what he considers “the appropriate moment.”

But Redman also announced an intensive series of consultations and negotiations, beginning Monday when the U.S. ambassadors to the Central American democracies meet in Washington to review the progress toward a negotiated settlement that would involve free elections in Nicaragua and an end to the fighting.

The U.S. ambassadors are to return to their respective countries in time to talk to foreign ministers before they meet in El Salvador Aug. 19-20 to discuss the next stages in trying to bring about a negotiated settlement.

Habib, 67, is a veteran State Department trouble-shooter who served as ambassador to South Korea and was the key negotiator in bringing an end to Palestine Liberation Organization presence in Lebanon in 1982.

Retired from the State Department after several heart attacks, he was asked to return as special envoy for Central American negotiations. He was a strong advocate of emphasizing the need for a negotiated settlement and was reported frequently to be at odds with more hard-line policy-makers in the Reagan Administration over the mix between military and diplomatic emphasis.

Services Offered

Last week, Secretary of State George P. Shultz offered Habib’s services to help in the negotiations in Central America, but none of the democracies accepted.

Habib was reported by State Department colleagues to have said that he has no axes to grind nor any major disagreements with the current efforts to reach a solution, although he suggested that he would have put more emphasis on direct diplomatic contacts with the Nicaraguans.

Meanwhile today, leftist rebels in El Salvador agreed to renew peace talks with President Jose Napoleon Duarte on Sept. 15 but did not embrace a regional peace plan, a precondition set by the government for dialogue to resume.

The government did not immediately respond but it is unlikely that Duarte will negotiate if the insurgents do not endorse the pact signed by five Central American presidents Aug. 7 in Guatemala City.

“We agree to meet on Sept. 15 as proposed by President Duarte,” rebel leader Ruben Zamora said in a communique read by telephone from Managua to local radio stations.

“We suggest the meeting be held at the highest level, and our delegations will be made up of members of the executive committee of the Democratic Revolutionary Front and the high command of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front,” the statement said.

The Marxist-led insurgents have been battling the U.S.-backed government for eight years.